225 Optimax opinions

[THEFERMANATOR]

I believe most of the OPTI's can be used with the regular MERC cables and wiring harness's like the older carbed engines used. They also have hook-ups though for the smartcraft if you want to use the SMARTCRAFT guages and controls as well.

[jasoncooperpcola]

Looking at gauges already and i like the Mercury Flagship gauges. Smartcraft gauges are nice but dam that sounds expensive. Should know tomorrow about my loan. Is there any way to identify if a compressor has been replaced? I will be able to look at the engines next week, I may put a deposit on one and take it to a MarineMax and let them look it over and check hours, compression, etc.

I talked with some of the guys at marine mech at school today and i am beginning to think they are biased against MERC. So i decided to stop listening to them. Especially when they mentioned "pOptimax" Before i knew it i was hearing bs about getting an OX66 or a suzuki. (i just bought a suzuki car and not impressed with it and its check engine light that wont stay off, so yeah, piss on suzuki, might even change my avatar back)

[THEFERMANATOR]

Early 150/175 OPTIMAX's earned the reputation OPTIPOP's for injector problems that caused powerheads to go left and right, and also early on MERC reccomended there regular oil which was found to have caused alot of issues as well. SUZUKI makes a DAM FINE outboard, so they are right on that one.

[RidgeRunner]

Any Merc dealer can plug the serial number into the Mercury database and pull up the warranty history. The ECM holds the hours of operation that can only be accessed with a technicians diagnostic computer. Some scanners have printing capability and you can get a printout. Ask the dealer if you can talk to the previous owner. That can be a dealbreaker in itself, some dealers will cooperate, some will not..same rings true with previous owners..

Early on I heard the terms "Optipop","POPTIMAX", and worse.
Reelapeelin had a friend with a pair of early Optimax motors that had a ton of hours without problems. Opinions vary, but I have not heard of any reoccurring lean run conditions. Bad fuel? Definitely!
There is a lot of electronics in the modern day outboard as Spare pointed out. Opti's have a lot more going on under the lid than an OX66 Yamaha. One of the most durable motors Yamaha made, but like the EFI Mercs in that they love fuel.. Direct injection is more complex than carbs and crude EFI's but they get double the mileage. In head to head testing the Opti seems to beat out the 4-strokes on performance and mileage then gets slammed for noise and lack of perceived refinement. In the DI class the new Etec's are quiet compared to the Optimax. Finding a 10yr old Etec is gonna be impossible, but OMC did make the Ficht. I know nothing about the Ficht.
Ferm is right on the money about the harness and controls. I have had a 200 carbed, a 250 EFI and now have the 250 Opti on the back of the V-20 and it was always plug and play. The late model Opti's have a different looking harness but from the late 80's up to 03 the harness is the same on the Mercs.
Without Smartcraft the warning buzzer lets you know when something is out of whack with the Opti. With Smartcraft gauges you see what is wrong on a LCD display along with a ton of other info, but not 100% necessary. Analog gauges work just fine for tach/water pressure/temp/volts etc.

[jasoncooperpcola]

Ridge i have done alot of business with this dealer. That may be to my advantage. MarineMax is the only MERC dealer in my area. I may take both motors to them. Then i could pick the best although i dont see too much problem except prop choices if i end up with a counter rotator. I did not know SmartCraft did more than rpm temp etc. It may be worth looking into. Ferm one Suzuki is enough for me now. Although i must admit $20 in gas per week vs $85 for my 6.5 diesel is pretty nice. As for outboard noise i could care less, the louder the better n my opinuon.

[jasoncooperpcola]

Just got off the phone with MarineMax. If the motor is mounted and turn key its $225 for a computer scan comp test visual inspection etc. That would mean i would need controls and everything. If they have to jury rig something it will be expensiver. Labor rate is $99 per hour. That also includes tank testing. With the serial number they can find out everything done. So Ridge and Ferm yall know your stuff!, even though i already knew that. So if i decide to get the motor i need to find controls and switch before i take it. Maybe the dealer who has the motors will let me borrow the controls?

[RidgeRunner]

If your buying both motors, you can pick and choose which gets the counter-rotating lower unit. They are interchangeable (shift cable would need to be reversed at the control box for counter). There are a lot of props for a left hand lower, I don't think you are too limited there..
Opti's figure fuel burn down to molecule so with the Smartcraft you can get Trip in miles, average MPG, instantaneous GPH and MPG in addition to volts,engine tilt, engine temp, speed, water pressure, barometric pressure, water temp, outside air temp, hours, oil tank level,fuel level(with optional sender) trolling speed function is configurable as well. They have several gauges avail, the typical tach and speed gauges are the most common, each one has a analog sweep plus a LDC display at the bottom OR they have a single gauge setup that is all LCD OR they now have vessel view monitor that is like a chartplotter for your engine with a color display. The sky is the limit... You decide on how much info you really want or need for the $$$.

[jasoncooperpcola]

No no no! Lol. I cant afford both motors though it would be nice to have a spare. I might be going with a smart craft gauge. It is not as much as i thought. Vessel view is out of the ballpark for me.

Awaiting a call back for a serial number because my loan is approved!!