No more merc optimax

[toddo1]

Been told that mercury are flicking the 75 90 and 115 hp optimaxs!! Anyone know why? And just 4 stroke available

[Noelm]

I would think simply because they are getting less and less popular, been doing the rounds for months now, same thing happening with Yamaha, I think the days of big HP 2 strokes are numbered, unless BRP can make some ground with their e-tec, but I really don't see it happening.

[bonneville]

toddo1, been a lot of talk around this for quite some time, I believe that not all opti's will be dropped initially, and the either the 115/125 will remain for some time ( same engine) not sure which model is remaining.
noelm is correct that this effectively will be the gradual wind down of 2 stroke engines. I think there will be always a market for smaller models, 70hp and less, due to weight issues, but as merc have just bought out a 115, 2.1 litre 4 stroke, lighter than the equivalent opti's you can see why they are deleting them, with a weight of 163 kg and its high torque, opens itself up to the repower market for a lot of the older 2 stroke engines. I can also see that other manufacturers will respond to mercury's move, as currently the weight difference between its competetors is quite large, this can only be a good thing for us punters who have older boats and have weight restrictions, with Honda at 217 kg and the yamaha 12 odd kilo's but only 1800 odd cc, and the fact it is now lighter than an etec ! seems like its the way things are heading.
I know its good for me as I look to repower with a 4 stroke next year ...
bonneville

[LittleSkipper]

toddo1, been a lot of talk around this for quite some time, I believe that not all opti's will be dropped initially, and the either the 115/125 will remain for some time ( same engine) not sure which model is remaining.
noelm is correct that this effectively will be the gradual wind down of 2 stroke engines. I think there will be always a market for smaller models, 70hp and less, due to weight issues, but as merc have just bought out a 115, 2.1 litre 4 stroke, lighter than the equivalent opti's you can see why they are deleting them, with a weight of 163 kg and its high torque, opens itself up to the repower market for a lot of the older 2 stroke engines. I can also see that other manufacturers will respond to mercury's move, as currently the weight difference between its competetors is quite large, this can only be a good thing for us punters who have older boats and have weight restrictions, with Honda at 217 kg and the yamaha 12 odd kilo's but only 1800 odd cc, and the fact it is now lighter than an etec ! seems like its the way things are heading.
I know its good for me as I look to repower with a 4 stroke next year ...
bonneville

I guess once the 2 stroke outboard is no longer available those that own them already will be in an elite group and we will eventually see them in museums for the next generation. Lol!

[Jarrah Jack]

The owners.:)

[bonneville]

The owners.:)


LOL

think im already there !


b

[sandbank pete]

^^^^^ me too ::D

[airlock]

2 strokes arnt popular anymore, with all the new regs and requirements you can't build them cheap enough to tempt new buyers away from the 4's, the power advantage is shrinking as more R&D money is spent on the popular 4strokes making them more or less equal in power and way ahead in terms of economy and maintenance. its the same thing that happened to the motorcycle market in the later 80's early 90's. the strokes just don't make sense to people these days.

[airlock]

to further the motorcycle analogy the 2strokes will be used as small cheap power plants like todays scooter, so i suppose 30hp and below with maybe a few 50's for the die hards. but generally larger motors will become 4 stroke almost exclusively.

[bonneville]

your pretty well right there airlock, however, I don't think it will go down as far as the 30 hp quite yet
they , in my opinion will be there right up to the 90 hp for quite some time im picking.
you see, the new 115 merc, has a weight of 163 kg, now that's the lightest in its class, but, the 70 hp is the same basic engine
so I feel that maybe some people will use the new merc 90 hp, but most will recon at 163 kg for a 70 is way to heavy.
so it will be a few years before they get the weight down in that range.
I believe that they will still manufacture 2 stroke right up to 90hp for some considerable time yet, with the probability of the major manufacturers still developing more efficient 2 stroke engines, i.e evinrude etec.
but for me, wont matter, 4 strokes are now an option, just wish Honda would come out with a competitively weighted motor !!!!!

b

[ozynorts]

just wish Honda would come out with a competitively weighted motor !!!!!

b
What HP range are you looking at? Honda are lighter than some others in some HP ranges so the old story that Honda's are heavy is not always true.

[Noelm]

Can't say that I agree that 2 strokes up to 90HP will be around for a long time, their days are numbered I think.

[LittleSkipper]

your pretty well right there airlock, however, I don't think it will go down as far as the 30 hp quite yet
they , in my opinion will be there right up to the 90 hp for quite some time im picking.
you see, the new 115 merc, has a weight of 163 kg, now that's the lightest in its class, but, the 70 hp is the same basic engine
so I feel that maybe some people will use the new merc 90 hp, but most will recon at 163 kg for a 70 is way to heavy.
so it will be a few years before they get the weight down in that range.
I believe that they will still manufacture 2 stroke right up to 90hp for some considerable time yet, with the probability of the major manufacturers still developing more efficient 2 stroke engines, i.e evinrude etec.
but for me, wont matter, 4 strokes are now an option, just wish Honda would come out with a competitively weighted motor !!!!!

b

Some of what your saying bonneville is true but the new 75-115 Mercs are all 163kg regardless of HP, the engine range are all 2.1 litre regardless of HP, they have merely been tweaked to give more KW at the prop. I don't ever recall seeing a 70HP in the Mercury range?


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[toddo1]

Yup exact same motors just different computers on them

[bonneville]

ok guys, I made a typo, not a 75-115 its 70 to 115 correct, but you all missed read my point
I actually stated that they are basically the same engine " quote " the point I made was that
while 163 kg is a good weight for a 115, 163 kg would probably be up there with the heaviest in the 70 75 range !in comparison with the crop of current 2 and 4 strokes available now ! its 43 kg heavier than the Yamaha 4 stroke, and 61 kg heavier than the Yamaha 2 stroke. ( 70 range)
its down to what the boats maximum hp and weight on the transom goes.
ozynorts
unfortunately I was looking at the 115 range, where Honda is considerably heavier at 220 kg ( over 50 kilos heavier)
to be honest I'd own a Honda at the drop of a hat, but weights a big issue. I'd be able to put the merc 150 4 stroke at 202 kg dry weight before the Honda. ive currently got a 125 2 stroke at 160 kg, so the options are the new merc 115 or the Suzuki 140 at around 175kg from memory.
either way im certainly looking forward to it............
b

[LittleSkipper]

ok guys, I made a typo, not a 75-115 its 70 to 115 correct, but you all missed read my point
I actually stated that they are basically the same engine " quote " the point I made was that
while 163 kg is a good weight for a 115, 163 kg would probably be up there with the heaviest in the 70 75 range !in comparison with the crop of current 2 and 4 strokes available now ! its 43 kg heavier than the Yamaha 4 stroke, and 61 kg heavier than the Yamaha 2 stroke. ( 70 range)
its down to what the boats maximum hp and weight on the transom goes.
ozynorts
unfortunately I was looking at the 115 range, where Honda is considerably heavier at 220 kg ( over 50 kilos heavier)
to be honest I'd own a Honda at the drop of a hat, but weights a big issue. I'd be able to put the merc 150 4 stroke at 202 kg dry weight before the Honda. ive currently got a 125 2 stroke at 160 kg, so the options are the new merc 115 or the Suzuki 140 at around 175kg from memory.
either way im certainly looking forward to it............
b

Go the Merc bonneville you'll feel better afterwards. Lol.


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[ozynorts]

ozynorts
unfortunately I was looking at the 115 range, where Honda is considerably heavier at 220 kg ( over 50 kilos heavier)

Yep that is one where the Honda is a heavy motor. I am all for lighter weight motors but what do they take out to make them lighter and does that compromise them? It seams that big weight savings are being made by using lighter materials in the covers and mounting brackets and the actual engines aren't lighter at all.
There is also the new Yamaha 115 at 176kg.

[bonneville]

yes it does make you wonder where they will end up, weight wise
I do think that they do make engine components lighter its not just the covers etc.
a mate bought the merc 150 a few years back when they first hit the market, same boat as mine, and he has commented on the feel of the boat swinging an extra 50 odd kilo's off the back, but in saying that, he's clocked up over 500 hours trouble free.
again, the Yamaha is an extra 13 kilo's than the merc, and only an 1800cc, the merc has a big torque advantage over it 2.1 L
I think little skipper was right LOL
but, at least there are now options, as mentioned, the zuk 140 is only another 10 kg heavier at 185 kg than the Yamaha 115,
its a fine line between that weight issue and of course, enough torque to get suitable performance.
I am so over my 2 stroke !!!


b

[LittleSkipper]

yes it does make you wonder where they will end up, weight wise
I do think that they do make engine components lighter its not just the covers etc.
a mate bought the merc 150 a few years back when they first hit the market, same boat as mine, and he has commented on the feel of the boat swinging an extra 50 odd kilo's off the back, but in saying that, he's clocked up over 500 hours trouble free.
again, the Yamaha is an extra 13 kilo's than the merc, and only an 1800cc, the merc has a big torque advantage over it 2.1 L
I think little skipper was right LOL
but, at least there are now options, as mentioned, the zuk 140 is only another 10 kg heavier at 185 kg than the Yamaha 115,
its a fine line between that weight issue and of course, enough torque to get suitable performance.
I am so over my 2 stroke !!!


b

So over your 2 smoke bonneville? Me too! Can't wait for the new year to come around so I can trade my 2 smoke for a more economical 4. I'm going the new Merc 80hp. Can't bloody wait I tell ya!


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[airlock]

can't wait to swap my old 135 blackmail for a shiny mercy 150 4-stroke. or even a 115 as i imagine it'll still be lighter and result in similar speeds with way longer range and service intervals. i think your right that its going to be hard to shift the heavy lower output motors, after all the lower power the lower the weight to get the most out of it (speed wise at least) but i imagine it won't be long until the small 4 stroke units get a redesign and change up the components to bring the weight down. Ive run out of 2wheel related comparisons here so you'll have to fend for yourselves.

[Noelm]

There is lots of ways to cut weight without making the motor vulnerable to failure, but, it costs money, and when you are talking thousands of manufactured units, then only a dollar saved adds up long term, there is a balance between HP, reliability, longevity, availability, and cost, anyone can make a 1.5L engine produce huge HP and be light, but it will only last a very short time and cost the earth to make, most weight saving is done in small steps.

[FINICKY]

I just repowered my 6m Fibreglass Yalta Craft half cabin with a 150HP 4Stroke Merc.
Wow!! We had the top speed over 70km/hr and getting up out of the hole without a struggle at all. Super impressed with power and performance. Easily out performs the 2009
115HP Yamaha 2 stroke that was on it. Can't wait to do a few offshore trips to see the motor in action and reap the rewards of the better fuel economy.
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/11/05/dcb003639f1384bd5905df6b908e3577.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/11/05/2bed8693b8302b2abce79d88ede2770e.jpg


Bait is better.

[myusernam]

they're still keeping the optimax pro xs.

optimax still probably the most economical.

compare the 115 merc to the optimax here
http://www.boat-fuel-economy.com/outboard-fuel-consumption-liters

[bonneville]

that's interesting, it is only showing a wide open throttle litre usage
im picking over all the 115 4 stroke would come way on top economy wise overall and noise and oil consumption, and the fact its now lighter than the optimax, I like the opti, I know a guy that just swapped out his opti for a new 90 4 stroke merc, he's a merc dealer, and he said it was like chalk and cheese. i'll try and find the comparisons to the two, but from memory, opti wasn't even close to over all fuel economy.


b

[myusernam]

that's interesting, it is only showing a wide open throttle litre usage
im picking over all the 115 4 stroke would come way on top economy wise overall and noise and oil consumption, and the fact its now lighter than the optimax, I like the opti, I know a guy that just swapped out his opti for a new 90 4 stroke merc, he's a merc dealer, and he said it was like chalk and cheese. i'll try and find the comparisons to the two, but from memory, opti wasn't even close to over all fuel economy.


b

have another look - it goes through each rev range in 500 rpm incriments.

[Noelm]

Finicky, You say the 150 outperforms your old 115.... You somehow didn't expect it to?, it's a fair old jump in HP.

[docaster]

So is the mercury 4stroke still a yammie power head?

[bonneville]

myusernam, yeah I missed that, great little toy, but I think that's all it is !
those consumption figures don't match the new 115 merc at all, infact even the test merc did on two boats, one a 21 foot, achieved better fuel consumption than that site, they don't even state what boat it was tested on, mind you if it was the same boat then that's fair enough.
have to question those figures when the merc site are completely different !
however, besides that, as mentioned, I like the opti engine.
only confirmation of fuel comparison I physically have is carribean 5 odd metre fibreglass, straight swap from a 90 opti to the new 90 4 stroke after 100 hours, the 4 stroke is getting better fuel economy, that's from a guy that is also a merc dealer, he sells both.
either way at present, the merc's opti or 4 stroke are no 1 and 2 on my repower options at the minute, until I see what Honda do with their new release 115 4 stroke next year. options options options, gotta be good !

b

[FisHard]

Go a Suzi 140 mate, they are unreal on fuel! I'm averaging 1.3nm per L on a 5.7m 950 kg Cruise Craft. So happy, I'm bursting at the seems!