Tow stroke or four stroke motor ?

[dan2116]

I am looking to buy my first bass boat which have narrowed down to Tracker 175 txw . I have had a 14' Lowe jon boat for many years w/ 30hp Johnson two stroke and like the two storks because of the low maintenance . Every Tracker I see only comes with a Merc four stroke ( suppose I could order a Optimax ? ). I will not be putting tons of time on the motor. Which would be best ?

Dan
Redding CA

Shasta Lake

[R2Tracker]

I like four stroke's. I believe them to be quieter, cleaner, and more efficient.
Maintenance... I prefer to do one oil change at the end of the season vs burning 2 stroke oil throughout the season.

[gatorglenn]

Agree on the 4 Stroke comment above. Plus I don’t think you can get a OptiMax anymore, unless it’s a hold over.

[dan2116]

Is changing the oil and filter on the four strokes fairly simple? What was I thinking. Went to You-Tube and there it is on how to change oil and filter. Four Stroke it is then. My only issue will be to find out if the 2019 tracker 175 has more leg room than the older ones as I am 6'4" @ 250. The Ranger aluminums have plenty of leg room for me but my one car garage w/8' door will not fit.

[G4bama]

If you buy a current model or back to a 2016 I believe all trackers are 4 strokes

[krr6581]

As of this year Mercury doesn't make a 2 stroke anymore. Everyone who I've seen here in the forum swears by their new 4 strokes. Many who have them are reporting speeds higher than those who run the 2 stroke Optimax engines. Mercury spent a lot of time to make sure these motors were going to perform. They might not have the torque curve of a two stroke but I haven't seen anyone complaining of how well these motors push their boats. I keep telling the wife as soon as I blow up my 115 Optimax that I was replacing it with the new 115 4 stroke ProXS. Met a fellow up here in Canada who just put one on an identical boat to mine and not only did he beat me on hole shot but he ran away from me after I took out a bunch of stuff and locked it in the truck so my boats weight would be approximately the same as his. I was impressed!

[One fat one]

4 stroke all the way

[pitbully71]

The new Four Strokes are the only reason I didn't buy a newer used boat this spring. I wasn't spending $20k+ on a 2 stroke problem. I'm glad I did, the new 4's are simply amazing. I won't ever buy a boat without a 4S motor.

[Transom]

4stroke for sure.

I am pretty much your size. Maybe a hair larger. You will fit for sure but don’t expect a ton of room to move around behind the helm. Yes they have more room at the helm than they used to.

[dan2116]

Thank you Transom for letting me know. Harrisons ( my local dealer here in Redding ) is supposed to have a new 2019 175 coming in.

[Lape0019]

If you’re buying new, you won’t have an option. If you’re buying used, it’s up to you.

I had a 4 stroke on my 06 and during the 7 years I had it, only ever did oil changes (including LU) and had the injectors cleaned once. It was a reliable and quiet motor. The guy who bought it hasn’t had an issue yet either.

Now, I have a 2 stroke Evinrude G2 on the new boat. Only bought it because if the warranty andnso far, I absolutely love it. Yes, I go through oil but not as much as I thought I would. I think by the the end of our season, I will have gone through 4 gallons of oil.

I haven’t had the motor long enough to run into issues. I’ve got about 15 hours on it so far so reliability cannot be measured yet.!