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E-TEC talk
- Thread starter Boston Predictor
- Start date
Boston Predictor
Well-known member
between the Vmax and the Black max?
or what I want to spend for the starflite mota?
or what I want to spend for the starflite mota?
Mark
Well-known member
I also had a look at the Yammi site and it looks like they've bumped up their redlines from the typical 5500 max they used to set. Most are up near 6K. So let's see how they hold up under the higher loads.
Right you are Chris, Yamaha bumped most of the rated RPM to 6000 and they did not make any changes to the motors. This was where most guys with the big ones ran them anyway. In my experience it is not just the powerhead but seals, mounts, etc. that last longer. On the other hand I know of one guy that lost 3 powerheads in a row with his new HDPI. So there is no real bulletproof motor.
Right you are Chris, Yamaha bumped most of the rated RPM to 6000 and they did not make any changes to the motors. This was where most guys with the big ones ran them anyway. In my experience it is not just the powerhead but seals, mounts, etc. that last longer. On the other hand I know of one guy that lost 3 powerheads in a row with his new HDPI. So there is no real bulletproof motor.
Boston Predictor
Well-known member
Chris, The Yamaha that I lost went for just under $4,500. So the same day I called an old boater friend. He just happend to have a freshly built 150 which was perfect for the predictor so I offered him 2k, and he sold it to me right on the spot. The motor was on his MX-15 but was way too big.
I have no problem with the name.
But the fact remains that OMC were having financial troubles and built some out of date, poorly built crap. And a number of people felt burnt by them. So it's going to take a bit of time for them to regain people's trust. To me if the ETEC holds up, for the first time in a long time, perhaps ever, JohnnyRude will have a motah that might be equal or perhaps (gasp) even superior to Merc. But these motors have to hold up. One or two years isn't enough. And in the meantime Merc is most likely working hard to bring out something even better than what they have now.
So, time will tell.
But the fact remains that OMC were having financial troubles and built some out of date, poorly built crap. And a number of people felt burnt by them. So it's going to take a bit of time for them to regain people's trust. To me if the ETEC holds up, for the first time in a long time, perhaps ever, JohnnyRude will have a motah that might be equal or perhaps (gasp) even superior to Merc. But these motors have to hold up. One or two years isn't enough. And in the meantime Merc is most likely working hard to bring out something even better than what they have now.
So, time will tell.
Boston Predictor
Well-known member
I hope Merc comes out with a "super" motor.
Chris... I sure hope your right... With new technology usually comes de-bugging time. OMC had issues with their first gen ficht motors, Merc had issues with the first OPTI's as well, Yamaha had cam issues with their first 4-strokes. Ironically, Honda and Suzuki had nothing as far as I'm aware of, and for a fresh "all-new" technology, the ETEC is performing above standards as well.
OK MERC GUY'S (and trust me I am a Merc man at heart) Merc surely DIDN'T get the VERADO right... Too BIG, too HEAVY, and a big of appetite for PREMIUM FUEL ONLY!!! Heck, most marina's sell only 89 octane stuff around me... so making a motor thats NEEDS premium fuel all the time to stay "healthy" sure wasn't a wise choice for most average boater needs!!!
I have driven two Verado's (a 200 and a 275). The boats were ass heavy from the added weight for sure, and yes, they are silk smooth and quiet, but Merc has a lot of technology there and not any more "proven" than an e-tec yet. In fact, both of the motors I had the chance to experence had issues... the 200 went down twice for electronics problems, and the 275 ate the powerhead after something with the supercharger/intercooler let go and seized the motor after 20ish hours.... so that's "O for 2" on the Verado's that I know of.
None, and I mean NONE of the E-TEC's around me have had so much as a "sneeze" and my buddies 225 ETEC was once of the first ones according to the production date and has now logged 250+hours over last boating season with ZERO problems... not even a set of plugs yet (they still looked liked new at winterizing)!
Maybe we can PAINT them E-TEC's BLACK to make everyone feel better!
OK MERC GUY'S (and trust me I am a Merc man at heart) Merc surely DIDN'T get the VERADO right... Too BIG, too HEAVY, and a big of appetite for PREMIUM FUEL ONLY!!! Heck, most marina's sell only 89 octane stuff around me... so making a motor thats NEEDS premium fuel all the time to stay "healthy" sure wasn't a wise choice for most average boater needs!!!
I have driven two Verado's (a 200 and a 275). The boats were ass heavy from the added weight for sure, and yes, they are silk smooth and quiet, but Merc has a lot of technology there and not any more "proven" than an e-tec yet. In fact, both of the motors I had the chance to experence had issues... the 200 went down twice for electronics problems, and the 275 ate the powerhead after something with the supercharger/intercooler let go and seized the motor after 20ish hours.... so that's "O for 2" on the Verado's that I know of.
None, and I mean NONE of the E-TEC's around me have had so much as a "sneeze" and my buddies 225 ETEC was once of the first ones according to the production date and has now logged 250+hours over last boating season with ZERO problems... not even a set of plugs yet (they still looked liked new at winterizing)!
Maybe we can PAINT them E-TEC's BLACK to make everyone feel better!
Boston Predictor
Well-known member
Originally posted by jrumon:
Maybe we can PAINT them E-TEC's BLACK to make everyone feel better!
F150GT
Member
Re decal it "MERC EATER"
On the serios side my boss has a freind that works for merc R&D, he claims merc dedicates most of there reserch time and money to the stern drive division. That is were there true strengths are. E-tech, Yamaha & Honda place all there Marine technology into outboards. I'm ALL AMERICAN but most of my toys seem to be japanes, they make good small well refined efficent toys.(its hard to beat there cars too)
Merc has allways and may be allways the most popular outboard like the small block chevy is to car motors, but it dosent mean there the best. I think Merc is also the only manufacturer that produces RACE motors so they should be fast.
On the serios side my boss has a freind that works for merc R&D, he claims merc dedicates most of there reserch time and money to the stern drive division. That is were there true strengths are. E-tech, Yamaha & Honda place all there Marine technology into outboards. I'm ALL AMERICAN but most of my toys seem to be japanes, they make good small well refined efficent toys.(its hard to beat there cars too)
Merc has allways and may be allways the most popular outboard like the small block chevy is to car motors, but it dosent mean there the best. I think Merc is also the only manufacturer that produces RACE motors so they should be fast.
Mark
Well-known member
The other issue with every one of these new motors is how complex they are. Very few do-it-yourselfers are going to have the training or the special tools to work on them. What is going to happen in a few years when these motors are in need of attention but the cost of having them repaired at let's say $100/hr outweighs the value of the motor itself. Any carbed motor is fairly simple to work on, even the EFI's aren't too bad. But I must of missed that day in shops class when we covered superchargers and orbital injectors!
Boston Predictor
Well-known member
you are right Mark, Just in the heads alone of a 4 stroke there are over 300 mechanical parts that are subjected to abuse, where as in the Etec head system there are only 2 parts! No camshaft, valves springs, timing chain etc etc...
Personally I hate the Verado. But I guess it has its place on some boat. Just not a Checkie IMO.
Merc has to be spending some R&D money on something. Just look at the Verado. It's a complicated disaster. Superchargers, pulleys, belts, YUCK!
What the heck money would they be spending on the Cruiser division. The blocks are GM and the rest of the engines use the same technology that has been around for 20 years.
I dunno...you're probably right though.
Merc has to be spending some R&D money on something. Just look at the Verado. It's a complicated disaster. Superchargers, pulleys, belts, YUCK!
What the heck money would they be spending on the Cruiser division. The blocks are GM and the rest of the engines use the same technology that has been around for 20 years.
I dunno...you're probably right though.
fnshrmaster
Member
I can tell you that the owner of the pontoon rentals on our lake has been complaining about those e tecs fron day one!His fuel sales and oil sales dropped big time,in fact he is considering selling the etecs used and repowering with something a little LESS fuel efficient.
I guess you could say he kinda crapped in his own lunch bucket when he bought those fuel sippers!I do know they are very powerful,even the little 50 hp model outruns my pontoon and I am running a 75 horse.Those canadians can sure make screaming two strokes,I have yet to see a snowmobile that can touch a Ski Doo in the same size class,the rev eats them up.(Sorry cat riders,I have ridden both machines in 600cc and the arctic cat seems like an old Johnson Ski horse compared to the rev HO)
alwaysredee
Member
When I researched the Verado, I found going with the OPTI a simple decision. Yes quiet, yes smooth running. Twice the price and horses are esentially right at the rating. The OPTI dyno'd 15 horses HIGHER than the rating and cost half as much. With today's fuel and maintenance costs I wanted to do the best I could right out of the gate (know what I'm sayin'?).
Regular fuel a major plus!