Mercury 90 vs E-tec 90?

Aviator04

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hey guys, recently bought an 18' bowlder with an '06 Merc 2stroke elpto. I found a nice low hour E-tec 90 still under warranty i'm considering. The dealer is willing to take my outboard in on trade. He's telling me the E-tec will outperform my Merc even though they're both 90 hp and that fuel economy is night & day. Economy i can understand, but i can't see how would the etec out-perform? They're both 3 cyl 90's..And I've always considered Mercury's among the best performing, given the hp. Lastly how much quieter would the etec be? Are we talking a huge difference or minor difference? thanks!!
 

racerone

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Remember that the E-TEC has a computer to manage everything.------The Evinrude will be easier on ears and fuel budget.------Had a dealer friend comment on fuel sales being " down " at his marina.-----Never thought to mention that he ( and others ) have been converting almost every customer to modern E-TEC and 4 strokes.
 

Chris1956

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Ii would be surprised if there was any significant performance difference between the two motors.

The e-TEC will burn lost less gas (40%??), and use a lot less oil. The e-TEC oil is much more expensive though.

They say the e-TECs are more quiet, however, both are 2 cycle, so the difference is in the design of the exhaust water muffling system.

From an economic viewpoint, I guess it comes down to how much use you give the motors. A lot of use will allow the e-TEC to save fuel (and $), over the Merc, however, the cost difference usually doesn't allow a break-even point on the e-TEC.
 

Aviator04

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Remember that the E-TEC has a computer to manage everything.------The Evinrude will be easier on ears and fuel budget.------Had a dealer friend comment on fuel sales being " down " at his marina.-----Never thought to mention that he ( and others ) have been converting almost every customer to modern E-TEC and 4 strokes.

And not only fuel sales, but i'm sure service as well.. A marina owner told me joking around that he hates the new outboards since they rarely break.. losing a bunch of repair work..
 

Aviator04

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Chris: i'm not overly concerned with fuel economy, but yea its definitely a plus. Whats appealing about the e-tec is the turn key starts, smooth idle & of course the warranty. The salesman is telling i will also gain "some" performance with it. Do you think i would even gain anything at all?hole shot wise or a few mph's top end? Weight wise they're close to the same with the etec weighing about 20 lbs heavier
 

racerone

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Aviator-----Many posts on here about folks having to wait 3 weeks for outboard repairs and service.----Service work ( not repair work ) now takes up much of the shop time.--------Many owners are now reluctant to put a wrench on these new motors them selves.
 

jimmbo

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Carbs and Mechanical Spark advance are easy to understand and work on. Electronics and FI make for some very Hard to understand and Hard to troubleshoot Systems. Those Electronics just sit there, not appearing to do anything... So they really become Dealer Service. Hopefully the Dealer wasn't too cheap and didn't deny Certified Training for the Techs, who are rapidly becoming Part Swappers, Very expensive Parts too.
 

racerone

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You can walk into most outboard shops and walk out with a $35 coil for say a 1966 model Johnson / Evinrude.-----I have a 2008 Model motor that needs rebuilding.-----The EMM is listed as ----Contact the dealer for support.----No way to test it myself BEFORE wrenching on this motor.
 

flyingscott

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Your fuel mileage difference will be 20% at best. The new E-tecs and 4 strks will very seldom ever pay for themselves in fuel mileage.
 

jimmbo

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If the 90 merc is a Carbed Engine, there could be substantial Fuel Saving with the E-tec at speeds lower than WOT. My 150 FICHT burned less gas at Part throttle(30 mph) pushing a bigger boat(18 ft), than my inline 6 115 did on a 15 ft
 

dingbat

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And not only fuel sales, but i'm sure service as well.. A marina owner told me joking around that he hates the new outboards since they rarely break.. losing a bunch of repair work..
Most the new outboards are pretty hard to beat. Turn the key and go boating.

Putting 3,000 hours on a modern outboard is nothing. Have a good friend who is a fishing guide. Over 4,000 hours on current motor..Honda, BF 250.

Another with 2,000 hours on a three year old Verado 275. The boat I run for a friend from time to time has twin Yammi F225 with over 3,000 hours each.

In freshwater terms, 2,000-3,000 hours is a lifetime.
 

Aviator04

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If the 90 merc is a Carbed Engine, there could be substantial Fuel Saving with the E-tec at speeds lower than WOT. My 150 FICHT burned less gas at Part throttle(30 mph) pushing a bigger boat(18 ft), than my inline 6 115 did on a 15 ft

Funny you mention that. I was very seriously considering a 2003 FICHT motor. I did a ton of reading on them and they are supposed to be excellent motors(except for the early on models) and surprisingly had even better fuel mileage than than the e-tecs. That info was coming from owners that owned both. The only thing that steered me away from that motor was the fact that some parts are becoming almost impossible to get ahold of such fuel injectors etc. Have you had any issues finding parts or shops to service the motor?
 

flyingscott

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If the 90 merc is a Carbed Engine, there could be substantial Fuel Saving with the E-tec at speeds lower than WOT. My 150 FICHT burned less gas at Part throttle(30 mph) pushing a bigger boat(18 ft), than my inline 6 115 did on a 15 ft

I wonder how a Looper V6 would have compared in fuel mileage to a Ficht. Crossflow motors are not known for there fuel mileage.
 

Aviator04

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dingbat: I agree, the new outboards are great. They're not cheap though and it can be hard to justify spending $10k+ on a motor. My current merc still runs & in great shape. Just not crazy about the noise, smoke & occasional hard starts.. what motor are you running?
 

sphelps

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Can’t complain on my 2013 tec 90 . Bump the key and go .. Only problem I have had is the ptt .. I have a seal leaking currently ...
 

racerone

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A lot of it has to do with the way you go boating / use your boat.------If you drive 3 hrs to get to the boat and then need to travel 1/2 hr by boat to get to the " wee cabin " on the island you opinion may differ.------I do not see a lot of antique / older motors used by folks who own that type of lifestyle.
 

jimmbo

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I wonder how a Looper V6 would have compared in fuel mileage to a Ficht. Crossflow motors are not known for there fuel mileage.

The FICHT was a Looper. Compared to a Carbed Looper, Full Throttle would be about the Same, but Part Throttle, and Idle would have been much better with the FICHT. At Idle they would burn next to Nothing
 
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thatone123

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Just read an article that explains how many American farmers are buying up older tractors because they can work on them. The new technological wonder tractors are killing their bottom line with expensive repairs and up front cost.
 

thatone123

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Most of the fuel saving will be experienced by charter operators as average fisher man do not use the outboards enough to justify the fuel saving over the high cost of the outboard!
 
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