Advice on 150 motor

nickevans10

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I've narrowed my motor down to a 150 based on how I intend to use the pontoon and my budget.

I need help on choosing. I see a standard yamaha 150 for 8.3k, Yamaha 175 for 10.9k, vmax 150 for 10.6k, standard mercury for 8.7k , and 150 PR for 9.4. These prices are all MSRP.

I'm leaning towards the base Yamaha but don't want to be disappointed.

Any recommendations.
 
Ask your dealer about availability , there may be a longer wait on one vs the other
 
That‘s good advice from Jack! Hearing about delays on some motors v others from many people. All those motors are solid (although not sure what the 150 PR is…?). I am partial to Mercuries over the Yamahas, but most around here like their Yammy’s.

Another TOP consideration: I’d go with whichever of the two (Yamaha or Mercury) your nearest dealership service department is certified in for convenience down the road should you ever need to get it worked on (or if you will be having them do the annual upkeep on it). Both are very good, so go with what you can get most easily serviced!!!

General banter on the options: I think with the 150, you will see some fairly consistent performance, so getting the cheapest model can help with your overall purchase.

However, you never get HP cheaper than when you buy the boat.

If you can bump up into that 10k range, either the 175 or the 150 VMAX will deliver a litter nicer performance. Not quite up to the 200 level performance, but closer. However, for overall use, and certainly for basic cruising outside of watersports, I don’t think you’d notice too much difference in any of them. Thus, I probably would not jump up over $2k for those sorts of modest gains. It’d be hard to justify.

Now in watersports, you should get better hole shot with the VMAX (and the normal 175). Also, the VMAX has a much nicer looking cowl (As does Mercury…ha, ha). With the 175, you should maintain slightly better performance numbers when you have a lot of people and gear on board.

However again, nothing too monumental, so just a matter of weighing cost, the slight gains you get, the type of boating you want to do, and overall cost of the boat. The price differential of over $2k seems like a fair amount for the modest increases you’ll get in performance (particularly if you dial in the prop once you have it!!!).

The 150’s perform pretty dang good for those that have them. Don’t really ever hear people complain about them. For me, unless jumping up to a 200HP+ motor, the 150’s are the way to go.
 
That‘s good advice from Jack! Hearing about delays on some motors v others from many people. All those motors are solid (although not sure what the 150 PR is…?). I am partial to Mercuries over the Yamahas, but most around here like their Yammy’s.

Another TOP consideration: I’d go with whichever of the two (Yamaha or Mercury) your nearest dealership service department is certified in for convenience down the road should you ever need to get it worked on (or if you will be having them do the annual upkeep on it). Both are very good, so go with what you can get most easily serviced!!!

General banter on the options: I think with the 150, you will see some fairly consistent performance, so getting the cheapest model can help with your overall purchase.

However, you never get HP cheaper than when you buy the boat.

If you can bump up into that 10k range, either the 175 or the 150 VMAX will deliver a litter nicer performance. Not quite up to the 200 level performance, but closer. However, for overall use, and certainly for basic cruising outside of watersports, I don’t think you’d notice too much difference in any of them. Thus, I probably would not jump up over $2k for those sorts of modest gains. It’d be hard to justify.

Now in watersports, you should get better hole shot with the VMAX (and the normal 175). Also, the VMAX has a much nicer looking cowl (As does Mercury…ha, ha). With the 175, you should maintain slightly better performance numbers when you have a lot of people and gear on board.

However again, nothing too monumental, so just a matter of weighing cost, the slight gains you get, the type of boating you want to do, and overall cost of the boat. The price differential of over $2k seems like a fair amount for the modest increases you’ll get in performance (particularly if you dial in the prop once you have it!!!).

The 150’s perform pretty dang good for those that have them. Don’t really ever hear people complain about them. For me, unless jumping up to a 200HP+ motor, the 150’s are the way to go.
Thanks for the great advice. I'm actually not in a hurry to get the boat so wait time for me is not an issue. I'll probably go with standard 150 unless I can swing the 200.
 
What is your dealer telling you for wait time ? I ordered on 8/20/21 and I am still waiting on build date due to parts .
 
I would also select the brand that your dealer has the most expertise with
 
I've narrowed my motor down to a 150 based on how I intend to use the pontoon and my budget.

I need help on choosing. I see a standard yamaha 150 for 8.3k, Yamaha 175 for 10.9k, vmax 150 for 10.6k, standard mercury for 8.7k , and 150 PR for 9.4. These prices are all MSRP.

I'm leaning towards the base Yamaha but don't want to be disappointed.

Any recommendations.

Define "disappointed".

Any I-4 of the major brands (Merc, Yam, Zuke and Honda) are all very mechanically solid and have years of proven reliability. They all have their minor pluses and minuses but all things being equal it comes down to dealer network in my mind.

As Viking noted, max out your budget on HP, no one EVER regretted stretching for that last 25 or 50!
 
I've narrowed my motor down to a 150 based on how I intend to use the pontoon and my budget.

I need help on choosing. I see a standard yamaha 150 for 8.3k, Yamaha 175 for 10.9k, vmax 150 for 10.6k, standard mercury for 8.7k , and 150 PR for 9.4. These prices are all MSRP.

I'm leaning towards the base Yamaha but don't want to be disappointed.

Any recommendations.
We worried about going down in horsepower from a V6 220hp I/O to a Mercury 150 but we haven't noticed much of a difference in performance. Our 150 has a great hole shot and we still ski, slalom and wakeboard. Another thing to add to what Jack said about the availability of the outboards. Our dealer here told us that he has experienced shortages with props as well. I requested to swap out our prop for another one with a different pitch but none were available at this time. He has customers waiting on boats, waiting on outboards, waiting on parts etc.....
 
We worried about going down in horsepower from a V6 220hp I/O to a Mercury 150 but we haven't noticed much of a difference in performance. Our 150 has a great hole shot and we still ski, slalom and wakeboard. Another thing to add to what Jack said about the availability of the outboards. Our dealer here told us that he has experienced shortages with props as well. I requested to swap out our prop for another one with a different pitch but none were available at this time. He has customers waiting on boats, waiting on outboards, waiting on parts etc.....
Thanks for information. I'm definitely buying at a terrible time and it's a sellers market. It'd only money though
 
Thanks for information. I'm definitely buying at a terrible time and it's a sellers market. It'd only money though
That's right you can't take it with you!!!
 
Thanks for information. I'm definitely buying at a terrible time and it's a sellers market. It'd only money though
Yes. It's a sellers market, but it's only going to get worse for a few years. Certainly not any better.
 
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