Outboard fuel burn

[evilgli]

i was wondering how much better fuel burn would be on a 2003 BRP 225 FICHT outboard compared to my 200 ocean pro? i may have found a deal on a 2003 BRP 225 FICHT and was wondering if it would be worth upgrading? thanks for the input..

[macojoe]

Run Forest Run!!

[THEFERMANATOR]

Run Forest Run!!
Not all of the 03's are bad engines MJ. The late 03's were all BRP engines and proved to be pretty dam solid runners with surprisingly good fuel economy. Most of the EMM failures were weeded out by then, and the worst offenders were the 98-00 150/175's. All of the 200/225 DFI's were decent, but the 01+ big blocks took care of most of the engine problems. The idle fuel improvement would be unbelieveable as your 200 OCEANPRO burns about 2-3 GPH at idle in gear whereas the DFI engine will burn roughly a 1/2 GPH. Cruise fuel burn will be roughly 20-30% better, and WOT will be about 5-15% better. Unfortunately the OPTIMAX's are the kings of economy, but the FICHT's and DFI's are still good on fuel. Just remember though, one repair on a DFI can easily cost what a rebuilt powerhead for a carb 2 smoker can cost.

[evilgli]

man that sounds tempting..i know my ocean pro is a fuel hog and from the research i have done i'm finding that once BRP took over OMC they weeded out the bad vendors of parts and pretty much made the FICHT engine a very good engine. but when they were OMC engines they were time-bombs.

would swapping out these engines be a real big deal? guess my question is all the electronics on the FICHT engine built onto the engine? so then it would be unbolting my old engine and putting the FICHT engine on. i would assume i could use my old oil tank and gauges from the ocean pro?

[macojoe]

Well then stay away from before 2003! LOL Thats good to know as I am always looking for a replacement for the Merc, But this thing is great on gas and pushes the Ox nice! But it is 24 years old. But BS gave it a life time wartt and so far has kept his word, so I may stick with it:laugh:

[cterrebonne]

my o0 225 ficht i sold is still running for a commercial fisherman and he has over 1200 hours on it. best thing i can tell you is that run the engine one the hose twice a week and always run a good injc cleaner so the injectors to stick. also at 3500 rpm compared to the carb looper is closer to 50% less fuel burn. and wot is closer to 5% better. if you do plan on getting this engine make sure you buy tabs of you dont have them allready.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Yep, they need to be run with some sort of decarboning agent or ring free on a regular basis. And the injectors in them clog up easily. 03 is either or year where it could be a great one or iffy. 04+ were pretty much solid engines that are reliable. From 96+ the harness's were pretty much universal so long as you have the system check system in there. The ETEC's did change the harness though as they added in more features to em.

I persoanlly wouldn't mind having an 03+ FICHT/DFI from BRP as they have a pretty good track record. I have passed on several of the OMC ones though as they have a track record to em that worries me a bit.