2 Stroke Or 4 Stroke?

[BASSMAN1301599783]

I am going to be ordering my new boat soon (Lowe Stinger 170) and would like to get some opinions about the motor. I am going to have to choose between a Merc Optimax 75HP or a Merc 4stroke EFI 75HP. This is going to be my first "Big Boy Boat" and I don't know much about outboards so any ideas, opinions, notions, or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Bryce

P.S.

Here is a link to the boat if it helps.

http://www.lowe.com/fishboats/stinger/170.html

[Guest JoshKeller]

I'd personally go with the 2 stroke. Less weight = easier towing, more speed from your boat. 2 strokes also has less internal parts that could fail.

[cart7t]

Besides what Josh said, less factory trained maintenance needed for a 2 stroke.  Oh, and more power.

[Grey Wolf]

Go with the 2 stroke.

[Raul]

It 's not about power, it 's not about weight, it 's about politics. Check if in your state there 's not the proposal of banning 2 stroke engines in the future ( let 's say 5 years from now ).

There you are with your brand new 2 stroke and the next year you purchased ooops !   your state has banned 2 stroke outboards.

[senile1]

It 's not about power, it 's not about weight, it 's about politics. Check if in your state there 's not the proposal of banning 2 stroke engines in the future ( let 's say 5 years from now ).

There you are with your brand new 2 stroke and the next year you purchased ooops ! your state has banned 2 stroke outboards.

I was thinking about the banning of two strokes, also, Raul.  But when they ban them the law is rarely retroactive, and usually doesn't affect equipment from preceding years.  When two stroke motorcycles were banned from being sold as street bikes, there were still plenty of Yamaha RD400s roaming the highways legally.  The initial ban was only for selling this equipment.  It would be a poorly conceived law to ban them outright so that something bought the year before would now be unusable.  

[Raul]

I know Senile that the idea of the ban was to stop selling this type of combustion engines. But you know how politicians are, first you ban this kind of engines being sold, then, before you notice it will be banned for use in lakes and rivers, if you 've got a motor and want to sell it then nobody will want to buy it because they won 't be able to use it and you find yourself with a white elephant behind your boat.

[senile1]

Good Point, Raul.  I misunderstood you.  Althought there would be many mechanics who would still work on these, some people would be afraid to buy it used.  

[Cajun1977]

from what i understand  the banning of 2 strokes will be for the older  models not the new  low emissions ones        so its not about politics  it is about weight  and go with the optimax

[BASSMAN1301599783]

From the research I have gathered and from what you guys and other boards have helped me out with I am going to go with the Optimax (2 stroke).

On a side note, From what I have gathered the new two strokes, built after 2001, have lower emissions than most of the four strokes out on the market today. Performance was not the main deciding factor with the motor but I can't see how having too much motor would hurt. I also looked at the restrictions for all the lakes in C.A., N.V., and N.M. and the ones that do have the 2 stroke ban in affect are allowing only the DFI Ficht or Optimax motors witch at this time are the only 2-stroke motors that meet the EPA 2006 or the Carb 2001 standards. Witch is good for me because I plan on traveling with the boat. It seems like the 2 stroke is the all around best choice. The con list was way shorter for the 2 stroke.

I have already decided to stick with the tin boat for a couple years and then look into a glass boat after awhile that's why I am going to get the largest motor rated for the hull, better resale value. Plus haulin *** can't be all that bad.

One more question. Everyone keeps saying if you want reliability go with a four stroke. So what's the deal? How unreliable are two strokes? Do they have problems not starting or something?

Thanks again for all the help I cant even begin to tell you all how much I appreciate it.

[senile1]

Two strokes are more susceptible to fouling plugs due to the oil burning with the gas in the compression chamber.  This also causes more deposits on the cylinder walls which can cause problems later.  It is imperative that your oil/gas mixture is just right when it travels through the cylinder.  Two strokes are more powerful because they fire every revolution of the piston, while a four stroke fires only once every two revolutions.  Four strokes have more parts due to the fact that you need something to move the valves such as a camshaft or pushrods.  Two strokes, on the other hand close the intake and exhaust ports when the piston passes in front of them.  Four strokes tend to get better gas mileage because they use fuel more efficiently but four strokes are also heavier engines which can balance out the fuel efficiency advantage to some degree.  I, personally, think that the two strokes of today are much more reliable than in the past.  If you take care of them, and maintain them you will have years of boating pleasure with them.