About to buy a new RZ2... advice??

[JohnnieMo]

Just was at the boat show. Narrowed it down to an RZ2 or an X25. This will be my first tow boat. RZ2 is the favourite.

But I have so many questions! If you guys are willing to share the "must have" options for me, that would be great. Also any colour combinations that look nice. My preference is base white with some blue. I also have the following questions:

1. Is the tower camera any good, or is it better to buy after market?

2. I plan do do a white/blue colour scheme, however is the navy blue seat insert going to cook me in the sun? My current boat has small pieces of blue in the seating, and in the Shuswap sun, it will burn you alive!

3. Is the 6.0L worth the price? What are the impacts on fuel economy? Power? Top Speed?

Design pics attached. Thanks for the help! I look forward to becoming a routine member of the site

[Timmy!]

Great looking boat!!! Welcome to the site and good luck with the purchase. I've had my RZ2 for almost 4 years now and it has been a great boat! Are you going to the Calgary boat show? Tony Fussell from Tige will be there tonight and tomorrow I think and he is a super knowledgeable and personable guy that can really help you make decisions and answer all of your questions.

1. Is the tower camera any good, or is it better to buy after market? - that's brand new for 2011 and I don't think anyone on here has had a chance to try it out. It's $$$$ though.

2. I plan do do a white/blue colour scheme, however is the navy blue seat insert going to cook me in the sun? My current boat has small pieces of blue in the seating, and in the Shuswap sun, it will burn you alive!All of the dark colors can be hot. You might try for a lighter gray/silver if you are worried about it.

3. Is the 6.0L worth the price? What are the impacts on fuel economy? Power? Top Speed? The PCM 343 has more than enough power to run in the upper 40's without ballast and hardly anyone on here has ordered the 6.0 because it's just not needed.

[kko]

IMPO
!.Tower camera is so bad ***. We sold a 2011 RZ4 with it I had a chance to use it some. It was great! I would for sure get it if your even thinking about getting a canera.
2.Navy blue isnt the worst and since your in canada I bet you will be fine.
3.6.0L I would only get this if your going with insane amounts of ballast all the time. Fuel economy will really vary depending on ballast and driving style. I would go with the 343 and upgrade the prop.
Top speed is about the same but if you change to the uograde prop you will drop a few mph.
# 3 would be easier to answer if we knew what you would be doing with the boat. I mean if you going 100% wakeboard with 3000# + of ballast all the time I would go 6.0L but if your stock ballast or stock plus extra for surfing and wakeboarding with stock ballast I would go 343hp with upgraded prop. IMPO it depends on what your going to do with the boat. I have always found the 5.7 to be a perfect ballance between power and fuel consuption unless you slam the boat with insane amounts of ballast.
Again these are just my opinions and I am sure others will chime in. You made a great choice and will love it I assure you.

[robert theisen]

Just was at the boat show. Narrowed it down to an RZ2 or an X25. This will be my first tow boat. RZ2 is the favourite.

But I have so many questions! If you guys are willing to share the "must have" options for me, that would be great. Also any colour combinations that look nice. My preference is base white with some blue. I also have the following questions:

1. Is the tower camera any good, or is it better to buy after market?

2. I plan do do a white/blue colour scheme, however is the navy blue seat insert going to cook me in the sun? My current boat has small pieces of blue in the seating, and in the Shuswap sun, it will burn you alive!

3. Is the 6.0L worth the price? What are the impacts on fuel economy? Power? Top Speed?

Design pics attached. Thanks for the help! I look forward to becoming a routine member of the site

johniemo i have researched the new rz2 extensively.the tower camera can be viewed and recorded on the tige touch screen and transfered to your computer.if thats important then it's worth it. i plan to get that option myself as i wakeboard and i can critique myself with the camera.as for your color combo. i have a navy silver and graphite and white boat now with the navy insert panels.i know my 22ve and the rz2 have different interiors.but i have never had any problems here in va.we do use the bimini all the time.sometimes the carpet gets a little hot and the navy inserts get rather warm,but not burning hot.like timmy said silver is an option.you might also want to consider a silver or graphite on the hull if you are in a lake that leaves a scum line on your boat.as for the 6.0 most everyone i have met has the 343hp engine and even with the 2000 lbs of ballast it does fine.all in all excellent choice of boat,colors and whatever engine you'll be happy.the few people that i have met that have the 6.0 haven't complained about gas consumption.happy boating and welcome to the site.

[majestic]

Good luck with the purchase, what a great position to be in. I have seen the camera in action and it is pretty cool for wakeboarding. For surfing I would get a go pro HD and mount it on the transom just because the camera angle looks better in my opinion. I would add a heater, vision air seat, and pro ballast as a start.

I think you should get the supercharged 550hp motor

[JohnnieMo]

Well I've never owned a tow-boat before, so I'm not exactly sure how I will use it.

With my Larson Senza, I just started getting into surfing, and even thought I couldn't let go of the rope, it was still a blast. That's the real reason behind the Tige. So I opted for the Pro ballast system...

The boat is for our young family and the occasional party weekend. Most of those weekends are in the past, but there could still be larger crowds. But I think 4 to 6 people is average, with everyone being beginner to intermediate on the wakeboard and surfboard. Will also pull tubes and the occasional slalom skier. But consider that my primary interest is surfing.

My Larson had a 5.0L V8 with 220HP, so the Excalibur is a very big step up. It probably has 50% more power, and only 30% more mass. So I think that will do the job nicely. The lake is really long, so at times we make long trips at higher speeds, but fuel economy is more important to me than top speed.

As for the camera, my issue with the Tige model is the $2k price tag and lack of HD. The Tige Touch has an video input, so you could plug anything into it. I'm wondering if the video quality is worth the investment. The GoPro Hero cameras are full HD for $300, put their field of view is too wide for a tower mount (and you can't wire them in)

Thanks for the feedback so far!

[robert theisen]

sounds like the 343hp is all you need,unless you plan on raising pro wakeboarders or pro surfers. the stock motor is plenty for the pro ballast.as for the camera no one else makes one to fit that tower,but it's your choice.good luck and happy boating.

[JohnnieMo]

Does the camera do audio as well? How well does it work?

[robert theisen]

i haven't asked that yet.but kko is a lead mechanic at a tige dealership.he could probably tell you.

[JohnnieMo]

Great looking boat!!! Welcome to the site and good luck with the purchase. I've had my RZ2 for almost 4 years now and it has been a great boat! Are you going to the Calgary boat show? Tony Fussell from Tige will be there tonight and tomorrow I think and he is a super knowledgeable and personable guy that can really help you make decisions and answer all of your questions.

I was at the Calgary boat show Friday. Likely going back tomorrow to put money down.

[JohnnieMo]

Here are my existing toys. As you can see, I was somewhat influenced by the colour scheme of a 69 Trans Am

[Ewok]

I have the 343 in my 09 RZ2 and it has plenty of power, especially if this is your first towboat. I wish my boat had a heater, I'll be adding that as soon as I can. The pro ballast will be good, and that color combo looks great. make sure you spurge for the vision air seat and the bimini that can hold surfboards. Get the dual batteries too. You are going to love this boat. It's very easy to transition to from an I/O thanks to the convex hull and taps trim plate, the trim switch on the throttle makes the bow go up and down just like your larson.

and welcome to TO!

[majestic]

Well I've never owned a tow-boat before, so I'm not exactly sure how I will use it.

With my Larson Senza, I just started getting into surfing, and even thought I couldn't let go of the rope, it was still a blast. That's the real reason behind the Tige. So I opted for the Pro ballast system...

The boat is for our young family and the occasional party weekend. Most of those weekends are in the past, but there could still be larger crowds. But I think 4 to 6 people is average, with everyone being beginner to intermediate on the wakeboard and surfboard. Will also pull tubes and the occasional slalom skier. But consider that my primary interest is surfing.

My Larson had a 5.0L V8 with 220HP, so the Excalibur is a very big step up. It probably has 50% more power, and only 30% more mass. So I think that will do the job nicely. The lake is really long, so at times we make long trips at higher speeds, but fuel economy is more important to me than top speed.

As for the camera, my issue with the Tige model is the $2k price tag and lack of HD. The Tige Touch has an video input, so you could plug anything into it. I'm wondering if the video quality is worth the investment. The GoPro Hero cameras are full HD for $300, put their field of view is too wide for a tower mount (and you can't wire them in)

Thanks for the feedback so far!

I hate to be "that guy" but surfing behind and I/O is nuts!!!

As far as wiring the go pro watch this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC86aM_8fcs

[kko]

I dont think the camera has audio. I dint record and watch it back I just used it out on the lake but I dont think it records audio I saw no mic. 91terminator might chime in he played with the recording side of it more than me.
From what you are saying you dont need a 6.0L a 5.7L 343hp will be plenty and provide you the best fuel economy.
OH BTW nice Trans-am but I dont think it will pull the boat!

[giers]

The only advice I have as I am really a beginner tho this form is"BUY IT YOU WILL LOVE IT". Congrats, nice looking set-up and let the fun begin.