Advantage: Etec, Yamaha or Mercury?

[68dodgeramman]

Well while I'm waiting for my boat, which I had slated for a 150 etec, I start to thinking about the motor. What are the advantages of each? I have been reading that the etec has the advantage of less maintenance costs. Supposedly the others have too be serviced by the dealer? And its expensive. ris this true? The Evinrude is quite a bit more expensive than the other two, is this true? Although I do like the idea of the motor being able to winterize itself. Any info and ideas would be great as I've never owned an outboard powered boat before. Thanks.

[Bamby]

They're all good motors and potential choice but the "Advantage" will go the manufacture or dealer who's shop has the best reputation for taking care of their customers with both parts and "Service".

[rancherlee]

Evinrude +
-better fuel efficiency from idle to about 2000rpm
-quick winter fogging (isn't too difficult on any engine though)
-3 years till dealer service (still have to do gear case yearly)
-No oil changes (which is handy for a boat that sits in a slip all year and will see more than 100 hours of use a year)
-Slighty lighter
-Can cheat and get the "HO" version which is 164.99hp to put on a 150 rated boat
-More "hole shot" but I hear the new mercury 150 is a beast, and yamaha has a refreshed 150 coming along with the new 150 Vmax

Yamaha/Mercury +
-Better 4000rpm+ fuel efficiency
-Less chance to "go boom" as 4 strokes will survive "going lean" better if there is a malfunction
-quieter (though the Etec is fairly close)
-no 50$ gallon oil or oil tank to mount somewhere
-no expensive DFI injectors to replace out of warranty

Basically if you trailer or use it less than 100 hours a year and can do you own oil changes then you don't need "dealer service" for quite along time on 4 strokes, and setting the Valves isn't that difficult either and the few 4 stroke I've checked the valves on has been within spec anyhow. All 3 are great motors, and should provide many years of service, I'd go buy the best support in the area! I'm lucky and have Evinrude, Suzuki, Yamaha, and Mercury all close by and all the areas I fish so I have a wide selection!

[Bamaman]

1. All are good motors, and you cannot really go wrong.
2. Buying your boat with the motor coming through the manufacturer is usually the least expensive way to go. Boat manufacturers purchase motors at fleet prices, and they and your dealer can pass that savings on to you.
3. It's best if the boat manufacturer sets up your boat for a certain brand as it's built--saves your dealer setup time. And time is money @ $100 per hour dealer labor.
4. I don' t know that I'd be going ETEC if it was substantially more $ than a Yamaha F150 or Mercury 150 FourStroke.
5. 4 stroke motors run best at low and middle speeds, where 2 stroke motors do better at higher rpm's. 4 strokes are very quiet at low and medium speeds, but all outboards are loud at full throttle.
6. A new Yamaha F150 came on my Bennington tritoon, and it's a great powerplant. I can buy the comparable Mercury 150 motor for $3K less, which makes it especially attractive. Performance is about the same.

Like has been said, you cannot go wrong with any of them.

[jshumphries]

I agree with all the above posts. I can speak from almost a year with the Mercury 150. Love the motor, love the power. On a straked pontoon, any of the three will jump out of the water and allow you to set your speed, attitude in the water and fuel efficiency to what you want. I personally don't like to deal with 2 stroke oil, but they have been around so long and have gotten so efficient, you really can't go wrong. I see equal amounts of all three on my lake and never seen anyone complain.

[rbiederwolf]

Down here in South Florida, I would estimate that 70% of the boats have Yamahas. To be honest I am not sure why. Better for Saltwater use??? Better dealer incentives??? Anyway when I repowered I went with a Yammy and love it. The mechanics I have talked with are under the opinion that they are built better, less maintenance. However I think that is mostly speculation

I would go with what the dealer stands behind the most and could get the best deal. If it doesn't matter than I definitely would not pay significant more dollars for the ETEC

[Bamaman]

I can tell you why Yamaha may be dominant in your area--quality and dependability. I understand in some areas of Florida, you see more Mercury's.

When Yamaha came to the U.S. with outboards in 1984, they were smart and went after the Mercury dealers aggressively. Mercury had been riding high for years in the market. Changes were maybe a few vinyl letter and carb. changes from year to year, but they really didn't put their money into improving performance or efficiency.

Yamaha came in with superior motors, and the market really liked them. Within a couple of years, those Mercury dealers that took on Yamaha were selling predominantly Yamaha motors--with Mercury secondary.

And with so many Yamaha's out on the market in 28 years, they now have a big customer following.

I bought my Yamaha 115 hp 2 stroke motor in 1985 used, and it's been bulletproof. I did have an oil injection module go out, which was $241 about 15 years ago--and that's it. I cleaned the carbs 2 times and changed plugs about every other year. And I never winterized it even.

Last year I switched to the Yamaha F150 on a new Bennington, and am completely satisfied. Had my dealer spec'd the boat out with a Mercury 150 FourStroke, I'm sure I would have been just as satisfied--and probably a lower purchase price.
The Mercury will be popular on tritoons due to they're being $3K less than Yamaha's--at least if purchased for a repower.

And with Mercury only making their high horsepower, high profit margin motors in the U.S., they're almost like a different company than they were in 1985--when Yamaha tore'em up.

[jimrs]

In my opinion the reason for more Yamaha's is the fact the when O.M.C. went down the dealers jumped on Yamaha as they did not like Mercury. There used to be only Mercury and O.M.C. dealers around here. All of the old O.M.C. dealers around here are Yamaha dealers now. In the last years of O.M.C they made some pretty bad stuff. O.M.C lines were Evinrude, Johnson, and Gale.

[68dodgeramman]

Thanks for all the input everybody! I appreciate it. I called and talked to the dealer he told me they already had it set up for the Etec at the factory. So I hope I like it. Too late now, lol! He said we should have by Friday or Saturday at the latest. Thanks again.