225 HO Etec vs. 225 Pro XS on 619vs

[cast_and_blast]

Hi -

I don't want a brand war to break out in this thread, not my intent.

I'm looking for insight on 2007-2008 Evinrude 225 HO Etec's and 2007-2008 Mercury 225 Pro XS's. These would be mounted to a 2007-2008 Ranger 619vs.

What I've read thus far is that both are strong motors and seem to be reliable. Merc may have a slight edge on efficiency and top-end performance, Evinrude may have an edge on quietness and oil consumption.

Fill me in - what am I missing that will help me make a decision?

Scott

[WILLOW CREEKER]

My friend and I have both bought new 2007 619's last year. He has a 200 merc opti, and I have the 225 e-tec.

My boat with a 6" manual jack plate fully loaded ( and I mean fully) with tweo guys, closed windshield in 1 1/2 foot waves, full gas and live wells, etc, will jump out of the hole and be on plane and 40 plus speed in seconds. It runs 57.6 gps, and is simply awsome. At wide open, it does get thirsty for gas and oil, but it is fun. This is with the 4 blade prop and 5600 rpms.

His boat same cenario but 20 Gallons less gas and empty livewells he can hit 51.5 gps maxed out.

Now for the important info for you!!!!!!!!!!

I have 3 years no service, etc needed for the e-tec.

He has to every 100 hours have his serviced. He didn't mind this or think any thing of it until he called his dealer a week ago, and found out what they have to replace in the service call, and even more shoching how much it will cost him every 100 hours. are you ready for this?

It will cost him $ 500.00 every 100 hours.

Another item I never paid much to until now, the noise. What a difference.

We tried to talk last year on the water, I had to tell him toshut his down, so I coulkd hear him. Yes its that bad, don't let any one tell you different.

Another deciding factor may be this. Evinrude run her right out of the showroom floor. There is no break in that you need to do. The mercury, I believe he said he needs to stagger speeds for quite a while, but you should check that out.

Having driven both, both motors are very responsive to the throttle.

In my mind the e-tec was / is the better purchase for the above mentioned reasons.

If you have any other questions I will try to help out if I can.

Tom Means

[SLE]

From any report I've ever seen, you've pretty much hit the nail on the head cast_n_blast. The Merc is suppose to be the stronger of the two, and may have the edge in fuel consumption. It is considerably louder than the rude (have noticed this first hand). As far as oil goes I keep hearing that the opti uses more oil but even if the difference is at most a gal or two per year (assuming you'r doing a LOT of running), your talking about $25-$50; don't let this sway you either way. I think they are both dead reliable so you decision is basically do you want that extra 1-2mph or do you want a quieter engine? This is really the only differenece worth looking at.

Personally I'd pick the one that has the best dealer support nearest to you. To me, that in itself means more than a few decibles of quietness or a couple of MPH!

[SLE]

Heres a 3rd party test of head to head 250 Pro XS vs a 250 HO. There isn't anything since about 05' list for the 225s.

http://www.mercurymarine.com/look_deeper/head_to_head.php?ID=60&SortBy=Title&Section=outboardChecks&optimaxProXS=8

this test was originally posted by "powerboat reports" in 2007

and this one

http://www.mercurymarine.com/look_deeper/head_to_head.php?ID=59&SortBy=Title&Section=outboardChecks&optimaxProXS=8

was done by bass and walleye boats magizine in 05'. I haven't really seen anything more recent for the 225's.

[cast_and_blast]

Thanks guys, keep the info coming!

I have both Merc and Evinrude authorized dealers/service nearby, so that isn't too much of a deciding factor.

The sound gets to be a bigger factor when I'm out and about with my wife and kids. I'm not running WOT very often (although I do revert to a 22 year old every now and then and want to let 'er rip). Most of my running is 1/2 to 2/3 throttle and cruising. About 35-40 mph is usually about right, but with a walk-thru windshield (which this boat WILL have) that may change a bit. Point is, my kids will be about 3 feet directly in front of this thing. If it's loud for me and my wife at 6 feet away it will be really loud for them.

I don't mind the DIY service (plugs, fuel filters, lower unit drain/fill) but I typically will stop with the basics. Things like water pumps, impellers, etc. I will take to the dealer. I used to take my motors in for end of year winterization, but got tired of the $300 bill ($175 for the main, $125 for the 4-stroke kicker). With that in mind, I like the self-winterization on the Etec as it takes some of the uncertainty out of the process. I'd still be changing the lower unit oil every fall - too cheap/easy to not do so in my opinion.

I'd love to hear more on the reliability of these two motors too.

Scott

[mrbreeze]

I have a 250 pro xs. I love it. I've never had a motor with so much mid-range power. It is louder than an etec, but I like to give the fish a fighting chance before I drop in on them LOL. I think that they are both great motors, and I wouldn't have a problem owning an etec. The bottom line decision for me would be the service network, and more importantly...which has the better/longer warranty. These motors ain't cheap to fix, so even if you never need it, a good warranty offers some piece of mind. Depending on what promotions are going on at the time of purchase, the warranty advantage could go to either manufacturer.

[Unlogged Eric Olson]

If you truly go head to head, meaning same engine to same the 225HO Evinrude E-Tec and the Opti 225 pro xs have nealry identical power output. The maximum allowable HP for any engine is +/- 10% the stated cowling HP.
Since both engines have similar out of box HP, these 2 engines in that category will have very similar performance.
The keys to the testing that was referenced are as follows

-The first test was comparing the 250xs to the standard 250 E-Tec not the HO as it wasn't available at the time of testing. This invalidates the test as the comparison is not apples to apples.

- The second test regarding the 225HO, HPDI and the 225pro xs was conducted on a 90+ mi/hr capable boat. This allowed Mercury to install a previously not available gearcase to be installed (torqmaster). This gearcase had a 1.62 :1 ratio that allowed a lower pitch better performing prop than the others and aided immensly in the speed numbers and as would follow, the fuel economy numbers.
To say the 225 xs is faster would not necessarily true. The gearcase used in that test for the opti won't provide the performance benefit on the 619 hull and would in fact hurt it as the hull is not a "lifting hull" and the prop efficiencies would be lost, therefore speed would take the hit as well.

What does it all mean?
Look at the speeds as being basically isentical on that hull.
fuel also very close
Oil advantage E-Tec testing shows 35% less
Other factors such as maintenance (3 yrs), noise, winterization and break-in all have been brought up already.

Look at the key factors for you and your use then make the decision.

Tight Lines
NPAA 165
Eric

[lundeepv]

Also look at the prices. Found the Merc's are cheaper than the E-tecs.

[BW]

I don't know if they mentioned it, but the Etec, winterizes itself too! That was a big plus for me with less maintenance compared to a 4 stroke I was considering also. Yes the Merc may be cheaper and I almost went that route, but the pro kicker was $600 more than a T8 on my setup, so it came out even. I don't think you can go wrong with either, but if noise is a concern for your family, Etec has an advantage there. Also no break in or no service for the first 3 years or 300 hours is a plus too.

[I Walleye]

I have a question that relates to this thread. Everyone knows the Etech is good to go for the first 300 hours, but then what? What service is required and what cost are involved?

[BW]

According to my Etec owner's manual it is every 300 hours or 3 years. So you just start the clock over for another 300. My dealer said the average rec user is coming in at 3 years with about 150 hours on the motor. I don't know the cost involved for the 3 year check because I just got my boat last year. Someone else will probably chime in on that one! I would be curious to know for future reference?