opinions on outboard brands economy/reliability

[tyrion]

hi all im just looking for some opinions on outboard selection.

In the comming months im looking at buying a 5.8 tomahawk centre cab for fishing and leisure. Fishing, boating shows and lots of people ive spoken to seemed to be promoting the etec evinrude as THE outboard to hang of the transom of your boat, but instead of just jumping in smacking one on the boat i want some info from the every day boater on there recommendation and why. Ultimately i will decide for my self which motor to have but the problem im having is finding economy and reliability info on any but an etec.

I would appreciate your comments and personal experience with different outboards in the 115-150 hp range.

The boat will mainly be used for fishing outside and in the northern bay, trolling lures 50% and drifting/bottom bashing the rest but some punch for bar crossing etc is also needed.

Thanx Tyrion

[rosco1974]

g'day tyroin,

mate have a 610 makocraft with a 140 tohatsu,the tohatsu is a 4cyl motor with great fuel economy,sitting on 4500 rpm i get around the 17ltrs an hr and wot 5600 i get around the 28ltrs an hr,went offshore from manly the other weekend did 167nm for 215lts of fuel,i know tohatsu's dont get mentioned much but are just a comercial mercury really, hope this helps u mate

[scotty1978]

gday mate i know u said in the 115 or so range i got an etec 75 that has outstanding economy have been from cabbage tree to bribie passage and back over 1/4 tank left i cant praise them enough .next yr when i upgrade to a bar crusher iam staying with the etecs not to mention no service for three yrs but i still changed fuel filter and gear box oil plus yer normal greasing and that but the motor is flawless i was very doughtful about 2 strokes having owed them before but this is really something else

cheers

[dassa]

If it was me but it's not I don't think you can go past the suzuki 4stroke 90/120 out perform all other's on fuel economy,reliability and cost

cheers dassa

[big al]

etec 3year no service is only if used in fresh water so says the fine print on the ads. so go figure but ha all will have some problems thats motors for ya

[scotty1978]

just to correct u about warranty my manual and warranty card says fresh and salt water use so mayb read the fine print a little more :ohmy:

[noname]

here we go!

personally i wouldn't touch anything by a company that says their product will not need scheduled servicing for 300 hours, thats just bs and an accident waitin to happen, and prob in the middle of a bar too. ol mate murph yeah i know i hear yas now, i change this n that, but my point is this company even mentioned 300 hrs, hell most new outboards will quite easily handle 300 hrs of useage, but the 300 hours might take 5 or 6 years for some, and thats their fault when a impeller fails on them out on the water, so ol mate joe changes an impeller once a year, ok where does 300 hrs come into it if every 1 changes things any way, the 300 hr services mean 5/8ths, so disreguard that then.at 5.8 mtrs i would not even concider a 115, look at suzuki's, the 140 is lighter in weight than it's smaller 115, and quite a lot more power due to the engine management system, personally i wouldn't touch anything over 150 in an etec, just gas guzzlers from what i have heard, yeah some reports are quite good with fuel figures, but some owners are ropable. the ol black anchor makes a great fuel efficient prouct in the optimax, these are way better than the 4 strokes, and nearly every 1 has said the same thing about fuel consumption, although a lil noisy for my liking and still fumy to so thoughts are

yammy 4 strk 150 = great product will suit you fine

suuki 4 strk 140= would be the choice of the suzuki's

etec 2 stk 150 = conflicting reports by owners in the 150 hp range, and price of the oil, phew. that alone will send ya broke

optimax 2 stk 150 noisy, fumy, and again the price of the oil is very exxy

merc 4 strk, i haven't had much to do with, but if they are makin a 150 verado, def worth a look in too

these are just my views on what people have said to me in my travels, as well as people i know with these size engines i believe the yammy has this power range sewn up.

rob

[shortie]

fuel consuption.

Each motor will perform differently depending on the rev range. So this is s difficult question to answer. Some are more economical at cruising speed, some a WOT some at IDLE.

I agree with No Name 115 is to small HP for a 5.8mtr boat. i certainly would be looking at 140 + HP

Etec

I own an Etec. I love it. 300 hrs is to long for a service. I get mine checked over every 12 months. Havnt had any problems so far. I certainly would buy another.

When you look at fuel conumption figures in the 150hp sizes it doesnt really differ much anyways. Pretty insignificant really.

Ranges from 1.6k per ltr i 1.8k per ltr.

[ellicat]

Ranges from 1.6k per ltr i 1.8k per ltr.

Hope I'm not doing a Barnaby Joyce here, but that's an extra 20KM's per 100litres

[rumrunner]

hi tyrion

if it was my choice mate i wouldnt go past the optimax 2stroke 150hp for that boat!

im a mechanic and i have worked on both models and believe the optimax is better!

at 80/1 fuel/oil ratio at idle i dont think they are to fumey ? although any motor can get a bad batch of fuel now and again that makes it look and smell this way!

go and compare them im sure you wont be dissapointed!!!

cheers Ian

[Davo_Dinkum]

i was haveing a look about the net ,seams there are 2 brands in optimax motors.

Mercury 150hp DFI V6 Optimax

Mariner 150hp DFI V6 Optimax

[rumrunner]

Davo_Dinkum wrote:

i was haveing a look about the net ,seams there are 2 brands in optimax motors.

Mercury 150hp DFI V6 Optimax

Mariner 150hp DFI V6 Optimax

Same dog same leg action Dave!

Mariner is Mercury! only diff is the cowling!

Tohatsu is also Murcury aswell pretty much!

Mercs are the best!!!

Ian.

[noname]

hahahaha davo, davo, davo....yeah mate, 1 has a grey tinge to it mate! LMAO

[Davo_Dinkum]

ah like evinrude and Johnson .

one is premium range and the other the budget range .

handy info to know .

i was lookin about to see what the old mans motor was.

i haven't owned a big motor ,so good to learn info about them .

since 1 day i want a bigger boat and motor.

only owned and used , motor mowers with a prop and gear box added lol.

3.5 Suzuki, 2 stroke ,was a good little motor ,better than the Johnson i got now i reckon.

6 and 8 evinrude ,2 stroke ,good little motors too .

3.5 Johnson,2 stroke, i have now ,its a ok motor ,just very basic no frills .

[noname]

no dave, both exactly the same motors, apart from the cowling only being different colors, they are identical.

[Davo_Dinkum]

ah

[tyrion]

thanx for the info lads ive come down to a toss up between a honda or a yamaha 4 stroke in the higher end of the hp range 135-150. Im leaning towards the yammy more then the honda simply because i dont really like honda's i know nothing about the outboards but my missus has a honda accord and the repair costs are up there with mercs and beamers is this the same with there outboard engines?