Honda 50hp vs 4-stroke EFI

[lofallwell]

I was hooked on buying the 50hp Honda til I was advised to go with an EFI (fuel injected) 4-stroke (Mercury).Any advise would be greatly appreciated......Thank you in advance-lofallwell

[Cricket Too]

Welcome to the post. I believe that the Merc. 4 strokes are made by Yamaha so you are really deciding between Honda and Yamaha, both of which are good motors. What was the reason you were advised to get the Merc. over the Honda? I would say that since both of these motors are pretty close in quality, you should look at things like price, warranty options and which motor would be easiest for you to get serviced, i.e. which motor is more popular in your area at dealers. Good Luck.

[lofallwell]

Thank you for the quick reply. The Honda is approx. 50# lighter than the Merc, but the merc is also Fuel Injected, EFI. The Honda's have a 3 carburetor, 3 to 3 induction system. I believe the EFI would be better than carbs, but the Honda's other exclusive features have me leaning it's way. I'm probably making this alot more difficult than it need to be, but I'd sure hate to make a $6K mistake.Thanks again-

[bossee]

Hi,Pros and cons with carburators (Honda BF50) and EFI (Mercury 50 EFI, Yamaha F50, Suzuki DF50/Johnson etc).Easier for You to do some maintenance later on carburators than EFI systems. Probably little easier starting(especially when it is cold outdoors) with EFI, and posssible slightly lower fuelconsumtion. Honda BF50 is probably CARB 3-star rated also (but I'm not sure). Mercury 50 EFI is CARB 3-star rated.Warranty: nice to have as long warranty as possible on any outboard, check out Yamaha US 3 year extra warranty for free now for a total of 5 years warranty. Probably other manufacturer has similar offerings.If weight is important the Honda BF50 is the lightest 50 hp 4-stroke today I belive so that can be a plus.As for Yamaha, You may as well go with the F60 4-stroke if you need little more power and want CARB 3-star(new for 2004) - weight is almost the same for F50 and F60. Same apply for Mercury 50 EFI and 60 EFI, same weight.As for Suzuki there is a big weightdiffrence: DF50 weight about the same as Mercury and Yamaha 50-60 hp 4-strokes but Suzuki DF60 is much more heavier.You probably will be happy with any of the Honda BF50, Mercury 50 DFI (or Yamaha F50, Suzuki DF50/Johnson 50 4-stroke). Price, warranty and service where You live is also important so when all this in taken into consideration You probably will make a wise decision that feels right for You. Fuel consumption, force, soundlevel at various RPM is probably not much diffrence.I have a Yamaha F115 4-stroke myself, it is DFI and I like it alot. I have 5 year warranty (I bought 3 year extra warranty, I have an F115 2003 and there was no free extra 3 year warranty when I bought it). Had an outboard with carburators before, nothing wrong with that but I think I prefer EFI now. The trend for new 4-strokes (and 2-strokes) is towards EFI (DFI) and CARB 3-star rating so I guess carburators will be more and more rare in the future on new outboards, even on smaller engines.Good luck!/Bo

[Forktail]

Don't forget that most of the reason the Honda BF50 weighs less is because it doesn't come standard with trim/tilt. Plus it's a 3-cylinder compared to a 4-cylinder, down about 120 cc's from the Merc. Both good outboards, but I think you'll be getting more with the Merc and its EFI.

[Cricket Too]

Just curious as to why 4 strokes need 3 or 4 cylinders to make 50hp, when a 2 stroke can make it with 2 cylinders? Is there alot of wasted power with those extra strokes?

[rickdb1boat]

mmcpeck 3 and 4 cylinders are much smoother than 2 cylinders and don't work near as hard to produce the same HP.

[Forktail]

With the exception of Bombardier, no other outboard manufacturer makes a 2-cylinder 50 HP 2-stroke. Not Mercury, Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha, Nissan, or Tohatsu. And for what it's worth, HP isn't necessarily a function of the number of cylinders.

[jim dozier]

A 2 cylinder 2-stroke would be roughly equivalent in smoothness (not power) to a 4 cylinder 4-stroke. Each 2-stroke cylinder fires every revolution. A 4-stroke would need twice as many cylinders (4) to have a cylinder firing at the same times as a 2 cylinder 2-stroke. I agree with Forktail that the number of cylinder is not directly proportional to the power. There is a lot more to engines than the # of times it fires in a turn of the crank. There are limits on the size of the combustion chamber and bore and squish velocity for some designs. Sometimes it is more of a marketing decision, using existing castings and making multliple power ratings out of basically the same engine.

[DJ]

lofallwell,What is your boat rated for? Are you sure 50 is enough?

[lofallwell]

It is a 16' Tiderunner (build in Tacoma, WA) It has a pulpit that makes the boat more like a 15'er. It was originally owner by the local Sheriff's dept. and equipped with a 40 HP Johnson 2-stroke.I'm not worried about the HP, just whether or not to go with the Honda (carbs) vs Merc (EFI) 4-stroke?????Thanks again for all the help.........