Wake9 AVX Experiment: The Skinny Test

[knotayooper]

Ragboy- do you believe this will also apply to a RZR?

[ragboy]

@knot I wish I could tell you for sure. I know that tige spent a lot of time testing for 2015 to really get it right and I can tell you that ours is perfect. I am guessing your optimimum lean angles may be different and your weight setup.

I can tell you how I would try to dial it in, if that would help...

1. Fill up like 100 on surf side rear and 80 on the other and put larger people on the surf side, I would start with the regular side. Put avx around 7 or 8. Don't do this with a full boat, maybe 3-4 people and a driver. Enough to move some weight around but not enough to get in the way. You should also do this on a weekday or some place where you have smooth water and not many boats. This really helps when you are dialing in.

2. Go 11.4 and go perfectly straight. What is your lean angle and how does the wave look? Mostly likely your lean angle is only around 3-4 degrees or so and the wave is washy. Hold this and hit empty on the opposite side until it starts to clean up. Once clean, get a rider on it.

3. How is the shape, how is the lip, how is the push? Is the curl too big, it may look cool but that thing grabs your back leg and yanks you out, you want it as minimal as possible. If the curl is too big or the wave feels too short, you can lower AVX and/or taps a bit, small steps, or move your people weight forward. Maybe even throw someone in the bow to see what that does.

Don't worry if some of this stuff sounds like more than you are aware of, just surf when you like it. But as you get better you will find variations in shape and characteristics that you will want to find again. Experiment and find what you love most.

[Palle Man]

Ragboy, we are seriously considering upgrading to a Z3 from our RZR. I think this video has made up my mind. My question is; what elevation are you normally operating at? I would like to go with the 400, but my dealer says it won't be enough at 3500 feet. He is trying to talk me into the 440. Not sure if he's just trying to up sell me or not. I have a feeling the fuel consumption will be a lot more with the 440.

[ragboy]

@palle We are at 800 feet or sea level 95% of the time. However, we were at 2500 when we went to rollins lake. With the 15 inch prop that comes with the Surf XL package, I think you would be fine. At 2500 feet and not even broken in, and with our extra weight, I didn't notice a single burp, no cavitation, no lugging.

My guess is that the 400 would be fine. I plan to try the 400 with 87 octane and I bet I don't even notice the difference, but with your extra altitude you will probably want to use the high octane all the time.

Again, that is my best guess since I have not tested specifically, so please keep that in mind.

One more thing, you won't see the same fuel economy at the higher altitude, but I figure you already know that. I am sure compared to other boats/motors at that altitude, the Z3 and Indmar 400 will perform excellent.

[Palle Man]

We have the base indmar 330 I believe in our Rzr and it does great. I think we average around 4.5 to 5.5 an hour surfing. We surf 95% of the time. I would be extremely happy to stay around that. we are used to using premium fuel anyway since our boat sits for three weeks at a time, so no problem there. Thanks for the reply man!

[ragboy]

Your welcome.

[Phillips]

My 2015 z3 has the big ballast but the avx doesn't move so when you are surfing is there a number you want your pitch an roll?

[Phillips]

My 2015 z3 has the big ballast but the avx doesn't move so when you are surfing is there a number you want your pitch an roll?

[trace]

Ragboy,
You said start at 11.4 work up to 11.8. What led you to that speed range? My wife keeps wanting to slow down in the 10.6 to 10.8 range. She rides skim and wants the wake really mellow. On our Z1 with AVX my wife is typically running 10.6-10.8 with Taps 3 and AVX at 5-6, list is usually right at 7-8. Are we missing something?

[ragboy]

@phillips, I don't understand your question.

@trace First, its all a preference thing. So if you don't like the faster speed, that is ok, don't do it.

What led me to it was this session we did at the end of 2013 with Dom Legace and Chase Hazen at Lake Mead. We had customized the VX and it was making an amazing wake and we were testing. I guess this would be the prototype for the AVX, it just was MUCH harder to adjust, you had to get out of the boat with in the water with a wrench. ;-)

Chase had us speed up, he always does, he likes it fast for his huge air tricks. Well, we have tested at different speeds for years on many boats, not just Tiges. The same thing always happened, you need a bunch more weight when you go faster cuz the boat wants to lift, especially the surf corner, you lose list. The wake gets smaller, longer, and has less push, which is why you need more weight.

This was the first time we had sped up since we had adjusted the VX up where it was. Probably like having the AVX around 9 or 10. When we sped up, the wake got longer, but the but didn't lift, it sunk down a bit more and the wave got bigger. It blew us away, and we thought it was a freak thing. It was an epic session with Dom and Chase.

These were from that session:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wake9/...57635827855324

Since then, we were able to reproduce this with the prototype AVX and we reported what we found to Tige and they were very excited. It was from this, and several meetings and other R&D sessions in Texas that Charlie himself wanted to make the VX adjustable, the AVX. We made ours adjustable just to find the best angle, we didn't think it was going to be easy or possible to make this adjustable on consumer boats, especially in one year.

They did it, it works. I have video of RJ and I adjusting our VX with a wrench in the water, laughing about how crazy it was. Never thought we would be hitting a touch screen and seeing that thing move and do what it does to the wake, but we are.

Sorry for the long windedness, but as you can tell, I love this thing and what it does to the wake.

[mnpracing]

Ragboy, what do you think a split avx would do? Meaning being able to independently move the port and starboard sides of the avx.

[ragboy]

@mpn Well, I know what one would do. I am not sure what I can speak to that. It wasn't anything special. Keep in mind I don't think any of the side to side systems are really anything special. Why would I want to add a ton more weight (maybe literally) to get the same wake I have now, but level, so I can do transfers?

If side to side instantly could be done with the same wake, similar weight and similar fuel economy, I would be all for it.

For the record, and I know I can talk about this...

We are testing new cross over pumps, they are prototypes from Jabsco. We had 3 johnson reversibles in the old Z3. We used johnson, because they were a bit faster than the normal jabsco ballast puppies. They worked great, but it took 3 pumps to transfer in under 3 minutes, and that is with the aid of the other fill and empty pumps.

So the new jabsco pumps are supposed to be much faster, like 1.5-2x faster, but not exactly sure. We have just 2 setup for cross over and they transfer at 2:25 in one direction and 2:50 in the other, without ANY aid from the other pumps, just them alone. That is outstanding.

IMO, side to side that is super easy and quick so that you feel free to let riders go in any order and just accommodate them, is the long term ticket.

[chpthril]

So the new jabsco pumps are supposed to be much faster, like 1.5-2x faster, but not exactly sure.

Then what? The Jabsco Ballast puppy is a 620 GPH pump and the Attwood Tsunami T1200 nets about 800 GPH at the sac or drain through hull.

[ragboy]

Then what, what?

[chpthril]

You stated the new jabsco is 1.5-2 X faster, faster than what? Not the Attwood T1200, so what is that comparison made to?