[Guest]

I am looking at buying a Ranger 210 Reata Fish'n ski and my options for a motor is the OptiMax 225 or the New Envinrude 225 High Output Direct Injection. The sales person that helped me was very nice and a well known fisherman in the area and he told me that the 225 Evinrude actually runs at 246 horsepower. This is very important because the rangers are so heavy I am concerned about low end torque.

Also if anyone has a triton fish'in ski, how do you like it?

I want all opinions out there.

Thanks,
J.D.

 

[conquistador]

Everybody says the Envinrude 225 High Output is a faster motor than any other 225. I believe that to be true.

I have an 04 225 OptiMax and so far so good. It is fast enough for your needs but the Evinrude will be faster. But it will cost more.

Ask about a jackplate for the boat. If you are going to spend more on the engine spend just a little more on a jackplate so you can set the boat up for maximum performance.

About the Trition. You should take the time to look at them because they are so well built and the dealer, Complete Marine, is one of the best in town.

 

[Guest]

Go w/ the 'Rude 225 HO. That is supposed to be a screamer. After the Bomb took it over and refined it, I have heard nothing but good. The claim about the 246 HP is well known now. You'll love the fuel efficiency. I run the 225 Ficht and can tell you it is very good on gas mileage and low oil consumption. They have a 7 year extend warranty offer going right now which is awesome to have on a 2 stroke. It's on the Bombardier web site. Read the fine print ,though. As with anything like this these days, there is ALWAYS fine print. Good luck.

Multiple Migs

 

[Guest]

Thanks Conquistador and Multiple Migs. Very informative.

Anyone else?

 

[champ204]

go with the Evinrude and a jackplate for more power..

 

[fsh2win]

have you had the dealership take you to the lake to run them, so you can see/tell the difference? just wonderin. good luck

kk

 

[Darryl Mathews]

Merc

I vote for the opposite. Go with a Merc. Stop in to a Bass tourney and do a head count Mercurys and the other ones. See what theres the most of and then think about why.
Why don't you try a pro max?
Darryl

 

[d a]

If I counted Chevy's on the road versus Cadillacs and found more Chevy's then according to your logic Chevy's are better than Cadillacs?

 

[Guest]

I'd go with the Merc, tride and true. My Dad has '78 Merc on the back of his Kingfisher and in 25 years it's been in the shop once for an impeller. I can't say the same for anyone I have ever known with an Evinrude. Evinrudes are like Japanese cars they're nice for a couple of years, but fall apart fast and expensive to fix. Plus Mercs are known for low end torque and are rated 10 points lower in h.p., put that together with the torque and that will blow that 246 hp out of the water. Still don't believe go to a tournament.


Fish on!!

 

[Darryl Mathews]

D-A

GM Is GM isn't it???? Mercurys go hand and hand with Bassfishing. I guess if one motor wasn't as good, the word would spread fast and you wouldn't see alot of them. He asked for opinions and this is mine. By the way what kind of motor do you have D -A ?

 

[Lone Ranger]

I'd go with Mercury. I have a 1999 Mercury Optimax 225 on my 20'6" Ranger and I really like it. I owned a 1988 200 HP Merc EFI on my 19'3" Ranger and really liked it too. I had that boat/motor for 9 years. Prior to that I had a 115 HP Evinrude on my 17' Ranger and everything that could go wrong with the Evinrude seemed to go wrong with it.

Also, I'm not sure how many changes Bombardier has done on the Evinrudes. I would think that if it cost them a lot of money for the acquisition of OMC, then they would not want to spend too much money on redesigning the outboards, unless there was a big problem with them. My 225 Merc Optimax is stingy using gas and oil, is real quiet running, and very reliable. If you're concerned about speed, put a jackplate on the boat, one that you can raise the motor with when you are running the boat.

You are wondering about the difference between 246 HP and 225 HP as far as speed goes. Top speed is a function of the HP ratio to the cube root. Divide 246 by 225 and you get approx. 1.093. Take the cube root of 1.093 and you get approx. 1.03 or a 3% increase in speed. So if your boat goes 65 mph with the 225 HP engine, it will go about 67 mph with the 246 HP engine if at that. If the 246 HP Evinrude engine weighs a lot more than the 225 HP Merc engine, there might not be any increase in top end speed. Just my 2¢. 8)

 

[Guest]

Wow you guys are awesome! Thanks for the input. I really appreciate it.

I'm still welcome more opinions.

Thanks,
J.D.

 

[Bayou]

I'm not going tp be able to inject a whole lot of comparison analysis, however, I can say that anyone's theory of poor Evinrude stuff prior to the last few years is irrlevant. Since Bombardier took them over their products have been greatly enhanced.

 

[Lone Ranger]

Sorry for the long post to follow: I would agree that Bombardier has enhanced the external styling of Johnson and Evinrude motors. But, I don't know whether or not they have spent money on to enhance internal parts. I would like to think that over the last few years, that engineering improvements have been made as part of a quality improvement program for both engines. OMC was in trouble financially, which usually means a reduction in such improvement activity. When my crankshaft broke in two on my 115 HP Evinrude, I was idling my Ranger into a cove on Lake Okeechobee. My Evinrude was 2 years old and that represented the final straw in a string of breakdowns. The local Evinrude dealer said it was out of warranty so it was my problem, so I took the engine to an independent mechanic who removed the crankshaft and gave it to me. A friend who was working in a world class aircraft engine materials lab, took a bunch of 10X-20X type of photos and identified a number of inclusions in the cast crankshaft. These were casting defects. The crankshaft was not forged, it was a casting. I worked my way up the Evinrude and OMC food chains, trying to at least get them to pay for parts. All I got was the basic "go pound sand" reaction in written responses back to me, even from Charles Strang, the then CEO of OMC. They wanted me to send them the crankshaft as it was obvious the photos were displaying minimum material properties only presenting up to 3% of the crankshafts. If I bought another crankshaft, they were confident that it would have normal material properties and I would not have a problem. However, since the engine was out of warranty, they would not pay for any of the repairs. I felt that their reaction was from a purely short term financial perspective, not from a customer satisfaction (sales/marketing) perspective. Since I worked with 3,000 aerospace engineers in Florida, I passed the pictures and letters around to make them aware of the Evinrude/OMC stance. After all I did to get through to them, I really thought they would come through and at least pay for the parts, which they refused. So I did not send them the crankshaft, only the pictures, and I swore off buying Evinrudes and Johnsons in the future. I guess that means my comments are biased. Hopefully, all the Evinrude and Johnson owners are enjoying good service out of their outboards today. Just my 2¢. 8)

 

[d a]

Darryl, I'm not argueing your recommendation of a Merc, just your logic. You know I own a Merc. Its a published fact I own a Merc. An XR-6 150 1997 vintage. Its an established (OLD) design and considered by many to be bullet-proof. Is it better than an Evinrude or Yamaha 150? I don't know because I've never owned one or read a trustworthy comparison of the three.

In my opinion, recommending a product just because more people own them is silly. Nike sells a ton of athletic shoes because they are a marketing firm and advertise the hell out of them. Are they better shoes than Reebok's? You're probably too young to remember how popular Ford Pinto's were in the early 70s but can you say Firestone Wilderness ATs? I'd rather hear recommendations based upon personal experience with reliability performance, price, manufacturer warranty, dealer service, etc.

Three years ago, if you had counted graphs at a bass tournament you would have concluded PinPoint 7520's were the best and not even considered the new X-15. You're right when you point out people will flock to something that's better. Timing is everything.

 

[Guest]

Without creating wars, I think this generally boils down to how the reliability issues stand TODAY. I probably would feel bitter if I had a bad experience w/ Brand X or Brand Y, as Lone Ranger stated. I know I have a bitter pill w/ a faulty Chevy engine in a 2000 Chevy that GM won't replace. I've always been a Chevy fan, but if you were to ask me if my loyalties exist at the same level as in the past, I would say 'no'. Lone Ranger, your experience happened on a 115 HP that is known to be bullet proof. I had one and didn't experience any problems. When I would go to Tempe Marine or Scottsdale Marine, they would tell me the that with the new DFI technology, BOTH Merc and OMC were experiencing problems. It was evident if you looked at the blown OBs on the pellets. By the way, your theory of HP percentage increase I don't believe holds water. But that is up for another discussion.

 

[Jigmaker]

Here's my opion I own a 1996 Rude have never had any trouble with it. I have owned Mercs and was always putting money in them to keep them running right so I would never own another black motor. If I was going to buy new again it would be Yamaha ask anyone who ownes one or has owned one they will tell you they are the best

 

[Delw]

I love these who makes the best posts,
boittom line if your going to get a new one get a warrenty and a extended one at that. that way you dont have to worry about it. if it breaks after warrenty its called tough *&^%^.

Ive seen brand new motors crap out and Ive seen motor from 1980 all org that are in perfect condition. and get tons of hours. Most problems that happen to a motor are caused by the person driving the boat. running it over max rpm, low water pressure letting it over heat etc. flying through a wave than slamming down on the water.

Boat motors take just as much abuse if not more than racing dirt bikes, I am suprised they last as long as they do in some situations.

to answer the org question.

I have never owned a OMC product until 8 months ago, I have always owned mercs and love them.
8 months ago I got a 21+ foot boat and it only had a 200 omc on it, the boat is quick off the line and does a pretty good job for speed.
I Feel If I had a merc on it, it would be a tad faster but not have the hole shot it does now.

One thing I dont like about the mercs is the low water pressure on the motor 1998 and older. at full trim most only runn max of 15, in the OMC I have I get 30+ at full trim. to me thats the best you can do for your motor.

as for working on the mercs to me they are easier and cheaper and parts are more readily avail, with omc OUCH on the price.
they are easier to work on in certain situations but requirer a few expensive electronic tools Mercs you can do with automotive tools.

With the new motors working on them you need expensive electronic's and PC's both with mercs and omc's

from that I have heard an optimax is a $1000 min bill to work on just like the fitch.

Do yourself one favor no matter what the cost is and buy the extended warrenty and the longest one you can get. take care of the motor since they cost more than kids :roll:

If you have any problems with a motor dont run it take it to get work on Immed. to many people change one thing take it out again then stop and play with it again, after a few times of this your going to cause more damage than you would have if you took it to someone to get it fixed right the first time.

2 stroke motors ar not like a car where you can limp them home and most of the times they will fire back up in the am. a 2 stroke is basically a full blow racing motor and if the fuel air and compression isnt perfect you can kiss it good buy.

you dont have 5 quarts of oil to help it stay lubricated and cool, you oil is mixed with the gas and just a few mins if not sec's. of no oil and boom there goes your wallet, if you run a lean mixture boom there goes your wallet. if your timeing is off a few degrees boom there goes you wallet etc.

Delw

 

[champ204]

dels right get the extended warranty. i smoked my 94 Evinrude 3.0 liter and it cost 6 k just to rebuild it.

 

[Guest]

THANKS ALL FOR THE VERY INFORMATIVE AND HELPFUL POSTS.

TIGHT LINES ,
J.D.