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Greetings to all from Oz
I am interested to hear from owners of Etec engines and their feedback both good and bad
You guys have had these engines on the market for quite a longer period than we have
This thread has not been placed for people to bash Evinrude or ???, just to get some feed back
Down here in Oz all info picked up on the forums is very positive on these engines
I currently have around 40-50 hours on my 75 and at this time am very pleased and impressed with it
Obviously people will have small issues with various types of components (lemons and or failures)
Have a 250 that I have recently picked up and ran for one day. Starts quick (on the first of second turnover). Idles really low and there is no shift clunk. No smoke that I can see or smell yet. Probably not quite as quiet as a 4 stroke but very quiet. Has a very good sweet spot at cruise. Beyond cruise seems to reroute exhaust or pick up on noise. For my boat the sweet spot is 33-35mph burning 11gph or so. (on a 22 footer)
606, What were you running before this engine? The reason i am asking is i am curious about the power difference. Do you feel that the e-tec 250 has more power than your previous engine if it was a 250 or 225. Will get twin 250 e-tecs next year and i am curious about their power. I am currently running 2002 225 rudes. Hoping to get more power out of these new engines.
nsh....I had a 21 footer with a Mercruiser 5.7L (235hp)/alpha 1 package.
It is really hard to compare the two.
My last boat
Got on plane with a lot of bowrise at times unless I firewalled the throttle.
Was very loud with the through hull exhaust
Was extraordinarily responsive to trim (you could literally feel the sweet spot)
Steered fairly easily (I think it was pretty trim neutral back there and the power steering really helped
Was pretty quick on the top end but going from 50-60mph was more tedious.
Current boat is a deep vee 22 footer
Gets on plane quick with or without tabs (zero bowrise with half tab though)
Feels extremely responsive right off idle (better be holding on).
Gets to cruise and top end quickly
It is very difficult to feel the sweet spot in the current boat. I kind of slowly trim up watching the speedo and when it quits rising I know I'm there. When in the sweet spot it is easy to steer in both directions. Outside of this, it is more difficult to the left (so I may adjust the tab this week). At mid range speeds when I go to WOT it doesnt seem to have a dramatic punch but I think this may be due to two reasons. 1) I am sitting on a leaning post with a backrest which I think diminishes the sense of speed 2) I am still experimenting with trim settings.
It was a bit rough when I took it out for 4 hours this weekend, but I think that I will probably be able to trim to 1/4 or 1/3 of the way and leave it there most of the time, except when coming out of the hole.
I dont think you are going to notice a drastic increase in power. You are going from 450 to 500 hp with is a 9% increase. The older rudes were already good performers. I dont think that the current etecs perform any better, just more efficiently and quietly from what I have read.
Great to see some feedback guys
I find that my engine is extremely responsive across the whole range to WOT
This is also probaly helped by such a fairly light hull weight
I also find regardless of weather, temperature, time out of water etc, it startys every time at first touch of the key
I suppose I should expect this with a new engine, but I have seen other engines that crank for a while
Wont need to use the winterisation process as my boat gets used all year round even in winter, as this is some of our best fishing weather, albeit a little cold and wet
I am sure we will see someone with problems on these engines over time, but so far they seem to do what the manufacturer claims
these are my 4th and 5th evinrude engines, previous pair were fict, but evinrude spelled it wrong. they should have put a "u" where the "i" is in fict. they were also flawless to the 300 hr mark.
I'm at 1300 hours on my current E-Tec 90 (my first one was nearing 1200 hours when sold, still running strong). Both were in commercial service. I've been very pleased. The key, as far as I'm concerned, is having really competent maintenance for your rig. The lower units aren't any different from older motors, but everything else is.... Your techs need the correct software for each model and also need to have been factory trained. If you've got that in place I'd expect the motor to turn every bit of 3500 hours before needing a re-build... Yes, peripheral systems will cause problems just like any other motor but the basic running gear on the 90 (or it's cousin the 75...) should be trouble free if your initial installation was on the money. By the way, the motor should still start right up when it's three years old with as many hours as mine have had..
Disclaimer, yes I'm lucky enough to be on BRP's guide program but get no support after an initial price break. I stand in line and pay for every bit of my own maintenance and service - no freebies. I'm a bit biased about Johnson/Evinrude motors since I've never run anything else since 1973....
__________________ Tight Lines
Capt Bob LeMay
[img][img]
have 2 e-tec 225 counter rotating engines-previous engines on same boat was 225 johnson ocean runners-same propellers on old engines turned 5400 rpm-14x18s-3 blade-on new engines 6000 plus-went to 4 blade 14x19-5300 rpm-gained 3 to four knots at same rpm. third year-30 to 40 % fuel saving-great engines.
I'm about to pick up a new boat with a 115 ETec. The ETec is an awesome bit of technology. Do a search on the Evinrude MultiFuel Engine (MFE) that's based on the ETec technology. As with any outboard, just make sure there is reasonable local service in any event. Any one you get these days from ETec to Verado has limited user maintenance.
I have never heard of really anyone having any problems with the small block etecs. I had horrible problems with the 250 and 300. I would never have one again, but that is just me. They blew before 100 hours and multiple other problems!
__________________ Captain Todd Foucher
Canyon Bay Boats
My twin 2006 150 hp etecs are a bitch to start ,sometimes taking up to 10 minutes.I turn the key wait a sec,turn to start, the engine starts and runs for 2 seconds then stalls.Ill do this about 15 times per motor.Once they stay running they are great motors.I have this problem if I do not start them for a few days and using the push in choke dont help.
My twin 2006 150 hp etecs are a bitch to start ,sometimes taking up to 10 minutes.I turn the key wait a sec,turn to start, the engine starts and runs for 2 seconds then stalls.Ill do this about 15 times per motor.Once they stay running they are great motors.I have this problem if I do not start them for a few days and using the push in choke dont help.
You have an issue that needs to be dealt with. How many hours on the engines? I had a similar problem on one of my 250s. It ended up being the "exhaust back pressure sensor" was clogged with carbon. The computer has a little hose connecting to the bottom of the engine and measures exhause back pressure. If there is no reading or the reading is way off the computer will trim fuel delivery causing a hard start. Once the engines warm up they run fine.
Until you get it checked out just put the engine in neutral before starting. As soon as it starts give it a little gas, not much is needed, only to about 1500-2000 RPMs. Keep a little throttle on it for about 10 seconds then you should be able to bring it back to idle.
Pushing the choke on your key switch does absolutly nothing on an E-Tec. That function is only active on carbed engines and it activates a little selinoid to squirt a little fuel in the carb throat.
That being said......I have twin 2005 250s and over 1200 hours and nothing to really complain about. Not one boating day lost!
I am not totally satisfied with BRP's warranty coverage. They held to the letter of the warranty, even when it was clear to me they should have done more on a minor issue that was caused by their defective manufacturing process. Other manufacturers may be no better wrt this considering the economic situation, but I'm not sending my kudos to BRP at this point.
You have an issue that needs to be dealt with. How many hours on the engines? I had a similar problem on one of my 250s. It ended up being the "exhaust back pressure sensor" was clogged with carbon. The computer has a little hose connecting to the bottom of the engine and measures exhause back pressure. If there is no reading or the reading is way off the computer will trim fuel delivery causing a hard start. Once the engines warm up they run fine.
Until you get it checked out just put the engine in neutral before starting. As soon as it starts give it a little gas, not much is needed, only to about 1500-2000 RPMs. Keep a little throttle on it for about 10 seconds then you should be able to bring it back to idle.
Pushing the choke on your key switch does absolutly nothing on an E-Tec. That function is only active on carbed engines and it activates a little selinoid to squirt a little fuel in the carb throat.
That being said......I have twin 2005 250s and over 1200 hours and nothing to really complain about. Not one boating day lost!
My twin 2006 150 hp etecs are a bitch to start ,sometimes taking up to 10 minutes.I turn the key wait a sec,turn to start, the engine starts and runs for 2 seconds then stalls.Ill do this about 15 times per motor.Once they stay running they are great motors.I have this problem if I do not start them for a few days and using the push in choke dont help.
this sounds like a problem i have had with a evinrude direct injection engine, before you try to start your engines after they been sitting for a few days pump the primer bulbs and see if it take a couple pumps till hard , if i dont do this before trying to start it get air in high pressure fuel pump and take a while to get it out. just curios if you can pump primer bulb a few times especially in hot weather, i was also told spark plugs can make it hard to start i have to change mine at about 75 hours. css
Location: Solomons, Maryland / Now just visiting Marathon
Posts: 4,683
Twin 2006 225's on a 10k Wellcraft with 225 hrs.
I personally have run them about 7 hrs since last week when I bought it.
I have found that they run right on the book values for fuel, oil, and speed.
Getting up on plane is fast!
I also plan to have them serviced every 100 hrs.
Evinrude Etec Engines 
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