What prop are you guys running on your z3

[Yzfrenfro]

I have the indmar 350 engine with stock prop. Running the surf ballast on the demo the boat got out of the hole fine. But we are adding ballast, 3000lbs total ballast to be exact, and with people, fuel, ice chests, gear on the boat I'm thinking I might be sluggish getting out of the hole and I may want to order a prop with more low end. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

[luke]

Acme 1235

[Travism]

We have a 2012 Z3 with the 409, after adding the large ballast bags we needed to upgrade to the acme 1235. Night and day difference.

Also you mentioned it has the factory surf package, ours also had this package and when we upgraded the rear sacks we had to order the "pro ballast" bow bag from Tige as the factory surf bow bag is not enough when adding weight to the rear.

[begone]

Seems like the 1235 prop is the way to go....

[Duncan]

Be sure to call up Acme and discuss it with them. Every bit of feedback from TO members re Acme advice has been positive. There are other options than the 1235 but that is the most popular.

[ragboy]

I think the 1235 is definitely the right prop for the 350 HP motor. For the 409, it seems to take more off the top end than it should, and I talked to ACME and they were sending me several props to test, but I never got around to making the time, with other stuff going on.

So with the 409, my hunch is there is something a bit more well suited, but the 1235 works great in either case.

[Allan Kendall]

I run a bent one.....custom build from down under.....

[Z3James]

I got the 555hp motor so I won't need the new prop, just get more power lol.

[chpthril]

Pop quiz time!!!!!!!!

who can explain why race cars and dragsters have big fat slick sticky tires with lots of grip on the drive wheels? And off-road vehicles have big fat soft tires with lots of deep knobby lugs? Hp is only as good as the traction you got. THis holds true with props and surf ballast. When you heavily ballast the boat and get it listed over, you get increased prop slip and cavitation. No amount of Hp will fix these issues, only a prop. With the right prop, an ASR would surf just as good with a 205 Hp 4.3L V6 as it would with a 550 Hp 502L. It take more diameter and pitch.

[CarFanatic]

i to have acme 1235 with the 350 indmar.. but have yet to put the boat in the water!

[Z3James]

Pop quiz time!!!!!!!!


who can explain why race cars and dragsters have big fat slick sticky tires with lots of grip on the drive wheels? And off-road vehicles have big fat soft tires with lots of deep knobby lugs? Hp is only as good as the traction you got. THis holds true with props and surf ballast. When you heavily ballast the boat and get it listed over, you get increased prop slip and cavitation. No amount of Hp will fix these issues, only a prop. With the right prop, an ASR would surf just as good with a 205 Hp 4.3L V6 as it would with a 550 Hp 502L. It take more diameter and pitch.

So what you are saying is the less power you have the bigger prop you need...

If I want top end speed and still be able to surf with wake9 ballast in my Z3 the only way to do both is more HP correct. This is why people have suggested a different prop for the 409 vs the les HP motors. The same prop you would put on a 409 would be over kill on a 555, correct me if I am wrong.

[luke]

I have the PCM 343 with acme 1235 prop wake9 ballast and surf at 7500 feet elv prop works great if I want top speed I drain my ballast.

[IDBoating]

As an aside, I wish Tige would drop the propshaft just a bit farther from the hull. This would allow the use of larger props. I'm running the 1235 on my 24Ve and it's darned close to the hull - not TOO close, but I can't run anything larger.

[rensink]

I've ran the 1235 on a Z3 but I had the 409 the prop performed well much, much better than stock however I think there is a prop that is better suited for the bigger motor. I will be getting with the guys from Acme to find a prop better suited (wakeboarding) for the Indmar 415hp motor...hopefully be able to report back on it by middle to end of May if the weather cooperates!

[chpthril]

So what you are saying is the less power you have the bigger prop you need...

If I want top end speed and still be able to surf with wake9 ballast in my Z3 the only way to do both is more HP correct. This is why people have suggested a different prop for the 409 vs the les HP motors. The same prop you would put on a 409 would be over kill on a 555, correct me if I am wrong.

There are many layers to props, ballast, HP, top speed and how you want to use the boat on a regular basis. In general, more ballast = larger diameter, less pitch or a little of both. This can be entirely independent of the Hp of the engine. The prop is what allows how ever much power you have, to hook up with the water. If you cant translate that power into bit and mike the boat move, no amount of HP will fix it.

Props actually screw through the water as they rotate, much like a screw through wood. If the screw turns in the hole, you need a larger screw or different pitch thread, not a drill that turn faster. Prop slip is where the prop turns in the water but not moving the boat. Some prop slip is good, about 10% for a typical boat. Too much slip and the water off the trailing edge of the blade will actually boil. This creates aeration, or cavitation. This is sometimes heard or felt when the water around the prop is replaced with air bubbles. The lack of bit or grip is the leading cause and added ballast and listing the boat over for surfing exaggerates the problem. On our 22Ve, we found that at the 1K ballast in the rear surf corner mark. we exceeded the capabilities of the OEM 537 prop.

The more dia prop you run, the more power it takes to turn. At the same time, it lowers the RPS

The less pitch you run, the greater hole shot, but RPMs greatly increase.

Your 409 may have a different stock prop then the smaller engines. If so, this could be one of the reasons for a different prob recommendation. There could also be different aspects that would yield a different prop recommendation between the different HP ratings. One being the power needed to turn a larger wheel. Your 409 might have the power to X die, so only needs to adjust the pitch for the extra ballast. A lesser HP motor can turn a little larger wheel, but would also benefit in a good drop in pitch to keep the RPM drop cased by the larger wheel, to a minimum.