[Polkster]

I had another post about whether to repower or not. But I wanted to start a new one to ask about opinions on the engines. I am pretty sure I am going to pull the trigger and go with a new motor. Now, I am leaning very hard to the Etec 225 motor. I know a lot of people are huge yammy 4stroke fans. I know Yammys are heavier, slower out of the hole, more $$ in regular maint, (oil changes, 100 hr service to name a few) Is there a good reason I should get a Yammy over an etec? I don't have a trailer so there are more yammy dealers and parts avail, but I found 2 local dealers (within 30 minutes) -one in Edgewater Pro Performance Marine -- Patrick Galipoli owner, and other is The Boat Shop near Breezy. (I live in Ches Beach) Both work on and sell Etecs. I would buy further away to save but huge hastle to get my boat moved to De for example each way and if I wanted to go back to dealer, huge PIA to bring back again. I would rather have a local dealer do the work. I found Tri-state very helpful although a little costlier for than engine compared to Gootees in Cambridge. I guess I am looking for thoughts of any of you that own Etecs or had work done around MD. Any problems? Also, is there a real good reason I should get the heavier yammy 4stroke instead? Both are about the same cost.

 

[trophypro]

Good luck with your choice. I have twin 150 yammies and love em. Never had a etec so I cant give info on that. One thing in your post about yammies being slower out of the hole, Your only talking about a second or so to plane difference so dont hold that in high regaurds to your decision.

 

[tg2469]

the only thing with the etec at idle or slow trolling it will load up alittle but when you nail it it cleans up. either one would be a good choice.if it was a different brand over a yamaha i would say yamaha all the way.but you need to make the jump. either way you will be happy.

 

[Captbuckster]

why go 2 stroke? no reason whatsoever. susuki make a real nice 4 stroke too.

the only plus to a 2 stroke, is that you can do all the work on them yourself and the carbs have relatively big ports compared 2 4stroke. new etecs, not so much. you gotta take them to get service done. also, dont run in cold water. see hull truth.

I got the carbed yammy 4 stroke. they got clogged twice. but if you know who to clean a carb, its all fixable. buy a carb sync and you're good to go on as long as it has compression

 

[mrobertson]

Don't count out the other brands of engines.

I have a Mercury 4 stroke. It is EFI and has run trouble free since new in 2006.
Merc Optimax is also worth a look. B-Faithful from the board has nothing but good things to say about them.

Suzuki makes a great engine as well.

Don't get too wrapped up in all the Yamaha hype. Anything you buy new and take care of will serve you well for a long time.

 

[27 sailfish]

Watch that E-Tec video closely.The one I saw comparing out of the hole shoots was a bit fixed IMHO. The E-Tec appears trimmed down more then the Merc or Yammy.A trimmed down motor will always give a better hole shot- all things equal.

Be careful relying on one marina or shop to do your work - sometimes a great mechanic and shop grow tired of each other and then it all goes downhill.Other times the shop loses the franchise or closes altogether.

When I repowered - I looked at E-Tec but found some of the claims to be a little far fetched.Time will tell if E-Tec is all it is hyped up to be.Best to talk to E-Tec owners- rather then an E-Tec salesman for the honest info.

Most modern motors are very dependable compared to even 10 years ago.The 4 strokes require more skilled labor to maintaine - this adds to the overall cost.

Yamaha's have a good track record and in my case-stepped right up on a major warranty issue :thumbup:.FWIW: I see more Yamaha's out there then any other motor.

 

[Fishamajig]

Discussed to death and then some on thehulltruth.com

The final verdict, there are many good motors, Yamaha, Suzuki, Tohatsu, Evinrude, Mercury.

Quality is way up on all brands.

 

[ctb]

Honda

 

[strikezone08]

Ever check on the cost for that Etec oil?? it's quite expensive. Also ETEC is really an Evinrude, which is a company that recently went bankrupt and renamed itself. Personally I believe a MERC or Yammy 4 stroke is the way to go. Fuel efficient and easy to maintain if you are a do it yourself kind of person. I have owned a MERC and Yammy 4 stroke and believe they are the best bang for the buck. 5000 hours with no major maintenance other then standard servicing. They also troll nicely for hours on end with no problems, and can run all day in warm or cold water.

 

[JimRockfish]

There are a lot more Yamaha owners on this board than Etec and I'm sure they are happy with their motors. You might want to talk with the DNR maintenance dept. They run Etecs - hard - all year long. Quiet, reliable, fast, simple (fewer moving parts), very fuel efficient, cheaper to own. I would have gone 4 stroke before Etecs came along. Evinrude was a US Company that made great engines for many decades and Etec is made by Bombadier in Canada, a completely different company and engine. It's all-new technology compared to the old Evinrudes - apples and oranges. I had many conversations on this topic with an old outboard mechanic in St. Michaels who repaired several old motors for me. He worked on all makes for more than 50 years and could tear any of them down. He will tell you that Johnson and Evinrude make the most reliable motors on the water. Surprised me but that's his opinion and that's all he did for a lifetime.

 

[jay113]

Watch that E-Tec video closely.The one I saw comparing out of the hole shoots was a bit fixed IMHO. The E-Tec appears trimmed down more then the Merc or Yammy.A trimmed down motor will always give a better hole shot- all things equal.

Most modern motors are very dependable compared to even 10 years ago.The 4 strokes require more skilled labor to maintaine - this adds to the overall cost.

Yamaha's have a good track record and in my case-stepped right up on a major warranty issue :thumbup:.FWIW: I see more Yamaha's out there then any other motor.

fully agree- biggest thing has been look at what's BRAND new- history will tell you b/c there will be a couple of "quarks" that allways need to be worked out. Mercury Opitmax has been out scince 97' these have been really good motors. Yamaha's have allways have a good motor and i do feel that these two motor's are compareable and are on the leading edge of technolgy. Etec has been VERY biased in there adversiting.

THEY COMPARED A 2-STROKE MOTOR AGAINTS A 4 STROKE

everyone knows that 4 stroke's by nature are going to be a more "SLUG'ISH" motor.

 

[JimRockfish]

try this with a 40 hp 4-stroke YouTube - evinrude 40 e-tec

YouTube - Evinrude E-tec pulling power

YouTube - PROVA ASTEC i EVINRUDE E-TEC 40 HP // NAUTICA PASCUAL (again, only 40)

YouTube - Evinrude

YouTube - Rude Power!

I love this feature... YouTube - Evinrude E-TEC Auto Winterization Instructions

 

[iFishMD]

If you want the power to weight ratio of a DFI... Go OptiMax. It is the industry leading DFI. JD powers award winner 3 years in a row now. Faster, better economy, much stronger dealer network and 13 years on the market with a strong proven track record at this point (there were some growing pains in the beginning in the late 90's with the technology - bugs have been worked out). Parts are everywhere (you can get Opti oil at just about every boating store). You get smartcraft guages, merc props, and digital throttle and shift options. I owned one and as you can see -- I loved it! I would troll all day and burn no fuel. It never loaded up and will push up to plane smoothly. Trolling it burned between 0.3 and 0.5gph and used less than a case of oil every 100hours under my uses around here. while I only had it for 450 hours of use, she was perfect.

Generally they are less expensive than other two you are considering as well. Almars in DE offers great pricing and no sales tax. I had mine service at Chesapeake Whalertown.

See here: The Main Event "Where the prop meets the water, Mercury won this contest hands-down"

Downside is that they arent as quiet as the 4's or etecs.

ps. I like my Honda a lot too but it is much heavier.

 

[goose70]

Ever check on the cost for that Etec oil?? it's quite expensive. Also ETEC is really an Evinrude, which is a company that recently went bankrupt and renamed itself. Personally I believe a MERC or Yammy 4 stroke is the way to go. Fuel efficient and easy to maintain if you are a do it yourself kind of person. I have owned a MERC and Yammy 4 stroke and believe they are the best bang for the buck. 5000 hours with no major maintenance other then standard servicing. They also troll nicely for hours on end with no problems, and can run all day in warm or cold water.

Evinrude did not "rename" itself. The assets were bought in bankruptcy by Bombardier, a company with an excellent reputation.

I have heard great things about all of the major brands, including E-tec. The quarrels seem to be along the fringe of performance/cost/maintenance, not about major issues. I doubt you'll go wrong with any of them.

 

[nineball]

performance etec . proven longevity yami anything evinrude puts out would have to prove it will last as long as a yami something Idont believe has been proven in the past IMHO

 

[JimRockfish]

Google Image Result for http://barnaclebillsmarinesupply.com/images/200etec2.jpg

 

[smellslikefish]

I would put Suzuki up on that list......the ones I have seen in action, have been inpressive.

For what it's worth, I talked to a DNR officer about the experience they have had with the E-Tec.......he told me E-tec gave them a few of the early models and asked them to try to detroy them.........He said there are some out there with 30,000 hr's. Dont know, just what I was told.

Bill

 

[ChrisBowers]

I would go with a 4 stroke, Yamaha or otherwise. No buying expensive DFI oil, worrying about carbon buildup, they'll operate quieter etc. I have heard nothing but good things about the Etec's though, I don't think you could really go wrong either way. Either engine is going to require service to be done at the dealer. The only reasons I'm still running 2 strokes is 1. I can't afford a new 4 stroke and 2. I can do most of the work myself.

Chris

 

[Francis]

This topic has come up before. Here is a copy of a post I wrote a ways back. The bottom line is that the E-tec may be a superior performaing motor, but add in dealerships, cost, and time, and the Yamaha starts looking a lot better.

----------------------------

I can offer some limited advice on the E-tec.

When it was time for me to repower my 20' CC, I was either going to go with an E-tec or a Yamaha 4 stroke.

Initially, I very much wanted the E-tec. I liked the fact that it was lighther. In weight comparisons, a 200 E-tec is the same weight as a 150 Yamaha 4 stroke. The e-tec is a two stroke which arguebly offers power on each stroke of the motor and more hole shot and acceleration than a comparable 4 stroke. Plus, the maintence schedule on a E-tec was better. The only down side is you need an oil reservoir and you need to run E-tec oil, which is synthetic and expensive. All things considered I really tohught the E-tec would have been a better motor for me.

Well I shopped around. The problem is when I was looking there were only a few e-tec dealers in all of MD. There was nobody competing for price. The dealers were even more rare for salex tax free Deleware. Plus, all the dealers were small and busy so they all wanted at least TWO WEEKS for installation of the E-tec. TWO WEEKS! I was ready to hand them a 14,000 check.

In comparison, there are Yamaha dealers everywhere. I found people competing for a better price, and I dropped my boat off on a Tuesday and picked it up that Thursday. They literally did the installation in one day. Plus, it was 1500 dollars cheaper than the E-tec and I bought it in salex tax free Deleware. Yes, I have had to take it on for service, but, I have always found a shop that is willing to do it while I wait because there are so many shops out there that work on them.

When I bought my Yamaha, I get a 6 year warranty and a 500 dollar rebate. E-tec was offering nothing.

These are just my expereinces, but I don't want to wait two weeks for someone to install or work on my motor. That is why I went with a yamaha.

 

[JimRockfish]

Etec currently comes with a solid 5 yr. warranty and usually does every off-season.