Evinrude E-TEC

[wompasscat]

just wanting to get all of ya'lls pofressional opinion i went to look at a new 40hp etec motor made by evinrude i have had my evirude for 25 years,i was talking to a dealer about them he said you dont even have to have a battery to start it or to run yor lights an the boat,it all runs off of a compasiter on the motor,i have a 16ft flat bottom with a 35hp i just thought i would graduate to 40hp any please give me ya"lls feedback on these motors,i sure would hate to spend $5500.00 on it ...........happy all

[Shellback]

They are brand new technology and only have been on the market less than a year. For the 40HP maybe less time. Seems like other manufacturers are concentrating on 4 strokes, and Evinrude is betting it all on this new 2 stroke. Me, I'd be going with a 4 stroke, I've got 2 now and would never go back to a 2 stroke. The oil for those E-Tecs ain't cheap either!

[papasage]

i ask a mercuray teck and he sayes the add that was on tv about the etec was lejit . as i am a advertisment non beliver .they usealey make it look so much better than it is i asked tmd on this site he will be honest with you even though he is a merck teck . join this site for all your boat and motor questions . http://www.themarinedoctor.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl. he. a

[Tommy]

I'm sort of in the same thought process Wompass. I have decided to go with a four stroke and am trying to decide on which one. From the research that I have done, the only down fall to the 4's is the fuel system replacement cost and the weight of the motor. But how often does a fuel system go out??? For the money that you save in gas you could probably pay for that system on 2 years.

[Crapbie]

I got the free lures from the commercial even though I did not even have a boat lol :D

[TomC]

I'm starting to wonder if my 200 etec actually burns oil. The oil runs me $15 /gallon but I've burned just over a gallon since I got mine and I've been on the lake probably 20 times. I wouldnt worry about your oil costs and as a matter of fact the overall cost of ownership is probably the biggest reason to get an etec. I think there may actually be some reason why every dealer and more importantly all the mechanics that I spoke with (and let me tell you what I spoke with bunch) without exception recommended the etec over a 4 stroke. Interesting considering the fact that the vast majority of these dealers sold the other major manufacturers 4 stroke engines. Look at your maintenance costs over the first three years on a 4 stroke or for that matter any other 2 stroke direct injection verses the etec. You have no scheduled maintenance on the etec for the first 3 years and NO BREAK IN, plus I got in on the 7 year warranty which I think has expired. I've only been running my 200 etec for 2 months and I'm really starting to wonder if it actually burns oil plus the gas mileage is fantastic and I've had more than one 4 stroke pull up next to me and my etec is IMHO almost if not as quite as the 4 stroke plus the emission output of the etec is lower than the 4 strokes not to mention the etecs are significantly lighter than 4 strokes. When I first started doing research on engines I had every intention of buying a 4 stroke. I had heard of the etec so I started reading the internet boards and was initially turned off cause I heard sort of the same comments as above that "oh it new technology or people would gripe that they had problems with ficts or issues with OMC prior to Bombardier coming into the picture bla bla bla".........and then I started visiting dealers and then got on the phone and started talking to dealers and mechanics across the country and I was blown away at how overwhelming the recommendation was to get the etec over a 4 stroke. The bottom line is that the etec is in fact revolutionary technology.....its not just another 2 stroke DI. The smaller etecs have been running for a while now and you would have to look long and hard to find someone dissatisfied or that would tell you the etecs aren’t everything they are built up to be. Just last week the EPA awarded the first ever clean air excellence award to the etec….which was just assumed would go to a 4 stroke. Good luck!

Tom

[Shellback]

I'm not sure what maintenence costs are involved in a 4 stroke, I've got 2, a Honda and a Yamaha. I change the oil and filter once a year, about $10.00. I'll tell you what scares me about E-Tecs, the relatively small amount of oil it does use. They have to squeak it down to absolute bare bones to pass the EPA tests. Do you think there is any room for a malfunction on the oil system or computer? I think you are either going to have a fried motor, or a big bill for computer replacement when it shuts her down for a malfunction. Of course if you have a 7 year warranty, it's probably not an issue. You have Mercury, Yamaha, Honda, and Suzuki, pretty much concentrating alot of research and technology into the 4 strokes. Bombardier is betting it all on the E-Tec, go figure. I do wish Bombardier success, but I'm sold on 4 strokes.

[Tunica]

well Bombardier is a French canadian outfit so figure it from there.

[wompasscat]

thanks for all the info fella's i did some more research on them as far as oil use,you can run the etec motor for 3 hours straight with the oil line off,thats pretty impressive,i think iam going to go with the etec 40hp it weighs 62lbs less than my 35 hp and i dont have to worry about using a battery cause you dont need one,thats another 70lbs i gain in weight. does anybody know how long you can run off that compasitor with lights on in the boat????? not much on the computer thing,the only thing that might hold me back would be the oem like shell said i bet that is exspensive,really have to rely on that 7 year warranty........thanks for all info and happy fishing

[TomC]

You're making a very smart choice going with the etec. I get a laugh out of the assumptions and comments some people make about the etec who havent taken the time to understand the technology behind the motor. There are technical reasons why its quite, requires little maintence and burns little oil and I can assure you that, "squeak it down to absolute bare bones to pass the EPA tests" is not an informed answer to why etecs burn so little oil. Four strokes are fine engines but you are getting the best outboard technology money can buy at this time. A great place to get info on your etec or have questions answered is the evinrude forum over at bassboatcentral.

tom