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I am buying a new boat this summer and have narrowed my chioces of engines to the Optimax 175 pro xs or the E-tec 175. I do alot of trolling, so engine noise is a issue. as well as maintance costs and fuel consumption. so any feedback would be great.. thanks
if you like queit ones then the etec is for you,the optimax's have like a popping sound to them or something,i dont like em...but here lately alot of the etecs have been blowing up,but if i had the choice itdbe an etec
I have no experience with the E-tec but I know my buddy's 2007 225 Optimax gets about 12 mpg at 6000 rpm. His 2003 Yamaha 200 got about 4. That alone would push me into an Optimax unless the E-tec gets close to the same.
I really doubt that the 225 Opti gets 12 mpg at 6k rpm's. According to Mercury's own website, the best fuel efficiency that a 200hp Opti got was 6.1mpg at 2500 rpm. At 5700, the fuel economy was only 3.8 mpg.
Here's a link to the tests: [url]http://www.mercurymarine.com/look_deeper/third_party.php?ID=74&SortBy=Title&Section=outboardChecks&optimax200250=7[/url]
You can also look at the following test that just compares the averages (from different boat types) of a 200hp Optimax compared to other motors.
[url]http://www.mercurymarine.com/look_deeper/head_to_head.php?ID=58&SortBy=Title&Section=outboardChecks&optimax200250=7[/url]
From this one, the average WOT fuel economy for an Opti was 4.2mpg. The Etec showed 3.7, and the VMAX HPDI was 4.1. At the optimal mpg at cruising speeds, the Opti got 5.8 mpg with the Vmax coming in a close second at 5.5 mpg.
OK, I guess I stand/sit corrected. I thought it was too good to be true but the flowmeter on the computer said it was 12 mpg. I guess his flowmeter needs recalibrated.
Yeah, even though the Opti's are the best on fuel economy, they are still terrible compared to what they really should be. They are the best though, not by much in alot of cases (Vmax is just behind it), but hey, at 4 bucks a gallon, it doesn't take too much to make a difference. Now whether the extra cost over the other yamaha will equal out in terms of gas usage, I don't know.
As for the Etec vs. the Pro XS, the Etec would be quieter but it also gets about the worst gas mileage of any newer motor.
I can't speak for the merc but my buddy and I trolled with a kicker on his boat this weekend until it bit the dust. We fired up his etec and idled for hours. We pulled stuff in and hammered it and it jumped ,no miss no cough. I wear hearing aids so I know my hearing is bad but with them in I can hardly hear it running. I would be hard pressed to think any motor could be any quiter than his.
My last engine was an Optimax..my present engine is an ETEC HO. I am getting pretty much the same gas milage out of the ETEC as I did the Optimax and it uses less oil...but then again I don't run wot..my engines have to last too long for that. I have over 400 hours on my ETEC with zero problems so far...put it on last June...so you can see I put a lot of hours on my engines. As for ETEC's blowing up...I would have to see proof positive figures that more ETEC's are blowing up than other makes...fact is all engines can blow up or not...much of it depends on how you take care of them and how you run them. Being in the business, I know personally of ETECS that have blown as well as other's like Opti's and Yamies etc....
As far as quiet...you are not going to find any 2 stroke near as quiet as an ETEC.