ratsun

I'm in the market for a new outboard (50hp) for my car topper and wondered what your take on the new etec motors from OMC are like?
My last OMC product ate the crank out of itself without a lot of hours on it so I am a little leery about another one.
I had all intentions on buying a merc or a yammi 50hp 2 stroke (dont want the 4 stroke) but the etec looks good on paper and offers a 5 year warranty vs the 1 for merc and 2 for yammi.
Any experiences?

Hvytrkmech

A buddy of mine has an etec on his fishing boat. It is bigger than 50hp though. I believe it is 100hp. I have seen it but have not been out in the boat yet. He says it runs like a scolded dog. No problems with it yet.


Tim

Pentastar

That is going to be a heavy motor for a boat that you carry on top of your car,isn't it?Maybe I don't know what a car topper is but danged if I would want to be man handling a 50HP engine each time I wanted to go boating.Ron G

ratsun

LOL Yeah no lifting the motor on and off.....I guess its not really a car topper any more.
I have it on a trailer but I'm in the process of building a rack that goes over the front of the cab for when I pull the fiver.

SundayMoney

Get the Yamaha. Who cares about the warranty? You won't need it with a Yamaha anyways.

I had a 2003 50hp 2 stroke Yamaha. Put about a million hours on it and never had a hiccup of any sort. Fuel efficient,and didn't use much oil.

I'm a firm believer in Yamaha quality. I've had 4 outboards,a generator,a couple quads,a couple dirt bikes and have never had a problem with any of them.

If the warranty does make a difference to you,right now Yamaha is offering an extended warranty with any new outboard purchase.

I wouldn't touch a Merc with a 10' pole. I call them welfare motors. They're black and don't want to work.

jrs_dodge_diesel

FWIW the Evinrude E-Tec series are really nice. Check them out.

Fishin2Deep4U

I use my outboards more than most as I am a professional guide. I put over 1600 hours a year on both my primary jet and the 8HP kicker. So they get used. Last year, I put well over 2100 hours on those motors.

In my experience, skip the OMC. Also, skip the Evinrude and the Suzuki. Why?

Well, it's anout product support and availability. FWIW, I only run one brand for my primary engine. Mercury. Why? I can get parts everywhere. Literally. Secondly, I have never, nor any of my buddies ever been stranded with an Merc powerplant. EVER. We all run the V-6 variants from 150HP+. These are strictly 2 stroke outboard jets.

For my kicker I went with Yamaha. Why? Because Mercury did not have a power trim and tilt 8HP with a long handle. That's it. That said, all the Yammys my buddies run are viciously cold blooded. Including my kicker. This motor is a 4 stroke. Only 2 of my buddies run Yahama primaries in the 150-200Hp range and they both hate them. I have been offered cash and their motor for one of my 2 stroke Mercs as they are slow to plane.

Now all that said, I would only buy a 4 stroke motor if you are running a prop. They are approx the same weight as the 2 strokes, easily as or more reliable and far more fuel efficient. Us guides have several big 2 strokes new in the crate just for the future use as the 4 strokes can't get us out of the hole fast enough.....yet.

The best motors I have EVER run are Suzukis. Bump the key and they start. Period. The only thing is parts are hard to find.

So there you have another point of view. All you would have to do is look at what professionals that have their livelihood staked in the motor use to know what will work. In the end, you have to buy what you are comfortable with and what your local accessibility to parts and accessories will be. Price is the LAST consideration when choosing the right motor. Especially if you need reliability and performance each and ever day.

Dave

ratsun

Thanks for the replys guys.
Fishin, your runnin the pump in the rivers (freash water) right?
I hear you on the product support, my last Evinrude only had one local dealer and it took him 8 months last year to get me a computer module for the motor. This was for a 1998 model so needless to say I was more then a little ticked off having the motor down that long waiting for parts. My old little late 70s 15hp Evinrude was a goody but man was it noisy!
I had a 92 Merc 150 v6 and that was the most cantankerous thing I ever seen to start when cold. Most mornings resulted in me swearing at it but I always managed to get it running and after the initial warm-up of the day it flashed beautifully. 8 years but only 900hrs (I trolled faithfully with my kicker) and no failures so I would have to rate it as a good motor. As for the Yammies I have only owned 2 and they were both 4 stroke kickers from the mid 90s, both ran very well but both rusted horribly, IMO they used sub standard alloys and coatings and I am having a really hard time spending any $$$ on them again.

jamesbfishin

If you want a 4 stroke outboard, look at Yamaha, if you want a 2 stroke, the etec is the best out there. I have the last of the 2 stroke yamaha engines on my boat, entire rig is meticulously taken care of, with that said, I am on the 3rd powerhead with my 250 yamaha, way too many recalls and "updates" on these tihngs to keep track of. If (when) it pops again, I'm hanging a 250 etec on my transom.