250 Evinrude HO E-TEC vs 225 Merc ProXS

[Bigger Cat]

My son in law & I have been looking at boats all day. We are set on a boat but need your valued unbiased opinions please.

250 Evinrude HO E-TEC vs 225 Merc Optimax ProXS.

Hope we can get some experienced opinions. The motor will go on a 20XD Bullet.

Bring it on folks. Good, bad & ugly of both. Fuel & oil consumption comparison, performance & most of all, dependability. Seems like all the reasearch I see is biased. Merc says theirs is better all the way around & so do the Evinrude guys say about theirs.

Who knows please? emoWelcome COMMENTS!

 

[stratos21xl]

if that was the two I had to choose from it would be the Mercury, why not a SHO?

 

[Bigger Cat]

SHO not an option...

 

[Oldman]

yammy is the way to go no doubt(sho) mercury has had their share of problems too.(compressors)

 

[Fshn Cpa]

check the warranties. I think Evinrude has a five year right now.

 

[Bigger Cat]

Both have 5 years on them. SHO (not an option at price). Wish it was...

 

[brushhog]

what kinda boat you puttin it on? are we taikin speed or durability??

 

[Bigger Cat]

Bullet 20XD. Definitely want durability but need a little speed to.

 

[BulletTJ]

If you are thinking about a 250 Rude why are you not looking at a 250 ProXS Mercury? If you are going to run the motor on a jackplate and are plaining on running a surface prop, there is NO WAY I would get the Evinrude. The Rude gearcase will not hold up. The Mercury is just a much better motor on a Bullet. Just My Honest Opinon. I would also look at getting a sportmaster gearcase if you go with a 250 hp on a 20' Bullet. There are blowout issues on any gearcase without a nose cone at the speeds a 250 will run on your Bullet. I would recommend you talk to Paul Nichols if you dont understand what I am talking about. He knows more about a Bullet than anyone I know. He will be able to answer any question you might have. His number is 423 451-0125.

 

[Triton20xHarris]

evinrude etec great motor

 

[Crizzel]

My buddy has a 225 ETEC, he's been through 2 lower units an 3 power heads.. Its due to blow another power head in another month lol.. Only reason he still has the boat is because of warrenty.. He's already said that when there's 1 year left on the motor its gone.

 

[wrechin2]

OMC has the weak gearcases. Mercury has the "bullet" proof case with the sportsmaster and the torquemaster. There are some guys buying adapter plates and putting the mercury sportsmaster on the OMC's for the durability. Just my .02

 

[SNUFFY]

I put a `09 225 XS on my `94 Bullet 20 XD a couple of years ago after running a `97 225 Johnny Venom for 12 years. It`s hard to belive they were both rated 225. The XS is an absolute beast !! I talked with Paul Nichols before I decided to get the Merc. He recommended a 28 OTX set at 1 1/2 below pad on the Torquemaster, and adjust from there. I`ve raised the jack a 1/2 inch since I started with it and have been pleased with the performance... Just haven`t really had the time to fool with the set-up a lot. The TorqueMaster is rated for 86MPH. Paul said he ran one to 89.......BEFORE it blew out !!! I recommend the MercMonitor to keep up with the engine functions......mostly water temp and fuel used. Temp is supposed to be 120 before accelerating. During a TX on Douglas last year the lake was full of really fine sawdust like trash. I noticed the temp didn`t get over 105 and found about 3 cucumber seeds worth of trash in the thermostats.....could have caused a problem .

 

[beetlespin]

You don't want a rude on a Bullet.

 

[on fish]

Pro.xs.all the way

 

[Sniperchoke]

Why are you comparing apples and oranges? If you want a fair comparison the motors should be of the same horsepower. I still say mercury is the best engine on the market. It is hotter than the Yamahas and more durable than the Evinrudes. I have a 250 Pro xs and the only time I see the SHO's is when I am passing them.

 

[Oldman]

tell me u r joking about the speed.if mercury dont get their problems worked out they will be so far behind yammy it may be hard for them to get caught back up.

 

[Bigger Cat]

Many thanks for all the valuable info. Picked up the 20XD with the 225 ProXS Optimax yesterday. 10 ours of break in time! Whew... Thanks again... My son in law will love the boat no doubt... And the Optimax...

 

[Sniperchoke]

Oldman - 4/1/2011 11:04 AM

tell me u r joking about the speed.if mercury dont get their problems worked out they will be so far behind yammy it may be hard for them to get caught back up.

No jokes here. I have passed many Yammahas at blast off. Of course it depends on the boat. But I would be willing to bet in a head to head the Mecury comes out on top. I have a 09 pro xs 250 and with the scheduled maintienance have had no problems. Head to head with the V-max Mercury comes out on top hands down. Usually in the CBA I pass a pheonix 21 on the way up river with a SHO on it. I run a 21 stratos. I would think these two boats would be fairly compatable. Plus as I understand the sho is more expensive by several thousand dollars. I can buy a lot of oil for several thousand.