Post by: alanger on April 06, 2010, 05:06:42 PM
Suzuki's seeming more popular but not too sure how efficient they are, like Mercury's improvements and step up with the Verado and i like how quiet the Yamaha 4 strokes are. :bash: So many choices, what do you guys have to think about them??
Sorry i was unclear it would be like a 150 hp engine on a 20' thunder jet.
Post by: littlemac on April 06, 2010, 05:27:28 PM
Been looking around comparing the new technology, thinking about engine choices for a new boat.
Suzuki's seeming more popular but not too sure how efficient they are, like Mercury's improvements and step up with the Verado and i like how quiet the Yamaha 4 strokes are. :bash: So many choices, what do you guys have to think about them??
My choices are different depending on the horsepower class you are looking into.
What size boat and motor is your question based on?
Post by: bowtech721 on April 06, 2010, 05:34:15 PM
Post by: alanger on April 06, 2010, 05:45:17 PM
Post by: BigGoonTuna on April 06, 2010, 07:45:46 PM
Post by: cohoho on April 06, 2010, 08:03:31 PM
Post by: upwind on April 06, 2010, 08:04:18 PM
Post by: fishcrazy on April 06, 2010, 08:26:32 PM
Stay away from Mercury unless you want terrible customer service.
Kris
Post by: alanger on April 06, 2010, 08:29:54 PM
Are you looking to run a prop or pump? Unless it is a Off Shore Thunder jet I would stay with pump and run the boat with what is supposed to be there... If you run a prop on the shallow hull, yea you'll go faster but you'll miss what the boat was designed for... Shallow running! And be in for a bouncy choppy ride that you have to stay in relatively deeper water. If you run a deep vee or off shore model then get a prop for the outstanding performace and power you'll get out of it... E-Tec runs like a rapped ape for sure. I had a 90 hp Honda Jet on my old boat (Wooldridge Alaskan) and then went to 90 E-Tec Jet, holly crap it was night and day performance for sure. Check out the Wooldridge web site and they have a alot of data between Yamaha and E-Tec- both highly quality motors for sure, but myself I would choose the E-Tec hands down... And if I sell my Thunderjet, I am getting a 200 E-Tec for my new deep vee boat.... Heard horror stories about Suzuki and Mercury 150 range motors...
We would have it on a deep V thunder jet. They are selling them down there in portland with suzuki outboards. Not too faithful cause i havent seen as many of them out there as a yami or merc outboard. E-tec not sure on the fuel mileage, everyone has mixed opinions and im trying to find people who will prove me wrong about a suzuki or a e-tec. Hard to get the sound of a Verado out of my mind though.
Post by: fishcrazy on April 06, 2010, 08:39:15 PM
With the prop just go with a 4-stroke. honda or Yami is a great choice and you won't have to buy the expensive 2-stroke oil for it. Go price the oil for the e-tec and it will make up yer mind for you. ;) Great choice for pump but wouldn't get it for the prop.
Kris
Post by: WAmuleyHunter on April 06, 2010, 08:46:19 PM
I would also get the biggest engine your boat will allow. Doesnt matter what engine you put on your boat, if you under power it you will hate it, and wish you got the right HP from the start. So i would go Mercury then the yamaha 4 stroke.
Post by: Crunchy on April 06, 2010, 08:48:02 PM
Post by: Dansk on April 06, 2010, 09:12:15 PM
Heard great things about e-tecs- redesigned from the ground up- meant to run a long while before any serious maintenance or repair... have never heard anything bad about them. Hard to find a used one - that might tell you something.
Mercs/Suzuki's/hondas - heard of chronic problems with certain years and hp/models... we stay away just because we've come to know yamaha as bullet proof. :twocents:
Post by: carpsniperg2 on April 06, 2010, 09:26:07 PM
Post by: alanger on April 07, 2010, 07:20:47 AM
I love my Mercury Optimax. I have great customer service, It has been a great engine, very reliable and only thing i have ever done to it is yearly maintenance and changed the spark plugs.
I would also get the biggest engine your boat will allow. Doesnt matter what engine you put on your boat, if you under power it you will hate it, and wish you got the right HP from the start. So i would go Mercury then the yamaha 4 stroke.
Thats the biggest thing we have been worried about, we might actually end up getting a 200 hp engine so it wont be under powered.
Post by: MtnMuley on April 07, 2010, 08:01:49 AM
Post by: MIKEXRAY on April 07, 2010, 08:37:43 AM
Post by: KimberRich on April 07, 2010, 08:46:47 AM
Post by: AKBowman on April 07, 2010, 10:09:35 AM
I love my Mercury Optimax. I have great customer service, It has been a great engine, very reliable and only thing i have ever done to it is yearly maintenance and changed the spark plugs.
I would also get the biggest engine your boat will allow. Doesnt matter what engine you put on your boat, if you under power it you will hate it, and wish you got the right HP from the start. So i would go Mercury then the yamaha 4 stroke.
Thats the biggest thing we have been worried about, we might actually end up getting a 200 hp engine so it wont be under powered.
That makes a lot of sense to me. If being underpowered is what you are worried about then absolutely you should get the E-tech. The biggest problem with being underpowered is getting on plane or being aggressive with a quick burst of power when you need it. In those two areas the e-techs absolutely beat up on the yami's and others. Otherwise they run pretty much the same and have as good of reliability. Big difference with the e-techs is 150 will outperform a 200 yami when it comes to torque and torque is everything when talking about power. :twocents:
Post by: alanger on April 07, 2010, 03:29:04 PM
Yamaha or Suzuki. I ran a Suzuki on my Alumaweld and absolutely loved it!! I don't have one bad thing to say about it. Amazing fuel economy, super quiet and plenty of power. I bought the boat used and didn't know much about the Suzuki's. At that time if I were buying a new boat I would have probably bought a Yamaha but after running the Suzuki for a couple years I'm sold on it. I know a couple guys with 20' Thunderjets and all are running Suzuki's and none have had any issues. One of them is running a 115 and one is running a 140 I think.. Both have plenty of power. Also, I'm not sure what all the different manufacturer's are offering for incentive's and such but Suzuki was offering like a 6 year warranty or something a couple years back and I think it was the best warranty out there at the time. I've had bad experiences with Merc. :twocents:
THey just had that 6 year waranty going on like last month too, that was one thing we liked. Just dont know too much about them suzuki's but like you said you didnt either, people are starting to convince me on them.
I love my Mercury Optimax. I have great customer service, It has been a great engine, very reliable and only thing i have ever done to it is yearly maintenance and changed the spark plugs.
I would also get the biggest engine your boat will allow. Doesnt matter what engine you put on your boat, if you under power it you will hate it, and wish you got the right HP from the start. So i would go Mercury then the yamaha 4 stroke.
Thats the biggest thing we have been worried about, we might actually end up getting a 200 hp engine so it wont be under powered.
That makes a lot of sense to me. If being underpowered is what you are worried about then absolutely you should get the E-tech. The biggest problem with being underpowered is getting on plane or being aggressive with a quick burst of power when you need it. In those two areas the e-techs absolutely beat up on the yami's and others.
and the fast reaction engine of the verado, so they advertise it as that, is origionally what caught our eye.
should probably go test drive some engines???
Thanks for all the responses cause its best to hear from experience
Post by: C-Money on April 07, 2010, 03:51:23 PM
Post by: MtnMuley on April 07, 2010, 04:30:25 PM
I would look at Honda or Mariner. :twocents:
Has Mariner even built a motor in the last 10 years??
and the fast reaction engine of the verado, so they advertise it as that, is origionally what caught our eye.
should probably go test drive some engines???
Curious as to what you'll be needing a "fast reaction" motor for on a Thunder Jet?? And, where can you test drive an engine?? Not poking fun, just curious.
Post by: alanger on April 07, 2010, 04:32:43 PM
I would look at Honda or Mariner. :twocents:
Has Mariner even built a motor in the last 10 years??
and the fast reaction engine of the verado, so they advertise it as that, is origionally what caught our eye.
should probably go test drive some engines???
Curious as to what you'll be needing a "fast reaction" motor for on a Thunder Jet?? And, where can you test drive an engine?? Not poking fun, just curious.
why not have a hot engine on your boat???
haha
well you can test drive one like a car cant ya????
i havent heard anything about a mariner engine in a long time.
Post by: bowtech721 on April 07, 2010, 05:03:47 PM
Post by: MtnMuley on April 07, 2010, 07:00:13 PM
....langer, if you want a hot motor, just get it over and get a 300 Verado or 300 Yami HPDI........ 8)
Post by: C-Money on April 08, 2010, 08:57:46 AM
Post by: bowtech721 on April 08, 2010, 03:24:29 PM
Yes, I remember Mariner and Merc having a lot, if not all, of the same components.forget those tiny things get the the yamaha v-8 350 hp... 8)
....langer, if you want a hot motor, just get it over and get a 300 Verado or 300 Yami HPDI........ 8)
Post by: alanger on April 08, 2010, 03:41:51 PM
Yes, I remember Mariner and Merc having a lot, if not all, of the same components.
....langer, if you want a hot motor, just get it over and get a 300 Verado or 300 Yami HPDI........ 8)
300 is just a little over kill man .
Post by: lokidog on April 09, 2010, 11:18:37 AM
I talked to a guy with a new Honda 90 and he said his starts like a car engine and runs great. When replacing mine, someday, I will look for the lightest engine that has good reviews. Hopefully, that will be a long time away with the prices of new outboards being insane. :chuckle:
Post by: ironbuck on April 09, 2010, 11:25:17 AM
Post by: alanger on April 09, 2010, 03:16:53 PM
Stay away from verado. Etech or a yamaha only way to go
Why not verado???
Post by: ironbuck on April 11, 2010, 10:28:12 AM