CONTINUOUSWAVE

I may have already been subliminally aware of this, but yesterday I became consciously aware: Evinrude has dropped all the legacy E-TEC engines in the larger displacement (3.3 and 3.4-liter) 90-degree V6 models. Engines like my model year 2010 E-TEC 225-HP are no longer being shown on the Evinrude website and are (apparently) obsolete models.

The big displacement original E-TEC engines appeared in 2004. I first saw one that Fall, and wrote about it in an illustrated article at

Evinrude E-TEC Outboard Engines
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/ETEC.html

I was impressed with the new E-TEC, and I eventually I bought a 225-HP model in June 2009. But now, in Fall 2017, their 13-year-long production has come to an end.

The end of production was caused by the success of the newer model E-TEC G2 3.4-liter 74-degree V6 engine, introduced three years ago in 2014, and into full production and distribution by December of that year. While the E-TEC G2 remains the topic of frequent discussion about its cowling styling, appearance, and weight, there is little to debate about its performance: it delivers improved power, torque, and--most amazingly--improved fuel economy and reduced emissions.

The legacy E-TEC smaller displacement 2.6-liter 60-degree V6 engines are also becoming scarce. Only two models remain in production--the 135 H.O. and the 150-HP versions, and compete for sales with the new E-TEC G2 2.7-liter 66-degree V6 engines.

Among all outboard engine manufacturers, Evinrude has been the busiest in developing new technology and new designs the past three years. They have introduced all-new engines for the 150-HP to 300-HP range. And according to informed sources, at the February 2018 Miami International Boat Show, Evinrude may have a third new engine line to announce, a second generation E-TEC for their in-line three-cylinder models, ranging from 70 to 100-HP. The three-cylinder in-line E-TEC was the original model for the E-TEC family, and was first seen in 2003.

In another thread, SRAAB928 posted these interesting comments:

If the concern is weight--which for many classic boat owners it is--the new Evinrude E-TEC G2 150 in its lightest trim is the heaviest 150 on the market at 496-lbs). If Evinrude continues their path of discontinuing the G1 models--the 150 is currently the largest G1 E-Tec you can buy--the Mercury 150-HP outboard line (FOURSTROKE and PRO XS) would the lightest 150's on the market: Pro XS 431-lbs, FOURSTROKE 455-lbs. This would bother me personally as I am not a Mercury outboard fan. I still do not understand Evinrude's apparent abandonment of the lightweight advantage they had. It got me to purchase two E-TEC 90-HP engine that--honestly--were bought based on weight savings alone.

Re-powering classic Whalers will continue to get harder if this trend continues. A 1985 Evinrude 150 outboard weighed approximately 385-lbs.

SRAAB's observations are interesting, and I tend to concur. A comment that is frequently made about the new E-TEC 150-HP range engines is their increased weight.

I can understand, however, from a manufacturer's point of view, that capturing the re-power market for classic Boston Whaler boats may not deliver an enormous increase in unit sales. Boston Whaler boats made prior to c.1990 are now at least 27-years-old. Many of those boats have been re-powered already in the past five years. And recently made outboard engines seem to have an expected service life that can easily reach thousands of hours of running time--or several decades of recreational use.

While there are plenty of c.1970 Boston Whaler boats still in use, the potential market for re-powering them must be rather small in comparison to the total outboard engine market. It seems that Evinrude has probably turned their marketing sights on new boat sales and partnering with boat builders to put their engine engines on the transom of new boats. They've lost an advantage on weight, but with the G2 engines have brought new advantages in reduced emission, improved fuel economy, and improved performance. If you get all that at the same or nearly same weight as competitor engines, you still have an advantage.

Another factor in the re-power market: there are now many outboard engines available in the 250-HP to 300-HP range, whereas back in c.1990 twin engines were usually needed to produce that much horsepower on a transom. For re-power of older Boston Whaler boats with twin 150-HP engines, a single 300-HP engine may be a preferred choice. The weight of a single 300-HP E-TEC G2 engine will be less than any combination of old two-stroke 150-HP engines.

I wonder if there was any thought to making the current 150 G2 in just the HO series then developing a four-cylinder engine in the 135 to 150-HP range that would weigh less.

While weight is a concern, I don't think the situation for the Evinrude E-TEC G2 150 engine is quite as dire as some have made out. Here is a comparison of competitors engines at 150-HP:

Outboard Engine Comparison at 150-HP

Mercury 150 FOURSTROKE:
Mechanical controls: 20-inch = 455-lbs; 25-inch = [not listed]
Electrical controls: [not available]
3.0-liter 4-cylinder in-line SOHC 8-valves no variable timing; no variable lift

Yamaha F150B (i4):
Mechanical controls: 20-inch = 478-lbs 25-inch = 487-lbs
Electrical controls: 20-inch = [not listed]; 25-inch = [not listed]
2.6-liter 4-cylinder in-line (mechanical) DOHC 16-valves variable timing
2.7-liter 4-cylinder in-line (electrical) DOHC 16-valves variable timing

Suzuki DF150:
Mechanical controls: 20-inch = 511-lbs 25-inch = 522-lbs
Electrical controls: 20-inch = 520-lbs; 25-inch = 531-lbs
2.87-liter 4-cylinder in-line DOHC 16-valves
                            
Honda  BF150:
Mechanical controls: 20-inch = 478-lbs 25-inch = 485-lbs
2.35-liter 4-cylinder inline DOHC 16-valves variable timing and lift

Evinrude G2 E-TEC 150
Mechanical controls: not available
Electrical Controls: 20-inch 496-lbs; 25-inch 507-lbs
2.7-liter 6-cylinder 66-degree V-block

Looking only at weight, the rankings are, lightest to heaviest, for 20-inch shaft and lightest model:

Mercury 150 FOURSTROKE = 455-lbs
Yamaha F150B = 478-lbs
Honda BF150 = 478-lbs
Evinrude E-TEC G2 150 = 496-lbs
Suzuki DF150 = 511-lbs

But that comparison is not quite fair because the E-TEC G2 has electric remote controls. Add electric remote controls to the Yamaha and Suzuki, the comparison becomes:


Yamaha F150B = est. 488-lbs [weight not listed with electric controls]
Evinrude E-TEC G2 150 = 496-lbs
Suzuki DF150 = 520-lbs
Honda BF150 = [not available with electric controls]
Mercury 150 FOURSTROKE = [not available with electric controls]

Now we see the Evinrude G2 is only about 8-lbs heavier than the Yamaha F150B. We can understand that slight weight gain on this basis: the E-TEC G2 uses the same gear case as the 300-HP version, and the electric shift actuator is built into the gear case.

Also, Mercury's low weight comes from its simple design. It is the only model at 150-HP that is not using dual overhead cams, and, in addition to dual cams and twice as many valves, most competitors use variable cam timing and variable valve lift to enhance performance. Mercury saves weight but omits those performance enhancing features.

jimh wrote: And according to informed sources, at the February 2018 Miami International Boat Show, Evinrude may have a third new engine line to announce, a second generation E-TEC for their in-line three-cylinder models, ranging from 70 to 100-HP.

I'm currently planning on re-powering my boat (rated to 115-HP maximum) and [second generation E-TEC engines] sound as very promising news. Might you know if also V4 will come in G2 soon? Thanks for sharing.

Alvis--I have not heard any rumors about a V4 second-generation engine. Whether or not Evinrude will produce a V4 model for the E-TEC second-generation is an interesting question to speculate on. If the three-cylinder engine has enough displacement, it could easily produce 115-HP. We can look at the present engine line for some reference:

E-TEC Legacy
L3 = 1.295-liters for 90-HP; or 30-HP-per-cylinder; 69.5-HP-per-liter
V4 = 1.726-liters for 115-HP; or 28.75-HP-per-cylinder; 67.8-HP-per-liter

Now let's look at the two new E-TEC G2 V6 engines, using their highest horsepower configurations:

V6 200-HP = 2.744-liters for 200-HP; or 33.33-HP per cylinder; 72.9-HP-per-liter
V6 300-HP = 3.441 for 300-HP; or 50-HP-per-cylinder; 87.18-HP-per-liter

We see that the E-TEC G2 engines can produce more horsepower per liter than the legacy E-TEC engines in the current three-cylinder configurations.

Let's imagine Evinrude would make a new engine for the 90 to 115-HP range by using half of the V6 blocks in either of the above G2 V6 engines. They could make two new engines:

If they used the smaller 2.744-liter displacement V6 block, they could make a three-cylinder version with 100-HP.

If they used the larger 3.441-liter displacement V6 block, they could make a three-cylinder version with 150-HP.

Using this hypothetical approach to making a three-cylinder in-line second-generation E-TEC, is seems that Evinrude could easily produce a new model in the 90 to 115-HP range by designing it as half of the V6 3.441 engine. That would eliminate the need to develop a new V4 engine.

A new second-generation E-TEC in 90 to 115-HP based on an in-line three-cylinder design would have an advantage of lower weight compared to a V4 design.

On this basis, it may be reasonable to speculate that a new second-generation E-TEC three-cylinder engine might be able to produce 115-HP, thus covering the needs for the 90 to 115-HP range. But that is just speculation. I have no actual information on any details of the new engine, other than some strong suggestions that it will be a three-cylinder in-line engine.

Jimh, thanks. I will not rush my repower as it's very probable that inline G2 will appear in a month (and a few days). I also have to agree with your theory.

The most interesting (at least to me): what will a G2 in-line three weigh?

I actually have no doubts about performance. For the legacy 90 (L3) vs 115 (V4) there was a very noticeable weight difference of 62-lbs. Knowing the current weight of lightest V6 G2 150-HP at 496-lbs, [a three-cylinder version] could be on a heavy side, too.

From the other perspective, [a three-cylinder version] should not include a large oil tank and probably not power steering, too, especially if the new in-line G2 targets re-power market. Evinrude even can leave a manual (non-electronic) shift and throttle control for that sake, too. At least as a version for re-powering market. Let's wait and see.