Honda 90/22 cruiser - Fuel consumption

[Billy]

Me too, me too. I've got the hots for a four stroke based on all of great fuel consumption stories, but I'm getting 3-4 mpg's out of my 70 Johnson. If that's all there is...?

[Molly Brown]

Hi All:
Our understanding is that factory test are run under optimum conditions and are not to be expected to reflect real life results. We run a TomCat with twinn 90's and matched fuel meters and ours says we get 1.67 to 1.85nm per gallon depending on the load which is "heavy" or heavier yet. If I recall correctly our 22' cruiser with twinn Yamaha 50's was 4 to 5nm per gallon but we didn't have a fuel meters on that boat. Not real impressive granted but it's exactly what it takes to go. Those fuel meters are the "cat's meow" and when we fill up we always know how much we'll need. Our experience says that with a Dory it's weight that makes the most difference in how the boat handles and thereby it's efficiency. We love our boats and so it seems a fair tradeoff.

[digger]

Hi folks....my 22 CD with a 100 yamaha 4 stroke also gets between 3-4. Usually at about 20 knots I'm reading about 5 1/2 - 6 gph with my flowmeter. I though perhaps the yammy is hungry, but I have a 17 pitch prop, turn 5600 rpm's max at about 28-29 nautical mph (8-9 gallons/hr). At 5-8 knots I get more towards 6 nmpg.

[C-Hawk]

I have a 2008 Honda 90EFI on my 2008 22'- not at all happy with the fuel burn.
I have tried Solas 3 blade 17, 15 &13 pitch props. My fuel burn at 14 - 15 kmph is 7 gph / 2 mpg.
I had twin Honda 40s on the last 2002 22' and got a good 3.75 - 4 mpg.
I have noticed the new boat sets about 3" lower in the stern then the old boat. The weight difference in the motor setup is less then 50 lbs on the heavy side.
If I open up and run at 20 - 22 knph, the burn is in excess of 9 gph.

[Adeline]

[Jack in Alaska]

On my 83 Classic 22' with a 1997 90 hp Honda I got between 4 and 4.5 mpg.
I sold it to my son and he is getting the same.

I wish my 26' got that. It gets between 2 and 2.5 mpg with a 200 hp Honda.

[starcrafttom]

After running the new 27 this weekend I figured that I was getting 2.28 mpg. ( not Knots per gallon) running at 30mph . I wanted to see what worse case was going to be. Now that was with me just figureing the amount left in the tanks by looking at the in tank gages. I have a flow meter siting in the shop for three years that I will put on this boat soon.

[tpbrady]

Roger,

I went round and round on props and performance on the BF90D and found the best compromise was the 14 pitch Quicksilver stainless 3 blade. The fuel burn of the BF90D is not linear due to the lean burn option. When it exits lean burn fuel consumption suddenly goes up 70% and doesn't match the BF90A until near WOT. It exits lean burn between 3800 and 4200 rpm depending on weight. After finding this point, I trimmed the boat watching fuel flow and took whatever speed I got. At the beginning of the trip it was 12-14 mph getting nearly 4 mpg and as the boat lightened up it would be up to 16-17 mph. The 14 pitch prop allowed you to keep engine loading down in a heavy boat and still stay in the efficient operating rpm range of motor. The one thing I learned with the new BF90, you didn't want to go fast especially while you were heavy.

[SEA3PO]

There is something definitely wrong with Rogers new 90hp Honda getting only 2mpg..... I have twin 40 Yamaha's and get 4 to 4.5... his rig is lighter than mine...newer....runs way better...and fuel injected... I think is must be something in the motor....he has tried bunches of props and it only gets worse.....

Joel
SEA3PO

[SEA3PO]

Does Honda have a guarantee on the motors performance ? It must be under warrantee...it is a new motor...
Car manufacturers have factory reps for just this type of problem...Honda must have one..... I would be calling that guy...

Joel
SEA3PO

[tpbrady]

Joel,

I saw similar fuel consumption numbers on my BF90D on a 2005 CD-22. I still think Honda Marine needed to do some work on software since the increase in fuel consumption around the 3800 to 4200 rpm range was so dramatic. If you look at the fuel graphs on the Honda web site you can see this same jump in fuel consumption on many of them. I think the motor is fine, just it is the nature of the beast.

[thataway]

I am shocked at that mileage of 2 mpg. I got much better than that with the old 90 Evinrude 2 stroke (which Jeff has now) on C Pelican.

Is stern weight an issue? Something wrong with the injection system?

Tom's sounds about right--but his boat is much heavier--and a much bigger engine.

[T.R. Bauer]

[C-Hawk]

I called Honda Marine and registered a complaint against the engine serial number warranty. They will check into it.
Talking with Eric at Specialty Marine, he will try to get a Honda rep out for a check ride.
The engine was mounted high on the transom and I was getting a lot of cavitation, lowering the engine corrected the cavitation- still burning fuel.

Roger

[C-Hawk]

Update---
After a few emails with Les Lampman, Richard Burton and Eric Peterson, I was finally able to get Richard Burton, the western Tech Rep for Honda Marine, out for a ride.
After the ride, Honda changed out the ECU and O2 sensors for the engine.
I went out around Anacapa Island for a test ride with a Solas 13 7/8X15 three blade prop.
I logged 39.7 miles and only needed 10 gallons of fuel- 3.97 mpg
I am only able to get ~5100 - 5300 rpms with this prop.
We tried a 13" pitch and got up to 6300 rpm- but the performance and economy suffered. I'll stick with the 15" pitch prop.


Now I feel like I have my boat back.

Roger