Is the 350 enough to power the new 22 VLX?

[kayt425]

I know it has enough to work but is it at its max capacity? Bigger heavier boat this year. Im considering one, but i sure wish malibu went with the new 6.2 raptor motors this year. The 350 motor seem so antiquated. I boat at higher elevations. 4000ft and above. I could buy one from dealer stock and be good to go, or wait 2 months and lose half my summer to order one with the bigger motor...hmmm

decisions decisions....

[2manyhobbies]

I went with the 350 on the 23LSV, I'm running MLS + 2500lbs additional ballast + power wedge 2 +5 people and it'll do it, but I have a prop I hate right now which is killing my hole shot. I think the 22 with the right prop for you will be just fine. Don't forget the 15 wedge also has the lift feature which does help get the boat up on a plane...

I personally wouldn't hesitate, but I've already bought mine

[wakebrdr94]

I have one with a 350 on order, and it has been plenty for us down here at sea level. We're actually taking a Demo vlx to lake arrowhead the week after memorial, it will have a 350. I can let you know for sure then. Personally, if I was at elevation, I would get the bigger motor. But then again, I may be surprised when I get there.

Edited May 15, 2015 by wakebrdr94

[isellacuras]

No way I would go 350 at 4000'. If you plan to keep it for a while, it's only a half a summer. If you plan to sell it in a few years, the 409 will have much better resale value if motor options change for next year as rumor has it. Either way, my vote is passing on the 350.

[wakebrdr94]

I went with the 350 on the 23LSV, I'm running MLS + 2500lbs additional ballast + power wedge 2 +5 people and it'll do it, but I have a prop I hate right now which is killing my hole shot. I think the 22 with the right prop for you will be just fine. Don't forget the 15 wedge also has the lift feature which does help get the boat up on a plane...

I personally wouldn't hesitate, but I've already bought mine

What are you running in the rear?

[kayt425]

What are you running in the rear?

stock ballast. it has the pre plumbed ballast feature for adding more bags in the rear but i agree that the 350 at elevation is just on the weak side of things...if the eliminate the 350 next year i don't want to be needing or wanting to sell a 22 VLX with a 350 in it, when everyone wants the latest greatest...

Dang. May have to go with Supra this year.

Last summer I had a '14 23 LSV with the 410 hp motor and it was plenty for our needs. I don't think id want to go smaller though

[saidainc]

No way I would go 350 at 4000'. If you plan to keep it for a while, it's only a half a summer. If you plan to sell it in a few years, the 409 will have much better resale value if motor options change for next year as rumor has it. Either way, my vote is passing on the 350.

Im at 3600 bro and I have no issues whatsoever. This is with full ballast and plug and play. Not sure what the hell you mean...

[2manyhobbies]

What are you running in the rear?

750 fly high in each locker - I'm adding 100lbs of lead that I can move around to help clean things up when necessary.

[catalac]

Thinking prop has more to do with it than hp rating, a 350 proped right at 4000 ft will have zero issues, probably 3/4 of the 22vlx's have a 350 monsoon in them. Yes top speed is 38 instead of 40 but to most that doesn't matter.

[isellacuras]

Im at 3600 bro and I have no issues whatsoever. This is with full ballast and plug and play. Not sure what the hell you mean...

I know. I've heard it before. I forgot the ritual "IMO".

[REW]

I test drove a 22vlx with the 350 it has an amazing hole shot for such a heavy boat (full stock ballast) The power wedge 2 does make a difference. Test drive one before making a decision, if the local dealer has one on hand most likely they will take you out in it.

[saidainc]

I know. I've heard it before. I forgot the ritual "IMO".

Well unfortunately its legit....Im just the only one with a 350 that comments on it. Everyone else thinks you need to drop 8K to avoid compensating for something....

[SURFNUT]

Absolutely no issue with the 350. I am about to pick up my 15 VLX. It has the stock 350 and am not concerned at all about the power level. The PW2 does make a huge difference getting on plane and the high altitude prop is a good combo. I am located here in Tennessee. My last VLX had the 350 as well. We surfed and boarded very nicely on our 50.00 worth of gas each day compared to my friend with the 454 in his lSV spending over 100.00 each day.... Just my opinion. The 350 is plenty more than adequate and saves some gas funds that can go for beer.

[wedge88]

I have to agree that the 350 will be fine.. I have 15' A22 which is almost same spec for length and weight. It has the 350 with manual wedge so I have a disadvantage over power wedge 2, stock ballast, 750 rear lockers and 650 bow sack and have zero issues with 1235 prop. I can still hit 39-40 mph on the top end (without weight). We surf, ski and barefoot mainly. Not so much into wakeboarding but we do wakeskate and had no issues with boat loaded (wedge, stock and pnp) and 6 adults getting up to 18-20mph for wakeskate and it didn't take long to get up to speed either.

We are at elevation so if you plan to run this weight or more and you primarily wakeboard then that is where the 409 or 450 would be beneficial.

[DocPhil]

So is Malibu sticking with GM or going to ford for 2016

Axis? PCM?

[robbennett]

Unless you are going to sack it out with 5000 pounds I think you will be good with the right prop.

[shawndoggy]

when you say 4k' and above, how much above? At 4k' you may not need more than the 350, but you will definitely appreciate the extra power. At 5500' + yes, for sure, absolutely, you will need more motor.

[IXFE]

Okay, at the risk of being flamed, I'll share my experience with a 15 VLX and the 350...

First off, I am not a 350 hater... I've owned 4 of them and all performed very well when properly propped.

Last fall I demo'd the first 22 VLX my dealer got. It was a 350 with 2419 prop (the most aggressive prop Malibu sells) and we're at sea level. We set it up for surfing using a fairly typical configuration: stock ballast, 750's in the rear, 750 in the bow, set the wedge at the magical "2 clicks up" and dieled in the speed to 10.6 mph. I was driving. There were 4 adults inside the boat. Again, this is sea level with 2419 prop.

The pic below is my evidence of what happened next...

1) Hit the "speed wall" at 10.1 mph. It was actually fluctuating between 9.9 and 10.3, but it never hit the set 10.6, and there was no more throttle to give... it was pedal to the metal... all the way down. The screen is my proof... look at the throttle bar at the top: the yellow mark is where I'm at with the gas. Normally you'd see about an inch of white space around it. In this case the boat was basically saying, "you're done at 10.1." Now, to be fair I suspect the speedo may not have been 100% accurate, but regardles, the point is this... there is a speed wall and you may hit it while surfing.

2) Note the tachometer... 3,900 rpm. Maybe some if you don't care, but I do... the boat sounds bad at that rpm for that long. I prefer being in the low 3000's.

Do I hate the 350? No way. But on my demo it did not perform the way I wanted it to. So I upgraded again. Not trying to compensate for anything... just prefer that if I'm spending this much money, I'd like it to perform the way my family uses it.

YMMV

[Stevo]

I definitely had planing issues at 6k with 4full MLS, 900's in rear as full as they could go , 2315 and 2 adults in bow. Maxed out at 10mph(this was last summer and I know more bow weight would help)

I dumped 1/2 the PNP and was able to get to 11.4 but I lost some height on the wave

We only hit the high Sierra 2-3x per year so it doesn't impact us much. I can get a bigger bow bag and a 2419 Tahoe prop.

If it were me at 4k and above every time, I would probably be choosing between the 409 and Ls3. Dropping $85k-90k and come up a little short would tough to swallow. I say demo the 350 in your backyard and put it to the test.

Resale point is fairly mute, unless u are trying to sell a TMC member,

Edited May 15, 2015 by Stevo

[DarkSide]

Here is my perspective on engine upgrade. Lets use $7k value for engine upgrade as the example. I intend to keep my boat for 5 years. I am going to estimate a $2~3k improved resale due to engine upgrade at the end of said 5 years. So that makes the actual cost to me $4~5k, or $800~1000/ year for the time i own it.

All of us spend huge $ every year to enjoy our hobbie. When you add the cost of tow vehicle, fuel going to and from the lake, fuel consumed in the boat itself. Adding the additional cost at the front end to make sure it will do what i want it to makes sense to me. May not to others, but does to me. Also in breaking down costs, you will likely use significantly more fuel in a 350 running 4k rpm, then the 409 running 3300 rpm. So it actually turns into pay upfront or pay as you go.

Just my opinion.

[Fman]

Do yourself a favor, go demo the boat and weight it how you will be using it. The key is to weight it like you want it, not how your dealer has it set up. It's a huge purchase and seeing is believing.

Fwiw, my friend lives in Utah, his dealer won't order a boat with less than the 409 (raptor 400 now). A boat with the 350 in his area is tough to sell. Imo, I say go 409/450 and have no regrets.

[wakebrdr94]

Just like a tow rig. Get a duramax and do it right the first time.

[saidainc]

Do yourself a favor, go demo the boat and weight it how you will be using it. The key is to weight it like you want it, not how your dealer has it set up. It's a huge purchase and seeing is believing.

Fwiw, my friend lives in Utah, his dealer won't order a boat with less than the 409 (raptor 400 now). A boat with the 350 in his area is tough to sell. Imo, I say go 409/450 and have no regrets.

The Salt Lake area and the Boise area is less than 800 ft. apart in elevation yet 350s sell like hotcakes in Idaho. Not tough to sell there at all.

[CJAY]

Not a chance at 4000ft. If you run any kind of ballast over stock you'll regret it. We boat at almost 6000ft and my vtx struggled with weight over stock. Could never run full ballast and plane. Remember you lose 3% of your hp every 1000ft of elevation. At 4000ft you're almost down a full 50hp.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[catalac]

Thinking the hp number is not the biggie, would like to see a torque curve of each from 3000-4000. Guess there is a reason indmar doesn't publish that.