Merc 115 Optimax vs Merc 115 Four Stroke

[pooch]

On a 17'6" Triton

 

Opti Pros:

- faster top-end by 3-5 mph

- better hole shot

- lighter

- $1,000 cheaper

 

Four Stroke Pros:

- better for trolling

- quieter operation

- no need for premix

- no smoke

 

I've been told fuel consumption for each are equivalent. If you add costs for premix then the opti will cost more to run in long run.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

Thanks,

pooch

[irishfield]

There was a LOT of good input into this both ways when I asked last fall. Unfortunately it's all lost on the old board. One guy will come along and recite the E-Tec sales campain for you sooner or later...

 

I went Verado. No buying or fussing with oil, no lost storage compartment to hold said oil's dispensing container and a super quiet engine that allows you to troll and hear the wildlife at the same time. Not worried about any small differences in hole shot...I'm sure the Verado can pull the odd water skiier up just fine.

[pooch]

Too bad that info is gonzo. I'm sure a few OFNrs will pipe in shortly.

 

Nice boat purchase BTW. I noticed that info in the other merc thread. That's a whole lotta boat. Quick update for ya -> I'm in the middle of flight school these days, enjoying it a lot. We learned how to use the fwiz wheel last week, and METARs TAFs the week before. good times, Still waiting to get airborn, but that is coming soon enough. We'll have to get together in the Kawartas to discuss the finer points of flying and fishing this year. Cheers

[Fisherman]

No no no Merc, ya have to get the E-tick, it's so much more than ....sorry Wayne couldn't resist

[irishfield]

Yep...they're all busy driving from their office OFC computer to their home OFC computers right now ! LOL They'll chime in soon. Gerry has LOTS of insight into this and a Triton as well....and has very good reasons to go Optimax.

 

Thanks, I plan to thoroughly enjoy the new boat..overkill but wthay. I don't have to use all that 275 ! Yah Right!!!!!! (but of course based on current threads I'm an idiot now...but we all knew that going in !)

 

As soon as you're sure you enjoy being airborne...go get your medical. Seen too many guys pour their heart, sole and hard earned cash into it and when it's time to go solo find out they have some condition that denies a Cat III medical.

 

Wayne

[Bernie]

Hey Wayne..You are goading me! Just for that...I will not Mention E-TEC!!!!

[irishfield]

Nope wasn't you Bernie! LOL Your brothers better not catch you plugging Etec's though....

[Bernie]

We have both lines Wayne. Mark likes the Mercs but my pereference is with with my E-tec. Different strokes for different folks.

 

Pooch....Both engines you are thinking about are great products. I think you answered your own question in your opening statement. You just need to look at the differences between them and purchase the one that suits your needs best.

Edited April 5, 2007 by Nipissing

[Hookset]

I swear I have heard this somewhere before . You can't really make a bad choice. I would lean to the 4 stroke but if the Mercury "power-up savings" offer is still on you can save close to 3 grand with the

Opti over the 4 stroke. Either motor will be sweet on that boat. Nice pick on the Triton BTW. Well made boat.

Now if you are looking to buy a house in which to park your new boat gimme a call.... do I have a deal for you...

 

Hookset.

[hawg_hauler]

The Opti would be my choice over the four stroke and I think you will find that it is better on fuel than the four stroke. Less routine maintinance involved with the Opti and less moving parts. I work with all major boat motor brands and the Opti as far as I am concerned is a far superior engine. Also no offense to you E-Tec guys but BRP's dealer and customer support suck compared to Merc and Yamaha. I have said it before, BRP's main business is marketing.

[Gerry]

Well, I'm scratching my head trying to decide which side of the fence to fall on this one, but here goes.

 

In this HP range, probably 4 stroke would be better especially if you'll be using it for trolling. The Optis' don't like to run at idle speed for long periods because they get little lubrication at this RPM range. Now if you're going to add a kicker motor then that is irrelevant. The main problem you'll encounter with both engines is that you'll find that they troll too fast. So, if you're adding a kicker then the weight issue becomes important and I would then recommend the Opti.

 

Hope this helps.

[sonny]

As far as i am concerned the should ban all two strokes,,,for the enviroments sake,,,,no need for them anymore!

[Pigeontroller]

I have a Yamaha F90, so i'm biased. I love the quietness of it! And I think it has tremendous low end power, it certainly pops my boat up and out of the hole effortlessly! A friend has a Merc Opti 115, frankly I find it so noisy(in comparison to my motor) I can hardly stand to be in his boat.

[Bernie]

Hi Sonny. In my opinion that would be a huge mistake. 2 stroke technology has come a long way. If you look at the emission testing direct injection actually has lower emissions than some 4 strokes. The technology will even get better. 2 cycle is lighter and has less moving parts therefore requires less energy to push its own weight. Power on every downward motion of the piston reduces the amount of lost energy of piston motion just to push out the exhaust. More fuel efficiency is gained there as well. In the past 2 stroke deserved its bad reputation. Fuel and oil was cheap and no one cared to look to make them efficient. All that has changed but the mindset has not. There are still dirty 2 strokes out there but they are not even close to the way they once were.

 

Hawg hauler. Please dont make statements like that. No offense? It was an offensive statement.

[taper]

I am in the same boat (so to speak) as pigeontroller I am biased. I have a Yamaha 115 4 stroke and find the motor to be incredibly quiet. I know there is quite a weight difference but I would still go 4 stroke.

[hawg_hauler]

I will agree with Nipissing even if I indirectly offended him (sorry, didn't really intend to rock the boat) , the new direct injected two strokes are far more ahead of the four strokes for emissions. Those of you who don't think that four strokes don't burn oil have been misinformed. Also when was the last time you seen a properly running direct injected two stroke billowing smoke. As far as idling for extended periods I see no problem with the Opti. Gerry is right that the lubrication is reduced for idling, but remember that there is no more gas in the crankcase to wash all that good stuff away and if using DFI oil I firmly believe that it would never be a problem. The E-tecs also have a reduced oil consumption program if you decide to go with the branded BRP synthetic oil. (Theres a plug for you BRP fans)

[Bernie]

Thank you Hawg

[pooch]

Great info guys, very helpful. Most of the info you guys are talking about backs up what the dealer is saying. When I originally started looking for a boat, I just assumed I would put a 4 stroke on it. I was very surprised when the dealer explained an opti has BETTER gas consumption than the merc 4 stroke. 2 stroke technology is indeed improving rapidly.

 

I wanted to read all the replies on a straight up comparison, truth is I am a caster foremost and troller a distant second. From May-October I'm casting 90% of the time. I will also be in about a dozen fishing tournaments this year, no trolling there either. I troll for eyes on the BOQ at the end of the season, but don't think I should buy a motor just for that. A kicker is not really an option on this boat. I'd probably struggle with sock or trolling plate to slow the boat down for an occasional trolling outing.

 

Can you switch up props to slow down an opti? Would that screw up the WOT operation, I'm thinking it would.

 

Quietness is a great feature, that's for sure. I'll have to think more about that benefit.

[lew]

In 2001, I traded in a 90 Johnson 2 stroke, for a 90 Merc 4 stroke. The Merc weighed 85 pounds more but I only lost about 1 MPH which isn't even enough to worry about, at least not to me anyways.

 

Alot of folks seem really concerned about a slower hole shot with 4 stroke, but I honestly didn't notice any difference, and besides, I'm going fishing, not drag racing. Maybe there's a noticible difference on hole shot speed as the HP increases, but I spose it's all what you find important.

 

I have friends with 2 strokes in the 90-135 HP range and can't honestly see where their hole shots are any faster than mine, comparatively speaking.

 

I do like the quietness of 4 strokes and the fact that I can troll all day long without it fouling the plugs, and even after 8 hours trolling and I hit the throttle, it's instantaneous with no sluggishness till it "clears" itself and the lack of blue smoke is a definate plus.

 

Plenty of power and excellent fuel economy, specially at slower speeds.

 

I do agree with Nippissing though, the old 2 strokes had a bad rep, and it was certainly warranted, but things definetely seem to have changed in the last few years as the technology improves and many folks prefer newer 2 stroke over the 4.

 

I've heard it said that any Merc 90 HP and under your better with 4 stroke and over 90 HP go with Opti.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide on Pooch, I think either one will be a good choice for you.

[Guest Trophymuskie]

It's a simple choice it you plan on using the motor to troll then get the 4 stroke and if not then get the Optimax. And you should get better gas mileage with the Opti as well as power, weight.

 

I would suggest with any of the bigger motors like Lew mentioned, anything under 90 should be 4 stroke but the power difference in the bigger motors is significant.

[Gerry]

Pooch, changing to a smaller prop isn't the answer because, yes, you will lose some top end speed. But more importantly, you'll risk over revving the engine which can cause it to detonate. As for a trolling plate, I'm just not sold on those things. When trolling for walleye, sometimes you need to slow to a crawl (i.e. 1.0 mph or less) and a 115 will probably not go any slower than 1.8 to 2.0 mph. That lack of flexibility will, in all likelyhood, see your catch rate go down. I now when I'm fishing for walleye up north I use my electric motor to pull me along at speeds as low as 0.2 mph. Obviously, I can't put a kicker on my bassboat so when I go to Quinte I jump in with a buddy who is properly equiped, Ranger Fisherman, 200 Opti & 9.9 Merc 4 stroke kicker.

 

Hope this helps.

[eye-tracker]

Just as an option for trolling with the optimax you may want to look at a 5 blade High Five prop and the SmartCraft Tach and Speedo gauges so you can control RPM with the troll control features. If you do lots of trolling, you may have to change or clean plugs a little more than normal if you notice a decrease in the performance of the opti during the fishing season.

 

I guess with the recent invention of 4 strokes people started trolling, not sure what we did when all we had was 2 stroke motors.

 

I think you will be fine with either motor, just prop it right for trolling.

 

Enjoy your new rig.

 

-s

[irishfield]

My 115 Johnson 2 stroke on my Glastron idled at over 3mph. Two buckets out and two rigger balls in the water for extra drag just got us down to 1.8 to 2.1 mph.

[lew]

I guess with the recent invention of 4 strokes people started trolling, not sure what we did when all we had was 2 stroke motors.

 

Well, when all we had was 2 strokes, we sucked in alot of stinking blue exhaust smoke all day for one thing, plus we either cleaned or changed our spark plugs every few trips.

 

The good ole days weren't always that good

[eye-tracker]

You are right there Lew...

I remember when I use to back-troll on purpose into the exhaust fog to stop the bugs from eating me alive.

Now days most of the DFI 2 strokes burn pretty clean.

 

-s