wh500special
New member
"I have been shopping for a 40
"I have been shopping for a 40 HP engine for my 16' Lund boat and have experienced the sticker shock we all see before making a big purchase. Generally, prices for Merc's, Etecs, Yamahas, Suzuki, Honda, and the others all falls right on top each other (although dealer to dealer variability can be huge).
But the Nissan/Tohatsu TLDI 2 strokes are significantly cheaper. And, the quoted prices include the prop and control (or tiller). geez, even the tach and TNt gage are included on the remotes.
I haven't yet decided on a tiller or remote motor. Currently I have console steering but would really love to remove it in favir of a tiller. In my boat it is a simple change, but I know my wife prefers the steering wheel...
I have no personal experience with these TLDI outboards, but after looking them over they certainly seem to match up to the "big guys" on all superficial accounts like fit, finish, etc. Recently I learned the current Mercurys 30 HP and lower are all in fact made by Nissan and the specs are identical (except the 9.8 vs 9.9).
I wanted to stick with American engines, but evidnetly that is pretty tough to do these days.
Dealer availability around me and in most places I fish is very good for Nissan/Tohatsu, but of course there are a lot more Merc/Yamaha/Honda stores in many places. Assuming Nissan doesn't pull out of the US market, I don't see this as a big deal for me.
Generally, in this day and age, most sophisticated products are very reliable and usually on par with competitors so I have no reason (yet) to shy away from Nissan/Tohatsu and would fully expect these engines to be at least as good as my old Mercs, Mariners, and johnsons i am familiar with.
According to ANY manufacturer's brochure, their own outboards set the bar for efficiency, noise, reliability, corrosion resistance, etc. But it is difficult to find objective opinions by people who don't have a horse in the race. Lots of guys seem to be very brand-loyal too...which is something I can relate to on many items (my Lund boat, my truck, my tractors...) but it makes it tough to get opinions on OB's.
So, I do have a few general questions about these TLDI engines. Any opinions are welcome.
A. Compared to a competing 4S (or Etec), how do these TLDI's fair in real smoothness at idle (I am a troller) and in noise and smoke? I'd love to test drive all of them, but there are precious few dealers who can accomodate and until I am ready to pull the trigger with a deposit I don't want to monopolize their time. I have never had an engine that couldn't troll for hours on end and i would hope that to be the case with these new ones too.
B. How do these TLDI's fare on fuel economy? i hear lots of great things about 4S economy and the Etec system too but my only 4S experience is with my 8hp Yamaha...but at only 8 Hp it doesn't use much gas anyway. Fuel economy isn't a huge deal to me, but I'd love to find something that returns good results so I can stick to a portable 6 gallon tank per outing like I do with my current 25 Johnson 2-cyl 2S.
C. These TLDI's seem to be pretty new technology and little discussion on these boards have been made, but are there any real caveats to watch for? Any dealer-required maintenance issues to worry about (I am usually a DIYer)?
D. I have never seen a used 40 HP Nissan or Tohatsu so it is hard to tell, but do they enjoy ANY kind of decent resale value? I am not looking to trade for many years ( I hope), but I'd rather not be stuck with a perfectly running, reliable, but worthless engine in 10 years. And yes, I do realize cheaper when new WILL certainly equate to cheaper when used. My uncle had an old Chrysler 10 HP that ran great for 30 years with daily use (he lives on a lake) but he couldn't give it away (at that point though, that motor owed him zilch).
My local dealers have all been very helpful and courteous, so it would be hard to pick an engine based on any specific dealership. Since the trend in boats around here seems to have gone ever larger, it seems that it is tough to find someone with any real experience with anything less than 150 HP. I used to think my 25 was big until I had a 90. Now it seems even a 40 looks like a kicker to a lot of guys but I prefer a smaller boat which is easier to tow and store.
Any suggestions would be welcome!
Thanks,
Steve"
"I have been shopping for a 40 HP engine for my 16' Lund boat and have experienced the sticker shock we all see before making a big purchase. Generally, prices for Merc's, Etecs, Yamahas, Suzuki, Honda, and the others all falls right on top each other (although dealer to dealer variability can be huge).
But the Nissan/Tohatsu TLDI 2 strokes are significantly cheaper. And, the quoted prices include the prop and control (or tiller). geez, even the tach and TNt gage are included on the remotes.
I haven't yet decided on a tiller or remote motor. Currently I have console steering but would really love to remove it in favir of a tiller. In my boat it is a simple change, but I know my wife prefers the steering wheel...
I have no personal experience with these TLDI outboards, but after looking them over they certainly seem to match up to the "big guys" on all superficial accounts like fit, finish, etc. Recently I learned the current Mercurys 30 HP and lower are all in fact made by Nissan and the specs are identical (except the 9.8 vs 9.9).
I wanted to stick with American engines, but evidnetly that is pretty tough to do these days.
Dealer availability around me and in most places I fish is very good for Nissan/Tohatsu, but of course there are a lot more Merc/Yamaha/Honda stores in many places. Assuming Nissan doesn't pull out of the US market, I don't see this as a big deal for me.
Generally, in this day and age, most sophisticated products are very reliable and usually on par with competitors so I have no reason (yet) to shy away from Nissan/Tohatsu and would fully expect these engines to be at least as good as my old Mercs, Mariners, and johnsons i am familiar with.
According to ANY manufacturer's brochure, their own outboards set the bar for efficiency, noise, reliability, corrosion resistance, etc. But it is difficult to find objective opinions by people who don't have a horse in the race. Lots of guys seem to be very brand-loyal too...which is something I can relate to on many items (my Lund boat, my truck, my tractors...) but it makes it tough to get opinions on OB's.
So, I do have a few general questions about these TLDI engines. Any opinions are welcome.
A. Compared to a competing 4S (or Etec), how do these TLDI's fair in real smoothness at idle (I am a troller) and in noise and smoke? I'd love to test drive all of them, but there are precious few dealers who can accomodate and until I am ready to pull the trigger with a deposit I don't want to monopolize their time. I have never had an engine that couldn't troll for hours on end and i would hope that to be the case with these new ones too.
B. How do these TLDI's fare on fuel economy? i hear lots of great things about 4S economy and the Etec system too but my only 4S experience is with my 8hp Yamaha...but at only 8 Hp it doesn't use much gas anyway. Fuel economy isn't a huge deal to me, but I'd love to find something that returns good results so I can stick to a portable 6 gallon tank per outing like I do with my current 25 Johnson 2-cyl 2S.
C. These TLDI's seem to be pretty new technology and little discussion on these boards have been made, but are there any real caveats to watch for? Any dealer-required maintenance issues to worry about (I am usually a DIYer)?
D. I have never seen a used 40 HP Nissan or Tohatsu so it is hard to tell, but do they enjoy ANY kind of decent resale value? I am not looking to trade for many years ( I hope), but I'd rather not be stuck with a perfectly running, reliable, but worthless engine in 10 years. And yes, I do realize cheaper when new WILL certainly equate to cheaper when used. My uncle had an old Chrysler 10 HP that ran great for 30 years with daily use (he lives on a lake) but he couldn't give it away (at that point though, that motor owed him zilch).
My local dealers have all been very helpful and courteous, so it would be hard to pick an engine based on any specific dealership. Since the trend in boats around here seems to have gone ever larger, it seems that it is tough to find someone with any real experience with anything less than 150 HP. I used to think my 25 was big until I had a 90. Now it seems even a 40 looks like a kicker to a lot of guys but I prefer a smaller boat which is easier to tow and store.
Any suggestions would be welcome!
Thanks,
Steve"