Which Outboard?

[bigcreekdad]

I have an 8 year old Yamaha 50hp 4 stroke on my Alumacraft Magnum 165. Been thinking about a larger motor. While I have no complaints about the Yamaha, I have heard good things about the new Mercury 4 strokes, and also about the Evinrude ETEC engine.

 

Anybody have any opinions? Also, any idea what my 50 4 stroke is worth on a trade in?

 

Thanks

[jedimaster]

Not sure about the trade, but to my understanding the Honda 4 storke outboards are the best of the 4 stroke world.

[ecmilley]

yammys and hondas are the best outboards out there, being said the yamaha are usually a little lighter than the hondas, i have heard good things about e-tec as well but it is 2-stroke technology. i have a four stroke merc it's not a bad motor but should bought the yamaha or honda instead prefer the way there put to-gether , with that being said everyone has a preference to what is the best

[Zib]

That 8 year old Yamaha 50hp 4 stroke is probably worth around $2,500, give or take a couple hundred.

 

The new Evinrude Etec's are bad arse. They don't smoke & have very low emission. They get better fuel economy than most 4-strokes. The down side is the cost of a new one. Of course you will make up for that extra cost by having to do less maintenance than a 4-stroke or other standard 2-stroke.

[EVINRUDE-DUDE]

hey guys the evinrudes are cheaper than the 4 strokes.50 hp evinrude $6700 50hp merc 4 stroke$7600.I guess judging by my name you know what i use.Etec all the way no better motor on the market.4 STROKES HAVE NOT BEEN AROUND LONG ENOUGH TO SAY THEY ARE BETTER !!!Evinrude etec .....150 hp merc 4 stroke weighs 135lbs more than a 150 hp etec(i don't want an extra guiy in my boat do you ?) more torque,better fuel efficiency,less oil ONLY MOTOR TO PASS EMISSIONS IN CALIFORNIA AND EUROPE HMM.. also remeber mercury owns every aluminum boat company except for 4 . Thsi is why you here all this stuff about 4 strokes not because they are better.Buyer beware we service way more 4 strokes than we do 2 strokes.200 more parts and 200 more reasons to go WRONG.Check out the evinrude website and you can see the head to head comparisons of the ETECs against mercury ,honda and yamaha 4 strokes(if i'm buying a 4 stroke it is a yammy!).Not to mention they self winterize which is going to save you a chunk of change each year !!! Evinrude all the way mercurys are the Ford of the boat world,Cheers my 2 cents

[vance]

A friend of mine bought an ETEC last year he LOVES it.The economy is so good that he took the boat back to the dealer because he thought for sure the gas gauge wasn't working but it was.All us regulars at the lake are planing on switching over on the next boat.

 

vance

[Uncle Buck]

spent christmas in Florida...

 

90% of motors on the big boy toys were either Yammy 4 strokes or Merc Verados....

 

These guys all play hard... there must be a reason they went with those motors...

[andrey7474]

I've heard bad things about 4-stroke hondas in certian power range - i mean motors from 90 to 150 hp (do not remember exact numbers) have some problems. google it.

[2 tone z71]

I think you answered your own question ,you stated for 8 yrs you have had no complaints ,that would be reason enough for me to be heading back to the Yamaha dealer,I have a 07 115 E tec I like it alot, its not the nuclear powered engine they brag about, they burn fuel ,they like there 60 gallon oil,and ive just gone thru my first set of 18 each plugs in less than 100 hrs mind you I troll a fair amount,but it still no kiss your mechanic/maintance goodbye for 300 hrs deal,with a four stroke you change the oil /filter 1 time a year less then 50 bucks ive gone thru 6 gallons of XD 100 at 58.99 you do the math,you also have to really underprop the e tecs to get any amount of proper RPM out of them which results in less MPH,my 2 cents my next engine will be Yamaha or Suzuki

[andrey7474]

Another thing that i've heard many times is that yamahas are the most reliable outboards on water. My next motor will be 4-stroke yamaha (now i have old evenrude)

[Muskieman]

E-TEC! usually costs less than the competition.

100% Better on fuel than other two strokes ...as good as any four stroke in it's class & all the power of a conventionally aspirated 2 stroke on it's best day! no haggle warranty [ if you ever need it].

very very quiet , I've used them all this past summer ,from a 40-225 ho E-tec. Yammy & Honda ..even Suzuki & Tohatsu' s[ small bore merc]

..mind you a new 40 merc Opti-Max will outperform the 40 'rude E-Tec on the same boat.

kinda like that 30hp 3 cyl. 1997-1998 yamaha that blew most 40's away.

I reccomend a 60 E-Tec .

Joseph Armand Bombardier would be proud.

 

Now if only these outboard manufacturers made cars as reliable as outboards.... would'nt that be nice.

[Mike the Pike]

Not sure about the trade, but to my understanding the Honda 4 storke outboards are the best of the 4 stroke world.

 

Mostly all the brands are very good these days.I myself have a 2001 Honda 50hp fourstroke I have no complaints I have had nothing but reliability.I have had alot of success with Honda products cars,my current minivan and an old 1980 7.5hp 4 stroke all nothing but reliable time and time again.As for costly maitenance this is not the case for my Honda just change the engine oil when needed and change the gear oil before winter.Some say 4 strokes cost more in maintenance this is not at all my situation.My dealer sells Honda,Yamaha and Suzuki he tells me Honda's are the most reliable of the 3.My only beef with Yamaha is I needed an impeller kit last year for my 8hp 2 stroke kicker.Yamaha sells you an impeller kit without the impeller .Yup $25 extra for the impeller something like that will keep me away from yamaha .My dealer says they have an attitude problem.As for Suzuki had one a 55hp 2 stroke was not happy with it .My dealer says the new 4 strokes are reliable.I hit my prop in 2001 a prop shaft was back order from Japan for 3 weeks and the dealer says this is common with Suzuki.

 

Nice thing about Mercury is no matter where you are there usually is a dealer close by.

 

Would I buy a Honda again Hell Ya.I am 100 percent satisfied.The only thing about Honda is that they starting to update their technology after over a decade of leaving the motors as is.This year they updated the 75hp and 90hp engines.Most models still have carburators.Many of the newer motors(other brands) have all moved to fuel injection.

 

The E-Tech sounds like a good motor .Nippissing swears by his.

 

 

As for me I will stick with Honda the largest engine manufacturer in the world.

 

Good Luck with your purchase

[2 tone z71]

The E tec is a glorified Ficht engine fellas the one that bankrupted OMC ,it has lil or no more power than its 4 stroke competition of the same size,dont be fooled by the hype

[PERCHER]

I will add my 2 cents.First the Merc 4 strokes are made by Yamaha.They have fuel injection were as some of the Hondas in the same horsepower range still use carbs.And as far as maintance goes I dont think 20.00 a year for an oil change and 10.00 worth of lower gear case oil is to much.I have had many outboards in my time and I will stick with my 4 stroke Merc.There is a reason why Mercury outboards are number on on the water.But this just my own opinion and I am not saying the other brands are inferer .I am just saying I own a Merc and have no complaints AT all.If I had to do it all over again I would choose Mercury again.

[2 tone z71]

percher your right ,only thing that comes to mind is the #1 on the water quote I just dont see alot of mercs anymore up here in northern Ontario anyhow

[boatman]

"The E tec is a glorified Ficht engine fellas the one that bankrupted OMC ,it has lil or no more power than its 4 stroke competition of the same size,dont be fooled by the hype " - That's crap.

 

They are all good motors. You see more Mercury's now because Brunswick Marine owns everything (not really but it seems like it) and they only want to put their motors (Mercury) on their boats. There is no "most reliable" outboard. Any of the motors you mentioned are fine. Personally I'd buy an ETec. Price + economy + power/weight ratio = the winner. JMO

[lookinforwalleye]

I love it motor wars everybody has a preference my is Yamaha so far so good.

When I was looking I tried to find a dealer who put E-Tecs on his packages and could not find one.

[2 tone z71]

"The E tec is a glorified Ficht engine fellas the one that bankrupted OMC ,it has lil or no more power than its 4 stroke competition of the same size,dont be fooled by the hype " - That's crap.

 

They are all good motors. You see more Mercury's now because Brunswick Marine owns everything (not really but it seems like it) and they only want to put their motors (Mercury) on their boats. There is no "most reliable" outboard. Any of the motors you mentioned are fine. Personally I'd buy an ETec. Price + economy + power/weight ratio = the winner. JMO

 

Boat man ive got an E tec 115 ,my boss has 2 200 HOs ON THE 26 center console work boat,his brother has a 250 on a pursuit and a 115 on a whaler,my dads been a OMC mechanic going on 15 yrs ive been buying parting selling outboards since 1999,ive driving many many boats with many many motors,what are you comparing your results with the DVD that sinks the Yamaha

[Uncle Buck]

I love it motor wars everybody has a preference

 

Good thing we haven't gotten to the tiller / console debate yet...

 

[EVINRUDE-DUDE]

HEY PERCHER YAMAHA HASN'T MADE MERCURYS MOTORS SINCE 2005. WHY DO YOU THINK YAMAHA BOUGHT A BOAT LINE (G3) ? THEY HAD TO BUY A BOAT LINE SO THEY WOULD HAVE SOME WHERE BTP PUT THERE MOTORS.AND JUST FOR THE RECORD AS WELL THE EVINRUDE ETEC DOES BURN MORE OIL IN THE BREAK IN PERIOD BECAUSE IT IS A 2 STROKE BUT AFTER BREAK IN THEY BURN HALF THE OIL A 4 STROKE DOES!!!!!!! THIS IS WHY I WOULDN'T BUY A HONDA EITHER.THEY ARE QUIET BUT THEY ARE THE HARDEST MOTORS TO START WHEN THEY ARE WARM.HONDA HAVE JUST AS MANY PROBLEMS AS MERCURY.WHEN I SPEND $30,000 ON A BOAT I SHOULD BE ABLE TO CHOOSE ANY MOTOR I WANT BUT MERCURY HAS MADE IT SO THAT YOU HAVE TO BUY THERE MOTOR.PERSONALLY THIS IS BLACK MAIL BY A COMPANY WHO OBVIOUSLY KNOWS THEY HAVE THE LESSER PRODUCT.IF YOU WANT TO PUT AN ANCHOR ON YOUR BOAT GO RIGHT AHEAD.AS FOR THE VERADO BY MERCURY DO ANY OF YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH GAS THESES MOTORS BURN.275 VERADO IS 2MILES TO THE GALLON LOL !!!

 

EVINRUDE ALL THE WAY NO BETTER MOTOR OUT THERE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[taper]

I think all new motors are quite good. My father in law has a new Merc and I have a new Yamaha the Yamaha is a bit quieter than the Merc. Also Yamaha has been very pro active with customer satisfaction surveys with their products so far ( nice to see they are worried about what you think after they have your money ). My kicker is also a Yamaha and if I buy again it will be another Yamaha.

[boatman]

2 Tone, I agree that video is crap. Complete crap. Its a marketing tool. Your comments suggest that the ETec is just a piece of Ficht junk and does not make good on any of its claims, which is simply not true. But I'm not here to defend them. I just don't like misinformation. There has been enough objective testing to support that the ETec is more fuel efficient and has fewer emmissions than most outboards.

 

Evinrude would be my choice, however I also stated that any of the outboards mentioned would be fine.

 

Also Yamaha and Mercury are going their separate ways. I'm not sure if any 2008 Mercury's are using Yamaha parts.

[EVINRUDE-DUDE]

FORGOT THE BEST PART OF ALL.EVINRUDE OFFERS 7YR WARRANTIES DURING BOATING SEASON AND WAS OFFERING 5YR WARRANTIES FROM JUNE TO JULY.TO GET THE EXTRA 4YRS WITH MERCURY YOU NEED TO SPEND $ 4000 !! AS FAR AS CUSTOMER SATISFACTION YAMAHA IS GOOD BUT EVINRUDE OFFERS THE SAME WITH WAY MORE WARRANTY.BOYCOTT MERCURY THEY ARE NOT DOING ANY OF US BOATERS ANY FAVORS.

[corvette1]

i have a 115 evinjunk on my lund pro v blew up twice just after warr was up would not cover any thing merc next time

[EVINRUDE-DUDE]

any motor can blow up and yes there have been issues with the 115 this is why you don't see a 135 hp by evunrude.Key word blew up After Warranty what do you want a free ride for life ? trust me if the merc blew up after warranty you wouldn't be getting anything from them either if anything it would be worst.mercury is by far the worst to deal with.poor quality and constant problems.Why do you think they keep changing who makes them.They can't stay with anybody for any extended period of time.Do you think that a dealer who is Mercury specific is going totell you something good about an evinrude ? We sell both and i know the true reality. 4 STROKES HAVE NOT BEEN AROUND LONG ENOUGH FOR A FAIR COMPARISON !! Not to mention mercury just put out a slam campaign against Evinrudes.Why do they care if they have the best motor and own everything ?..... because they are nervous and know there product doesn't compete and the only way they can respond is to tell lies to the consumer.Why not spend those million of dollars making your motors better ?Mercury is the Crysler of the boat world.Let's buy everything thing and then ruin the quality buy trying to make them cheaper.Cheaper parts make cheaper motors !!!