The Boating Forum - Optimax 250 or E-tec 250 ?

OK guys, I know this has seen some debate, but I have decided to narrow down the playing field a bit ....I have a 22 ft C.C. that weighs 2500 lbs empty ....The hull is very much like a 23 ft SeaCraft hull ....Deep V, same deadrise , etc .... Right now I have an older 225 3.0 Merc motor ( mid 90's ) on it that GUZZLES fuel ....The controls and guages are not all that fancy and they are somewhat dated , so I don't mind going for new controls and gauges .... Fuel consumption and dependability are NUMBER ONE !!!......I say this because I would like to be able to go out a few miles with this boat and fish for Tuna .....I will be ripping this boat apart and checking out the entire boat for any problems ....The 115 gal fuel tank will be pulled, cleaned, and pressure checked and new fuel lines that hopefully Ethanol can't eat ( NASTY CRAP )can't eat, and will probably rewire the boat since I'm basically gutting the boat ... I would like comments on these 2 companies motors only as they are the only 2 strokes light enough to run properly on this boat, and I don't really want to deal with Yamaha 250 HPDI's as the threads that I have read leave them too temperamental ... I dont want to run a stern heavy boat ....The guys I fish with weigh enough to burden this boat already ... Tell me which motor you would choose and why ....Good motor Electronics weigh's heavy too in my decision !!..... If I"m going to do it , I want to do it right .... Thanks for your time ....Jim

After looking at the specs on thiese motors, I am now including the 225 HP models also for fuel consumption issues ....Thanks,

They are both excellent choices although I would go for the Honda 225HP myself
Are you not concerned about using a single engine going out offshore for Tuna fishing?

Synthnut

I own an 2006 E-Tec 225 which is carried on a Sea Hunt Escape 220, which weighs about the same as your boat and is 22'. I will tell you the motor is very well suited for this boat, it planes quick quickly and, here at 5,000'+ altitude, we have had it as fast as 48.6 mph on a GPS. We went to Lake Powell the second year we had the boat and checked the MPG on a 120 trip and got over 3 MPG at cruising speed of around 34-38 with RPMs around 3,800 to 4,000. We had some small problem with the motor the first year when it apparently was stuck in weatherizing mode the whole summer and used a bunch, as can be imagined, of oil and caused the motor to "pause" once in a while. Once we got that problem rectified, the motor has been very good for us. Starts on one crank and runs very well and no smoke, since I got the over-oiling problem fixed.

Good luck with your search, I believe both motors are good motors and you would be satisfied with either one of them.

The Etec wins on smoothness, quietness, low fuel consumption trolling, and routine shop service required only every 3 years. That said, it sounds like you are building a utility type hard core fishing machine so those advantages may not overriding. They are both fine motors backed up by good companies so buy whichever is cheapest and has the best extended warranty offer.

Opti wins on service and parts/oil availability. Especially important if you travel with your boat. Other than that it is the deal on the table, warranty, and dealer you feel more comfortable serving your boat.

If high fuel efficiency is very important to you, I would argue that the Opti is the most fuel efficient motor in that power range on the market, 2 or 4 stroke. Every 2 stroke independent comparison test I have seen shows the Opti to be the most efficient, followed by the HPDI, and lastly the Etec. I'm not talking about huge deviations in the data, but clearly the Opti was the most efficient.

The Etec will have a much lower noise level at idle than the Opti. You will hear the air compressor running at idle on the Optis. However, once you’re up and running there isn't much difference in the noise level between the two.

They are both good motors and with minor differences. The choice in power really boils down to which brand/dealer will provide the best available service in your area.

Thanks for the input guys .....How about the electronic features ? ....Gauges, connectivity, options, etc ....Smartcraft ? .....E-tec's Gauges ? ......Thanks, Jim

Alman,
There's a good possibility that there will be other boats around when I go for Tuna .....I will also have SeaTow or some other service .... I have been out in much smaller boats than this one with a single on it , and not worried ....Pick the right day, and make sure that the boat can move at a good clip to get back to shore should problems pop up .... If its a matter of twins or don't Tuna fish, and make sure your single is running the best it can and go Tuna fishing , I will opt for the single and running good option ... I would say that when I'm out in various area's in the N.E. , I see just as many singles out there as I do twins .... Jim

If we're talking heavier 4 strokes , the Honda 225 would have been included in the mix, but I am looking at lighter 2 strokes ....

I think they would both be great motors. I have Opti 250's and a friend who has Etec 250's. He had some problems with his Etecs for the first year or so (lower units, one motor wouldn't idle, etc) but his motors were early model Etecs and he seems to be having good luck since they got those problems straightened out.

Don't really think you will notice much if any difference in mpg betwen 225 and 250s in these motors.

One thing the Optis have going for them are the SmartCraft gauges. Nothing else out there that compares IMO.

Here are some real world numbers on my Optis. My boat is 28' and weighs in at 9660 lbs on the trailer with 185 gals of fuel, and I have twins, so take that into effect.

With full fishing load and 4-5 men I can cruise 50 mph (4300 RPM) and get 1.6-1.8 mpg depending on sea conditions, load, tabs and trim. We usually carry 600-900 lbs of ice.

Running in a river with about 25% or less tabs, 4 adults and full fuel these are the numbers I recorded.

RPM………………….MPG………………..MPH
3000…………………..2.3…………………….29.5
3500…………………..2.3…………………….40.5
4000…………………..2.1………………….…45.7
4100…………………..2.0…………………...47.3
4500…………………..1.8…………………….51.4
5000…………………..1.5………………….…56.5
5500…………………..1.2…………………....63.1

Take these numbers and ignore the speed part (you won't be able to run 24" props like me). Double the mpg at RPM, apply that to what you know about your boat and how it runs now at a given RPM and you should be close.
Doubt that the real world differences in fuel economy between the Optis and Etecs would be noticeable. I would say that the Optis have the advantage due to the SmartCraft gauges, but that would be the only real big difference I could think of. Also, if you go Optis, make sure you get a Gen II control set and cables. Much smoother operation than the old ones.

Also, Merc was offering free, full factory, 5 yr warranty a while back. Might be worth checking into.

Bottom line: Don't think fuel economy is going to be the deciding factor between Etecs and Optis.

B.I.B.,
Thanks for your reply .....Those are some good numbers on a much larger boat than mine ...If I can see somewhere between 3-4 mpg at cruise I would be happy .... I'm lucky to see 1 mpg now ..... Doing a test one day, I could watch a large Parkay Margerine container get drained with my motor idling !!...

So Smartcraft really is that much better than I-Command ? ....Thanks, Jim

I say Opti wins here b/c they'll still be in business 6 months from now..

I say Opti wins here b/c they'll still be in business 6 months from now..
lol

i vote opti:thumbsup:

I'm sure the Etecs are great, but from an availabilty of service and longevity of company perpective, I would give Optmax the edge. By the way I have been very happy with my 225 Optis!

I would take the white one in this tough battle, not a fan of anything produced by the Merc folks. Blowing up two merc 200hp motors 20 years ago sticks in my mind.

I say Opti wins here b/c they'll still be in business 6 months from now..

B.I.B.,
Thanks for your reply .....Those are some good numbers on a much larger boat than mine ...If I can see somewhere between 3-4 mpg at cruise I would be happy .... I'm lucky to see 1 mpg now ..... Doing a test one day, I could watch a large Parkay Margerine container get drained with my motor idling !!...

So Smartcraft really is that much better than I-Command ? ....Thanks, Jim

My friend has those guages w/ his Etecs. Not impressed... at least not over my experience w/ smartcraft.

The Optis do EXTREMELY well at idle and low rpm on fuel consumption. I made the mistake of mixing up seafoam in 1 gallon of gas per motor and attempting to run it thru my motors in the driveway. BAD mistake. Ran the idle up as high as I could (the optis have a high rpm alarm in neutral at about 1300 rpm) and I spent hours and hours and hours out there tryig to burn those 2 gallons of gas. I finally gave up and just poured it into the gas tank.

Just guessing (I used to have a 21 Mako w/ a carbed 225 w/ 17" prop) and I would ge somewhere around 1.5-2 mpg on good days. Would think you should see somewhere around 3-4 mpg if you can run at least a 19" prop on your boat. But that's just a guess. my mpg numbers came from a floscan and gps speed calculating in my head. The floscan didn't even come close to being as accurate as the Smartcrft gauges on this boat.

The gas saved will NEVER pay for the investment of a new motor but the increase in range is significant.

I have owned both; the Optimaxes broke down every one of the 6 years I ran them. They were much louder than the E-TEC's, Mercury gave me terrible support.

My E-TEC's are pretty new and only have 200 hours on them. They are as quiet as a Yamaha F-250 and have never broken down. I did cause a problem once (my big stereo) for them BRP gave me great service.

Your stereo caused a problem? Anyway no doubt the Etec is quieter then the Optimax, but think that it is a stretch to say it as quiet as Any V6 4 Stroke.


I have owned both; the Optimaxes broke down every one of the 6 years I ran them. They were much louder than the E-TEC's, Mercury gave me terrible support.

My E-TEC's are pretty new and only have 200 hours on them. They are as quiet as a Yamaha F-250 and have never broken down. I did cause a problem once (my big stereo) for them BRP gave me great service.

Thanks again for the info guys .... I appreciate it ...I think that the newer Mercs are a bit better than the older ones.....I would hope that they have learned from their past , and have built a better motor .... Longevity speaks volumes also ....

B.I. B. ,
I'm not really looking for the fuel efficiency to pay me back , but would like to see the range improve in case I get into trouble out at sea .... You mention "on a good day" ...... I rarely see any water that is not at least 2 ft chop and that is VERY rare !!....Most days are pretty calm in the a.m. , but the same waters by afternoon is a very tight 2-3 ft chop .... With a single motor and bad conditions that jump right up on a moments notice , I may have to ride the throttle a little more than normal under those conditions .... Knowing that I will have enough fuel to make it in is a comforting thought ... Knowing now that the Smartcraft gauges are pretty accurate means a lot .... I'm not expecting dead on accuracy, but in a 115 gal tank, I'd like to see accuracy within 15-20 % on the fuel ...If I can't get that , I might as well use a wooden stick !!!.... My C.C. has an 8.6 beam, and it's 22.6 ft long .... Not sure what your Mako was , but I'm thinking 8 ft beam for some reason ..I'm not sure about my motor , but the cowling says 225 Racing on it ....It's a torquey motor and has some power for a 225, but drinks more than I use to and that's saying something !!! ...... Thanks again , Jim

Get the opti. You end up using the foot off the etec for an anchor.

Wow.. Where are the Etec guys, what is the reason for your disdain for them?

Get the opti. You end up using the foot off the etec for an anchor.

Wow.. Where are the Etec guys, what is the reason for your disdain for them?

lol Its an outboard. They are all good.Find a servicing dealer you trust and buy their brand. I have owned 4 e-tecs and no issues.

185 gallon tank here. The SC "fuel burned" number is always VERY close. 99% of the time, with a 100-150 gallon trip, the guage is within 2-3 tenths of a gallon from what it takes to fill the boat back up. On about 2 trips a couple of years ago, the gauge was off by 3-5 gallons. Got me worried I had a fuel leak. Never did figure out what was going on.

I've had very good service from my Optis. Would buy another set in a heartbeat.

B.I.B. ,
WOW that close huh ? ...That's a lot closer than I imagined .... That's really close !!.....I would be elated to have something read between 3 - 5 gals off on a big trip ....I never really had any trouble with my motor at all except for the fuel burn , so staying with Merc might just be the thing for me to do ...

I was looking at the new Optimax 200 XS ....It's got true 220 HP at the prop and sells for approx $1,000 less than the Optimax 225 ..... Do you know the HP rating on the normal Optimax 225 ? .....I know they can vary 10%, but it could be 10% lower ...Not sure ...Thanks again , Jim

Wow.. Where are the Etec guys, what is the reason for your disdain for them?

I dont mean anything by it... I'm just a mercury guy... I have friend or two with e tecs, they are good engines if you want to spend your time in the wake zone of a mercury powered vessel.

You will almost never see Merc come in under what the sticker on the side of the motor says. Usually they are VERY close if not a tad over. On the XS and Pro XS motors, they will be a good bit over. My 250XS' by all accounts are around 270+ hp. Regular 225 Opti I would guess to be right at 225 HP.

I think what you're looking at is the 200 Pro XS. They will make a 200XS this year, but it only comes in short shaft and appears to be intended strictly for racing.

http://mercurymarine.com/engines/outboards/optimax/proxs_specs.php?ID=183

http://mercuryracing.com/outboards/optimax200xsros.php

B.I.B.
Thanks again for the info ....I was looking at the Pro 250 and Pro 225 and just assumed that the 200 came in 20/25 shaft lengths ......The 200 XS and the 115 XS only come in the 20 shaft length ....The 250,225, and 175 come in 20/25 length .....What's up with that ? ....They pass right by the 200, because I can save $1,000 ? .. :mad:....Such is life .....I guess I better read a little bit closer and not ASSUME !!!.....Thanks for that clarification ...Jim

BTW :: It's the 200 Pro XS that puts out the 220 HP at the prop , and not the 200XS .......same block as the 225/250 .....

wow you guys still stuck in 2 stroke land. Sorry all you american workers myself being one of them but i wouldn't buy anything besides suzuki honda or yamaha 4 strokes. All this bull about being quicker yadyadayada waistng money on 2stroke oil-- just what the american marketers want you to do 2 strokes will die a slow death because the oil companies want to make another 20 billion this quarter.
you guessed it I've got twin 140 zuks that have never let me down in eight years NOT 1 PROBLEM.
I've got a comercial fishing budy with no lie 2600 hrs onthe same engine and BTW JD POwer agrees with me. Etec yup my brother has one kept himat the dock for 2 weeks last summer ow ya that was the whole 2009 summer cause of the weather in the NE. Oh and BTW my uncle has 2 optimax's that merc thru him under the bus on haven't worked right since the day he bought them. go ahead and get that better whole shot said the Tortise to the Hair.

The Pro XS motors are built on the assembly line but have many of the same parts as the full XS motors. The XS motors are hand built by the Merc Racing division and only come with a 2 yr warranty. The Pro XS versions are also not available in counter rotation models but the XS motors are.

There's also a 225XS but I don't know much about it either.

Mine are full XS motors. Hand built and only 2 yr warranty. I see stuff on Merc Racing's website that's saying 3 yr warranty on full XS motors and not sure if that's right or not. If so, it's a new thing. They always had 2 yr warranties before. I'd go with full XS if they come with 3 yr warranty since they seem to be less expensive for whatever reason and they run like demons.

The 200 Pro XS is apparently a new product and it's probably being targeted at the bass boat crowd right now. Probably why there's no 25" model????

I prefer the Etec. Have a 22 deep V, about 2900lbs pushed by a 200HO ETEC (almost identical to 225). Previous boat had an Optimax - liked it as well.

Some things to consider: Etec will troll more efficiently and with much less noise. Smoother. But at cruise speeds, I think the Opti will be more efficient. The compressor on the Opti brings with it a lot more moving parts than the ETEC and requires a lot of juice from your battery. Something to consider if your way out with single power.

But I liked my Opti too -just prefer the ETEC for needs now. You will be happy with either.

wow you guys still stuck in 2 stroke land. Sorry all you american workers myself being one of them but i wouldn't buy anything besides suzuki honda or yamaha 4 strokes. All this bull about being quicker yadyadayada waistng money on 2stroke oil-- just what the american marketers want you to do 2 strokes will die a slow death because the oil companies want to make another 20 billion this quarter.
you guessed it I've got twin 140 zuks that have never let me down in eight years NOT 1 PROBLEM.
I've got a comercial fishing budy with no lie 2600 hrs onthe same engine and BTW JD POwer agrees with me. Etec yup my brother has one kept himat the dock for 2 weeks last summer ow ya that was the whole 2009 summer cause of the weather in the NE. Oh and BTW my uncle has 2 optimax's that merc thru him under the bus on haven't worked right since the day he bought them. go ahead and get that better whole shot said the Tortise to the Hair.

Congratulations on your Suzuki's. Now go away and STFU unless you have owned either an Etec or an Opti as the OP asked.

B.I.B. ,
Thanks again for the info ....That 200 ProXS would be nice with a 25" motor ...Oh well ..

Plumsal,
Thanks for the additional compressor info ....

rickq,

Not stuck at all ....I have another boat with Zuke 4 strokes ....Go to the beginning of the thread and notice that I need a light weight engine ... Last I looked, the Suzuki is just under 600 lbs for the motors I enquired about .... Thanks just the same for your input ...

The E-Techs are awesome... ON PAPER... on the water, day in/day out... if you want a 2 stroke motor that works when you want to go fishing... Optimax...

I think comments about opti's being noisy come from the older models. the never motors are almost as quiet as etec's at idle.
I love the way mine sound and would'nt trade them for anything else.

I say Opti wins here b/c they'll still be in business 6 months from now..

So BRP took over OMC in 2000 and have been going for 10 years but all of a sudden they will go out of business in six months? Real informative post as usual. :roll

On to the topic.........

Both would be a fine choice, I think the only difference is the E-Tec will be much quieter at idle and may use less oil. At this point just choose the one with the best dealer support in your area.

When I re-powered in October 2005 I narrowed my choices down to Opti's and E-Tecs. I went with the E-Tecs because of the deal I got on them. My dealer is a Merc, Evinrude and Suzuki dealer so the dealer support was there for either choice.

I'm very happy with the decision I made, I'm just over 4 years and 1400+ hours into my twin 2005 250 E-Tecs and no issues to speak of. Never lost one boating day.

Your stereo caused a problem? Anyway no doubt the Etec is quieter then the Optimax, but think that it is a stretch to say it as quiet as Any V6 4 Stroke.

Yes, I have a massive multi-amp JL stereo in my boat. When launched, there was no problem. A few months in to the season, I took the boat in to add new seating in the bow and the dealer did a software update. On the way home, I decided to open it up for a minute or two and the engines suddenly cut back to idle and the horn went off. I called the dealer on my cell phone and he called BRP. They asked about my stereo and told me that the flywheel wasn't sending enough power to the house batteries above 4500 RPM's and thus a safeguard kicked in. They told me to turn off the subwoofer amp and the problem would stop. They also air freighted in a heavy duty flywheel and paid the dealer to drive 25 miles to my pier and install it within 2 days. That's great service.

No, the E-TEC's and the F-250 are equally quiet. I tested them both before I decided to go with the E-TEC's. In fact noise was probably my number three buying criteria (after quality and service). I concluded that the E-TEC's and Yamaha's were the best-in-class in all three of these criteria.

If I had bought a 29, I would have bought twin F-250's, but when I went to the 33, I needed more power the F-350's weighed too much, so I bought the E-TEC's.

I have a 200 Optimax on a 21' Boston Whaler Outrage. Bought both new in 2000. Always used in salt water for fishing and diving. I have rarely, maybe never, made it a full year without some disabling mechanical problem. The motor has always been maintained by Parker Boats in Orlando or Daytona Beach, FL. Recently switched to Aloha Marine in Daytona. I always burn Optimax oil. I always perform the annual maintenance. The boat is stored inside when not in use. My list of problems:
Water in the Lower unit-rebuilt
Water in the Lower unit-rebuilt
Water in the Lower unit-replaced lower unit
Water in the Lower unit-rebuilt
Bad Reed.(Don't know what that is, but it makes the engine idle rough.)
Bad fuel pump-43 mile tow.
Bad injector.
Bad ECU-Out of warranty $3200!
Water in the Lower unit-rebuilt
Bad Alternator.
So now I will replace a functional motor at about 800 hours just to improve reliability. I read about people with good luck with Optimax, but there is no way I could buy another. The fuel economy is good. I can get up to 3.3 mpg at 30 mph in calm seas. 2.5 mpg is more typical. Drops to 1.7 when loaded in rough seas.

I am interested to hear what actual owners of Etecs with 500 to 1000 hours think. Are they as reliable as a Yamaha? There seem to be a lot of Etec models in the 200-250 hp range. How many years have they been in production since the last major change? Are they all basically the same engine? If so, I am leaning toward the lowest hp on the assumption it will last longer.

Want to buy an Optimax?

Almost identical to my Optimax experience!

I think that there will be problems with just about any motor ....Someone , Somewhere , has to have a problem with an outboard ...I think that basically it's a crap shoot from what I am reading ,and it would be to my advantage to find a good dealer that has good support for either one of these motors .... I have really been more concered for dependability, especially running only a single ....It sure would be good to know that if the motor does not perform properly, that there is a GOOD dealer there to help me out ..... I asked about the various feature's , but if the motor doesn't run, it doesn't matter how many features it has ....Maybe good support weighs in heavier than I thought .... Speaking of support , which company has more dealers available in the North East or East Coast in general ? ....Merc or Evinrude ? ...Thanks, Jim

BRP is Bombardier, which is a $16.9B widely diversified corporation. Mercury is part of Brunswick corporation, which is a $4.7B corporation focused primarily on recreational products. I would be more worried about Mercury being in business down the road.

At speed, the Optimax is considerably more noisy than the Etec. There is no basis to assert Mercury has an advantage in parts availability. Parts are readily available for both the Etec and the Optimax. The Etec has digital gauges available, no advantage or disadvantage there.

Almost identical to my Optimax experience!

The 2000-2003 opti big blocks were known trouble engines.

i seem to rember (correct me if im wrong) merc only offering a GOOD warentee up to 225 models?
i would go with the merc anyways there is allready huge new and used parts support

and like someone said is the evenrude going to have parts support a couple years from now?

i seem to rember OMC not having critical parts in stock and having to either go used or aftermarket

just the fact that MERC still sells the opti shows how good they are

i seem to rember (correct me if im wrong) merc only offering a GOOD warentee up to 225 models?
i would go with the merc anyways there is allready huge new and used parts support

and like someone said is the evenrude going to have parts support a couple years from now?

i seem to rember OMC not having critical parts in stock and having to either go used or aftermarket

just the fact that MERC still sells the opti shows how good they are
Salvage master to answer your questions
1. yes ...just as good of a chance as merc / brunswick.
2. OMC never had a criticle parts problem till 1999 and they went under in December of 2000. BRP has owned Evinrude since then and parts are (and have been very available) . Merc also has great parts availability.
3.Evinrude could have stayed with the ficht/DI engines but the e-tec's were an inprovement over them.The opti's were not very good engines till the 2003 model year but have been very good since then so I don't think the time theory alone works.The new opti's a much improved over the originals.
Both are very good engines.The e-tec is quieter,smoother running,better on oil usage, no compressor to worry about,and a little better mpg at lower speeds.The opti gets a little better mpg at mid range.
Equal..about the same mpg at high speeds,very good parts availability,and both have very good low end torque,

SCAngler,
Your reply is exactly why the best option for me at this point would be to go with the motor that has the best dealer support in my area ...If they're both pretty much equal when they're running , I wlll have to go with the one that has the better service when they're not !!....Thanks for your reply...Jim

i seem to rember (correct me if im wrong) merc only offering a GOOD warentee up to 225 models?
i would go with the merc anyways there is allready huge new and used parts support

and like someone said is the evenrude going to have parts support a couple years from now?

i seem to rember OMC not having critical parts in stock and having to either go used or aftermarket

just the fact that MERC still sells the opti shows how good they are

Why wouldn't you be able to get parts for Evinrude a couple of years from now. BRP (E-Tec) took over OMC in 2000 and to this day supplies parts for their engines with no known shortage 10 years into the game. They even produce and sell parts for engines that OMC built 40 years ago....imagine that!

You remember the OMC parts shortage? Me to, that was 10+ years ago before BRP took over.

Yes....Merc still sells Opti's, but that doesn't necessarily show how good the company is as much as it shows how good the engine (2 stroke) is.

Again...BRP took over OMC in 2000 and here we are 10 years later and they are still building engines, honoring warranties, and building parts for engines as old as 40 years. That should be a signal of how good they are.

Not taking anything away from Mercury, they are a solid company making a solid product. But there is no reason to try and discount BRP (Evinrude) as a company.

Im sorry in my last post i didnt make my self clear Im not partial to either brand or even 2 strokes its been through my experence that the
E-ject and the Opti-lax have had there problems and still do

in 2002 i could not get a drive shaft for a king cobra outdrive (that had sheered in half)

and if OMC took over johnson/evirude and faild whos to say BRP wont drop a evenrude when sales fall (same as brunwick)

i have seen opti's go as long as 1700 hours before just being useless and the Etech is just a computerized nightmare (the comercial was good!)

and i digress
if this wasnt a "evenrude vs merc" i would say just go 4 stroke ANY 4 STROKE i never here theise kind of complaints from 4 stroke owners

Im sorry in my last post i didnt make my self clear Im not partial to either brand or even 2 strokes its been through my experence that the
E-ject and the Opti-lax have had there problems and still do

in 2002 i could not get a drive shaft for a king cobra outdrive (that had sheered in half)

and if OMC took over johnson/evirude and faild whos to say BRP wont drop a evenrude when sales fall (same as brunwick)

i have seen opti's go as long as 1700 hours before just being useless and the Etech is just a computerized nightmare (the comercial was good!)

and i digress
if this wasnt a "evenrude vs merc" i would say just go 4 stroke ANY 4 STROKE i never here theise kind of complaints from 4 stroke owners
Take your points again
1Both the opti and e-tec are very good and reliable engines.The 4 stroke engines are reliable aswell...All the major companies use computors in their engines and I can safly say all the major engine companies build very good products.I can also say that all brand and types (2 and 4 stroke engines) ocationally do have problems.I have 2 and 4 stroke engines. My yamaha 115 four stroke that makes oil is not perfect.It is also a know problem.

2.By the year 2002 OMC had long sold their i/o business to volvo/penta so jump on them about your part shortage.

3. BRP is no more likly to drop Evinrude or Brunswick to drop Merc as Yamaha ,Honda ,or Suzuki to drop their out board business.They are all going through tough times (as most companies are ) but most of them have good management in place.

4.have seen plenty of e-tecs and optis with well over 2000 hrs running trouble free. Seeing how most recreational boaters put only 35 to 50 hrs a year on the engines ...Your 1700 hr benchmark would give many years of boating. There are others like myself that put alot more hours on their boats than the avg. boater.I know a good many fishing guides and other high use users that put over a 1000 hrs a year on their opti's and e-tecs with no problems.I also know plent of 4 stroke users that have done the same.My e-tecs have over 1400 hrs with no problems

Untill your fuel consumption runs into the six digit mark per season you will not see true reliability
Untill your mantence costs per season run into around 10k you will not see true quality

Untill you have seen a boat go through 4 sets of twins in 9 years you havent seen quality

Untill downtime costs you a job or contract you will not see quality

Hers a list of motors that have gone the way of catastrophic in the fleet over a 11 year period
starboard Evenrude 225 vro blown @300 hours
port johnson 150 vro blown power head @ 600 hours
starboard johnson 200 vro hours unknown (same boat diffrent set of motors)
replacement 200 johnson vro head blew @ 200 hours
OMC 460 king cobra I/O blown piston/upper drive shaft after 3 years of service 5 years old
454 mercruser became economically not feasable to repair/run after 5 years of service
port yamaha 150 oil injection replaced head @ 1300 hours
suzuki 225 fuel injection 2 stroke blown power head @ 700 hours
replacement power head blown @ 80 hours due to the wrong block being shipped from japan
port optimax 225 blown powerhead @ 500 hours
middle optimax 225 blown @ 1700 hours
starboard optimax blown @ 1850 hours
port suzuki 115 4 stroke blown @ 3600 hours
mercruser DE tronic diesel blown @ 1500 hours due to gasoline being introduced into fuel tanks capitain on dutys fault
starboard Detroit Diesel v692 TI blown rings in the # 2 cylinder @ 3800 on rebuild
blown suzuki 225 fuel injection 2 stroke no compression in # 5 cylinder @ 600 hours
port 115 optimax blown @ 1200 hours
starboard 2005 optimax 225 blown @ 800 hours
suzuki 225 4 stroke blown powerhead @ 3800 hours shortly after being submerged

and this is just BLOWN motors nevermind starters/fuel pumps/computers and lower units

look at the numbers (i just brought out the mantence log myself) and the only engines that havent given me and significant ammount of trouble have been the 4 strokes and the 1986 cummins six cylinder

To the OP:

you've done your homework, and narrowed it down to two very good engines.....the first criteria I would look at with this choice is dealer support in your area, do you know the opti and etec dealers? Are they honest and ethical....If yes to both, move on:....Price....if close, Move on....do you want more refinement or slightly more power?....Opti's will be slightly stronger, and etecs slightly more refined. with an opti you will see service 1 year/100 hour, etec 3 year 300 hour.....the etec will idle smoother and quieter, but I also love to hear opti's when they are screaming....the etec oil is more expensive than the opti, but you will make up for that with service intervals....also, if you troll, there is no engine as efficient as the etec at trolling speeds.....the etec may burn slightly cleaner as well....not sure, are the new opti's 3 star compliant?

You really can't go wrong with either engine, even with all the bashing you find here....they are both well designed and proven engines.....

FloridaRob
30 Grady Marlin
250 ETECS

if this wasnt a "evenrude vs merc" i would say just go 4 stroke ANY 4 STROKE i never here theise kind of complaints from 4 stroke owners

Do a search here, you'll find plenty of people with complaints about their 4 strokes, including some with their engines sitting for months at a time waiting for parts.

I'm not saying the 4 stroke isn't a good option. For some people its a great option, just not for me. But to say that you choose 4 strokes because you "never hear complaints" from 4 stroke owners is just silly.

There is only one FACT that stands true in the marine propulsion industry. They all break down at some point. What makes this easier to deal with is good dealer support and parts availability.

Im sorry in my last post i didnt make my self clear Im not partial to either brand or even 2 strokes its been through my experence that the
E-ject and the Opti-lax have had there problems and still do

in 2002 i could not get a drive shaft for a king cobra outdrive (that had sheered in half)

and if OMC took over johnson/evirude and faild whos to say BRP wont drop a evenrude when sales fall (same as brunwick)

i have seen opti's go as long as 1700 hours before just being useless and the Etech is just a computerized nightmare (the comercial was good!)

and i digress
if this wasnt a "evenrude vs merc" i would say just go 4 stroke ANY 4 STROKE i never here theise kind of complaints from 4 stroke owners

So you're disallusioned with BRP 'cause you couldn't get a part for your cobra back in 2002?

Now that's High Maintenance! :roll

So you're disallusioned with BRP 'cause you couldn't get a part for your cobra back in 2002?

Now that's High Maintenance! :roll

Yeah...really...he should do a search on F225's as of late....

Well i look at evenrude/johnson as a cheeting wife...you never quite look at her the same

Lets not forget the 4 stroke outboard BRP sells it was obviously to much for them to produce there owne

as for yamahas i dont run them there to expensive initialy

I have never waited more than 3 days for parts/service from any marina/engine company (except OMC) the downtime would be to costly and if a marina were to loose my buisness they would be loosing a large client (this may not seem fair) but there is no reason your outboard should sit "for months" this is purely the dealer not doing all he can to get you back on the water

And as for never hearing complaints i find GOOGLE is just the perfect way to make your owne choice google "XXX BRAND OUTBOARD PROBLEMS" its all there to make a comparison

Thanks for the additional information guys .....I can fully understand the rants from the folks who had problems with thier motors or finding parts etc .... There is almost nothing as frustrating as having a broken motor and not being able to get parts for it ....It's a huge expense for most of us to even own a boat , and then have to pay thru the nose for parts , and then not even be able to find them must be TOTALLY frustrating .... It's not a cheap addiction that we all have, and while we try to do our homework, the motor that we happen to end up with might be the one in a thousand that is a lemon ...

Salvage Master ,
That is some VERY interesting info that you compiled there .....I have a Suzuki 4 stroke on one of my other boats that is like the eveready bunny ....It just keeps on going, and going, and going !!....Great motor ..... If I were not so attached to the boat that I am looking for this motor for , I wouldn't think twice about selling it and buying a boat that would handle 4 stroke motors ... Maybe a Cat with 2-4 strokes , but that's another can of worms ....;)

Your welcome and thank you for reading

My advice to anyone is to NOT LET YOUR DEALER DICK YOU AROUND!

there is no excuse for parts taking weeks to arive other than someone being laxidazical:sleeping:

i like the energizer bunny comparison :rofl:

good luck with the engine hunt:thumbsup:

Lets not forget the 4 stroke outboard BRP sells it was obviously to much for them to produce there owne



As far as I know BRP doesn't sell a 4 stroke outboard anymore. And when they did who knows the reason it was a Suzuki in white?

"it was obviously to much for them to produce there owne"

Thats your opinion, my opinion as to why they didn't produce "their own" 4 stroke is because they wanted to pursue the 2 stroke and target re-powers.

Just like when Mercury was selling 4 strokes that were actually Yamaha's in black. You think Mercury bought the engines from Yamaha because they couldn't produce them on their own?

Around and around we go.

i know that mercury did not at the time have the plant facilities to produce a 4 stroke outboard so i allways took the yamaha/merc motor as a kind of floater in between untill such a plant was built and voila we have the verado

And the way BRP handeled 4 stroke technology was a vigorous add campaign/pissing contest between other outboards

realisticly i think BRP has taken the 2 stroke as far as it is going to go

realisticly i think BRP has taken the 2 stroke as far as it is going to go

Quite possible, but how much farther can the 4 stroke go? I mean you already have fuel injection, computer controls and super chargers. What's next Mr. Fusion?

Actually the 4 stroke will get better....in emissions output. Currently they are not the cleanest in that area. That will all be fixed once the EPA makes all the manufactures put catalytic converters on them.

That should cut down on weight, size and add some extra horse power right? :rofl:

Quite possible, but how much farther can the 4 stroke go? I mean you already have fuel injection, computer controls and super chargers. What's next Mr. Fusion?

Actually the 4 stroke will get better....in emissions output. Currently they are not the cleanest in that area. That will all be fixed once the EPA makes all the manufactures put catalytic converters on them.

That should cut down on weight, size and add some extra horse power right? :rofl:

I was just about to add that ole catalytic deal to the thread....that's coming....don't forget about the extra heat it'll create.....

I'd not hesitate to buy a boat with zukes or verados if the boat was designed for them....I'd also not hesitate to buy a boat with etecs or optis.....I would hesitate to buy a boat that has a p.o.s. service dealer.......

These guys will fight you until the bitter end my advice is to save your breath.

i know that mercury did not at the time have the plant facilities to produce a 4 stroke outboard so i allways took the yamaha/merc motor as a kind of floater in between untill such a plant was built and voila we have the verado

And the way BRP handeled 4 stroke technology was a vigorous add campaign/pissing contest between other outboards

realisticly i think BRP has taken the 2 stroke as far as it is going to go

These guys will fight you until the bitter end my advice is to save your breath.

And here you are on yet another 2 stroke thread with nothing to offer.

Why don't you visit the Suzuki thread where the guy hates his warranty. Being that you have Suzuki's and love them so much you should be able to offer the guy some comfort.

Or...follow you own advise

Well i look at evenrude/johnson as a cheeting wife...you never quite look at her the same

Lets not forget the 4 stroke outboard BRP sells it was obviously to much for them to produce there owne

as for yamahas i dont run them there to expensive initialy

I have never waited more than 3 days for parts/service from any marina/engine company (except OMC) the downtime would be to costly and if a marina were to loose my buisness they would be loosing a large client (this may not seem fair) but there is no reason your outboard should sit "for months" this is purely the dealer not doing all he can to get you back on the water

And as for never hearing complaints i find GOOGLE is just the perfect way to make your owne choice google "XXX BRAND OUTBOARD PROBLEMS" its all there to make a comparison

Hey, even Elin is taking back Tiger! ;)

Please one guy with a Suzuki problem that has like 4 posts, if this guy was talking about an Etec all of you guys would have been all up in his stuff... serial numbers.. rigging issue..blah blah blah. Just spend a couple of minutes on the good old etecowners forum and there are plenty of posts about owners complaining about the warranty, fuel injectors...I could go on for hours.... on the Et.....



And here you are on yet another 2 stroke thread with nothing to offer.

Why don't you visit the Suzuki thread where the guy hates his warranty. Being that you have Suzuki's and love them so much you should be able to offer the guy some comfort.

Or...follow you own advise

Actually the 4 stroke will get better....in emissions output. Currently they are not the cleanest in that area. That will all be fixed once the EPA makes all the manufactures put catalytic converters on them.

That should cut down on weight, size and add some extra horse power right? :rofl:

They actually do average lower in Hydrocarbons + Nitrous Oxides and apparently, as Honda has demonstrated, are capable of lower carbon dioxide levels than the E-TEC. When/if the cats do come to outboards I believe the EPA will set limits that require them of all outboards.

Please one guy with a Suzuki problem that has like 4 posts, if this guy was talking about an Etec all of you guys would have been all up in his stuff... serial numbers.. rigging issue..blah blah blah. Just spend a couple of minutes on the good old etecowners forum and there are plenty of posts about owners complaining about the warranty, fuel injectors...I could go on for hours.... on the Et.....

Yup he was one guy, but I have heard about the parts issue many times. Buy it typical troll fashion you divert away from question as usual. Face it dude, you hate E-Tecs or 2 strokes in general and you can't wait to take a stab at them or anyone that actually likes them. While at the same time not offering any advise when asked about the engine you actually own.

Everyone here knows your MO by now, its a very familiar one.

Carry on...

E-tech!!!

You know what you have convinced me on the 2 stroke motor i think im going to put one in my F250 its obviously far superior to any other engine out there in fact i think im going to use the Etech block because of its raw power reliability and clean burning technology:jk:

Frankly both are pretty good engines these days - the big booger on the Merc's seems to be the damn compressor and they ain't cheap and its not isolated. I don't think fuel is an issue although the Etec's 100/1 oil might be, the 300 hr maint should be too since sounds like you'll put some hours on it. No idea on the gauges or controls since the Etec's are pretty new stuff
ETEC