Why can new E-TECs be run WOT, right out of the box?

[Chris1956]

Saw that Infomercial on the E-TECs yesterday. One of their claims is that you can run 'em full throttle, out of the box, no break-in period required. Anyone have a comment on this?

Also, another claim from the Pro Fisherman giving testamonials is that the added weight of the 4-cycle motors unbalances the boat, to the detriment of the boat's performance(out of control porpoising, ect). I have a real hard time with this concept, since it would seem to me that if a passenger moved his weight to the rear of a 2-cycle powered boat, that would simulate the added weight of the 4-cycle motor, and cause out of control porpoising. I simple haven't see that! I think it is made up.

Comments!

 

[JB]

Re: Why can new E-TECs be run WOT, right out of the box?

The no-break-in is due to the design and materials used for cylinder sleeves and rings. Seating is almost instantaneous.

I am quite unhappy with BRP making so many anti-4 stroke claims. Most are arguable and some outright lies.

Even the famous pulling contest with the Yamaha is snake oil salesmanship, irrelevant to real world applications.

I do not question that the ETECs are great engines. BRP needs to sell the benefits, not make bogus claims against the competition.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Why can new E-TECs be run WOT, right out of the box?

It works for Ford selling pickups, why not outboards! So many people today have no clue how to separate the wheat from the chaff.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Why can new E-TECs be run WOT, right out of the box?

Thanks for the info. I also thought a lot of the claims were designed to suggest some superiority that was either not true, or of minimal importance.

Since you were kind enough to chime in, here is another Q. How close is the design of the block on my '98 6 carb Johnson 60 degree looper to the E-TEC? Does the Johnson share a basic block with the E-TEC? Does it have a part of the exhaust tuning system (ie the y-shaped expansion chambers) that the E-TEC does?

 

[JB]

Re: Why can new E-TECs be run WOT, right out of the box?

You are out of my league now, Chris, but:

It seems logical to me that the Johnnys share blocks, etc with past engines and the ETECs are new designs not shared.

Some of the whippersnapper JohnnyRude experts should chime in here.

 

[Major Woods]

Re: Why can new E-TECs be run WOT, right out of the box?

No break-in required due in part to the following.

Chrome faced piston rings, Boron-Nitride Honed bores, micro-ground crankshafts and large over-sized bearings contribute to the low-friction design. The connecting rods are taken from the 60 degree engine family.

Evinrude E-TEC incorporates pistons made from a new alloy, which was developed by NASA. This alloy has proven to be 2 to 3 times stronger at operating temperature than the aluminum alloys pistons are traditionally made with.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Why can new E-TECs be run WOT, right out of the box?

Major, Thanks for the update. When you say Boron-Nitride you mean Boron-Nitride treated Aluminum cylinders, right? A friend of mine worked on that at Rutgers Univ. in the late 70's. I presume it has been perfected for the E-TEC.

The only other cylinders that I had heard of using that technology was the 70's- 80's Chevy Vega. As it turned out, if the cars overheated, the aluminum cylinders lost their hardness, and the cast iron rings tore them up. The Iron Duke (Cast Iron) block was the fix.

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: Why can new E-TECs be run WOT, right out of the box?

Maybe off topic, but I was told the Vegas you mentioned, had cylinders cast with a high content silica aluminum. After casting, the aluminum was chemically etched from the inside of the cylinders, leaving a thin layer of silica. This silica, much harder than aluminum, was what contacted the piston rings. And yes, once a cylinder was scored, it was trash. I was also told this process was developed for the then Can-Am racing series. Using this method, appreciable weight could be saved in the huge 512 cu. in. aluminum chevy blocks.

 

[Bigjohn1]

Re: Why can new E-TECs be run WOT, right out of the box?

Major Woods - you sound like you're reading off an E-tec brouchure:/

We need to clear the air on a few points made here. First, I agree 100% with JB's first point which is the E-tec is a great engine without all the hype and exhagerated infomercials.

Whether or not an engine needs to be "broken in" depends on a few things. It could be that E-tec's are being "pre-run" off the assembly line prior to delivery to dealers - therefore negating the need for the consumer to "break them in".

Also, boron-nitride is not, in and of itself, some magic material used to build engines. It refers to the material composition of the actual boring/honing stones - NOT the material used in cylinders/piston construction.

Lastly, the term "micro-ground crankshafts" is a whole lot of bull. How does one quantify "micro" versus macro in grinding/turning crank journals? The E-tec is a great engine but there is lots of BS and fluff they push along with it.

 

[Major Woods]

Re: Why can new E-TECs be run WOT, right out of the box?

Correct, I did cut and paste off there site.

Correct, boron-nitride is a grinding stone material not a motor material. Commenly called CBN, it,s a superabrasive used for grinding harened steels and wear resistant super alloys. CBN is used when close tolerences and superior surface finish is required.
Micro ground crankshaft is not bull, it is a grinding process used to achieve a better surface finish than a standard crankshaft.
Of course BRP does not tell us what the surface finish they have on their blue print.

I'm a QAE and have worked in manufacturing plants where we CBN honed parts. The surface finish was always outstanding with very little shift is diameter.

 

[Bass Man Bruce]

Re: Why can new E-TECs be run WOT, right out of the box?

Also during the first 5 hrs of operation the etec ecm delivers double the normal amount of oil to the crank bearings.
I didn't take any chances, for first ten or so hrs I didn't do any wot(well, maybe a little ) and I varried the speed a lot.

 

[gss036]

Re: Why can new E-TECs be run WOT, right out of the box?

I have a copy of the E-Tec DVD, but I read somewhere recently that the cylinder walls have the ability to absorb oil and that help in the ability to run w/o oil at low RPM (1200) if need in an emergency.
I love reading all this stuff. If I ever mange to blow my 89 Merc 200hp again, I will in all probabality(?sp) replace it with a 225/250 E-Tec.

 

[imported_Jimbo]

Re: Why can new E-TECs be run WOT, right out of the box?

Hmm, find it interesting that BRP claims that added weight of a 4-stroke would be a problem when the difference between a Yamaha 50hp 4-stroke(110kg) and an E-Tech(109kg) is about 1kg... Sure there is a difference in weight at larger engines, but in most cases it is not that relevant in my opinion.

Not saying that the Yamaha is better than the E-Tech, just depends on application and personal taste.

//Jimbo

 

[aborgman]

Re: Why can new E-TECs be run WOT, right out of the box?

Lastly, the term "micro-ground crankshafts" is a whole lot of bull. How does one quantify "micro" versus macro in grinding/turning crank journals? The E-tec is a great engine but there is lots of BS and fluff they push along with it.

Probably using Ra, Rmax, and the other associated ASME B46.1 standards.

See:

http://www.mfg.mtu.edu/cyberman/quality/sfinish/terminology.html

--
aborgman

 

[studlymandingo]

Re: Why can new E-TECs be run WOT, right out of the box?

Micro ground crankshaft is not bull, it is a grinding process used to achieve a better surface finish than a standard crankshaft.

One of my hobbies is doing decorative concrete. During the polishing process, I can start to see the surface "closing up" as I go through successively finer grit diamonds. The surface becomes more dense as the scratching by the previous diamonds is removed by the finer ones. I could certainly see where using a very fine polishing process could produce a superior surface on metals as well. I used to build high-performance car engines before I really got into boats! One of the things I always did was have the crank balanced and blueprinted to allow for faster revs. Taking these extra steps produces a more durable engine for sure.

I have a V-6 Merc right now, 20 years old. Still runs well; but I guess if she ever konks out I'll be looking at the e-tecs, unless they would like for me to demo one sooner! Comes down to $$$​