Best outboard motor if you were to repower

RandyMoon · Post by **RandyMoon** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 3:21 pm

I like my 90 horsie Tohatsu. What drew me to it was LOTS of comments from Tohatsu owners about VERY low maintenance, EXCELLENT mileage, etc. It is not as quiet as I would like, but what the heck, I spend 99.9% of the time sailing, which makes me wonder why I spent all that money on a big motor. Oh well, the first time a big storm comes along, I am sure I will like it.

Mark Prouty · Post by **Mark Prouty** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 5:47 pm

EVINRUDE E-TEC

Noise is an issue pushed by the four-stroke guys-too much noise. But with input from acoustical engineers, Evinrudes two-stroke Etec engines offer peak sound that is low and pleasing to the ear. Conversation over these engines is comfortable in our tests of several different boat designs. On a pontoon, the aft furniture erased the 'silent" advantage held by four-strokes.

Boating Life

From an owner's perspective, how noisy is the E-Tech?

DLT · Post by **DLT** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 6:06 pm

I can say that it is quieter than the smaller outboards on "true" sailboats, at least at comparable speeds. I can hear them over mine motoring together at hull speed...

I have had cell phone conversations sitting atop it at hull speed.

Of course, get above hull speed and conversation volumes do go up. but, isn't that the case will all outboards?

I don't have a lot of experience with other outboards, but the motor isn't louder (maybe quieter) than those that I have experienced...

Moe · Post by **Moe** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 6:19 pm

I'm not saying it's any more objective than an E-TEC owner's, but from a Merc BigFoot fan's viewpoint, it's my opinion the 50HP E-TEC I heard and ran with at a Whaler Rendezvous was every bit as quiet as my Merc. I also saw no smoke, even at startup. It had a faint odor of burning two-stroke oil, but nothing anywhere near that of the old carbed two-strokes. It was running the special Yamaha oil. Just an observation.

Dimitri-2000X-Tampa · Post by **Dimitri-2000X-Tampa** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 6:33 pm

I'm pretty surprised at the results so far. The new 2 strokes seem to be very popular indeed. I'll admit that my 4 stroke is probably just as loud as any outboard when you get into the high RPM's, but what about fuel economy? As I mentioned in a recent post, I've gotten about 3.8 mpg at high speed but where the 4 stroke is very economical is at the lower RPM's. I wouldn't be surprised if I get over 10 mpg below hull speed. Can the new 2 strokes get that kind of gas mileage at hull speed?

I admit, its probably less hassle to occasionally fill a 2 strokes oil tank than it is to change the 4 strokes engine oil, but 4 strokes also traditionally significantly outlast their 2 stroke counterparts. Maybe that is better with the new 2 strokes, but the engine is still firing twice as often at a given RPM than its 4 stroke counterpart so you might think intuitively that it can't last as long (more wear and tear on the pistons, crank, etc.).

I get the itch to upgrade periodically and if the engine ever has a significant problem, I'm sure I will go bigger. But its hard to spend that money right now with a perfectly good (once I solve the overheat problem) 4 stroke which can still do 19 mph on a good day. And of course, it can still be hand started which is a plus.

Has anyone here upgraded a decent 4 stroke (like the bigfoot 50 or 60) with one of the new 2 strokes? That would definitely be an experience I would like to hear about.

Chip Hindes · Post by **Chip Hindes** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 7:38 pm

but the engine is still firing twice as often at a given RPM than its 4 stroke counterpart so you might think intuitively that it can't last as long (more wear and tear on the pistons, crank, etc.).

Your intuition may be leading you astray. In order for the 4S to produce the same power while only firing every other stroke, the loads on the parts are approximately twice as high. That's the main reason four strokes are heavier; not because of the additional parts, but because the primary parts have to be beefier. And don't forget those addtional parts; more stuff that can fail.

The economy of the TLDI two stroke at part throttle and idle is advertised by Tohatsu to be better than the four strokes.

Bobby T.-26X #4767 · Post by **Bobby T.-26X #4767** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 9:37 pm

yes, i upgraded a perfectly new suzy 50 4 stroke (2 years old and about 70 hrs) for a new tohatsu 90 tldi.
i wanted (and got) more power.
the trade-up it cost me nearly $4K.
that's the bottom line, isn't it?

ALX357 · Post by **ALX357** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 9:45 pm

Anyone that wants to upgrade from their old four-stroke Merc 60hp Bigfoot, or a similar motor, to one of these big 90h Etecs, or so, well, you have a buyer here for the 60. As long as it has not been ruined or worn out, and is in good condition.

delevi · Post by **delevi** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 12:23 am

I have a an E-Tec 50 which I am quite happy with. What nobody mentioned so far is that these engines do not require flushing. This is a huge plus for those of us who sail in salt water. The engine is also reasonably quiet and I can hit 20.5 mph on a good day, no balast, lightly loaded with 2 people on board. With strong currents, 17-18 mph is no problem. It uses very little oil. I use regular 2-stroke oil which you can buy at Kragen. The one problem is it is a bit of a gas guzzler. I get approximately 1 hour to 3 gallons at full throttle. I'm also a bit jealous of you guys with the 90hp+. My concern was that the heavier engine would affect sailing performance. Also, the E-Tec 90 doesn't meet the same EFI standards as the 50 & 60.

aya16 · Post by **aya16** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 5:40 am

Sorry to have to disagree but it might save you an expensive engine in the long run....all engines benefit from flushing and yours is no exception.
By running fresh water after the salt water bath, is in your best interest.

The etec 90 has the same efi standards as your 50, 3 star compl.
As far as heavy, the etec 90 only weighs 54 pounds more then the merc bigfoot 50-60 thats a 6-year-old kid. or a little over 6gallons of gas.

But you knew all this right, you were just joshing right?

Another note on the 50-60 etec. Evenrude calls it the fresh water motor.
There are some issues with that for me. You would want to at least spray the non stainless parts with fresh water. Or replace some of the alum. stuff
with stainless

Robert · Post by **Robert** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 5:56 am

I think you are getting very good fuel economy at 6MPG that is as good or better than anyone else's outboard would get.

The engine is also reasonably quiet and I can hit 20.5 mph on a good day, no balast, lightly loaded with 2 people on board. With strong currents, 17-18 mph is no problem. It uses very little oil. I use regular 2-stroke oil which you can buy at Kragen. The one problem is it is a bit of a gas guzzler. I get approximately 1 hour to 3 gallons at full throttle.

Chip Hindes · Post by **Chip Hindes** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 7:50 am

The one problem is it is a bit of a gas guzzler. I get approximately 1 hour to 3 gallons at full throttle.

Are you kidding us? 3 gph, 6-7 mpg at full throttle is incredible! I believe that's nearly twice as good as the four strokes. In fact, it's so incredible, I believe you may have made a mistake. You need to look at your numbers again. Check the Evinrude website. It says 4.96gph, 4.3mpg at 5500RPM on a much smaller boat. On the Mac it would equate to 3-4mpg, not much different than the 4S and carbureted 2S.

Frank C · Post by **Frank C** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 1:18 pm

Bet you meant one hour on 6 gallons, right ???

Dimitri-2000X-Tampa · Post by **Dimitri-2000X-Tampa** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 5:03 pm

Chip Hindes wrote: In order for the 4S to produce the same power while only firing every other stroke, the loads on the parts are approximately twice as high. That's the main reason four strokes are heavier; not because of the additional parts, but because the primary parts have to be beefier. And don't forget those addtional parts; more stuff that can fail.

So do those beefier parts last longer? I recall the 4S having significantly longer mean time between overhaul than the 2S in the past. Not sure if it is still true with the newer technology. I agree that all the extra parts like the valve train have more to go wrong and maintain but if the pistons and rings last a lot longer, that would be an advantage of the 4S...plus the amount of plug fouling used to be significantly more with a 2S. Be a bad day for a 4S if the timing belt/chain slips or breaks and the valves hit the pistons though.

Checking out the poll again, there was a resurgence of 50HP choices but still the overwhelming number of voters (80% right now) would go larger than manufacturer recommendation. 2 stroke versus 4 stroke choice has gotten back closer to 50-50.

Chip Hindes · Post by **Chip Hindes** » Sun Oct 16, 2005 7:17 pm

So do those beefier parts last longer? I recall the 4S having significantly longer mean time between overhaul than the 2S in the past.

Honestly, I don't know. I do know that 2-stroke outboards have been around a lot longer than four strokes, I know that many of them have lasted a heck of a long time and I suspect that most motors, two stroke or four, when used on a Mac, will last longer than their owners without overhaul.

Spark plug fouling on two strokes may be a problem with the old premix motors, but for mine, not one of the newer ones, but a medium tech, carbureted, oil injected model, in five years, changing out the (almost new) plugs once a year when I pull it out of winter storage, it's simply not been a problem.

MacGregorSailors.com

MacGregorSailors.com

Best outboard motor if you were to repower

Which is the best motor from this list to put on a used Mac26 these days?

MPH = 18, GPH = 3, MPG = MPH/GPH = 6 MPG