2 or 4 Stroke, Which is Better

[APKape]

I've been shopping for a new boat and have picked up a lot of information the sales people. One major decision of buying a boat is the engine. What kind to get: Merc, Evinrude, Nissan, Yamaha. How large a motor, 50hp, 125hp, 200hp. Last, but not least, what kind of stroke to choose. What I've been told is 2 strokes are less expense, put out more HP, lighter, easier to fix, use more fuel, smoke a lot, and loud. 4 strokes are more exensive, are not a powerful, heavier, cost more to fix, good of fuel, and runs quite. For all you guys out there "long in the gill" that have had both engines, or anyone that wants to give their option on the motor they have, lets hear what you have to say.

[Speck]

First off, go with the max horse power the boat is rated for. You don't have to use it but its there if you need it. Second, I've owned numerous Evinrude, Johnson and Mercury even an Eska 2 strokes. None of them hold a candle to my Yamaha 4 stroke all things considered. I'll never go back to a 2 stroke. As far as 4's not being as powerful, the h.p. rating is at the prop. So a 90 h.p. 2 stroke has the same power as a 90h.p. 4 stroke. True that the 4's are heavier than the 2's but with the newer ones out, the weight difference is getting smaller. My F90 Yamaha gets about the same speed out of my boat as my old 115 Merc yet uses about half the fuel for the same distance. No 2 stroke oil to buy and you don't have the 2 stroke smoke. Almost maitenence free. I run my boat year round and use it hard. I change the oil twice a year. Once for fishing season and once for hunting season. All things considered I think the 4 strokes are well worth the price.

[Bigby]

I have a Johnson 90hp 4 stroke and love it, I have owned it for about a year with no problems. Sometimes I forget to turn the motor off pulling up to a tree because it's so quite. The best part is no mixing oil, changed the oil in mine twice and it's a breeze. 4 stokes from now on for me.

[Just Jiggin]

We have a 150 4 stroke yamaha & really like it. It's on a 08 188 Champion. It was a bit more than a 2 stroke But weighs less tha a 2 stroke of same hp. Fuel usage is very little. But I do keep extra fuel filters with me. I run Yamaha ring free in my fuel when I fill up. Takes 1 ounce to 10 gal gas. I use Yam ring because mfg recommends it as long as its under warranty. Thats another reason we went with the Yam 4 stroke because they gave a 7 yr warranty when we bought the boat. Not sure I would go 4 stroke again because I have friends with the new opti max that gets almost as good fuel mileage as I do. Good luck on the boat purchase & hope this helps. JJ

[Krazy]

After Jan 2010 the new EPA rules go into effect and 2 stroker smokers will be hard to find.

I have a 2 stroke OptiMax and it does pretty good on gas. I dont have to change crankcase oil....but I have to fill the oil injection tank now and again.

If I could do it all over again tomorrow, I would probably do the 4 stroke....but when I bought this rig 4 years ago the difference in price between a YamerHammer 115 4 stroke and this 115 OptiMax was more than a few hundred dollars so I went with the OptiMax.

Biggest complaint you will ever hear from a boat owner is not enuf horse power!!!! Spend every dollar you can afford.

[APKape]

I currently have a '85 70hp 2 stroke Nissan. Can't really say anything bad about the motor. I starts up every time on the first turn of the key, idles smooth, good power. The few gripes I have is you can smell the 2 stroke exhaust. It doesn't smoke by any mean, but you can smell that oil/gas mix. It does OK with how much gas it will burn. From what I heard from other people with new 2 strokes, they get better gas mileage that my Nissan.

[C N]

We've had three Suzuki 4-strokes over the last few years on different boats, a Mercury 4-stroke kicker and one 200 Optimax all bought new and a 25 hp Yamaha 4-stroke on a bait boat and we'll NEVER buy anything but 4-strokes again. First preference being Suzuki and closely followed by the Yamaha. He's had other big 2-strokes before and the Optimax sucked the gas compared to the others on similar weight boats. He had a 200 hp Mercury on his 2100 Lund Baron, too.

Two of the Zuki's were 140 horses; one he ran on his big honkin' War Eagle catfish boat, one he's still running on our 28' foot Sundancer tri-toon and the last one is a 115 hp on our crappie boat. All the 4-strokes are very easy on the fuel with zero problems. He ran the first Suzuki on his catfish guide boat and had over 300 hours on it in less than two years. All on the MO river. Never a problem. Quiet, too. The Optimax and kicker were on MY boat and he hated the boat from the moment we got it. So we don't have it anymore. He complained long enough till I agreed to sell it and buy the boat we have now.

The 140's and 115 don't slow down no matter how much weight you pile in them. They just get up and go. Period.

I still miss MY boat. Here she is below :rolleyes::

[centerdriver]

Being kinda frugal, I researched for months on the pros and cons of 2 vs 4. Everyone I talked to that could talk from experence, not by reading or word of mouth, shouted the praises of the optimax. So, I got one. Never been happier. I was leary of the 4's due to the newness of them, and not all the bugs were worked out yet, but now it seems they are.
Biggest plus I have found about the opti is it has the hole shot of the ol 2, but the fuel economy of the 4. We took a little trip of 66 miles up the river and back to Silver Springs from our place in Leesburg and used 12.9 gal of fuel. I can have a normal conversation with the person sitting next to me at 30 mph without yelling over engine noise, and the only smoke I have seen out of my 115 opti was upon initial start up for the day. Never see any more the rest of the day.
There are many pros and cons, just got to decide what you want out of an engine and how much you want to spend. As far as maxing out the hp. for your boat, would also recommend that. Not only for your well being, but will aid in resale value later on.
Dusty

[paintnfurdoe]

Eventually there will be no more two strokes made....Yamaha will be ending production in 2010 Merc and Bombadier will follow soon. Probably a good thing , the two strokes are so complicated and expensive to repair. My next one will be a 4 stroke.

[go dart]

have only had 2 strokes and im sure the next motor will be 4 stroke but i will say my 9 yr old 90 horse bigfoot has never let me down. have really pounded on her and usually run 5800 rpm. when cold takes a couple starts to warm her up but i do love those holeshots and heck i grew up smelling those fumes. like pavlov"s (sp) dog that means fishin