new engine

[marsanden]

On your experience what is the best engine for a 26 x mercury 50-60 ( 4 strokes) or yamaha 50 4 strokes , or evinrude etec 50?
thanks in advance

[John McDonough]

. You didnt mention Suzuki or Honda.?

All Brands of Engines are good. You will read good reviews and bad reviews.

I bought a Honda 50 in 1998 because it was on sale and the lightest 50 Hp availabe. I have never had any problems with it. Yet.

[March]

I replaced an older Johnson 50 HP with the Evinrude, and I am very pleased with the decision. The Evinrude takes much less oil, it invariably starts at a simple twist of the key, needs no maintenance for the first three years, and is self-winterizing. The exhaust fumes are noticeably reduced (the engine leaves no exhaust smoke to speak of, even though it still smells a little...) It is somewhat quieter than the Johnson (it has a deeper "growl" that is not so bothersome). It seems to use less gas, too (I approximated it at about 30% less, but this might be wishful thinking). I am very happy with the speed and the power it provides, though many other members have reported better results with the 60 HP E-Tec or even higher. It's good enough for me. I have used it only once at full throttle, for an extended period of time (1 hour)

On the other side, the ETEC enginesseem to be more expensive (but see the 5 year warranty).

I am sure that those who opted for a 4 stroke will give you their good reasons but so far, I have not regretted my decision

[bscott]

I have an 08 E-tec 60. Everthing March said plus it is almost as quiet as a 4 stroke, 238#, does not smell that we can tell, gets up on plane fast, cruises a 2,000 rpm at 9 knts and gets excellent fuel mileage with nil oil consumption. 60 hp is good enough for me

bscott

[David Mellon]

The factory now offers Evinrude ETEC 60 as a stock installation. I love mine, it has a smaller engine cover, taking up less space at the swim step/engine well. It has started every time even after extended periods of non use when my batteries were not at full charge. My only complaint is that it idles so quietly that I have turned the key while it's running. Figure a 4-stroke has 105 moving parts per cylinder and my 2-stroke has 2, which will have more problems? I have never seen smoke coming from my engine. I was told that 2-strokes would not be allowed at Lake Tahoe by both a Jonson and a Honda dealer. When I went to the Evinrude dealer there was an article showing that Lake Tahoe Search and Rescue uses the ETEC, that was the deciding moment for me. If the other companies need to resort to lies to sell engines they must know they have an inferior product.

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

Probably every (long time) Mac owner will face an engine decision eventually. Its nice hearing "good" reviews on what works well.
My '99 Nissan has very low hours, runs extremely well, but those doggonned "smoke 'n fumes" are aweful. Everything is tuned & timed, but I think its the simple problems with carburated engines. My prior Mac Classic had an 8 hp Merc. with the same problems -- ran extremely well, but it smoked and stunk worse than my 50 HP Nissan.

[NiceAft]

I did not base my decision on purchasing a 4 stroke on any of the above.

I believe that all of the engines mentioned above are good mechanical devices. I went for a 4 stroke only because of the environment. No, I'm not a tree hugger, but I felt that I should try as hard as possible to be aware and prevent pollution. According to BOATUS ( not a tree hugging organization), we must try to prevent any pollution into the water. I would extend that to the air also. I went for a four stroke. The only reason I have a Honda is because that is what my dealer sold.

Ray

[pokerrick1]

What March said

I LOVE my 60 ETEC - - - starts every time instantly - - - needs almost no maintenance - - - uses little oil - - - lots of power at WOT - - - idles and low RPM's well. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Rick

[dennisneal]

As I understand things:

The Evinrude Etec 50 HP and 60 HP engines weigh the same; the only difference being a computer chip, or two. So, the balance of the boat remains the same with either engine. But, I'm told that, other things being equal, more HP is always better because the less powerful engine works harder to produce the same output power. The 60 HP engine has more "reserve".

So, even though the 60 HP engine costs a little more, I'd recommend it over the 50.

[David Mellon]

NiceAft! The ETEC has the very highest rating for emissions, there is no cleaner engine.

[seahouse]

My dealer favours the ETEC 50 and 60s, saying, among other things, that they were cleaner running than the 4 strokes, something that ranks high on my priority list. When I heard that I thought to myself "yeah, right, how can that be?" As it turned out my "knowledge base" was not up to date with the technology and he was not exagerating - research later confirmed that not only are its emissions lower than the 4-strokes, but they are much lower. It is not one feature, but it is the sum total result of many construction details in this engine that is able to give such a remarkable result.

That and other advantages, most already mentioned above, made that an easy decision for me.

-Brian.

[delevi]

And the Etec dosn't need to be flushed! That was a big factor for me.

[Obelix]

I've got the ETEC-60 and really like it. We had a computer issue one time, but it was handled completely painless between my dealer and the manufacturer. Great engine, easy on the gas.

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

No matter what the construction, every engine used in salt water should be flushed regularly. If you don't you'll tear up your impeller much faster than normal.

You don't mention the direct competitor to the eTec, the Tohatsu TLDI. The only other low emission, direct injected, two stroke on the market. I re-powered my 26X with a TLDI 90 last year. The 70 and the 90 are the same motor head, they just have a different computer module and air intake. I have the parts to make it either a 70 or a 90, but you can guess which parts I have installed. It fit's very well on an X, the motor head is much smaller than any of the four stoke 70hp motors. At 315 lbs it's also very light. It get's great fuel mileage compared to my old two stroke, easily the match of any 4 stroke. It's also far quieter than the old carb'd motor. It's a different sounding motor than the 4 strokes which have a lot of valve train whine at higher rpm's. The Tohatsu has a lower, very pleasant, exhaust growl to it. Runs clean as a whistle, not a bit of oil smoke or sheen on the water. Tohatsu makes a bulletproof motor that has a world wide reputation for great performance and durability.

Take a serious look at something larger than a 50. With the 90, even loaded for extended cruising with 6 people on board, the 26X actually lives up to the performance the original marketing hype claimed. It's also nice to have a motor that can swing a 14" prop, you get much better low speed response than the typical 12" prop on a 50.

http://www.tohatsu.com/outboards/90tldi.html
http://www.tohatsu.com/tech_info/tldi_faqs.html

[kadet]

I think the more correct term is that the Etec does not require a run flush as the power head is self flushing. All that is required is a short burst of freshwater in the flush port to clean out the cooling channels.

Also the Etec 50 and 60 have large engine impellers and gear cases so swing 14” props no problem at all.

Diff between the 50 and the 60 is not just the computer. The 60 has larger injectors and a few other differences in the fuel system.

PK