Just saw the E-Tec commercial

[Wilson]

Has anyone seen this E-Tec infomercial?

I know its biased, but man, that thing will sell you on those engines.  

Powerboat reports did a test where all things were equal, and had the Verado winning.  They tested 250's.  The Yamaha was second and the E-Tec was 3rd.  They were all VERY similar.  The one test that they left out was hole shot, which is very important to me.  I feel as though the E-tec may have taken it b/c it is supposed to have more torque.  

The Verado is 129 pounds heavier.  That eliminates it for me.  I have shifted enough around already and don't want that much more weight in the ass end that I don't have to have.

Fuel consuption was very similar with the Yam winning by a hair.  Top end E-Tec won, but only by 1 MPH.  The E-tec was a louder at WOT.  Also they didn't like the trim buttons on the evinrude.

[Seadog]

It's getting to the point where it's going to be hard to pick which engine to go with.  Things are definately lookin better for outboard consumers with all the current choices.  Competition is a great thing for the market.

The e-tec's also have a 7 year warranty and no scheduled service for the first 2 years, I think. Don't know a thing about 'em but they are probably worth a look.

[Wilson]

No service for 3years.  

That 7 year warranty is hard to beat.

[Captain]

Did you print out the certificate they talked about on the infomercial? Get's you $1,000 off or the extended 7 year warranty.

[Anonymous]

I saw the E-Tec commercial with the fat guy in the pink thong

[88' 222]

There's a 2005 225  H.P. E-Tec  on E-bay for $16,337. I talked to the
 Merc dealer at the Houston boat show, he said the 250 Verado was
  around $18,000 Plus you have to figure in tax and rigging. The new
  technology is to expensive. I paid $ 8995.00 for a brand new 250 H.P.
  Mercury 2 stroke with a four year warranty.Theres no way I could
  justify twice the cost for the Verado or $7,300 for the Evinrude.
  Mine smokes a little on cold start but I can live with it.Good thing
  the Evinude has a seven year warranty on it .I will take you that long
  to pay for it.Neither of these engines have been out long enough to
  prove their worth it. I would put the 2 stroke up against either of them
   on the same boat. Just my opinion

[Wilson]

We were set on the e-tec, but ended up with the Suzuki 250 4 stroke.  It was cheaper than the 225 Etec and still had a 6 year warranty.  Power was great on the test drive.

[Captain]

This morning I ran into a fellow wearing a new E-Tec t-shirt. I asked him if he owned one and he said no, but that he was at the Miami boat show and picked up the shirt at the Evinrude display. He is an ex-Navy admiral w/ a keen interest in boats.

Anyway, he took a test ride on a 25' Wellcraft with twin 250HP E-Tecs at the show. The sales rep encouraged the test ride so that he could demonstrate what the infomercial depicts, ie, getting a twin up on plane using just one engine. On the way out of the harbor he said they were screaming along at 65mph! Then they stopped to demonstrate the one engine performance, and the Evinrude rep (who was the lead engineer I think he told me), could not get the boat out of the hole! Needless to say, I'm sure the Evinrude guys were embarrassed. You'd think they would have made darn sure that the boat they used for test rides at the world's largest boat show would perform as claimed!

[captin.kid]

http://www.evinrude.com/en-US/

[cmiller001]

What is wrong with the Yamahas? I spent some time working at a Merc dealer and the 2 strokes are just that 2 strokes. Most of the technology is bolted on. Take the optimax for instance it is a high pressure fuel rail that increases the efficiency of the combustion. They bolt this on and throw in a compressor. Trust me when I say bolted on. That is why they have so many problems. If you want a modern engine get it from a modern manufacture (Japanese). Mercury and "OMC brands" are old manufactures that are tweaking old designs.

[Wilson]

It seems to me that they totally redesigned this engine, but I'm not sure about that.  You get a lot of opinions on that.  

We ended up going with a Suzuki.  The Suzi has a timing chain (not belt) with an auto tensioner, and it is run in an oil bath.

[captin.kid]

so I guess that is what you are going to put on??? Let me know how it goes??

[wisecane]

Capt,

I just put a Suzuki DF 140 on my '88 200 Osprey. It replaced an '88 Johnson 140, and I couldn't be happier. If anyone is looking for a Suzuki 4 try Diamond Suzuki in New Smyrna Beach, they beat all the others by about $1800.00 on price!

[gofish]

I'm glad you posted that info Wilson, I heard that from the merc guys but wasn't 100% sure. I know that Evinrude has put more $ then anyone building there new factory. One good thing for Evinrude is that all there parts are built in the same factory instead of being a assembly plant like old. Atleast there on the right track. I had a old 140hp on a ski boat with only 20lbs on one of the cylinder, ran it like that for more then 100hrs and never blow, ran strong to, just didn't like to ideal.

Also seeing Suzuki coming back strong.

I have been running Yamaha's for the past 10yrs and they will always be hard to bet. There normally cheaper, last longer and there customer service has always been best. If a motor would blow under warranty they would have a new one to the dealer with in 5 day's. And for most part if you were to have any major problems they would show with in the first 25hrs. But, I have seen A LOT of problem with re-manufactored power heads for Yamaha's.

I never been a big fan of Merc's but I do beleave that for most part it's the owner who takes care of them. Have big problem with the customer service and when the Opti's had all the problems at first, they were very slow and costing there customers a lot of money. $26 a spark plug (X6) or (X12 for twins) and at best they lasted 20hrs. A buddy fishing for Wellcraft spent over $3,000 in spark plugs and they were on the Merc program.

But just like cmiller said, a two stroke is a stroke. But I would always look at customer service and the dealer your dealing with. If Suzuki is standing behind there customers I'd run them.

[DEFIANT]

Chestnut Neck Boat Yard in Port Republic, NJ sold me a 1999 225Hp 2 stroke. The powerhead blew 6 months after the warranty expired. They spoke with Suzuki and they agreed to replace the powerhead with a brand new one at no cost to me other than the tune up parts and a water pump!

When I need a new motor I will go Suzuki!