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Floating wedge, how does it work? 350 in A22?


Fman

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A friend of a friend is looking at a '16 A22 with the 350 in Utah.  He is advanced wakeboarder and more than likely will run more ballast over stock.  He is concerned about the power issue at 4000' elevation, along with the floating wedge.  Maybe someone with Axis can explain, do you just release the wedge and it floats and increases as you speed up?  How does this affect wakeboarding when the boat is planing out?  Can you set the manual wedge at a certain position if desired?  thoughts on the 350 in the A22 at 4000'?  I think it would need to be propped very low in order to make it work, but not sure about trans ratio in the 2016 Axis line.  Any feedback appreciated....

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There are a few threads on the axis forum about the floating wedge.  It is either down or stowed.  There isn't any "floating" per se.  

I would be concerned with running a lot of extra weight at 4000' ele.  I believe the gear reduction is 1.76.  

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How much weight? I ran about 3200 at Bullards (~2000ft). I'm running the 2419 with the 1.42 ratio. We needed someone in the bow as we started to help it plane off.

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Probably weight in each locker with a bow bag setup.  What was ballast configuration over stock?(what is axis hard tank setup?) Do you recall what your rpms were and speed when you were towing the wake boarder?  There is more performance loss from 2000' to 4000', another 6% loss in HP and torque.  I was just thinking the different trans might help out but there comes a point where more HP is just needed.

I can run pretty heavy at bullards with 409 and PW2 w/lift feature which helps quite a bit.  I was just not educated on how the floating wedge affects planing the boat out (how much drag it puts on initial pull).

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I believe the hard tanks are 900lbs. I have about 800lbs in each rear PNP and about 500lbs in front PNP plus an additional 200 lead in bow. It's getting over the 14 mph hump. That's where I think the wedge really drags.

I know you know this, but maybe a loaded demo is in order. ;)

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I don't run my wedge really ever.  It makes the wake ever so slightly steeper but not bigger than replacing the simulated ballast with water ballast.  The real difference I've noticed (with a 2012) is the fact that I burn much more fuel when using the wedge instead of a roughly equivalent amount of water.

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  • 3 weeks later...

By "floating wedge" I assume that you mean it is not locked in place when you are using it, therefore it is free-floating.  That is correct.  Once it is released, it settles into the position where it will create the most drag, effectively creating an additional 900 lbs of ballast (according to Axis).  You cannot set the position it is used in, it is either locked in the up position and not creating any additional drag, or it is free-floating when in use.  Some say they like it, some say they don't.  Personally, when surfing, I think it creates a wave that has more "push", especially when drifting towards the back of the wake.

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I prefer a "lippier" wake for wakeboarding, so we always use the wedge.  Our normal ballast setup is factory 900lbs, 400lb plug and play in each rear, plug and play 750 arrow under front seats that probably only fills to around 500lbs, 400lbs of lead spread throughout, a 750lb sac on the floor and a 400lb sac across the front seats, and the wedge down.  Wakeboard wake is very very nice at that setup and I can still plane off fairly easy with the 350 motor running a little over 4,500lbs.  

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  • 3 weeks later...

I also prefer a "lippier" wake and wake board with the wedge. I had the hammerhead in my 2010 axis (yes, they actually put a hammerhead in my boat) and the pcm 350 in my current axis. The 350 with the new gear ratio and an oj 945 is great combo... I don't regret opting for the 350 at all. Saying that, I'm not confident that it would plane at 4000'. I'd definitely test drive one before purchasing.

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@elc I've found that the 2249 still feels like a pretty agro prop on the 1.72 tranny.  How many rpms are you turning on the 945?  What's your 4k rpm cruising speed?

@Fman I have no doubt that a 350/1.72/945 combo would get it done at 4000', but that's a very low geared setup and might be kinda grueling for long open water cruising.  

The "floater" doesn't really move (there are vids on axis forum that show this).  I think its just called the floater to distinguish the newer manual wedge from the old manual wedge, which did lock in the down position.

I am also at 4000.  I never even demoed a 350.  I went with the 450 so I could run a less aggressive prop, but also have the option to prop down for almanor or tahoe.  Down at Bullards (low elevation for us) I feel pretty confident that the 450./172 would handle whatever you could throw at it.

I guess the 350s are gone... for 2017 the 6.0 is the base motor.  Honestly I'd have gone with that motor if it were available in 2016 with the 1.72 tranny, but for whatever reason the "base" 6.0 continued to use the 1.48 gearing in 15 and 16.

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@shawndoggy 4k cruising speed is around 24-25. top speed is about 32-33. Agreed about the long open water cruising... but I felt that way about my other Axis too because of how flat the hull was, it would get beat in open water. I had a centurion before Axis and although that boat was faster, it also got beat to sh@# when cruising open water, so that was no fun. IMO open water cruising in most wake boats is pretty grueling, so its not an issue for me but definitely something to consider.

I didn't realize the 350's were gone in 2017... I'm sure that means that prices will go up again. Do you know if the 2017 will offer the 1.72 tranny?

Edited by elc
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The deal fell through, so no go on the Axis.  They boat on lake powell, they will definitely need a boat that cruises decent.  I am guessing he will need some type of engine upgrade regardless of what boat he ends up with.

Thanks for the info, I will pass all this along to him.

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