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Difference between a late 90's response and newer one


fiz140

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Hello,

I have an old ski nautique and am ready to upgrade. Up until now I thought that I would just get a newer correct craft, but I just spent the day skiing behind a 2005 Response LXI and WOW is that a nice boat. I am not ready to put 30k into a boat, but there are some 97's thru 2001's that are in my price range.

Are there any significant differences between the older boats vs the newer ones?

Thanks in advance,

Fiz

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Are there any significant differences between the older boats vs the newer ones?

RLXi wasn't around in the late 90's. In the 90's you'd be looking at a RLX. 97 is on the SV23 Hull, 98 got the SV23 Diamond hull (side strakes add lift and soften the wake), 99 got the rear trunk for ski storage. I actually prefer the RLX over the RLXi from a wake quality standpoint but that may be because every RLXi that I've skied behind had a tower, speakers, racks,...and all that extra weight is probably the reason the wake felt harder. The RLX's that I ski behind on a regular basis are towerless slalom tractors. Thumbup.gif

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A '98 and newer Response will have the diamond hull similar to that of the '05 RLXI. The Reponse LX is a bit lighter, narrower, and slighly shorter. This boat is the Ferrari of boats on the water. The boat received minor interior and top deck updates between '98-'01 model years.

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As long as the boats you're looking at have SV23 hulls, they're great ski boats. Was the diamond an improvement, sure, but I ski behind a pre-diamond echelon every now and again and its quite nice still, and has a better barefoot wake.

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1997 was the last year the response, lx were on the SV23 hull. After that 1998- 2006 they were on the SV23 Diamond hull. In 2007 the Response LXI went to the SV23 Cut Diamond hull. The SV23 hull is what brought Malibu to the forefront. Your friends 2005 RLXI is on the SV23 Diamond hull. If you want the same then look for 1998 and newer. Some say very subtle difference in the SV23 vs. the SV23 Diamond. I'm not that good of a skiier. I can't tell the difference, but the SV23 Echelon wake is way better then our other boat the 2005 Vride.

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As long as the boats you're looking at have SV23 hulls, they're great ski boats. Was the diamond an improvement, sure, but I ski behind a pre-diamond echelon every now and again and its quite nice still, and has a better barefoot wake.

Agreed, I just find that the diamond hull's wakes are just softer not necessarily smaller between a '97 & '98 Response.

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The diamond hull is less affected by weight. I regularly ski behind a couple of different Sporties, a RLX (01), and a CB Nautique. Leaving the Nautique out of it... Biggrin.gif ...if we take one of the Sporties we leave the backseat out, no icechest,...if it doesn't need to go it stays on the dock, and we go out with just 10 gals in the tank. We can achieve a wake equivalent to the RLX this way (at least at 34 mph). The difference being that with the RLX we can take the extra stuff, ice chest, full tank of gas, even an extra skier if we have to and have that same wake. Not with the Sporty. No.gif I don't even like taking bigger skiers with me in the Sporty. :lol:

Edited by NorCaliBu
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AHA. It looks like a 98 or higher for me since I am looking for the softest wake I can get. Thanks for the quick info. Is there anything specific to these boats that I should look for, or absolutely have?

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Personally, I would look for a 99 or newer. That rear trunk is really nice to have. The rest is all personal preference...whether or not you want a tower,...etc. Perfect Pass is nice to have but can be added if you find the right boat that doesn't have it.

Edited by NorCaliBu
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Personally, I would look for a 99 or newer. That rear truck is really nice to have. The rest is all personal preference...whether or not you want a tower,...etc. Perfect Pass is nice to have but can be added if you find the right boat that doesn't have it.

Plus1.gif Except that the trunk is awfully nice to have. I think that it would be awfully hard to put a truck on a Response. :lol:

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Plus1.gif Except that the trunk is awfully nice to have. I think that it would be awfully hard to put a truck on a Response. :lol:

:Doh: Man...One stinking typo. You're merciless. :lol:

Good thing I ditched the Grammar Police badge. Biggrin.gif

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Plus1.gif Except that the trunk is awfully nice to have. I think that it would be awfully hard to put a truck on a Response. :lol:

:Doh: Man...One stinking typo. You're merciless. :lol:

Good thing I ditched the Grammar Police badge. Biggrin.gif

Something about a pot & kettle comes to mind. :lol:

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Plus1.gif Except that the trunk is awfully nice to have. I think that it would be awfully hard to put a truck on a Response. :lol:

:Doh: Man...One stinking typo. You're merciless. :lol:

Good thing I ditched the Grammar Police badge. Biggrin.gif

Not your day today, lucky Jack isn't around...

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if it were me, i'd look at an '01 or newer if you can afford it. i think that is the first year that they went with the "flatter" dash. the rounded dash (being right in the line of site), is one of the things that irks me the most about my '00.

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I've had a 99 LX, 03 LX, 00 LX, 02 LX (in that order), great boats, the 01 dash is nice but I would not make that a necessity. Options, condition, and hours are the driving factors.

I will say that trunk is REALLY nice to have, holds two skis no problem and saves alot of gear going in and out of the boat (saves the seat skins too!)

-Chris

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Plus1.gif Except that the trunk is awfully nice to have. I think that it would be awfully hard to put a truck on a Response. :lol:

:Doh: Man...One stinking typo. You're merciless. :lol:

Good thing I ditched the Grammar Police badge. Biggrin.gif

Not your day today, lucky Jack isn't around...

Did someone call me? Oh, and Michael, in addition to ditching the badge avatar, you might just as well ditch the current one and take a picture of yourself with your thumb out hitch-hiker style. (Have to take it out of your . . . first :lol: )

Yeah John, dash height would definitely impair my chief driver as well. (Not *me* of course, just her) Even in the '03 she tucked one leg under her to drive through the course. Surprisingly, she does not use the bolster on the '08, which I thought she might like. However, my boat is later-production and seat is slightly higher than our friend's early-production '08. It does make a difference--I feel like I'm sitting on the floor driving his boat.

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Plus1.gif Except that the trunk is awfully nice to have. I think that it would be awfully hard to put a truck on a Response. :lol:

:Doh: Man...One stinking typo. You're merciless. :lol:

Good thing I ditched the Grammar Police badge. Biggrin.gif

Not your day today, lucky Jack isn't around...

Did someone call me? Oh, and Michael, in addition to ditching the badge avatar, you might just as well ditch the current one and take a picture of yourself with your thumb out hitch-hiker style. (Have to take it out of your . . . first :lol: )

Yeah John, dash height would definitely impair my chief driver as well. (Not *me* of course, just her) Even in the '03 she tucked one leg under her to drive through the course. Surprisingly, she does not use the bolster on the '08, which I thought she might like. However, my boat is later-production and seat is slightly higher than our friend's early-production '08. It does make a difference--I feel like I'm sitting on the floor driving his boat.

my chief driver is the same height as me. she uses a throwable cushion, i never really like it, so i tip my head up, trying to look cool. i also find that my barefoot shorts add just enough height for me.

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If I were shopping for one, I'd look first at '06 and newer. Then '04-'05. Then '03. Then '01-'02. Then '99-'00. Lastly, '98.

The reasoning: 2006 was the first year of standard speed control. By '04 they had the 340 Monsoon dialed. In 2003 it wasn't quite dialed in, had 335 HP, and an annoying idle flair (fixable with an ECM reflash). The '01 and '02 were nice but didn't have a paddlewheel pickup so adding Perfect Pass would be more of a pain and you have the potential frozen MDC issue. '99-'00 had the older dash that isn't nearly as nice IMO.

The Response is still my favorite boat of all time. I'll have one someday.

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The '01 and '02 were nice but didn't have a paddlewheel pickup so adding Perfect Pass would be more of a pain and you have the potential frozen MDC issue.

If adding PPass, then they'd probably want Stargazer which wouldn't require paddlewheel.

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The '01 and '02 were nice but didn't have a paddlewheel pickup so adding Perfect Pass would be more of a pain and you have the potential frozen MDC issue.

If adding PPass, then they'd probably want Stargazer which wouldn't require paddlewheel.

I thought that still used the paddlewheel for reference.

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I thought they did too....apparently not, however. If paddlewheel is available, then it will use as another gauge of speed, but apparently newest SG version does not require paddlewheel at all. This, of course, is based on other Internet sites and we all know how reliable the internet is! Actually my local dealer did one recently and it did not require paddle.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thanks to all for your insight. Bought an 02 Response LX with only 126 hours and just finished installing perfect pass stargazer. It has a stainless steel prop on it, but the po included a 13x13 Acme 425, and an aluminum prop. I talked to the people at Acme and was told that the 425 would probably not be a good match for my boat. I am not unhappy with the SS prop, but am interested in knowing what others are running for slalom.

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Thanks to all for your insight. Bought an 02 Response LX with only 126 hours and just finished installing perfect pass stargazer. It has a stainless steel prop on it, but the po included a 13x13 Acme 425, and an aluminum prop. I talked to the people at Acme and was told that the 425 would probably not be a good match for my boat. I am not unhappy with the SS prop, but am interested in knowing what others are running for slalom.

I have an 03 Response LX and have what I believe is the standard Acme 515 prop. Works just fine for me - love the slalom wake on this boat.

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