4 STROKE vs. 2 STROKE

[FISHKING64]

I'm buying a new 21' pontoon boat. What are the advantages or divantages of a 4 stroke vs. a 2 stroke?
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[CatchMoreThanU]

Well I have never got to four strokes. Two works for me.
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[fish4fish]

with a 4 stroke you will have a longer lasting more dependable engine, but it cannot idle as low as a 2 stroke does for troling and it wont have quite the throttle responce that a 2 stroker will. one thing is there is a big push to abolish the 2 stroke engines in the waterways i dont know if that applys to boats but if it does one day you might have to go to a 4 stroke
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[pontoonfool]

Congrats, I bought an 18 ft. pontoon about 3 yrs. ago, you won't regret it. Mine has a 2 stoke and I wish it had a four. The 2 stoke has given me no problems, but like someone said, 2 strokes may be outlawed some day.
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[trfishin]

[]hey fishking64 i know in 2005 or 2006 that they are going to start to outlaw 2 stroke motors on some lakes because they say they cause to much pollution. They might not do it right now but when they do you won't be able to go fishing on those lakes. i would recommend the 4 stroke motors they are quiet and very fuel efficient. at last years boat show i could buy a 2 stroke motor cheaper than the four stroke and the sellers said that we don't need to worry about the new law as it won't affect us for a while that's good for them as they will gladly sell you a four stroke when it happens and your 2 stroke that you have will still be a good running motor but will be worthless when you can't use it on any lakes. just look at the wave runners that are 2 stroke that got shut down at lake powell for an enviromental study and the snow planes and snowmoblies that got shut down this year on jackson lake in wyoming that is near yellowstone national park. hope this helps you out if i can help you anymore please let me know good luck trfishin
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[MGB]

I bought a 6hp 4 stroke last summer. Its quite, gets great gas mileage and I don't have mix the fuel. I have been told that a 4 stroke will viberate a smaller watercraft. I don't have that problem since my boat is a 17'fiberglass. Has anyone experienced a 4 stroke viberating a smaller boat or pontoon?
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[Theekillerbee]

I've never heard of 4 strokes causing excessive vibration....if Old_Coot was around, you could drop him a PM. I think he has a 14 foot aluminum with a 15HP Merc 4 Stroke, and I know he could tell you how he likes it. If it were me, and money wasn't a big concern, I'd defenitely go with the 4 stroke for all the reasons listed above.
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[AFDan52]

[font "Arial"][red][size 2] Hey guys, I have been out with Old Coot in his aluminum boat with that new motor of his and I have never felt a smoother running motor ever. The response is great and makes a lot of power. [/size][/red][/font]

[font "Arial"][#ff0000][size 2] AFDan52[/size][/#ff0000][/font]
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[kokeking]

well i have one of both,a 115 merc two stroke and a 6hp merc 4 stroke.I wish my two stroke was a 4 stroke(maybe some day).With 2 strokes becomeing more and more outlawed on certain waters,a 4 stroke is the way too go.Ease of starting,less smoke when starting a cold engine,better fuel mileage,and lots less noise(for when you trying to put the sneak on the big one).As for the vibration question i have never experenced any abnormal vibration with my 4 stroke,and i can troll as slow as i did with my 2 stroke.Buying a 4 stroke is a little more costly but well worth it to me.
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[cableguy]

Is it true that you have to always keep 4 strokes upright when transporting them? I have heard they are hard to work on and there arent many qualified mechanics yet to work on them. Also they weigh more?

Cableguy
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[bodine11]

I own a 6 hp Mercury 4 stroke. All it says in the manual is to transport upright just in case you hit a bump the motor won't slam down causing damage other than that I believe it doesn't matter. As far as weight is concerned it weighs less and is a lot quieter than my 2 stroke. I bought my 4 stroke in Idaho Falls when I got my new boat. I done alot of looking around first and every dealer I talked to had qualified mechanics to work on a 4 stroke motors. I do know that it is quite abit more expensive to rebuild a 4 comared to a two but a four is supposed to outlast a two stroke on the average of 3 times.
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[pontoonfool]

I can't wait for my 2 stroke to wear out so I have an excuse to replace it with a 4. Who knows they'll probably outlaw 2 strokes before then.
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[kokeking]

As for transporting a 4stroke.the manaul on my merc tell how to properly lay the motor on its side.This is to stop the oil from running out of the oil sump.The place that i brought my 4 stroke from is very quaified to work on 4strokes.I think with more and more outboards becomeing avalable in 4 stroke.that any good marine mecanhic better be quaified to work on 4 stroke engines.
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[PREDATOR]

Well, like others here, I have my own opinion, but I believe your question was not what I prefer, but what are the advantages and divantages of each.

Four strokes you dont have to mix oil with the gas.

But for example, yamaha 2 strokes only require a 100/1 mix ratio wich is virtually nothing.

Four strokes are toted as being quieter. And they are, especially compared to the older two strokes. But consider that newer two strokes are very, very close to being as quiet as the four strokes.

Four strokes are heavier than two strokes, but dont be fooled. If you look it up, the difference is not that much. A 15 hp 2 and 15 hp 4 are less than 50 lbs in difference.

Two strokes are a very reliable engine. They have been around for so long, they have been perfected. As with all things if not properly maintained, any engine will have problems, 2 or 4 stroke.

As for fuel efficiency, look up the stats. get the info for yourself on the specific engines you are considering buying. Its not that big a difference.

As for the potential of new regulations limiting the use of two strokes, realize that there are industry advancments being made that make that notion less of an issue. For example check out evinrudes new line of 2 stroke engines. Those bad boys could make the four stroke obsolete. Currently they are only available in larger engines, but you can bet the technology will grow.

Two strokes and four strokes are totally different creatures. But they are bolth just engines.

I am not going to give you my opinion. My opinion is useless to you. Look at the specs of bolth engines, and decide wich is best for you based on your application.

I bet you will be happy with what ever you get, two or four stroke.
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[Gumbo]

Predator gave the first credible response. I can only add the following...

4-strokes make great kickers because they don't require a separate tank and can draw fuel from the main tank. They're quiet, can idle all day without fouling plugs, and you're not breathing smoke all day when trolling. Boat mfg's are having to redesign their transoms to accommodate the weight of these behemoths.

2-strokes make great main/big motors because they're fast, easy to maintain, and smaller/lighter than their 4-stroke counterparts. Plus 2-stroke marine motors are a proven technology.

As for 2-strokes being outlawed in '06, what that means is that you won't be able to buy older 2-stroke technology, but you can still use grandpa's old clanker on most lakes. Though some lakes, like Lake Tahoe, have already banned 2-strokes. There are some battles going on now between environmental terrorist groups and sportsmans groups, like the ban and subsequent lifting of the ban of PWCs on Lake Powell. After they PWCs are gone, you can bet our 2-strokes are next on the list.

Another factor is that DFI motors are 2-strokes. And DFI offers pretty much the best of both worlds. They're fast, much lighter, are clean (emmisions wise), fuel-efficient, can idle low, start easy, etc. I'd rather have a DFI than a 4-stroke as my main motor. But I'd never give up my 4-stroke kicker.

[Sollly]

Thought I would interject here. Not all two strokes are banned on Tahoe. Only Carburated or ones that don't meet the CARB standards. This is how the environmentalists blanket statement everything and make us all panick. Go look at the new Mercury Verado. It may be the end to this debate.

www.mercurymarine.com
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[Gumbo]

4-strokes are improving every year. Look how long it took before you could even buy large 4-stroke power plants for your boat. But realistically, look back at how long it took for Merc's OptiMax to be stable. Sure, it was better than Ficht, but it still took about 3 years before consumers could buy one and have it run without needing constant factory updates; or before the motor spent more time on the water than in the shop. Even still, many anglers were still buying fuel-injected 2-stroke motors because they could get the same or better performance at a significant savings over the DFI counterpart.

So yea, the Verado is exciting. But hopefully Merc won't use its consumers for product testing on their own dime this time. Also, the weight big 4-strokes is becoming less of a factor since boat mfg's are redesigning transoms to accommodate larger motors. It's good to see things moving towards cleaner motors.

[carplips]

Well, I guess I can agree to disagree with most of you.
4 strokes are heavier which gives you a nasty power to weight ratio. 50lbs or 40 or whatever on a 15hp motor is a huge difference on a small boat. On a large boat as a kicker or whatever, who cares.
Burn up or have a bad impeller and over heat a four stroker. Likewise, do the same with a two stroke and see which one survives.
4 strokers are slow out of the hole and again hurt power to weight ratio's.

4 strokers don't mix gas, are quieter, and have better gas mileage no doubt.

4 strokers to 2 strokers in reliability issues, I'll take the 2 stroke.
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[steveweston1945]

FUMES. The fumes on all of the two strokes that I ve had in my life were awful....
Now I m running a Merc Cruiser (inboard/outboard) and I can breathe.....
My last two stroker was a Johnson 15. Absolutely as new with just test time of 3 hours ....
Absolutely could not sell it in California. Lakes and rivers banned the two strokes. My only choice, if I kept it, was to use it in the ocean. I traded to a guy in Oklahoma.....
Speaking of pollution, I started fishing off of San Diego in 1955. We caught large Yellow Tail, Marlin and many other prized fish. I just moved away from California last year so I dont ocean fish anymore. I can tell you that over the past 15 years fishing in the waters off SD has gone bad....
Over fishing and dirty water....
Last few years the only good areas were in Mexico waters.
I dislike environmentalists but maybe
they have good points.
SW
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[djole]

Well if marine application engines follow the trend of the dirt bikes and ATV's, it wont be long before the 2-stroke becomes obsolete. I started riding at the end of the 2-stroke era. It took me years to believe it, but the 4-strokers now a days are absolutly a better way to go.

They only weigh a couple of pounds heavier (see '07 KX250 vs. '07 KX450F, different sizes, same race class), no shake and bake, smoother more even power and torqe application.

But on the flip side, ALOT more moving parts and things to break/fail! Anyway, just my 2 cents....
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