Mercury Optimax?? or Yamaha 4 Stroke??

Sounds like comparing apples and oranges. But this is a real choice that boat buyers are going to have to make when they are in the market.
Apparently, Optimax being a 2 stroke has claimed to be very quiet etc etc etc. And it also comes with digital control so that you can digitally control your RPMS and speed which is very good for trolling. That and the price makes it a strong contender. Also being a 2 stroke does help as it has more torque and they claim to be efficient and quiet too. All these are based on a Merc dealer’s words and the latest ‘rude awakening. Also, I was not previously aware of the digital trolling system and to me that was quite cool.

So given all the above, what would people go for still? Optimax or a Yammy 4 stroke??

Yammy 4 stroke for me

Yamaha 4 stroke…….F150/T-8

Former Opti and current 4-stroke owner here!

There was an interesting sidebar in the new In-Fish walleye guide about the Opti vs the Verado. The jist of the story was that Mercury strongly wanted Keith Kavajecz to fish out of an Opti-powered rig, but KK insisted on the Verado 4-stroke, for reasons that centered on the differing powerplant noise levels. Now, if the Opti were really and truly as quiet at the 4-stroke Verado, then I can’t imagine why someone wouldn’t go with the lighter 2-stroke motor.

I hope I got that story right….I can’t seem to find my mag to double check the facts!

Find a dealer that sells them all and see what they have to say. I don’t think you could go wrong with any of the current outboards on the market. I have driven the current Yamaha 4-stroke, Mercury 4-stroke and Opti, and E-TEC all in the 90hp class…can you tell by my screen name which I prefer? Don’t let the media/marketing sway you one way or another. ‘Rude Awakening is full of alot of B.S., it wasn’t that long ago the Verado was the best thing since sliced bread…I wonder why the revamped the Opti and have geared their advertising more Optimax than Verado here lately?

yammy four stroke baby

As an Opti owner I will tell you they are not quiet.

They have a unique roar when you put the power to them, alot like the old muscle cars compared to today’s 4 cyl.

When trolling my 135 sips gas, put her full throttle and she gets thirsty.

Very powerfull, reliable and it has some snap to it.

Better than a Yammy?………I don’t have to make that choice!

E-Tec all the way..

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Former Opti and current 4-stroke owner here!

There was an interesting sidebar in the new In-Fish walleye guide about the Opti vs the Verado. The jist of the story was that Mercury strongly wanted Keith Kavajecz to fish out of an Opti-powered rig, but KK insisted on the Verado 4-stroke, for reasons that centered on the differing powerplant noise levels. Now, if the Opti were really and truly as quiet at the 4-stroke Verado, then I can’t imagine why someone wouldn’t go with the lighter 2-stroke motor.

I hope I got that story right….I can’t seem to find my mag to double check the facts!

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Well…if I were given that choice…I would definitely choose Verado as it has all that Optimax has in terms of torque because it is supercharged, and it also has digital control. And it is a 4 stroke. So it really has the best of all worlds.

Anyway…it seems that most Merc dealers are selling the Optimax with digital controls. So basically at the console, the speedomoter and the RPM meters have + and – switches under them so that you can tweak the RPM or speed you wanna go at. Looks cool to me.

I dun think Yamaha is into that at all, right?

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Well…if I were given that choice…I would definitely choose Verado as it has all that Optimax has in terms of torque because it is supercharged, and it also has digital control. And it is a 4 stroke. So it really has the best of all worlds.

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If you’ve gotta have a Mercury, get an Optimax.

I fished alot of walleye tourney last year with a friend in his ranger with an opti 225.
First we had trouble on Devils Lake and the local Merc dude couldnt fix an auger we had a terrible time with mercs techs over the phone. Then if that wasnt enough we took it to Frankies and let them look at it and they said it was fine so onward we went to the Wave wackeres and blew the damn thing up on day two. Going to the lauch site. I dont like mercs and I dont like Frankies.

owned two Yamahas and never have had trouble

Great topic sorry about going off on merc

I’m not sure if anyone elst has heard the same complaints from their mechanics but, When I picked up my new boat last year, all three of the mechanics at hand complained about merc’s. I was told stories of motors comming without parts to packaging and support in the crate missing. Both of which should be very controlable problems. I have a yammy 4 and love it. I am the last person to ever to give my 2 cents on something I have little experience with but I did have a merc on my last boat and swore I would never buy another after the countless trips back to the dealer. For some reason knowone could figure out why it wouldn’t stay running at idle.I even took it to 3 different shops thinking I could find someone who could help me.

I have a 2002 Mercury Optimax and unless they have made drastic improvments, I would say there is no way they are as quiet as a Verado or any other 4 stroke. I have 250-300 hours on my Optimax and not a problem with that engine. That thing has been rock solid. I’m impressed and very pleased with its performance, speed, power, fuel and oil consumption. As stated in a previous thread, if I had the choice again of getting any motor out there. I would highly lean towards the Optimax and the only thing that may sway my choice would be the Verado.

This is just another Ford/Chevy debate if you ask me. I have had friends that have had Yammys and have had problems similar to peoples Mercury’s problems above. I believe that you need to find a good dealer that will back you no matter what problem you have with your boat or motor and have a good tech staff to get the job done right. Just my $.02

Also why is a consumers choice Opti vs Yammy 4 stroke. Why could someone not pick the Verado?

Wanna really stir the pot? How many Yammie 4 strokes have you heard of blowing up? How many Opti’s?

Tuck, are you a Packer fan?? Quit living in the past.

Get to bed! You gotta work in the AM!

The past is where stuff really happened! The future is “Could Happen”. I just thought I would pour a little gas on the already lit fire!

Got any marshmallows?

Anyway, you are safe…They choked so much performance out of the 135 that it could not blow up if you lit it on fire with a blow torch!

Ouch…hat Hurts Tuck…LOL

Yamaha all the way.

Look what the new look QB Daunte did for the Vikes. No super bowls.

I know I’m safe, with a small block engine. The 135 and 150 hp’s have been solid. The OLDER (2001 and a few years prior I believe) big block 175, 200 and 225’s did have some problems. Thanks to them I got another year out of my warranty . And you are right you haven’t heard much (not any more than any other engine)on the end of “blow ups” since they appeared to fix the problem.

Even when E-Tec first came out, I believe they had some issues that they had to work through and resovle on the fly. It is all part of technology advancement and the push to stay competitive between manufcturers. Or in other words puttting things/ motors out on the market before they can fully be put through the ringer. I can’t remember when Yammy 4 bangers came out if they had any issues, but I do know Yamaha as a hole, has dumped a ton of $ into their 4 stroke technology, whether it is Boat Motors, Snowmobiles, Moto Cross Dirt Bikes, etc. Heck I don’t even think they even make a 2 stroke snowmobile anymore. It has been about 4-5 years that they have beem out of the 2 stroke market in sleds I believe.

That is the reason I gave it a Ford/Chevy comparrison. I know Tuck and I would pick Ford but a ton of other people ( the dumb ones )would swear by Chevy. To each their own.

You know I am just pulling your chain Rob! Look, all of these motors use “State of the art” technology. It really comes down to a few variables.
1. Warranty
2. 2 or 4 stroke
3. Color

You mean there is more than one color??

Tuck you know deep down that BLACK is the Color

Yeah, deep down…that would make it PRIMER! All the other colors would go over it!
OK, I am done funnin’ now…..

Back to the original topic – what size YAMAHA 4 stroke vs. Opti???

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I have a 2002 Mercury Optimax and unless they have made drastic improvments, I would say there is no way they are as quiet as a Verado or any other 4 stroke. I have 250-300 hours on my Optimax and not a problem with that engine. That thing has been rock solid. I’m impressed and very pleased with its performance, speed, power, fuel and oil consumption. As stated in a previous thread, if I had the choice again of getting any motor out there. I would highly lean towards the Optimax and the only thing that may sway my choice would be the Verado.

This is just another Ford/Chevy debate if you ask me. I have had friends that have had Yammys and have had problems similar to peoples Mercury’s problems above. I believe that you need to find a good dealer that will back you no matter what problem you have with your boat or motor and have a good tech staff to get the job done right. Just my $.02

Also why is a consumers choice Opti vs Yammy 4 stroke. Why could someone not pick the Verado?

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Cost. The Verado is a couple of thousand dollors more expensive. It is in another price range altogether. The Optimax is cheaper by 500-1000 dollars than the Yammy 4 stroke depending on dealer and if the boat is 06 or not.

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Back to the original topic – what size YAMAHA 4 stroke vs. Opti???

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I guess in the 115 range.

TCTSC, what size boat you putting one of these engines on?

I would go as big as your checkbook allows or the boat allows. That is a common mistake people do when they buy a new boat. They underpower the boat and then are unhappy with the performance. If you tell us the boat you are getting , I’m sure someone here has that boat and could tell you their opinion on what size Opti or 4 stroke to put on the back.

Both are great motors. I’ve ran both and loved them both. The thing is Yamaha has not changed anything with their motors since 2000 and this year will not have a year on the motors any more. They’ll only have an availability date on them. You also are unable to get them on any Brunswick boats like Lund and Crestliner. The Mercury is newer Technology and is a little louder and not as good on fuel but not that far off of a 4-stroke.The new “Smart Gauges” work very well to control your RPM’s. The new Verado is awesome but will drink gas at full throttle it’s very good at about 3/4 throttle. It is a heavy motor and needs a big boat to handle it. Good Luck in your decision and I hope I helped you out a little.

ditto on engine size. It always bothers me when dealers put a 50HP on a boat that is rated for a 90HP or greater. As for motors I took a hard look aty the Evinrude E-TEC and ended up with a Fishhawk and 90HP E-TEC.

dwightanders, not sure what you mean about Yamaha not changing anything since 2000…Here are a few: VTS, new tiller design, Variable Camshaft Timing, Single Belt Drive System, In-Bank Exhaust, 4 cylinder power where the others need 6, since 2000 the F150 has been added to the high performance line, Yamaha had digital ignition and gauges before Mercury even thought about it. Instead of saying Yamaha hasn’t done anything since 2000, I would have said that Yamaha has had everything that Mercury now claims is new.

You are the master . But please explain varible camshaft timing, inbank exhaust, and single belt drive system. What does the belt drive? If you want to talk specific motors then let’s pick one. F115, F150, F225, or what ever you’d like. Yamaha has always been 4 cylinder. Mercury has a supercharged 4 stroke Verado. That’s NEW TECHNOLOGY.