Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

2015 vtx surf ballast


crazycraig

Recommended Posts

Hello folks. Read a lot of interesting info/questions here lately. We just traded our diamond hull 2013 vlx for a 2015 diamond hull vtx. We are all around water rats and enjoy wakesurf, wakeboard, air chair, barefooting with a slight bit more preference for slalom...free skiing no course skiing now. Our 2103 vlx had an acceptable slalom wake and fantastic surf wake even with just using stock full ballast . We went with a 2015 vtx to gain a far better slalom wake and have been very happy with it..... however we were shocked at how slow the water seems to be while surfing. The wave is still respectable in size and shape just slower and very sticky, not slippery and easy to do tricks or go without a rope like the vlx was. So we never used any additional ballast before and although we have plenty of surf experience we would love to hear some feedback to help us with adding ballast to our new vtx. We always have plenty of people while surfing so more interested in bags, we do have plug n play in the new boat so looking to see what people have experienced with this system . cheers

Link to comment

I have a 2014 VTX and we fill all four hard tanks and drop the wedge to the factory default. We get a very good wave. Just spent a week on the lake with some friends that have a pre-surfgate LSV which they fat sack up and pretty much everyone thought our wake was better.

Link to comment

My dealership told me the most you want to put in the rear lockers of a VTX is a pair of 550's. I originally wanted 750's, and was told that's too much for that boat. So, I put in 550's, and it's great. I don't have Surfgate, I have the Wicked Wake Surf, but very similar when on the water. Do you have ballast in the front as well? When my boat is full of people, I actually end up taking some water out of the rear bags to help get up and going when surfing. It might still not be the wave you had behind the VLX, and we are always adjusting according to how many people are in the boat, but it'll definitely be enough to push you and keep you up surfing.

Link to comment

We live in Stirling Ontario Canada. Power has never been an issue. We can have 9 or 10 people and full ballast and both boats will get right up and go.We do have the full Malibu launch system front center and both rears with power wedge and gates. I was told not to exceed 550 in the vlx and the vtx but see many people do put in 750s. The reason given to me not to exceed 550 from the dealer was it was a substantial amount of weight on the floor of the boat directly on top of the factory tanks. No doubt that the wedge and especially the gates are what makes the biggest difference in our wakes. We have friends with moombas and mastercrafts and there is just no comparison in wake quality to ours. What about adding bags to the front and to the center .? We usually have 2 people sitting up front with full front and center ballast and she sits pretty deep with that. I read a lot about the importance of having them full to get the longer wake out back.

Link to comment

I'm running full factory ballast (all four tanks) and 350's in lockers (I thought I was getting 550's) and get a great surf wave. Wedge usually all the way down. Wave not as long as my buddies X30 with gen 2 but just as steep and great push. If I have extra bodies they go on whatever side we surfing. I personally prefer the wave without extra people in the bow. I do have the bow tank.

Link to comment

Do you think you would require the 550s to make a noticeable difference? We also put the extra bodies on the surf side as well and we usual have 2 people sitting on the back pads with their feet on the platform.

Link to comment

We are learning about this on our new 2015 VTX.

My observations are that the boat produces a much better wake when it's leaning a bit. Malibu's claim that surf gate lets you run the boat flat is true, but only to a point. If you want to maximize the wake, overload to one side. We run all hard tanks full and two 550s in the rear. I feel that more ballast would only be counter productive, as we have a difficult time keeping the speed set with this set up. I have to do a lot of trimming the wedge to get the speed control steady. More weight would make this worse. A bow sac would problably be the best addition, but if you have the people in the boat, just move them up there. One or two ave. size adults makes a huge difference in my boat.

We also turn the auto wedge feature off.

Link to comment

Definitely a slight lean is best, we do this now. Im surprised to hear you don't run wedge down, we used the factory setting for both the vlx and vtx but sometimes our sons will play it up or down a few degrees while underway. Im going to use no wedge next session to check it out . Power and cruise control has been a complete non issue, we are at 400 ft elevation and the boat arrived with a stock prop.... I believe a 1425 but haven't really looked at the number stamped in it yet. However both boats are no where near red line in fact they run/ran around 3000 to 3200 depending on number of people in the boat .Even fuel mileage is far better surfing loaded than slalom or barefooting with only 2 or 3 of us .As for bow sacks...are they mostly to achieve a longer wake ?

Link to comment

I agree a little "lean" in the VTX helps. I only want the 550s because I have noticed that if I have two extra people (we usually only surf with three) it helps quite a bit. I am surf left so always want to offset weight of driver. Goofy wave always a little better. I have no issues maintaining speed surfing even with a full boat running a 1273 prop.

Link to comment
  • 3 weeks later...

Can some of you give me an idea of what speed you are running in your VTX? Also, I'd be curious about the depth of your water.

We spent a couple of hours this weekend trying to dial it in. I couldn't get the speed past 9.8 or my wife couldn't keep up with the boat on our 2008-ish Liquid Force Venture 5.0' board. Our lake also is about 8-10' deep max.

I was playing around with ballast but not the wedge. I was running the wedge at max green on the little picture which looks to be about 45 degrees down (or up from vertical). I see a lot of you talking about running at vertical which I'll have to try next time.

My wife liked a steeper wave, which we achieved by emptying the front tank. Otherwise she felt like she was having to keep the nose pressed onto the water to keep up. I'm not sure if it's that we have a slow board, depth of the lake, or something else.

Link to comment

Badger, in my boats with the manual gate the best starboard wave is all tanks full and the 750's both about 50% or so. Wedge all the way down and about 10.2.

For the port side it is pretty close except the port 750 I fill quite full and let a bit of water out of the starboard sack. Wedge one or two clicks up. 10.2 to 10.4 mph.

Link to comment

I had 550s in my 2012 VTX and did similar to Malibuzer. Fill both sides full when surfing goofy (fill less with more people in the boat), and drain a little out of the starboard when surfing regular. 10.8mph, 2 clicks up. I had wicked wake surf as well.

Link to comment
  • 1 month later...

I just picked up a 2015 VTX also. Couldn't go ropeless with just the factory ballast until a buddy sat on the back with this feet on the step. Sounds like 550 bags are a good start? Are the wake makers bags the way to go or is there a better option?

Link to comment

Also, per my earlier post, I am still locked in at 9.8 mph using our board. I had a chance to use a Victoria Factor PCX yesterday. Still locked in at 9.8. When I rode a Ronix Skimmer a few weeks ago, I was up around 10.4. I'd really like a chance to try a Phase 5 Danielo before I buy something new.

Link to comment

Like everyone else I run 540s in the rear with full MLs. Wedge between 2 clicks up or all the way down.

Front 650 bow triangle.

If I want to push it hard I put between 300-600 in the cabin on the floor.

I have tried going over 11 but the wave seems best at 10.8.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...