Engine Re-power

[sec56]

Sorry, I believe I put my post in the wrong location/forum. I'm sure many have asked about repowering their boats and what outboard seems to be the best. With all the new technology out there, who has the best in reliability? I've owned nothing but Johnson or Evinrude in 45 years of Boating. I currently have a 1999 175hp Evinrude (yes, it's a ficht) on my Crestliner Eagle SST. I've owned it for about the last seven years. It came on the boat when I purchased the boat. It's been a great running motor till last year when it just up and quit like it ran out of fuel. It's been to two different Evinrude dealers for service. The first shop didn't have the software to support the motor, the second one did. The second shop said engine was fine, but thought my gas was bad and possibly had issues with the fuel lines interior collapsing since it ran fine on their fuel. So, I changed all the fuels from the extended transom forward, and the dealer changed the lines from the extended transom to the engine. New fuel/gas, new lines/hoses complete. Engine will sometimes run for 15 to 20 minutes, the quit just like it ran out of gas. I feel it’s an electronics or fuel pump issue, but both dealers said both fuel pumps are good. It's at a third dealer now to see if they can determine the cause of the problem. It's been a great running motor up until last summer. Sorry for my lengthy intro, but it lays the ground work for my following questions. I've been looking Yamaha ( models F and V Max Sho) and Mercury (models Pro XS and Four Stroke) outboards, both in 175hp and 200hp motors. I know how well my 2 stroke gets me up on plane. What I don't know is how well a four stoke will bring me up on plane. I'm looking for personal opinions regarding how well a 4 stroke 175 will perform compared to my 2 stroke 175. Or would it be a wiser choice to go up to a 200hp motor to give it a little more power for getting up on plane (boat is rated for 230hp). Any opinions or advice is welcomed. Thank you in advance.

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[alldodge]

4 strokes weigh more then 2 strokes

Example : A Seadoo 2 stroke 130hp top speed is same as 4 stroke 155hp

 

[briangcc]

When I upgraded my 120HP Force 2-stroke on the Bayliner to a 115HP Honda 4-Stroke I honestly didn't notice any difference in hole shot. Yeah, yeah I heard all about the 4 strokes don't have the hole shot that 2 strokes do but in actual practice, on my boat, there wasn't a difference.

What I did notice was that at idle the Honda was dead silent. You could hear the water from the tell tale hitting the lake from the helm. No bs. Turn key starting as opposed to figeting with the controls to hope and pray the 2-stroke started. **I grew up on a 2-stroke outboard and own a carb'd muscle car but by far this 2-stroke was THE worst to get to start.

The other thing I did notice was that the boat sat about an inch lower in the water due to the added weight....I think the difference was about 200lbs between the two.

 

[Texasmark]

When I upgraded my 120HP Force 2-stroke on the Bayliner to a 115HP Honda 4-Stroke I honestly didn't notice any difference in hole shot. Yeah, yeah I heard all about the 4 strokes don't have the hole shot that 2 strokes do but in actual practice, on my boat, there wasn't a difference.

What I did notice was that at idle the Honda was dead silent. You could hear the water from the tell tale hitting the lake from the helm. No bs. Turn key starting as opposed to figeting with the controls to hope and pray the 2-stroke started. **I grew up on a 2-stroke outboard and own a carb'd muscle car but by far this 2-stroke was THE worst to get to start.

The other thing I did notice was that the boat sat about an inch lower in the water due to the added weight....I think the difference was about 200lbs between the two.

You must have lucked out with your prop selection. Having 200 additional pounds of weight at the transom is surely a force with which to recon on hole shot or getting skiers up and on the water. Glad it worked for you.

 

[racerone]

Two stroke outboards in good condition start right up.------With the right starting procedure of course.------If you have one with the " crank and hope " syndrome , then the motor needs attention.

 

[Faztbullet]

The ProXS and Verado you will see faster planing times...go for boat max rating like a 225HP

 

[sec56]

Hopefully, I've made a good choice in the outboard motor I've purchased. There's so much information out there , good/bad, it makes it difficult to choose any one brand. Anyway, I now have a fully rebuilt/remanufactured 2-stroke (don't know if the Opti came/comes in 4-stroke) 200hp OptiMax with a brand new lower unit on my boat. I was told by the rebuilder that it's model year was right around 2005/06. Currently working on the break-in period. Unfortunately, due to weather, mainly temperature, I probably won't get the break-in done 100% until next season. It feels considerably different than my Evinrude. The biggest thing I was looking for was equivalent or better hole shot compared to what I got with my 175hp Evinrude and so far I like what I've experienced with this motor.

 

[Chris1956]

Optimax is a direct injection 2 cycle engine, the same basic design as the FICHT you had. Optimax uses high pressure air and fuel to aid injection, versus FICHT, which uses only high pressure fuel to aid injection. I expect the Optimax will have similar performance, although greater power.

FWIW, comparison of the weight of direct injection 2 cycle motors and 4 cycle motors will show very little difference. They are also equally as complex, computer driven and have interchangeable performance.

 

[Texasmark]

Two stroke outboards in good condition start right up.------With the right starting procedure of course.------If you have one with the " crank and hope " syndrome , then the motor needs attention.

.....as long as its getting adequate fuel.