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OJ 905 15vlx?


catalac

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Curious if anyone has tried out the OJ 905 14.75x15.25 vs 948 15x14. Not real pleased with my 2315 for anything but surfing, was considering a 948 or acme 2273 basis discussions on here, OJ suggested 905 trust their opinion just looking for feedback. (Monsoon 350, 750s in back plus factory 4-6 adults)

Edited by catalac
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I have tested the 905 on my 2015 LSV 23 with the Monsoon 350.

Just a little background. I have tested the prop, but have not used it for a day of playing on the water. I recently purchased this boat from out of state. After the purchase, I spoke to our local dealership and they said the boat is underpowered at our altitude of 4200 feet (Salt Lake City, Utah). An acquaintance who owned a 2014 LSV agreed it took a little more HP to push these newer boats (he had the 450 Corvette engine). He said imagine putting a board flat against the water that was attached to the side of your boat and how much resistance that would add (ie the surfgate).

In a panic, I spoke to a number of local shops that do performance enhancement on boats to see what my options were (if you want to know what options are available just ask). In the end one shop said I would be able to wake surf and wakeboard fine depending on what prop I got. The only foreseeable problem is waterskiing (yes I still waterski). A prop that chugs out the low end stuff easily may not get me 32 MPH for skiing. 

So now its just a matter of testing props to find the right one. So far I have tested two OJ props (the shop letting me test props prefers OJ props), the OJ 915 (14.75 X 14.5) and the OJ 905 (14.75 X 15.25). I will test the OJ 945 (15 X 13), ACME 1235 (14.5 X 14.25), ACME 2249 (15 X 14.25) and an ACME 1235 that I custom pitched (14.5 X 15) for my 2008 LSV to improve top end speed. Next Monday April 18th, I will test another three props. Enough talking, here are the results so far. 

As a side note, one shop I spoke to said you could flash the ECM and improve the horsepower. This basically tweaks the timing a little bit, adjusts for altitude and (hopefully) gets me another 10-12 HP. The same guy suggested running premium would add another 12-15 HP. I have done both. The flash for the ECM (think putting a performance chip in a car) came directly from Indmar so it is legit.

Test Info: 2015 LSV 23 with the 350 Monsoon engine with the ECM flashed/upgraded, running premium gas, on Willard Bay Reservoir (roughly 4300 feet elevation) with only my wife and I in the boat. I have RPMs at 10, 20 & 30 MPH, hole shot: idle-30 (3 tests, average time), top speed wide open throttle (WOT), the RPMs at surf speed of 10.6 (boat preset speed), and a subjective rating of the surf wake on a scale of 1-5 for the left and the right. For the surf test the factory ballast are full, the wedge position is two clicks away from max (again factory preset) and I have two additional bags in the back of the boat (400 pounders one on each side). I meant to check the decibels with each prop. One forum I read said the cabin noise was different depending on the prop. But I forgot. 

OJ 905 - (14.75 X 15.25)

  • 10 MPH, 2150 RPMs
  • 20 MPH, 2750 RPMs
  • 30 MPH, 3600 RPMs
  • 0-30, ave 9.17 sec
  • Top speed/WOT - 40 MPH, 4900 RPMs
  • Surf speed 10.6 MPH, RPMs 2850
  • Surf wake rating: Left 3.5, right 3.5

OJ 915 - (14.75 X 14.5)

  • 10 MPH, 2300 RPMs
  • 20 MPH, 2900 RPMs
  • 30 MPH, 3800 RPMs
  • 0-30, ave 8.8 sec
  • Top speed/WOT - 38 MPH, 5000
  • Surf speed 10.6 MPH, RPMs 2900
  • Surf wake rating: Left 4, R 3 (odd but different from side to side)

Everything seems pretty consistent. I expected better hole shot with a lower pitch prop, but a little slower top speed. So far, either prop seems like it would work well. I will be interested to see if there are significant differences between the OJ and ACME props. 

I'll post the results from the rest of the props when I get them. Hopefully this will help someone else wondering which prop to get with the 350 Monsoon engine. 

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Thanks for taking the time to write and post that information.

Interested to learn about the indmar flash, I beleive the 350 moonson is a marginal motor for the vlx as is, another 10 hp would be nice, I burn 91 already.

Edited by catalac
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On April 13, 2016 at 9:48 PM, catalac said:

Curious if anyone has tried out the OJ 905 14.75x15.25 vs 948 15x14. Not real pleased with my 2315 for anything but surfing, was considering a 948 or acme 2273 basis discussions on here, OJ suggested 905 trust their opinion just looking for feedback. (Monsoon 350, 750s in back plus factory 4-6 adults)

I run the 948 with 409 in a 22vlx, seems to work well for us.  Here are some specs on it.

Surfing 11.2, hard tank ballast full w/wedge ( plus 850's in locker and 650 bow bag), 3250 RPMs

Full ballast, hard tanks only plane out to 20 mph 8.3 seconds

Full ballast, hard tanks, 750's in rear, 650 lb bow bag, 18.8 seconds

Cruising: 26mph - 3500 rpms, 30mph - 3900 rpms, 33mph - 4300 rpms, 36 mph - 4800 rpms

I am a fan of the 15" props, seem to bite better, less prop slippage and give you more torque over a 14.5/14.75

 

 

  • Like 2
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On 4/16/2016 at 11:21 PM, catalac said:

Thanks for taking the time to write and post that information.

Interested to learn about the indmar flash, I beleive the 350 moonson is a marginal motor for the vlx as is, another 10 hp would be nice, I burn 91 already.

I asked the Indmar mechanic about getting the ECM flashed. I'll included his email because I couldn't make heads or tails of his reply. At the very least I'd locate the local guys that work on Indmar motors and then ask them about flashing the computer. I asked Scott again how someone not in my neck-of-the-woods would get their Indmar computer flashed. Hopefully I'll have a better answer in the future. 

  • "Your ECM flashing is not factory or a standard OEM update. I have been a Indmar dealer for a long time and have from time to time solved factory problems. My relation is such that I can get little tweaks and inside details to stay on the leading edge. Knowing the details of your engine, trans, elevation, approx. temp. the engine can be set to worked closer to its max. without issue. Basically each re-flash is designed for each application and not a general broad use. Indmar programs there ECM to cover a broad application, knowing that some will be worked hard and others not."

Regarding the 15 inch props, the OJ 905 & 915 are 14.75 diameter props, only a quarter of an inch different from a 15. Though that isn't a big difference, it could still change how the boat behaves. When comparing the 915 or 905 to the 948, I would expect better hole shot and more consistent low-end torque since it's larger in diameter and shorter in pitch (but also lower top end speed). As you can see from Fman's post, RPM's are slightly higher at 30 MPH - 3900 (vs 3800 & 3600), his top speed is 36 and he has a faster plane time (though I tested idle - 30 it should be fairly similar). Also his boat was loaded down more than mine. I did want to test the 948 but the shop I am working with doesn't have it.

Didn't make it to the lake on Monday to finish testing the props. I do have the ACME 2249 (15 X 14.25) which is close to the OJ 948 (15 X 14). I wish I had an ACME and OJ with the exact same specs. That would be fun to compare. 

Saturday should be the day. Planning to test 3 more props. i'll post results when I have them. 

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  • 5 weeks later...

Are you buying these props and testing them, or is your dealer letting you borrow them? I have a 2016 23 lsv with a Acme 1235. I am interested in testing props, but would prefer to test them before buying. Looking to try the 2277. 

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Ended up going with acme 2773 15x13 after reading reviews from this site seemed consensus would be 15 inch prop a must and that the 13 pitch acme would lower my rpms for cruising but still have enough for the moderate weighted surfing we do. Haven't installed it yet.

Edited by catalac
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On 5/20/2016 at 6:23 PM, bbattiste247 said:

Are you buying these props and testing them, or is your dealer letting you borrow them? I have a 2016 23 lsv with a Acme 1235. I am interested in testing props, but would prefer to test them before buying. Looking to try the 2277. 

I have been lucky and can test the props without purchasing them. I do have a credit card on file and if I didn't bring them back or damaged them, I'd get charged. I didn't get this treatment at the Malibu dealer. i found an Indmar certified repair shop that also happens to sell props and other boating equipment. 

Which prop to put on a 2016 boat is difficult to say. In 2016 Malibu started using the Ford motor. The transmission gear ratio also changed from 1.5:1 to 1.76:1. The different gearing ratio changes everything when talking about props. The 2016 boats are putting much higher pitched props on their boats than those before 2016 because there is more torque at the prop though it turns slower, in relation to the crank shaft, than the earlier gear ratio. Hence my information on props won't apply to any 2016 with the 1.76:1 gearing, only 2015 and older boats. 

That said, I finally got out and tested a more props. Here is the complete list of information. Once again I tested a 2015 LSV with the Monsoon 350 at 4300 feet elevation. Boat had myself and one other person in it. I did fill the center ballast for the duration of the test to simulate a few more people in the boat. I have additional ballast bags (400 lbs each) in my back compartments which were filled when the wake surf wave was tested. The wake surf wave rating was subjective (I looked at it and gave it a rating based off my perception). The 0-30 average was an average of three times going from idle speed to 30 mph. 

OJ 905 - 14.75 X 15.25        10 mph - 2150 rpms, 20 mph - 2750 rpms, 30 mph - 3600 rpms, WOT 40.0 mph - 4900 rpms, 0-30 ave 9.17 sec, surf wave @ 10.6 mph (2850 rpms) R 3.5, L 3.5

OJ 915 - 14.75 X 14.5          10 mph - 2300 rpms, 20 mph - 2900 rpms, 30 mph - 3800 rpms, WOT 38.0 mph - 5000 rpms, 0-30 ave 8.80 sec, surf wave @ 10.6 mph (2900 rpms) R 3.0, L 4.0

OJ 945 - 15.0 x 13.0            10 mph - 2300 rpms, 20 mph - 3100 rpms, 30 mph - 4200 rpms, WOT 36.6 mph - 5400 rpms, 0-30 ave 8.51 sec, surf wave @ 10.6 mph (2900 rpms) R 4.0, L 3.0

ACME 1235 - 14.5 X 14.25   10 mph - 2200 rpms, 20 mph - 3000 rpms, 30 mph - 3900 rpms, WOT 37.2 mph - 5200 rpms, 0-30 ave 9.07 sec, surf wave @ 10.6 mph (2900 rpms) R 3.0, L 3.0

ACME 2249 - 15 X 14.25      10 mph - 2100 rpms, 20 mph - 2800 rmps, 30 mph - 3700 rpms, WOT 37.7 mph - 4900 rpsm, 0-30 ave 9.45 sec, surf wave @ 10.6 mph (2900 rpms) R 4.0, L 3.5

I still want to get my hands on a OJ 948 (15 X 14) as I think it would be the closest comparison to the ACME 2249 I could get. Overall i like the OJ props better. It seems they offer more top end speed with plenty of low end torque. I will likely get the OJ 915. It isn't the fastest, but fast enough to ski and is good out of the hole and at maintaining a consistent speed when pulling. 

The true test will be this weekend at Lake Mead over Memorial day. Cant wait. 

 

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