Repowering with OB - Hp?

M

mgarfield

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I'm looking to repower my V20. Currently it has an older Johson 120 2stroker. It can pull up a younger skier and will do +-35 top end with 2 on board. Considering putting on a 150hp 4stroke, but not sure if it is enough Hp. Any expereince as to if 150Hp is enough to pull up an adult skier? Would rather a 175Hp but options there are limited it seems. It also seems a 200Hp 4 cycle is too big and heavy - not to mention price. Any suggestions/advice/experience -- Thanks
 
150 is an excellent compromise everything considered.
I'm positive the largest 4cyl E-TEC or 4 strokes will perform well and also save a lot on fuel.
If I was in the market for a brand new motor, I'd be looking at a E-TEC 150 horse and not a 4 stroke but I'm bias.
 
Please note this is just my honest opinion, if you are going with a 4 stroke go with a 175/200 if an Etec 150/200 will be perfect. If using 4 stroke consider a hydraulic jack plate to keep the motor up when trolling or during a heavy chop or rough seas.
My thought process is you will want to keep the engine trimmed up high preventing backwash up the exhaust ports from it sitting low in the water..
I am currently running a 87 140 v4 20" dry weight is 370 LBS lightest 2 stroke in its class yet she squats pretty low...Go to www.boats.net and compare the weight numbers on 4 strokes best I have seen is the Honda's and Suzuki ....
 
mgarfield said:
I'm looking to repower my V20. Currently it has an older Johson 120 2stroker. It can pull up a younger skier and will do +-35 top end with 2 on board. Considering putting on a 150hp 4stroke, but not sure if it is enough Hp. Any expereince as to if 150Hp is enough to pull up an adult skier? Would rather a 175Hp but options there are limited it seems. It also seems a 200Hp 4 cycle is too big and heavy - not to mention price. Any suggestions/advice/experience -- Thanks
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If you are repowering w/new outboard and pulling skiers outta the water is a priority for you, I'd tell you to drop the idea of 4-stroke and follow Tsubaki's suggestion of a 175 or 200 hp Etec...BRP really did their homework on these motors and got rid of a lot of 2-stroke problems...Lumberslinger dropped a 200 HP small-block Etec on his several years back and I think he'd agree...that motor will give you low-end torque you're just not gonna find w/any 4-stroker light enough to go on a V-20 hull...make sure your transom's in good shape...the boat is RATED for 200 hp, but some of our beloved old V-20s are suffering from the ravages of time and water intrusion in the tranny area...good luck and let us know what you do...
 
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IMHO #1 would be a 200HP ETEC from what you describe followed closely by an OPTIMAX(only rerason the ETEC is #1 is you can get more HP with less weight). For a 4 stroke I would go with the 175HP SUZUKI followed up by a 150 YAMAHA and then a 150 HONDA. The 150 YAMAHA is an under rated engine by most all accounts that is much closer to 175HP. I don't think the 140 SUZUKI would have enough bottem end grunt to pull up a skier very well. If your on a budget and don't run it alot, I would look for a good used 2.5L MERCURY 200HP EFI(not an OPTIMAX). But DEFINATELY make sure your transom is up to the challenge as these new outboards ARE heavier.
 
My suspicions are substantiated with your responses. I have considered that the 2 stroke is a better fit for weight vs HP and out of the hole performance. The 4 stroke might have lower noise and better fuel efficiency. Its a trade off. Will continue to evaluate and check out the transom!!!!
 
mgarfield said:
My suspicions are substantiated with your responses. I have considered that the 2 stroke is a better fit for weight vs HP and out of the hole performance. The 4 stroke might have lower noise and better fuel efficiency. Its a trade off. Will continue to evaluate and check out the transom!!!!
Click to expand...

If your buying a newengine, then the fuel economy nod overall will go to the 2 stroke, but the 4 stroke will be slightly quieter. New 2 strokes aint nothing like the old carbed engines of yester year.
 
My Johnzuki 140 4 stroke pulls my big butt (210#) out of the water with no problem....as long as I put on the right prop (14x19).....but if I were buying new, I'd get the Suzuki 175 4 stroke.
 
Hmmmm - thanks for the information. I'm buying new so it seems going >150 is a popular recommendation. The suzuki 175 was suggested by a dealer, who also sells Yamaha - interesting. This 175 has a favorable power to weight ratio.
So it seems best options might be Suz 175 4 stroke or ETEC 175 2 cycle or Merc 175 2 Cycle. Might search used motors but this is on hold for now until I can narrow down on a new motor and then see where that will go.
Anyone know about the suz 175- any known problems etc.
Appreciate any other input!
 
Did some looking this weekend. Options are Optimax 150, Yam F150, suzuki 150 or 175. The age old question about 2 stroke vs 4 stroke? What is the advantage of 4 over 2? Why not a 2 cycle?
How do they stack up:
- Price per Hp
- Weight per HP
- Performance Hp to HP
It seems the 2 cycle still is better in these categories.
???
 
Something I would consider is number of dealers and popularity of a particular brand in your area.

Weight is an issue with our older boats too.
 
Can't go wrong with Evinrude or Merc because parts and service is so readily available.

Believe Merc Opti may sqeeze out the most fuel economy, but more noise than the Rude.

If low 40's mph is enough for you, go with the 150hp, less weight, very good fuel economy and you should be very happy.
 
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