never been on a boat powered by an E-Tec.  as with anything you buy there are good and bad reports.  You only need to watch I-FIsh to see how quiet they are.  With my Mercury 2 stroke you can have a conversation, on I-Fish they are filming a boradcast quality TV show.  Must be very quiet.  My understanding is that the fuel consuption is also excellent.

The thing that gets me is the 300 hours without a service.  that is HEAPS.  there is salt water going through the cooling system, yes you flush it, but still.  I think general maintenance should be performed at least once a year.

I would happily look at an E-Tec, but would prefer a 4 stroke.  $$$ can make a big difference.  Keep in mind, you do need to buy oil for a 2 stroke as well.  But on the plus side they are generally lighter that a 4 stroke, and get out of the hole better.

but everybody i no who has raved about them at start but have now had problem after problem! one blew up three times and has now been repowered the others are still having problems, in my opinion i would stay as far away as possible,

Silly

I had a 90 E-tec on my Traily. Great motor when it was going........good on fuel (about 10% more than a 4 stroke, 50% less than a 2 stroke), great mid range punch (heaps better than an y 4 stroke except maybe a Verado as it is supercharged) BUT.................

I did 4 injectors in 3 years. I ran the best fuel, always cleaned the fuel filter etc.......the injectors are a bit too complicated (tight tolerances) for this environment, but I understand they have improved the design. If new and under warranty (5 years), I think it is not a bad option as they are cheap and I would buy another one, and have a lot of benefits over 4 strokes at that size.

If you go a 4 stroke, you will need to go 175 to give the same punch as your 150 2 stroke.....you will be disapointed with a 150 4 stroke......

I have been reading up on this as I am currently looking around for a new boat (I have never owned an Etec) lots of people have stories of needing a service in the first 100 hours, others made it to 300 no worries .  My conclusion is you will hear plenty of good and plenty of bad reports on various forums, pubs and around the boat ramps about the Etec and lots of heated discussion in between(reminds me of cooper 4wd tyres).  There arent many bad reports that I have read about yamaha or suzuki 4 strokes although every brand has faults from time to time but that probably says something about those brands.

One thing to consider is the price of the oil the Etecs require which is a turn off for me let alone having to use oil anyway and how much "out of the hole performance" do you require?? I watched a good video on the Yamaha website showing a drag race between 2 same boats one had a yami 2 stroke the other had the yami 4 stroke both 60 hp.  The 2 stroke pulls a boat length in front initiallly but the distance never changes after that. 

 i have a 115 etec, it has close to 850 hours on it, i have had it since new....

has had every regular service. has never missed a beat.

have had to change my starter motor recently..apart from that i would highly recommend...

and yes they are super quiet and pretty economical...

just dont buy one thats too small fo ryour boat, that may be where some problems lay..

so often i see a nice big boat with a ridiculous size engine on it....the thing would be working so hard all the time..

spend the little bit extra and get a motor that will love pushing your boat along at 4500rpm and you will reap the benefits later

cheers

Jess

I've got a 60 Etec and it hasn't missed a beat in its 350 plus hours, cheap to run and quiet even when running at near peak revs.

I have been in a couple friends boats which have etec.  First thing I noticed was the uneven idle.  I have 4 strokes and they are very smooth and silent.  Second issue is the smell of the oil.  Some people like it, but some people who are prone to seasickness will suffer if they smell the smoke.

The oil is quite expensive, so it virtually negates the arguement about servicing costs of a 4 stroke.

The etecs I have driven started first touch of the key, and they have great power.  I find it hard with all 2 strokes to choose a mid rev range and be able to sit at that rpm.  They seem to wanna go all or nothing.....

Are you a drift fisherman / troller?  Or do you get to your spot, anchor up and sit there with the engine turned off?  Drifting / trolling with a 2 stroke is in my opinion a bit "painful" with fumes / rattle / noise.

Silly I looked at you boat on your profile and it shows you have a 6.4 mt trailly, I have the 6.1 CC with a 150 4st yammy , great motor and plenty of power, but as black gen said make sure you have plenty of power especially in 4st , I would even be looking at a 175 4st on yours , mine does 1 lt a NM up to around 24 KNTs 3400/3500 rpm after that the consumption goes up , WOT would be around 38 Kts

i had a 115hp HO etec, chewed fuel and oil like a old carby 2 banger. blew smoke at low revs and was bloody tempermental, slight kink in the oil line and she went into limp mode 20Nm away from home, a few resets and it was OK. shame that the local mechanic couldn't see the air line coming from the intake manifold to the air intake was split and not fully connected so i fixed it myself and was much better but i parted ways and went back to a 4 stroke. i never saw the 90:1 like they promise with the XD oil either, more like 60:1 and i never took it past 4500rpm when travelling anywhere unless in short bursts as she was bloody thirsty!

...600 hours in five years,  no problems.  300 hour service intervals, no problems. I DO change the gear oil myself every 100 hours.

Noise? Louder than a Honda or Yamaha at idle (they are pretty much silent) and that's really great if you're going to idle all day. Might take you a while to get to the Fads, for example, but yeah, really quiet. Once at revs, the noise levels are pretty much the same.

Economy? I get 1 nautical mile per 1 litre of fuel. That's over an average of cruising, WOT, puttering along in the Mandurah canals/rivers at 5 knots, trolling...as far as the oil goes, yep, it's expensive. Last I checked, it was $75 a gallon, which is not quite 4 litres. But with the smaller motor, it'll take me 6 months to go through a gallon, and that's using the boat 2 times a week and going anywhere from the estuary to the sound to the Fads to Rotto and all points in between.

I bought the etec because it was so much lighter than any of the 4's...my boat is an aft-mounted centre console so consequently is very flighty in the bow. My old motors were a pair of Yamaha 40hp two strokes and were 30 kilos lighter then the etec, so I had to adjust how the boat sat on the tailor and in the water. The lightest 4 would have been another 30kg on top of that.

Having said all this, in your size range, a four stroke might be a better go...weight wouldn't be nearly the same issue and there does seem to be a general opinion that the larger etecs mow through the oil. My view on the whole thing....etecs are great in the smaller sizes but 150 and up, I'd go a 4 stroke.

I'm a hater! I could put you on to about 5 people that have had huge failures with etecs in the last year. Some motors run really well and other are just complete lemons. Way to fragile If you ask me

 1100 hours on mine without any major issues. Majority of that was at trolling speeds.

Chose it because of the lighter weight for my boat. Not real good resale helped with my decision too.

 With my 175 Etec ( 200 hours). I had a new 4 stroke previous, what a joke with 20 hour services then hundred hours after that at $600 to $700 a pop. Over the rip off these tossers pull on you! Oil isn't that bad with the Etecs , you can get it reasonably priced at Chivers or up in Carnarvon and you can go cheaper still changing the setting to TC-3 and there are crew getting Canadian oil for $30 or so a gallon. Like someone else said, I also change out filters, leg oil , prop at 100 hours ( Cheap too ). 

is a 150 Etec much cheaper than a 150 Suzuki? Didnt seem to be much between a 130Etec and a 140 Suz in price or weight?

Brucesta .Oil usage with etecs is a Common misconception that if you use XD100 oil your going to get a ratio of 100:1 that's certainly not the case and BRP have never stated that anywhere ive seen.
The EMM controls oil usage so if your trolling at slow speeds all day you will use bugger all, but if your heavy on the throttle like l was you will use a lot. 60:1 sounds about right for a HO model.

I owned a 150 for 2 years and it was a great motor,had one issue with the EMM but was fixed up quick. fuel usage was 1.2 ltrs per N/M which concidering l was pushing a heavy glass boat was alrite but not as great a 4 stroke. My oil usage was on average 1.3 ltrs per 100 ltrs of fuel for a ratio of 70:1.
My yearly costs were.
1st year all l had was oil costs and that was about $400. 2nd year was oil plus a service so up to $1200.
sold the boat after 180 hours , but if l still had it wouldn't need it serviced for another 2 years.

Before you make a decision l would look at this site
www.etecownersgroup.com , it has all the good and bad from owners world wide.

 my suzuki 140 was cheaper to buy than an etec 115hp,very ecconomical eg 20 t0 30 ltrs rotto and back to woodies depending on conditions,very happy with my suzuki

 Hey nev who does 20 hour services on a 4 stroke ??? And I'm with Rob can't much price or weight difference between a Suzuki 4 and an etec ..Also agree with an earlier comment about needing a 175 , 150 too small for a 6.1 plate ally .. 

Cheers fishfish 

 The thing i have never understood with Etec is; if its an advantage to have so few moving parts, why isnt it half the price and weight?

I have a 150hp etec with no issues to date. Mine is also great on the oil and fuel.

It's quiet and whilst you do get the odd wiff of '2-stroke' its not noticeable 95% of the time.

If I have any problems my local is Chivers who are etec specialists.

Cheers for the comments guys, a lot of good info/experience there.
My boat is a 6.4m traily currently has a 135hp saltwater mercury...It actually goes pretty well with the mercury just a tad thirsty. Thinking a bigger motor will reduce fuel cost and give me more range.

I actually priced up a 175hp Zuk imported from portsea but it is a few grand over what I wanted to spend as I have to add fitting to the overall cost too. Hence why I'm thinking of going down the Etec path
Would love to know where you can get a Suzuki for the same price as an etec!!!

 Ill send ya a contact 

 Now by the looks?

 Love my Etec after having four stroke.

You just have to look and you will see all motors have problems. You only find them on the internet as they are having problems and getting reported The rest of the motors are out on the water with no issues at all.

Biggest thing for EVERY motor is they have to be rigged right for your boat and that means water testing by the dealer to tune it in to RPM and fine tuning with propping. Not just taking the $$$$ bolt it on and there you go....

Etec owners site has been fantastic for me as the moderator Huey is based in Sydney and has been fitting these motors for years and Sells hundreds a year.

Check out the world records Etec have set. Don't see any 4 strokes? Oh maybe they were getting serviced that day!

Go the Etec , look after it well and you will love it too. 

Cheers

Fascinates me how many Etec "experts" come out of the woodwork when a question is asked and how many of the so called experts have never owned one.

Could be they are so set on what they have on their boat and will try to direct the person to see their point of view. Sure every motor has its good and bad points , sadly the the bad ones are the ones people remember, not the good ones but that doesn't stop them trying to push their opinions.

 Hi I've had the 225 etec for 4 years and only done 350 hours. Never had any problems. My old engine was a merc. Had to get minor services every 50 hours$600app and major one every 100$900app. Etecs are 300 hours and cost me $850. Evinrude have a promo DVD showing all its technology and advantages. Heaps of power, can be hard to get the right trolling speed as the accelerator is so sensitive. Great on fuel, no fumes, weighed less than my last 200 merc, would recommend it with my experience. Just did a 6 day trip and only  used 8l of oil and we were out every day.

 look up brett ward suzuki in pinjarra,very good prices on all suzuki outboards,plus very good prices on servicing,plus imo on e tecs no servicing for 3 years is a joke,saltwater destroys anything imo

I've been on that same hull with a 200 Honda and a 175 verado.
Honda was a rocket ship and the verado was very disappointing power wise.

Hi Silly,

Being in the fishing, filming and boating industry for many years I get to see a lot of boats/motors and try them out also!!!

"Just my opinion", as for E-tec, I have many people come through my shop not happy with their E-tecs and literaly a few only that are happy!

Fuel, quiteness and longevity the 4S have it by far and my favorite has been Suzuki as I've owned 3 of them in the past!

Recently I purchased a Haines boat and Yamaha 4S from Luke Chivers at Chivers Marine. I've punished the motor for a year plus and racking up over 400 hours and I'm very impressed in the motor and their service work!!

 I was shattered this week to find out that my 2006 Etec 90 requires a new computer and that it will cost me $3k plus fitting.

Pretty disgusted as I have always taken great care with the motor (460hours) and its always been serviced correctly. 

Not sure what replacement computers cost on other outboards?

I'll be searching the forums to see if its possible to obtain a new EMM cheaper from the States - if anyone has had a similar experience and advice on sourcing one I'd be interested to know.

My 130 etec has only done about 50 hours, but I have been happy with mine.

I get seasick with the best of them and havent had any issues with fumes.

Wouldnt have any problem recommending it to someone else. For me the 5 year warranty and 3 year servicing was a major selling point. I think alot of the hype about weight and hole shot is a little redundant, although i will say that on a heavier hull the extra oomph down low does get you planing nicely in situations where you dont particularly want to be hanging around.

All motors have their pro's and con's. I have had Mercury Optimax (150), Yamaha 4 stroke (200) and the 130 etec and would be stoked to have any of them.

My 2 cents

Hey mate if your gonna go suzuki i rang around heaps and found Brett From Boats Plus to be the cheapest ay, i brought a 175 suzuki fourstoke two months ago and best thing i did, very tourquey and good on fuel.