Cat out of the bag prop!

[Iwndr]

"overall perform better" ... but if it performs better in specific areas pertinent to load under surf ballast, then a 5 blade might be better for that application.

I wonder what the 5 blade props do better, if anything?

Yeah it was a broad comment and he really thought that the 1235 was going to work best for me, altitude, and extra surfing ballast. I don't care about top end speed. I rarely go above 30mph

[Duncan]

Yeah it was a broad comment and he really thought that the 1235 was going to work best for me, altitude, and extra surfing ballast. I don't care about top end speed. I rarely go above 30mph

I hear you -- we never go above 30 (unless racing a storm back to the dock).

I love the 14.5" 1235 we have currently. But I am sooo tempted by those new 15". Especially that crazy 12 pitch Wicked is touting

[Wickedcummins]

I hear you -- we never go above 30 (unless racing a storm back to the dock).

I love the 14.5" 1235 we have currently. But I am sooo tempted by those new 15". Especially that crazy 12 pitch Wicked is touting

Tell you what I am loving this 12 pitch! Now I want the big ole XS550 =)

[IDBoating]

I love the 14.5" 1235 we have currently. But I am sooo tempted by those new 15". Especially that crazy 12 pitch Wicked is touting

Help me understand: What is the attraction of an ever-larger prop? Or more blades? I understand the tradeoff between hole shot and top end. But what about the tradeoff between diameter and blade count? Do they accomplish different things? Can you trade one for the other (i.e. you don't have the clearance for more diameter, so go for 4-5 blades instead)?

Just trying to learn... thanks!

[houstonshark]

LIttle update got a 2315 and Love it even more =)

Wicked, what is the clearance to the hull on the 2315?

I put the 1235 on and it is right at 5/8" to the hull and don't want to get any closer. The 1235 works well and definitely gets the boat out of the hole when loaded down. I just don't like the RPM's running so high.

Also, I was wrong about the stock prop on my boat. I thought it was a 537 but it actually was a 1631 so the improvement to the 1235 was not night and day as I think it would have been if I was originally running the 537.

[duffymahoney]

I am getting an acme 14" 5 blade prop to test. I will let everyone know the results when I do. I have been running the 381 with good results, but with a large crew or bad weather it doesn't work that well.

[Wickedcummins]

Wicked, what is the clearance to the hull on the 2315?

I put the 1235 on and it is right at 5/8" to the hull and don't want to get any closer. The 1235 works well and definitely gets the boat out of the hole when loaded down. I just don't like the RPM's running so high.

Also, I was wrong about the stock prop on my boat. I thought it was a 537 but it actually was a 1631 so the improvement to the 1235 was not night and day as I think it would have been if I was originally running the 537.

im at about 5/8... Tige says all you need is 1/2 inch.. Truthfully if your only surfing with weight the 1235 is all you want.. But when trying to run 4k of ballast your gonna need a miracle prop!

[Wickedcummins]

hell if I was only surfing I would have left the stock prop on it did great. But keep in mind I have the 408 and my gearing might be different than the 343 power plant on the v drive

[duffymahoney]

the 381 with 4-5 people at close to 4k of ballast did fine. Acme wants me to test it vs the 5 blade.

[houstonshark]

im at about 5/8... Tige says all you need is 1/2 inch.. Truthfully if your only surfing with weight the 1235 is all you want.. But when trying to run 4k of ballast your gonna need a miracle prop!

We mostly wakeboard, I would say 80% of the time. With 2500lbs in ballast and weight plus 2-3 adults the 1235 does great out of the hole. The 1631 struggled to plane with half that. I'm keeping the 1235 but I'm hoping to find something that will perform close to the 1235 out of the hole but lower the RPM's.

Acme is researching a little more and is supposed to call me back about another prop to try.

[IDBoating]

hell if I was only surfing I would have left the stock prop on it did great. But keep in mind I have the 408 and my gearing might be different than the 343 power plant on the v drive

If you're running a PCM engine, PCM tells me that they have just one transmission for v-drive setups and it has a 1:1 ratio. The reduction occurs in the v-drive alone. So I would think your 409 engine would have the same transmission and v-drive as a 343.

[DieterDorin]

Reduction ratio on PCM transmission

I thought the comment about 1:1 ratio was wrong. I just got a new Z3 with 343 engine and I was sure it had a different ratio, so I checked out the PCM site and the ratio on the PCM transmissions in 1.23:1 which is more what I remember on the quote and specs.
http://www.pcmengines.com/power-plus-transmissions

Only had 2 days on the water so far, but the stock prop seems to do a pretty good job even with full pro ballast of 2300 lbs and 5 people in the boat. Didn't get to try WOT in calm water yet but I seem to get about 43 mph even in in really rough water. I could never reach top speed in my old 21V RE in water that rough.
The Z3 seems to have about the same top speed, but takes a lot more rpms at wakeboard or surf speed or anything under 3000 rpm.

I had an Acme 3 blade 11.5 pitch on the 21V RE 1:1 transmission and Merc 315 motor. It performed much better than the stock 4 blade 13 pitch and gave me better low end performance and at the high end seemed to be more efficent. I got an extra few mph or so out of the boat at WOT. Fewer blades can be better. It depends.

Lake Pond Oreille in Idaho is at 2160 ft altitude. Any suggestions on a better prop? I would like to plane at slightly lower rpms for better fuel economy without giving up decent performance with full ballast.

[IDBoating]

I thought the comment about 1:1 ratio was wrong. I just got a new Z3 with 343 engine and I was sure it had a different ratio, so I checked out the PCM site and the ratio on the PCM transmissions in 1.23:1 which is more what I remember on the quote and specs.

Yeah, I remembered it that way too - until PCM corrected me on it. According to PCM, their 1.23:1 transmissions are for direct drives. They only make one transmission for use in v-drive applications, and it's 1:1.

The reason I know this is because I just went through a factory transmission swap last fall. When I got the boat back, the transmission plate read "1:1". I swore I remembered seeing "1.23:1" on the original transmission, so I contacted PCM about it. That's when they told me the above information.

[freekshow]

I have an rzr not sure what prop came with the boat, but after all this I am still not sure which prop would be best

[chpthril]

I have an rzr not sure what prop came with the boat, but after all this I am still not sure which prop would be best

Your RZR probably left the factory with an ACME 537. It will be stamped on the hub if you want to confirm.

There is no single "best prop", but today, the 1235, 1273 and 1433 are very common props used as an upgrade to the 537. How are you weighting your boat, including people, on a regular outing? The 537 is a great all around prob, but tends to reach its limits at about 1500 lbs and a few peeps for boarding and 1000 lbs and a few peeps surfing.