FAE, yay or nay?

[Bawshogg]

Curious to know what the junction the 2 manifolds come together looks like. Is the junction a function of the muffler?

[oldjeep]

you do realize that the dual exaust combines into one inside the boat, right? I mean PCM is using the same motors that indmar does (for the most part).

I'll snap a pic of mine tomorrow.... I have a pcm motor with single 4" exhaust, so conceptually mine is the same as the pcm version, but not nearly as purdy in execution.

yup I realize that there is a 2 into 1 inside the boat. I'll guarantee that pcm isn't running the banks straight into each other.

[Zeke83]

Looks a lot like this... this is sold by FAE, they also have dual ports with the Y as discussed.

http://www.freshairexhaust.com/boat-parts-pictures/#!prettyPhoto[gallery]/3/

http://www.freshairexhaust.com/boat-parts-pictures/#!prettyPhoto[gallery]/7/

just not for those of us with the older square windshield tractors

[racer808]

Huh. Spent lots of time here reading how FAE was so great, best investment, best stereo upgrade , won't own a boat without one, now its a POS that's ruin my motor and wake.

[shawndoggy]

yup I realize that there is a 2 into 1 inside the boat. I'll guarantee that pcm isn't running the banks straight into each other.

The gray tube that drops down basically goes out the back of my boat via exhaust tubing.

[oldjeep]

The gray tube that drops down basically goes out the back of my boat via exhaust tubing.

Interesting - that is one pretty ugly looking exhaust transition straight from the mfg. I wonder how they are keeping the back pressure in an acceptable range?

[Zeke83]

The gray tube that drops down basically goes out the back of my boat via exhaust tubing.

That transition looks really familiar....

[oldjeep]

That transition looks really familiar....

Yup, but I'll bet they don't have a statement on their webpage that says that it exceeds mfg recommendations for back pressure above 3500 RPM

The fact that FAE is up front about their product taking the engine out of spec is refreshing, although I'm guessing they just count on people not caring.

[Bawshogg]

That's definitely not a v drive setup there, but same concept I guess. Very interesting to see they did about the same , just closer to the manifolds.

[shawndoggy]

That's definitely not a v drive setup there, but same concept I guess. Very interesting to see they did about the same , just closer to the manifolds.

yes, that's a vdrive.

[shawndoggy]

Yup, but I'll bet they don't have a statement on their webpage that says that it exceeds mfg recommendations for back pressure above 3500 RPM

The fact that FAE is up front about their product taking the engine out of spec is refreshing, although I'm guessing they just count on people not caring.

I would take everything on the FAE website with a dose of salt... it's really a shadetree business.

[Zeke83]

Just a couple observations, from a mechanics stand point. 3 psi of back pressure on a 350 is not excessive to the point that u are you going to cause engine damage, burn vales ect... effect engine performace possibly yes, burn more fuel yes, loose a couple mph on top end, probably, over time have accelerated engine wear, possible but debatable... Without getting into the theory of exhaust back pressure, less back pressure is ALLWAYS better from a power efficiency and production standpoint, but, exhaust systems cant be tuned across the board for efficient operation in all RPM and loading conditions anyway. As the pressure wave from the exhausting piston, valves open, travels down the pipe a couple things happen, one it looses velocity as it travles, cools and becomes denser, creates a vacuum behind it, and is further slowed by that vacuum becoming stronger as the valves for that piston close behind it. The subsiquent pressure pulse from the next cylinder is in effect scavenged by this vacuum as it leaves the cylinder and so on and so forth blah blah blah. There's more going on there but that's basicly it. When u say two sides firing at eachother that is actually not correct, because no one pulse is created at the same time. Yes they are crashing into eachother but never at the same point. thats neither here nor there anyway. The back pressure of the system as a whole is X, even with that ugly transition, it is engineered to operate at back pressure X to provide X amount of HP at X,XXX rpm. A tuned exhaust is optimized for the correct size of piping and manifold to create the optimum flow and scavenge effect for that engine at the targeted rpm range the engine will usually be expected to run in. Enter that really bad looking transition and yes, there will be turbulence and a disruption of flow, however, they obviously tested it and it didnt create enough back pressure that it put them into the exsessive range. Creating more back pressure also moves your power curve as I just mentioned, and does other things... And I'm getting way into the theory of exhaust back pressure... Basicly, am I concerned about an additional 1 psi of back pressure, no.

[Bawshogg]

yes, that's a vdrive.

Are you sure? Look at the output flange on the trans. Seems a** backwards to face the manifolds to the front of the boat and then have to reroute exhaust to the rear?????

Something tells me I'm glad I have never owned anything with a PCM.

Edited April 20, 2014 by Bobby Bright

[Chia]

And look at the differences in the design.........

I would like to see a rendition of this for a dual outlet setup. This is exactly what I was referring to in the earlier posts.

I could build mine own if I only had the time. That's usually the X factor for me.

You mean like their new design, this is mocked up to a wooden power wedge:

[oldjeep]

You mean like their new design, this is mocked up to a wooden power wedge:

Closer, but more like this:

Edited April 20, 2014 by oldjeep

[Bawshogg]

I like that. That is how I would build er' if it was up to me.

[oldjeep]

I like that. That is how I would build er' if it was up to me.

Although, it is a crappy chop. I assume it would have to be blended down to a single pipe with an oval or teardrop profile like their single so that it didn't mess too much with the waterflow/wake.

[shawndoggy]

Are you sure? Look at the output flange on the trans. Seems a** backwards to face the manifolds to the front of the boat and then have to reroute exhaust to the rear?????

Something tells me I'm glad I have never owned anything with a PCM.

Yeah, positive. It's like a counterweight or something. That thing actually spins at the front of the vdrive too.

The nice thing about routing the exhaust this way is how much room there is between the transom and the motor. My supplemental ballast pumps are mounted to the transom back there and there is still a TON of room to work.

Edited April 20, 2014 by shawndoggy

[formulaben]

Yeah, positive. It's like a counterweight or something. That thing actually spins at the front of the vdrive too.

I believe it is an unused PTO. Cool!

[shawndoggy]

I believe it is an unused PTO. Cool!

Maybe I can hook up a blender or something.

[formulaben]

Bow thruster!

[Chia]

Maybe I can hook up a blender or something.

how about 14 second ballast fills with a PTO driven water pump.

[Fman]

I don't have a problem with how it looks, its functional for sure, not the prettiest thing, but a lot of people feel that way about Axis…. mostly function. I don't think any of my top speed loss or inability-to-plane is from extra back pressure or convergence of opposing exhausts… I truly believe it is solely the fact that a 3-4" diameter pipe is dragging 1 foot under water behind my boat. It changed my wake enough for me to pull it off, but I am anxious to take a day to test it again, this time I will do a proper test similar to my prop tests I have done over the last 2 years.

My idea, and please someone correct me if my thinking is totally flawed, is to do a bunch of tests with it on, then pull the boat, rotate the down pipe so that it is sticking straight out and retest. Then pull the boat out, completely remove the FAE and retest.

This may answer a few of our questions.

This does not make me feel like I want to purchase this for my VLX. The VLX wakeboard wake is money for us, I would be highly disappointed if it affected the wake....as you did, it would be off the boat as soon as I got it home. I really like the FAE solely for noise reduction, the CO reduction is also a plus. After being out Friday I did not think the turn down tips are really super loud, but I have not experienced the FAE behind a boat, so its hard to really make a fair comparison. The possibly power reduction also does not sound great either, I need every possible HP I can get from my Monsoon when surfing.

Is anyone running the FAE on a VLX with power wedge and not noticing any wakeboard wake changes?

[Try2paz]

If you've ever rode in a boat with FAE, you won't want to ride I'm one again without in my opinion.

[shawndoggy]

This does not make me feel like I want to purchase this for my VLX. The VLX wakeboard wake is money for us, I would be highly disappointed if it affected the wake....as you did, it would be off the boat as soon as I got it home. I really like the FAE solely for noise reduction, the CO reduction is also a plus. After being out Friday I did not think the turn down tips are really super loud, but I have not experienced the FAE behind a boat, so its hard to really make a fair comparison. The possibly power reduction also does not sound great either, I need every possible HP I can get from my Monsoon when surfing.

Is anyone running the FAE on a VLX with power wedge and not noticing any wakeboard wake changes?

I'm confident you could get the FAE set up where there's no impact on the wake. But it might take a couple of trips to the lake to get it "just right."