Hi team, we just installed a perfect pass Stargazer 3 event with Z-Box into our 96 Tige direct drive and I though I would post up how it went, for interest.
Big thing for us is servo mounting location and cable clamps to the cooling hoses like the manual suggests wasn't going to fly for us. So a custom aluminium bracket off the Right exhaust header worked perfectly. Just added a standoff on the cable part the way round to stop cable bounce causing fluctuations. Installing the L-bracket and linkage onto the carb was easy, though old bolt was 1/4" and new one in 3/16 so need a bush added to help stop it working loose.
Pulling the cable servo power cable though to the engine bay was hard at first, as you only have a small hole to get under the floor and a small gap in a bulkhead to try and get thru. Pulled the left seat out and figured out that by dropping down the throttle quadrant to get some length, you can use the teleflex cable as a pull cable. By taping a string to it with electrical tape and feeding the cable back to the engine bay.
The Master module and Z box mount on the bulkhead to the left of the drivers feet up high.
Engine is carburetted with a Weber Carb and already had a throttle return spring. We initially ran without the extra supplied return spring on the throttle linkage and it seemed to work, though may have been a bit slow to power up so added the extra spring also.
Version 9.0 software on this new system, the new Autocal mode is awesome. To set up your baseline RPM for the system for the different slalom speeds you just have it in Autocal mode (default after initial power up) set max speed (58KPH) and power up to almost full throttle. System just takes over and steps thru all the slalom speeds over a few minutes of running. Had enough authority to calibrate from 58 down to 40 KPH. After a few tests for basic speed control we plugged Z-box in line and ran the autocal again.
Off to the slalom course and mapped the course, which is pretty basic to do. After a couple of timing runs I managed to ski a couple of passes behind her. Timing was good straight out of the box.
Will be interesting to get a more experienced skier and Driver and see how they think in compares to Zero Off on the new ski boats. ie how much speed variation you would expect and how the pull feels. Also how it compares to other PP installations for speed control.
For us it is a massive improvement and makes the driving so much easier. I think the main skill is getting the throttle position correct before you get to the course as it will be easy to over throttle and hit the gate a bit hot.
Looking forward to keeping on skiing right through winter now (on the nice days at least)
Only things that I noted is that the controls are not all that intuitive initially, using the Menu key to select through items and the up key to select them. Having several button presses to step up the next speed on the slalom course between passes, when in use this is probably the main function we will be changing. No doubt this will all be second nature soon.
I initially powered it from the bus from the battery kill switch (we added prior.) I note the resistor on the servo gets hot while powered so I may change this. Not sure how long it takes to lock on to GPS as this will determine how I wire the power feed.
In general really happy with what is a great upgrade to the boat.
Scott.
PP1.jpgPP2.jpgPP3.jpgPP4.jpgPP5.jpg
Big thing for us is servo mounting location and cable clamps to the cooling hoses like the manual suggests wasn't going to fly for us. So a custom aluminium bracket off the Right exhaust header worked perfectly. Just added a standoff on the cable part the way round to stop cable bounce causing fluctuations. Installing the L-bracket and linkage onto the carb was easy, though old bolt was 1/4" and new one in 3/16 so need a bush added to help stop it working loose.
Pulling the cable servo power cable though to the engine bay was hard at first, as you only have a small hole to get under the floor and a small gap in a bulkhead to try and get thru. Pulled the left seat out and figured out that by dropping down the throttle quadrant to get some length, you can use the teleflex cable as a pull cable. By taping a string to it with electrical tape and feeding the cable back to the engine bay.
The Master module and Z box mount on the bulkhead to the left of the drivers feet up high.
Engine is carburetted with a Weber Carb and already had a throttle return spring. We initially ran without the extra supplied return spring on the throttle linkage and it seemed to work, though may have been a bit slow to power up so added the extra spring also.
Version 9.0 software on this new system, the new Autocal mode is awesome. To set up your baseline RPM for the system for the different slalom speeds you just have it in Autocal mode (default after initial power up) set max speed (58KPH) and power up to almost full throttle. System just takes over and steps thru all the slalom speeds over a few minutes of running. Had enough authority to calibrate from 58 down to 40 KPH. After a few tests for basic speed control we plugged Z-box in line and ran the autocal again.
Off to the slalom course and mapped the course, which is pretty basic to do. After a couple of timing runs I managed to ski a couple of passes behind her. Timing was good straight out of the box.
Will be interesting to get a more experienced skier and Driver and see how they think in compares to Zero Off on the new ski boats. ie how much speed variation you would expect and how the pull feels. Also how it compares to other PP installations for speed control.
For us it is a massive improvement and makes the driving so much easier. I think the main skill is getting the throttle position correct before you get to the course as it will be easy to over throttle and hit the gate a bit hot.
Looking forward to keeping on skiing right through winter now (on the nice days at least)
Only things that I noted is that the controls are not all that intuitive initially, using the Menu key to select through items and the up key to select them. Having several button presses to step up the next speed on the slalom course between passes, when in use this is probably the main function we will be changing. No doubt this will all be second nature soon.
I initially powered it from the bus from the battery kill switch (we added prior.) I note the resistor on the servo gets hot while powered so I may change this. Not sure how long it takes to lock on to GPS as this will determine how I wire the power feed.
In general really happy with what is a great upgrade to the boat.
Scott.
PP1.jpgPP2.jpgPP3.jpgPP4.jpgPP5.jpg
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