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| I'm looking at a new 18 foot Nitro and struggling on engine options. They come with Mercury engines. I'm thinking about the 135 Opti or the 150 EFI. Anyone have any suggestions or thoughts about this please let me hear from you. Its a lot of dough. Here are the options:
Motor Price Difference
Mercury 115 ELPTO Standard
Mercury 125 ELPTO $ 795*
Mercury 135 OptiMax $ 4,945*
Mercury 150 OptiMax $ 7,055*
Mercury 150 EFI $ 4,865*
Mercury 150 XR6 $ 2,000*
Mercury 175 OptiMax $ 8,130*
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| It depends on what you need from an engine. The 135 optimax will be a very good choice if feul econemy is important. The 150 efi would be a little faster but it will use more fuel. I went from a 150 Johnson faststrike to a 135 opti, and could not believe the difference in fuel econemy.If you fish in Canada this is a major concern. I have ran mine for 2 seasons now and have nothing but praise for it.
Have fun deciding, Mike Jensen. |
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| Thanks, Mike. I am looking for fuel economy over a few mph any day, but I'd like to at least beat BrianF to the hot spots.[;)] |
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| I used the 150 Opti last year and was very happy with it. the 135 and 150 Opti Max are just about bulletproof now, and covered by a great warranty. the difference in fuel use is amazing from the EFI. |
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| Steve, do you think its worth the extra bucks to go with the 150 over the 135? |
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| Back when I was drag racing, we had a motto. "Some is good. More is better. Too much is just right!"
Here are my thoughts. Personally, I would max out the HP. My last boat was not maxed, and I really wish it would have been. My new boat is maxed, and I'm really glad I did. Will the boat take a 175? If so, the 175 OPTI is about $3000 more than the 135, and about $1000 more than the 150 OPTI. What about the 175 EFI?
I have the 135 OPTI on my new boat, and it is a sweet running motor. NO smoke, quiet, plenty of power, instant starting, and very easy on gas and oil. I look at it this way. If you max it, you don't need as much throttle at cruise, thus less gas consumed. If you go with the 135, you'll need to push it harder to get the same speed, thus consuming more gas. Also, hole shot will suffer, as will top end. The closer you are to max HP, the better your boat will perform for you.
Hope this didn't confuse you. |
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| There's no replacement for displacement! If the boat will take a 175 DO NOT rig it with a 135. You'll have a much harder time selling it and you'll probably alway be kicking yourself for underpowering it. But I'm the type of guy who'll tweek his 200hp and still doesn't think it's enough .[:bigsmile:] |
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| So, you're changing your board name to "Muskie Tweeks"?[:praise:] |
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| You should do a little math on the difference in price between the EFI and OPTI.
Everyone always argues the fact of saving ALL kinds of money with the Opti or HPDI if not a Merc.
My point is, it takes a helluva lot of fuel to make up for the thousands more in cost of the Opti.
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| My point of view, while it may take a long time to make up the difference in cost, these motors are more environmently friendly. And if you do much fishing in Canada, they pay back faster.
My optimax has not only cut my feul bills up north, but has unleashed me to run the lake alot more.
The advice the other guys gave about maxing out the horsepower is a good idea, just seems like alot of money.
Mike Jensen
P.S. Are you going to have any of those custom baits of yours at the Mn. lure swap? I snoozed in Chicago and didn't get one.
[:((] |
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| Good point!
I run a 225 Opti and ran it on Wabagoon last year. Ran it at only 3000rpms (50 mph) all week and only had to put in $10 on the last day. I run a 50 gallen tank. I put about 90 to 100 miles on the rig each day, so I really saved gas.
My Opti runs like a charm...best motor I have ever run for power, speed and fuel economy. |
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| Sledge,
I won't be at the Milwaukee Swap, but I do intend to be at the Minnesota Swap with some more custom baits. If you're looking for anything in particular, there is a very slight chance I will still have time to make something up for March. Just drop me a line. Thanks for asking.
GMan
LunkerBaitCo. |
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Location: Minneapolis, MN | Don't overlook weight. I have a 150 Opti on a Triton bass boat. The Opti is too heavy for my boat. Its heavier then the 175EFI that should have been put on it. Its a good motor, when it runs, but it has been somewhat unreliable. I have recently spent another $1200 on an extended warranty for my Opti because of its operating history.
When you rig a bass boat you have to consider what bassers want because that's who is most likely going to buy it from you when you sell it. Bassers love Nascar and speed. If you put a 135 on that boat you are going to have a miserable time trying to sell it. My 18-11" boat supports a 175 but the original owner only put a 150 Opti on it (175 Opti was not avail then). He had an impossible time trying to sell it so I got a good deal. Hopefully I got a good enough deal that when I go to sell it I will be able to offer it cheap enough to make it attractive inspite of being a bit under powered. |
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Posts: 479
Location: Eden Prairie & Pine Island | Thanks, Luke. For better or worse, I ordered a new Triton with a 150 EFI Evinrude. Hard to turn down the longer warranty and over a grand rebate. Had an Evinrude on my last boat with no problems. Can't wait until its available. I assume you like your Triton? |
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Location: Minneapolis, MN | Welcome to the Toon club. I love my Triton and so do the people I know who have them. Mine is going on its 4th season. As you may be aware, Trition replaces anything that breaks in the first 3 years. Now that the third season is over, I just took out the seats and mailed them to Triton's upholstry shop to be replaced, free of charge. They had a few pulls in the seams. So far that is the only problem I've had with the boat. Its really a well built fast machine. Which model did you get, how is it rigged? Drop me a note... [email protected] |
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Mercury 135 OPtimax vs. 150 EFI