Alright time to repower my out board. Tired of my 2001 90 Johnson. Ol girl been put through the ringers. It's been a good motor but it seems like lil nic nack shit all the time. She's kinda ugly now also. Out with the old in with the new.

Does anyone have either? Feel free to share the good with the bad.

I've run boats with them both, only for test drives. They both seemed comparable. Any difference in performance could've been due to bad calibration of my perception on that day. Everything I've read negative about either seems to be someone that normally favored the other brand, and they wound up with the one bad apple in the bin. I don't think you can go wrong either way. When comparing numbers online, it would seem the etec edges out the xs on the same boats, but there are many factors that can affect results, and the difference was small enough that I'd lean towards whichever engine had a better dealer within easy access. That dealer is going to make or break your experience with a particular brand choice.

Yes I've read similar online about both. The opti is 375# the etec is 390#. My current motor is 335 so either is quite abit heavier, and weight is a big issue. My boat is a 3/16 16x5 semi v bass boat. Think it will be ok since I I plan on moving my gas to the front to compensate for the extra weight.

Ive always been a fan of evinrude. The few mercury's that ive had were always loud hard starting pigs that have given me problems (lower unit). With the performance of the evinrudes ive i owned I havent had a reason to try mercury again.

I plan on doing something with a Pro Xs.

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Neither

VMAX SHO

I'm with Glade.

How much it weighs and cost. That a 2 or 4 stroker?

I like it. I didn't even consider it.

V max for sure

Vmax is nice ! I like the Etec though as well

Them Mercury motors pump that basin silt the best I find.

Etec and vmax both have a 5 year warranty right now. That's a plus. I still haven't checked prices yet. The optimax only has a 3 year.

I like the sho. The only thing that might keep me from it is that I plan on building an 18 footer identical to what I have now on the future. I think the 4 stroke will be fine now but may not be enough in the future.

Glade what size is that? I've been confused, do they come with a low water pickup from the factory?

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115

same lower unit as standard yamaha, all factory.

1860 Excel with all that crap, Hydraulic jack plate, 3 optimal, 8 LED flood lights, 3 guys, and 900 lbs of carp @ 5000' elevation does 43 MPH
around 50 empty


I want to run her @ sea level to see what she is capable of

I'm looking at doing a 115 with a 6" cmc breakaway and a 4" hydraulic jackplate. Been looking hard at the Pro Xs because of the 60 amp charging system, so I should be able to run my bowfishing lights off the motor battery.

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Yamaha seems to lack on the charging system. Etecs have the best charging of the three.

when I night fish, my outboard only runs a short time to the spot, and it stays off til I go home. The Minn Kota does all the work.

If I had 12V lights, I would still bring a 1000W inverter genny to keep the light battery topped off.

Merc or Yamaha.. which ever one works on the price the best and best warranty.

get prices from Cajun Outboards in Addis

I'm leaning Yamaha. If they are comparable in price.

Make sure you have good local service regardless of the brand. Having to haul the motor a ways when you do have a problem magnifies the issue.

115 Pro XS is discontinued.

VMAX SHO closes the performance gap between 2 and 4 stroke a little bit but still not all the way and Yamaha is notoriously full of BS on their engine weights.

Dealers still have them in stock. A shop by my house has 5 in stock if I go that route.

What is their price Michael?

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Prices so far. All include prop, rigging, controls, tachometer ,and 8% tax.

115 optimax 10,750$
115 merc 4stroke 10,892$

1st yammy dealer
Reg 115 4stroke 11,179$
Sho 115 vmax. 11,600$

Second yammy dealer only priced the sho. It's a lil cheaper because he has a floor model he'll sell.

Sho 115 vmax 11,022$

I'm leaning heavy on the sho

I had a vmax sho and it was by far the most powerfull outboard I have run!

If they all perform like that, I say vmax!!!

on another note the VMAX is insanely quiet. I have tried to start it while it is already running several times, and you can have a conversation 10' away from each other going 40

Another vote for the Yamahammer. My brother loves his 115. Plenty strong and very good on fuel.

Well I've eliminated mercury. No real reason. I just need to narrow my choices. The Vmax sho and the Etec. There's few things keeping the etec in my head. My dad always owned envinrude and I personally owned 4 OMCs in the past. All bought from the same small time local dealer who has awsome service. I also know 3 people with the 115s and they love them.

The Yamaha is a solid motor also. This might be a tough decision.

My damn GTR decision wasn't this hard.

Yeah thanks for the info. I think the bigger etecs had more problems than the smaller ones in the begining.

I can't use the warranty as a deal breaker because Yamaha and Evinrude are both offering a 5 year warranty at the moment.

It looks like Mercury kept the 115 pro xs

https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/eng ... 15-250-hp/

Not according to himels. He ordered six and said that was the last he'll be ordering. He could 've just been using that as a sales tactic though. Who knows?

What size boat you putting the motor on?

I hope to get a 20x60 in a few years with a 115 tiller