Mercury 90 vs E-tec 90?

Texasmark

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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.

On the bigger units, there is an ongoing flap about being computer controlled and GPS connectivity......seems the seller can control the tractor via satellite and if you and your seller disagree about something, they can immobilize the tractor on the spot. So the gripe is that you don't actually own the half million dollar investment you thought you owned.

On the rest, DEF and such is the biggest gripe especially from folks that don't use their tractors enough such that the exhaust cleanup mechanisms work on their own. On the shade tree mechanic thing, you will always have that mindset, regardless of what it is.......I'm one of them! Grin.
 

Texasmark

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QBhoy, thanks for the reply. From readings on here, it's nice to have access to some of the high performance props made for the larger engines when you have a midrange such as the 115. I guess the Big Foot was a huge kick for the 60 hp engine when it came out supporting the toon market.

A tad of history: Scott Atwater came out back in the 1960 time line with a 14 hp big foot for toons. Only gripe was that larger toon owners wanted more hp with that big foot...a larger hp engine....I too thought that they dropped the ball when they didn't pursue larger versions....course recalling their 3 cylinder 60 to 75 were their largest engines. Maybe they didn't see a market for an investment that would be required to build a special LU just to service that market. I had a 22 hp regular back then and started boating with dads 10 hp Scott.
 

Texasmark

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Thanks for the video. Very interesting. Side comment on the "size matters" and slower hole shot with 4 vs 2 stroke engines aka cubes! Cubes matter, back on the old Johnny rudes 25 for example, Mercury bass boat 150 hp standard 2.0 to 2.5 liter Magnum upgrade for better hole shots (ref 1997 sales brochures, OTR trucks like an 800 cu in 400 hp Big Cam 6 Cummins I had and on and on.
 

QBhoy

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Thanks for the video. Very interesting. Side comment on the "size matters" and slower hole shot with 4 vs 2 stroke engines aka cubes! Cubes matter, back on the old Johnny rudes 25 for example, Mercury bass boat 150 hp standard 2.0 to 2.5 liter Magnum upgrade for better hole shots (ref 1997 sales brochures, OTR trucks like an 800 cu in 400 hp Big Cam 6 Cummins I had and on and on.

Yeah. Think that was their plan to get these new 4 strokes as grunty as the old 2 strokes. Larger displacement managed by their new casting process. Means they can keep the weight as low as the 2 stroke of a smaller displacement. Amazing.
the CT gearbox allowing the fancy props like enertia etc helps loads too.
 

QBhoy

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Sorry you cannot rival the torque of the etec .The etec produces power on every stroke vs a four stroke taking double the strokes.Thats why the etec are not bigger persay cc wise than the merc they don't need to be.Theres one telling test out there in youtube land which I cannot find where they took a 34 foot offshore boat and bolted a 150hp etec to it and right beside it a 200 or 250 Yamaha .Both were propped correctly .Boat was rated for 400 plus hp.the Yamaha could not even get it on plane .The etec did .Optimax isn't even in the same league as the etec,s .Ive looked at the command thrust specs and tests and sorry there not their yet other wise they would be touting their superiorty over etec but its not happening they keep hounding Yamaha instead .I suppose we will have to agree to disagree as were firmly entrenched in our camps,lol.All in all ive had 8 years of flawless performance so im a pretty happy camper .I use maybe a gallon of oil in 2 years and I boat a fair amount .My 60 sips it like its the most precious thing in the world.Everybody is proud of their new motor ,please enjoy yours and may she give you many happy years.It is kinda sad ,Evinrude went from producing more outboards than all other mfg,s combined in 1995 to a disaster with fitch and a super fund fiasco to brp bailing them out .Many people will never trust erude again which is a shame because they make damn good motors right in the States.They are a former shadow of themselves but at the very least BRP saved the Evinrude name from the dustbin of history.Id like to see them adapt the A.C.E. four stroke teck to outboards and bring back Johnson as the 4 poke arm of their brand.In the snowmobile world their 4 and 2 strokes survive nicely together.It gives the consumer a choice .

I totally get what you are saying. I’ve seen that video too. The etec is an incredible thing. The technology and even the engineering behind the fuelling is amazing.
but honestly these new mercs are game changers. Can’t compare them to any other engine in the market. Light years ahead of anything else like Yamahas etc. That’s hard for me to say. I’ve always been a Yamaha 2 stroke guy and a merc 2 stroke guy. Never been a fan of the 4 stroke for the very reasons you list above. But the comparisons you are making are to different 4 strokes.
mid you have time look at the new mercury factory and their new casting process. Total game changing. This 115 CT I have is just incredible. Took a lot for me to give praise to any 4 stroke...until now. This will rival any 2 stroke the same power for every single area of a test. I can’t think of another engine that will do that. Have a look for yourself.
 

JimS123

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As I have said before, I was a Rude guy for 50 years. But when its time to change, its time. Three reasons:

1. 15 Merc dealers in town to one BRP.
2. Negative comments (whether true or false I dunno) from some local owners.
3. Bought Brunswick Corp boats and Mercs were the only horse to ride.
 

Texasmark

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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.

Back in the '60's I was a TV moonlighter to get 4 kids grown and in the process be able to have a boat and some fun too. New type of major brand of TV comes out and it's all circuit cards and a main frame. Cards had to go back to the factory for repair.

Problem I had with the job was that Joe Blow buys a new TV and has a warranty service call. Johnny Fix-R-Upper shows up with his tool bag and a suitcase of circuit cards. Well folks, what's in the bag? Well in the bag are working circuit cards, some new replacements, some removed from other's TVs that were mistakenly swapped, of who knows what age, but were functional, and weren't the cause of the problem at hand and rather than being put back in that person's TV, after they didn't solve the problem, they stayed in the bag.

Course the bright side is that once the bad board is replaced the TV is fixed, while still sitting in the owner's home and a trip to the shop is avoided along with the inconvenience to the customer of being without his TV till it was repaired and returned.....today if your's breaks, you just throw it in the trash and buy a new one, just like your cell phone and computer and most every thing else these days.
 

mgsolakis

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Oct 19, 2005
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My 2 cents, the Etec is just a far superior motor to the 06 Mercury. Will it out perform the Mercury? Yes it will, in every way except the cost to buy it and the cost of repairs to it when they are needed. Otherwise it is just way better motor, fuel consumption savings will shock you. The motor is fuel injected so it will always start first turn of the key. It will have an extremely smooth delivery of power through all ranges of the power band and it will be almost as quiet as a four stroke. You will also be saving the environment if that matters to you due to low oil usage and ultra low emissions.
 
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