Oil recommendation for 175 Optimax

[Louie]

I have about a gallon of mercury premium plus oil in my tank now. I am going to start using mercury optimax/DFI oil which I think is a synthetic oil. My question is can I pour it in the tank now or should I use as much of the premium plus up before I add the synthetic to the tank. Thanks for the advice.


Louie

[Hipster]

Louie,

What year is your Optimax?

I have been told it is ok to mix, but if you have been running the TCW3 and not blown your optiblow I would not change.

I ran the Optimax Oil in my 2000 Opti from day one and never blew it, and as far as I know the new current owner has not either.

The 99 - 01 Optiblows were very sensative. Where are you located I would call Mike, Dave or Phil at C&C in C.H. and explain your situation and describe why you want to change.

The TCW3 is a good four dollars a gallon cheaper and if you have not had a problem and it is not voiding your warranty why change?

[Louie]

My optimax is a 2003. I only have 45 hours on it and have had no problems. The only reason I was going to change is the manual recommends the optimax oil first and the premium plus oil second.

Louie

[CORAL 96]

I have used Amsoil in (2) outboards now. First was a 150hp Mariner, and now a 225 efi Merc. Can't go wrong with a Full Synthetic. Price works out to about the same. If you check your manual, it should say " Any TCW3 oil will suffice". No oil-related failures on either motor (and that covers about 8 years now)!!

[Galaxie]

The recommended oil from Merc is Optimax DFI oil. It is a partial synthetic that is supposed to reduce carbon buuildup in the cylinders. This is especially important here in California where we cannot de-carb engines the way we used to.

The best thing to do is run your tank as low as you feel comfortable then make the switch.

For what it's worth, we really have had very few Optimax failures in the 2002 and newer motors.

[MIKE TREMONT]

I have 2001 225 and have burned both without a problem. I'm actually running Penzoil synthetic blend now and have for over a year and have no problems. I do add the carbon free additive to keep the build up to a minimum. I also don't turn the motor more than 5300 and that's only on tournament day and if I'm running late. I try to keep it around 4000 and no more most of the time.
I'm not an expert on anything and would only share my expirence with you. I USED to race watercraft ( don't hate me, some of us understand and have common sense) and I use to take my motor to the edge of failure and never had a problem burning the Penzoil

[JW Wheat]

Word of advice,
Your manual should tell you which oil to use. If you do not have a manual, contact Mercury direct. If your motor is still under warranty, I wouldn't deviate from what the manufacturer recommends. If things go wrong you may be voiding your warranty.

It may cost a little more than going cheap, but may save you thousands in the long run.

My 2 cents

JW

[CORAL 96]

Legally, they can't keep you from only using their BRAND oil. As stated up top, as long as it's TCW3 rated, it's ok to use. Motor companies have been sued over this issue. Why do you think the rating was created in the first place? Personally, I don't believe that any of the companies Yamaha, Mercury, or the Bomb make an oil superb to a FULL SYNTHETIC anyway. So, for better protection, I'll stick with a full syn. Just my .02 cents!!!!!

[MrSkeeter]

I've been thinking about switching to Yamalube since my Merc mechanic told me that Yamalube is better in protecting my EFI than the Merc Premium Plus oils I've been feeding it.

I also ran across this:
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/techoiltcw3.pdf

Which may be a bit of self advertising from Yamaha, but it seems to say the same thing, which is Yamalube protects your engine better.

Was wondering if anyone has used Yamalube in your Merc. I'm told that Merc's are built by Yamaha and they've "kept the best for themselves"!!

[Phil]

I have ran Yamalube since 1989 in all motors I have had the pleasure of owning. I was told once by don at the old California Custom Marine to 1st never use anything but Chevron supreme in his engines and always use Yamalube, or he would hunt me down and throw me out of my boat...........It worked for me

[Kelly Ripa]

Sorry Jigs but you should NEVER use supreme gas in an outboard Chevron yes but NEVER supreme and Secondly while all these different oils are made to the same standard try to remember what you are doing with them. If you have direct injection you need to use opti/yama Lube as they are made for this purpose while the others are made for being MIXED "IN" your gasoline. I have a 98 optimax 150 and I switched to the DFI oil the minute I could with no problems. Prior to that I used the best premium oil merc had. I did have a 200 black max blow up three times in 4 years but I feel that had something to do with the position of the motor on the hull. I feel sorry for whoever bought that boat from Anglers Marine as it just could not keep from blowing out the same piston. That Winner was a great boat but something was wrong with the engines position with respect to the hull which caused the failures in the same piston in 3 heads in my opinion. I always suspected that water running up into the back of the engine when coming off of plane was the culprit but couldn't afford to figure it out as it was easier to just sell it and buy a new boat.

[Phil]

OK........YOU HAVE MY ATTENTION, WHY NEVER SUPREME AND I AM TALKING IN A MERC EFI ???? ALSO NOW I JUST GO TO SPIES MARINE AND TELL HIM I NEED OIL HE GIVES ME OUT OF BULK TANK I HOPE ITS OK, HE RECOMMENDS IT..

[Kelly Ripa]

To much octain=heat=bad things. The Chevron thing is good because of the anti fouling additives in their fuel.If you check out the owners manual you'll see they want you to use mid grade fuel. I get my DFI bulk oil at Anglers Marine in L.A. but I think Hillside Honda in Lakeport ( ClearLake ) and a number of other NORCAL places have it this way so don't toss your containers when through with them as it is cheaper by about 4 bucks or so when you bring in your empty container for a refill. With an EFI you should just use the Merc premium oil...less ash=less deposits. My .02

Rip

[MIKE TREMONT]

I was told ( by the experts, I'm not one of them and the've never steered me wrong) that the higher the octane the cooler your engine burned. I had just about everything maxed out on the two strokes I use to race and had to burn 110 octane. I was told you could always go to a higher octane and not hurt anything, just waste a little money.
I have a 2001 opti and the manual says to run midgrade, but the Merc rep told me they've gotten better results runnig the cheap stuff! You check around enough and you'll find someone with credentials that will tell you you could run them corn oil I've been burning the 87 and never had any problems, yet( knock on wood). I do agree that Chevron is the safest gas to burn. Those experts used to check them regularly and they were always the most consistant.
Good Luck

[MrSkeeter]

I'm no chemist, but it's my understanding that one should not use Premium because of the extra additives in the gas, not because of higher octane. Actually higher octane would be better for the motor as it SHOULD help burn cleaner and leave less carbon buildup in and around the head.

The additives such as degreasers that are added in the premium gas helps disolve the EXPENSIVE OIL you put into your motors thus leaving less lubrication in the process!!

[CORAL 96]

Chevron is definetly good gas to use. I don't think you need anything higher than Mid-Grade (89 octane). The Techron additive keeps carbon from building up. I also run a can of Seafoam every other tank or so. That stuff also stabilizes the fuel in case I'm unable to run the boat for an extended period. Good luck, and Amsoil has been around for years. Just look at all the racers boat and otherwise that use it!!!!!