Best SURF wake? 2013 VLX, LSV or 22 MXZ

[Durty_Curt]

Yes the LS3 is the vette motor. I think its 450 hp, but don't quote me on this. The LS3 will also give you better resale on the larger boats. It opens up your buyer market especially for the hard core riders wanting the extra weight capability.

The LS3 imo is not a necessity but If you can afford the LS3 I would definitely get it with the LSV or MXZ. As chatt mentioned it does require prem gas, but your talking $10-$15 difference when you fill up from mid grade fuel.

I always thought the LS3 motor didn't require premium. That the only motor requiring premium was the LSA. I just checked the Indmar sight and.... Am i reading this wrong??

http://www.indmar.com/Engine/malibu/Monsoon427ss.aspx

[IXFE]

You look to be right. The specs clearly say...

Fuel Type: Regular Unleaded

[Chattwake]

Well, lets put it this way, I owned a boat with the LS3, several of my friends own boats with the LS3, and I've discussed the performance of the LS3 with several pro riders who routinely fill their boats to the max. ALL of us have noticed a difference in performance between running the LS3 with premium and with either mid grade (89) or regular (87) gasoline.

If you don't run 93, the motor PULLS TIMING. It's a fact. In my A22, when I wanted to max out the wake, I ran 1100lb surf sacs in the rear, factory ballast, a 900lb plug n play bow sac, and a 1000lb bow triangle. I also ran wedge down and with some people in the boat. When I first got my boat, it would plane out under those conditions. I ran mid grade for a while, hoping to save a little coin at the pump. I noticed after several tanks that I was having to dump more and more ballast to get the boat to plane. After talking to numerous people, I was told, unequivocally, that running non-premium gas will cause the ls3 to pull timing.

Now, that being said, does it mean that it will harm the motor to run 89 or even 87? I doubt it. However, it is my experience that runnign anything other than premium will affect performance. This is a very sophisticated motor, and there are fail safes built in to ensure that it will not damage itself due to lower octane gas.

Take it for what it's worth.

[wakeboarder3780]

LSV owner chiming in here. I can attest to the surf wake on the 23 LSV being phenomenal - if you're willing to get a lot of weight in it. My modifications included an 1100 in the rear locker (which included having to reinforce the engine wall with 1" tubular aluminum to prevent bowing. And an additional 750 lb sac for the surf side seat (since the majority of nights we do have the minimum 3 people on the boat).

This listed the boat enough that I was nervous about getting water in my gas vent line - so i bought the exact same gas vent from bakes and drilled it into the opposite side of the hull and simply switched the hose over to that vent and the port side I just corked it.

The only reason I say all this is that I'm a FIRM believer i the power of the LSV surf wake - but you don't get that stock. Now of course I'm an 06 and don't have surfgate. Any way you cut it though, that hull can cut a sick surfing wake.

The wakeboarding wake IMO is money. You need more ballast than the vlx to get it seriously sunk, but I just run the 1100's about 75% full on top of stock and drop the wedge. With the 350 and the acme 1235 i get on plane just fine. Hope this helps.

[darthwhitey]

LSV owner chiming in here. I can attest to the surf wake on the 23 LSV being phenomenal - if you're willing to get a lot of weight in it. My modifications included an 1100 in the rear locker (which included having to reinforce the engine wall with 1" tubular aluminum to prevent bowing. And an additional 750 lb sac for the surf side seat (since the majority of nights we do have the minimum 3 people on the boat).

This listed the boat enough that I was nervous about getting water in my gas vent line - so i bought the exact same gas vent from bakes and drilled it into the opposite side of the hull and simply switched the hose over to that vent and the port side I just corked it.

The only reason I say all this is that I'm a FIRM believer i the power of the LSV surf wake - but you don't get that stock. Now of course I'm an 06 and don't have surfgate. Any way you cut it though, that hull can cut a sick surfing wake.

The wakeboarding wake IMO is money. You need more ballast than the vlx to get it seriously sunk, but I just run the 1100's about 75% full on top of stock and drop the wedge. With the 350 and the acme 1235 i get on plane just fine. Hope this helps.

This brings up a good point.

I'm assuming that the surf wake (with SG) on a the LSV is "better" because it's a bigger, wider boat than the VLX.

BUT...does it require a lot more weight to get this?

If you have a LSV side by side with a VLX (all things equal, say both with 750lb Plug-n-play) the LSV will always be better (bigger/longer wave)...right?

[pkh]

I don't think bigger is always better. A bigger boat will take more ballast to sink it, thus a smaller boat might be able to create a bigger wave with less ballast. I rode in a 24 MXZ with much more ballast than a 23 LSV and the SG wave was smaller than the 23'.

I went with the 23' LSV but I don't think the VLX is necessarily a bad call. Lots of good looking waves here:

https://www.google.com/search?q=surfgate+vlx&oq=surfgate+vlx&aqs=chrome.0.57j61j60j61j62l2.1689&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#q=surfgate+vlx&hl=en&source=univ&tbm=vid&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=9EQpUe7FG6nuiQLX7oHgAg&ved=0CEwQqwQ&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.42768644,d.cGE&fp=99f7968990f83ee6&biw=1250&bih=713

[Night Rider]

I don't think bigger is always better. A bigger boat will take more ballast to sink it, thus a smaller boat might be able to create a bigger wave with less ballast. I rode in a 24 MXZ with much more ballast than a 23 LSV and the SG wave was smaller than the 23'.

I went with the 23' LSV but I don't think the VLX is necessarily a bad call. Lots of good looking waves here:

Sorry to hijack but since I'm in the market for a 24 MXZ, curious how much extra ballast was it the one you wrote? Do you have pictures?

https://www.google.com/search?q=surfgate+vlx&oq=surfgate+vlx&aqs=chrome.0.57j61j60j61j62l2.1689&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#q=surfgate+vlx&hl=en&source=univ&tbm=vid&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=9EQpUe7FG6nuiQLX7oHgAg&ved=0CEwQqwQ&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.42768644,d.cGE&fp=99f7968990f83ee6&biw=1250&bih=713

[pkh]

Night Rider - There was only 2 guys in the boat, we had two 750s and probably another 2k in bags and lead thrown about. We spent probably 2 hours trying to optimize the wave.

We had the MXZ spray issues already talked about http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index.php?/topic/39889-2013-mxz-spray-gate/

But besides that we couldn't build a clean wave that was big and had push. Rider had trouble staying on the wave. At the end of the day we ended up dumping the ballast on one side and building a wave the old way with the boat listed. That wave turned out to be very nice.

MXZ hull just doesn't seem to work as well with Surf Gate as the others. Its a shame because they look sick and have lots of cool features. I was going to get a 24 MXZ before my demos.

[Lance B. Johnson]

If it were up to me I would do the LSV and weight it like wake boarder 3780.

I'm finally accepting that the wave behind my 05 is lacking just a bit. And freeboard is lacking. The 09 vride does amazing! But if I had the money I'd be all up for an lsv.

[Bawshogg]

You can find the money Ruff. Build it and it will come!

[Fman]

For those interested in the VLX vs LSV surfwake with Surfgate, here is a copy of the response I recieved from a rep from Malibu.

"Travis,

The VLX and LSV are as close to producing the same wave as possible. Sure the 23 can produce a slightly longer wave but that’s more do to with length of hull than anything-similar to the added width you saw on the wakeboard wake due to the increased beam. I have no reservations of recommending either of those two models equally. Both are awesome! It truly comes down to which boat fits your crew best from a size stand point. Bottom line they are both as equally impressive for both disciplines as can be. No regrets, I love the surf wave behind the VLX."

This was also another reply I recieved about weighting the VLX for surfgate and using the 1235 prop for surfing, wakeboarding and slalom skiing. I was originally thinking 750's would be my weight in the lockers but it sounds like it might over weight the VLX with surfgate.

"Travis,

I would suggest sticking with the 1235. The weight you are running combined with the fact that you mentioned occasional skiing tells me you do not want to lose that much top end. Yes, the 15x12 gives up a lot on the top and sucks gas. It does add significant hole shot for the slammed boat though (think Randall, Trever, etc). As far as the weighting scheme, personal preference but 750 in each rear locker is more than what is needed. The 550’s do an excellent job and overweighting SG can happen. Try a little less at first instead of going straight into slamming, just my thoughts."

[darthwhitey]

For those interested in the VLX vs LSV surfwake with Surfgate, here is a copy of the response I recieved from a rep from Malibu.

"Travis,

The VLX and LSV are as close to producing the same wave as possible. Sure the 23 can produce a slightly longer wave but that’s more do to with length of hull than anything-similar to the added width you saw on the wakeboard wake due to the increased beam. I have no reservations of recommending either of those two models equally. Both are awesome! It truly comes down to which boat fits your crew best from a size stand point. Bottom line they are both as equally impressive for both disciplines as can be. No regrets, I love the surf wave behind the VLX."

This was also another reply I recieved about weighting the VLX for surfgate and using the 1235 prop for surfing, wakeboarding and slalom skiing. I was originally thinking 750's would be my weight in the lockers but it sounds like it might over weight the VLX with surfgate.

"Travis,

I would suggest sticking with the 1235. The weight you are running combined with the fact that you mentioned occasional skiing tells me you do not want to lose that much top end. Yes, the 15x12 gives up a lot on the top and sucks gas. It does add significant hole shot for the slammed boat though (think Randall, Trever, etc). As far as the weighting scheme, personal preference but 750 in each rear locker is more than what is needed. The 550’s do an excellent job and overweighting SG can happen. Try a little less at first instead of going straight into slamming, just my thoughts."

Fman,

Thanks! This is super helpful to anyone deciding between the LSV and VLX.

Right now I'm leaning back to the VLX. After demoing both boats, that was my original choice, but then I got caught up in the thought that the LSV would deliver a much bigger (longer) surf wave. From these comments that's not necessarily true. I'm somewhat limited by the width of my lift anyway, and I think the VLX will save me a few dollars and be a better fit.

So the "1235" is a prop? It's not the one that comes stock on the VLX?

What were your thoughts on his comments about the 750# sacks vs the 550's? I've always assumed I'd go with the 750's in whatever boat I bought. Can't you just not fill them all the way if you feel that you're overloading?

thanks again for the great info!

[Fman]

I will prob go with the sumo 600s or 550's. This rep I have been in contact with has been great and has spent quite a bit of time in each boat. He has given me some excellent feedback.

The standard prop is the 1939, the 1235 is an upgrade but only around $100.

Edited February 25, 2013 by Fman

[lerch]

I will prob go with the sumo 600s or 550's. This rep I have been in contact with has been great and has spent quite a bit of time in each boat. He has given me some excellent feedback.

[lerch]

Which specific 550s are you referring to? Does Malibu have a specific bag for the PnP?

[Fman]

No specific bag for PnP from Malibu that I know of. Wakemakers will have what you need. Besides bags you will also need quick disconnect fittings, and another option is to vent the bags.

After looking at the Malibu PnP I am going to install an impeller system exactly what I had in my 2011. It worked perfect and is nit much more expensive than the PnP from Malibu. After researching PnP it sounds like its not a great system and has a few issues because of the aerator pumps.

[Chattwake]

It is my understanding that there are bags made specifically for the malibu pnp system. Your dealer should be able to get them. Feel free to call my dealer with any questions 423 336 1088.

[thtrog]

The bag speciffied by Malibu is the 550 and the part number W034 is listed on the Fly High web site. Contact member on here MLA, he can hook you up with this or other sacs.

http://www.barefootinternational.com/FATSACS.bifh

Edited February 25, 2013 by thtrog

[Cory]

I'm skeptical that 550lbs per locker will be sufficient for regular foot riders behind a VLX. I rode with 400lbs sacs per locker (regular foot) + all stock ballast full and it was definite not enough to have fun (much less push than my '08 Vride with a 750lbs in the rear locker). Perhaps that extra 150lbs will make all the difference, but I'm skeptical... I guess I'll find out. I'm going with 750lbs bags or the new 800 lbs bags from Ronix coming this spring. You don't have to fill them all the way.

Edited February 25, 2013 by Cory

[Lance B. Johnson]

Its true. I have a 750 stuffed in the rear locker of my vride. When its full I really a have to make sure that the 550 in the front is stuffed.....which doesn't create the best scenario for my ride. As in I have to be really careful.

Might work ok for a 05+ VLX but only barely works for my vride. I am not always comfortable with that much weight.

[Fman]

My understanding is with surfgate you weight the boat evenly on both sides. If you dont equalize the weight with surfgate it will not produce a quality wake. It sounds like you do not want to lean the boat at all. Weighting the boat with traditional surf ballast is much different than with Surfgate.

When I was refering to 550's in the lockers that is both lockers filled at the same time, all hard tanks filled and wedge deployed in lowest position.

Edited February 28, 2013 by Fman

[darthwhitey]

Where does the 24 MXZ rank on surf wake?

I'm hearing that because it's larger (and a different design) it actually rides nicer than the 22 MXZ?

The 22 seems a little cramped to me in person, causing it to feel a little front heavy. With it's stretched out bank end, the 24 feels more in balance.

My dealer and the Malibu factory guys say the 24 is just amazing. It sure looks cool!

Anyway, just wondered thoughts from you guys. I just keep looking at more and more expensive boats!

[pkh]

The 24 MXZ will need a lot of weight to get waves as big as the smaller boats. Also I wasn't real impressed with the Surf Gate wave off of it, had spray issues like 22' MXZ, and wasn't very clean. We did list the boat and tried without Surf Gate and that made a nice wave.

Other than that the 24 MXZ is a sick boat.