[Waterfish]

I saw the new Evinrude E-Tec outboards at the boat show. OMC, who used to make Evinrude, went bankrupt and was bought by Bombardier, who re-engineered the whole Evinrude/Johnson line. These new E-Tec motors sound like a good thing; much lighter than any similar sized four-stroke. The 90 hp E-Tec weighs 305 lbs (I think a 90 hp Honda is around 400 lbs). Emmisions that are as low or lower than some four-strokes (legal in any lake in Nevada or California where other two-stokes are banned). They meet or exceed CARB 3-star emissions (whatever that is). Fuel economy that rivals four-stokes. And they are very quiet. No scheduled dealer maintenance for three years (or 300 hrs of use).

I like everything about four-strokes except for the extra weight, and my boat is already stern heavy enough with my 70 hp two-stoke and 8 hp Honda kicker. I am thinking about upgrading to 90 hp, and this new Evinrude E-Tec sounds like what I need. Anyone have one of these new motors, and how do you like it so far? Does it live up to all of the claims made by Bombardier?

[ 01-11-2004, 11:53 AM: Message edited by: Waterfish ]

 

[Waterfish]

John, I think Evinrude/Bombardier do make smaller kicker motors, but not with the new E-Tec technology. I picked up a 29-page brochure, and in the E-Tec line they have 40, 50, and 60 hp, two cyclinder in-line motors, and 75 and 90 hp three cyclinder in-line motors.

The brochure also shows a line of "direct injection" motors (V-4s and V-6s), from 100 hp to 250 hp. Other than size, I am not sure what the difference is between the E-Tec series and the Direct Injection series. The direct injection motors are also advertized to be quiet, fuel efficient, smoke free, etc., however they have a CARB 2-star emission rating, compared to the E-Tec series, which have a CARB 3-star rating. I wonder how these emissions ratings compare to the four-stroke Hondas and Yamahas?

 

[Waterfish]

Arima15Ryan,

I remember hearing a lot of bad things about those Evinrude Ficht engines, in fact, I think the Ficht engine is what caused OMC/Evinrude to go bankrupt. Bombardier is a totally different company, however, and they say they have totally re-engineered the Evinrude/Johnson line to meet their standards. These new E-tecs sound like best of both worlds; light weight like a two-stroke, with lots of speed and torqe, but quiet, fuel efficient and reliable like four-strokes. I hope someone who has one will post a report. I would buy one now but since my 1991 Evinrude is still running good, I can't justify it yet.