Need Opinions on Optimax

[Tinman]

I am seriously considering a new Mercury Optimax 90 hp for my 22 foot dory. The boat will be used almost exclusively in the ocean, including offshore for tuna.

What are the pros and cons of Optimax? I am especially concerned about reliability. Thanks.

[HOOKUP]

Reliabty and optimax in the same sentance is extremely rare.
Unless you get the 5 year warrenty ( was offered this spring by merc) I wouldnt get the opti. I would however look at a 4 stroke, or maybe the e-tec because it has a better warrenty then the opti I believe.

[HOOKUP]

I should also mention there was a class action lawsuit against merc from 2001-2003 becausde of the Optimax and mercs refusal to fix them. I ordered a SJ recently and the opti was a choice but there is no way I could pay more for a motor with that kind of history

[Bluto]

I've got a 2004 200hp Optimax (SportJet) and have had no problems whatsover. Just like the early version of the E-tec (Ram Ficht), the Opti had problems as well. Having said that, if I were buying an outboard, I would look hard at Yamaha. I've got a Yami T8 Kicker and it rocks. Have never seen anything bad about Yamaha.

[Royal2]

I too have a 200hp Optimax sport jet. No problems except for a bad alternator which was replaced under warranty. The engine gets incredible GPH and uses half of the oil my last Yamaha did. On my 22' sled which is 25' long over all, a good cruising speed for me on the ocean in good conditions is 23 mph burning 6.6 to 7GPH. :yay: It goes way up 12 GPH if I am running 40mph.

That being said, my next motor will be something more quiet like a 4 stroke engine. The sportjet is loud!

One more thing, you have to use the Optimax oil. I was using the Cabelas 2 cylcle oil and the motor was going through it like crazy and fouling out the plugs. When I switched to the Optimax it made a HUGE difference. Motor runs smooth and it sips the oil to a point where sometimes I think something must be wrong because I run all day and it hardly goes down in the tank.

R2

[Mr. Carp]

Run away as fast as you can and never look back!!! :sick:

[Ride Red]

One more thing, you have to use the Optimax oil. I was using the Cabelas 2 cylcle oil and the motor was going through it like crazy and fouling out the plugs. When I switched to the Optimax it made a HUGE difference. Motor runs smooth and it sips the oil to a point where sometimes I think something must be wrong because I run all day and it hardly goes down in the tank.




How does a motor know to pump more oil when you're using Cabelas?

Why were you ordering oil from Cabelas?

[Tinman]

Many thanks to all that responded. I've decided to stick with old-fashioned two stroke technology for my new dory. I bought a low-hours Johnson 88 hp V4 that should serve nicely. Thanks again.

[Royal2]

RR

Cabelas makes a TCW-3 semi sinthetic oil that is cheaper than a lot of the other oils out there. It was guaranteed to meet or exceed specifications and I had a 6 gallon case left over from my previous boat which had a 150HP Yamaha VMax pump on it. Right now you can get a 6 gallon case for about $16 a gallon.

The optimax oil looks completely different than standard two cycle oil. All I know is that it works WAY better in my optimax as I stated before. I wouldd guess that the Cabelas oil will work in any other 2 stroke motor.

R2

[weekender]

I've NEVER heard anything good about the Opti.

We'll wait, that isnt true. The black rocket guy defended them once, but he also had a couple for sale at the time. Other than that its always been bad.

I know if I was in the market for an outboard I would stay away from them, and if I was looking at used boats that had an opti I would find a different boat...