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VTX Fresh air exhaust


dinovtx

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I am considering putting a fresh air exhaust on my 2014 VTX. I have read a lot of forums on spray and short vs long pipe. Wanted to see if anyone had any real world experience here.  We use the boat about 50% skiing 50% surfing, Most of our skiing is free skiing with a few friends skiing at 28 off. I am mainly looking for reduction in noise for the boat from the FAE. I have a young daughter that comes out on the boat and would like to be able to reduce the boat noise. So my long winded question is does anyone have experience with FAE skiing and surfing on a vtx or similar. Secondly if you do have experience any recommendation on long or short pipe. I have heard the short pipe has less spray but will send bubbles up while surfing. I am going to call FAE and have an in depth convo with the company as well but wanted to see if i could get some real life info first. 

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Don't know anything about short vs. long pipe - not sure if that was even an option to choose from on mine.

I will say that it ruined my surf wave until I built a custom surf matt.  I'm hearing that Larry is creating something that attaches to the pipe, similar to the OEM surf pipes, that will help with that.  

I also lost 5MPH top speed.  I was able to make some of that up with a muffler delete and a more aggressive prop (which should have technically lowered my top speed but really just got everything into the proper power band for this setup).  I will say that way too much time/money was invested getting all of this right, but I'm now very happy to have the FAE setup.  Don't think for a second there aren't downsides to having it, though.

If you just want to reduce noise, you can also consider going with the Silent Tip Exhaust (STE).  I did that before my FAE and it did reduce the noise a noticeable amount.  Will be cheaper and easier than doing the FAE, but won't be as quiet and doesn't take care of the of carbon monoxide issue.  That said, the fumes are WORSE at dead idle with the FAE but totally gone while under way, so another trade off to consider.

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On 1/30/2018 at 8:58 PM, Nitrousbird said:

Don't know anything about short vs. long pipe - not sure if that was even an option to choose from on mine.

I will say that it ruined my surf wave until I built a custom surf matt.  I'm hearing that Larry is creating something that attaches to the pipe, similar to the OEM surf pipes, that will help with that.  

I also lost 5MPH top speed.  I was able to make some of that up with a muffler delete and a more aggressive prop (which should have technically lowered my top speed but really just got everything into the proper power band for this setup).  I will say that way too much time/money was invested getting all of this right, but I'm now very happy to have the FAE setup.  Don't think for a second there aren't downsides to having it, though.

If you just want to reduce noise, you can also consider going with the Silent Tip Exhaust (STE).  I did that before my FAE and it did reduce the noise a noticeable amount.  Will be cheaper and easier than doing the FAE, but won't be as quiet and doesn't take care of the of carbon monoxide issue.  That said, the fumes are WORSE at dead idle with the FAE but totally gone while under way, so another trade off to consider.

Nitrousbird thanks for the post that is great information and reply.

Not following the surf matt post guess I have never seen one of those. Do you have a picture of what your talking about?

Good to know that Larry is working on something I will have to ask/wait till he has that figured out. 

I had heard about the top speed problems and spray at high speed but not the surf problems. The VTX came with the torque prop (acme 2419) and monsoon 350 from the factory so currently i am limited by RPM vs pulling power at top speed about 38mph give or take. So i am hoping i won't see a huge degradation in top speed from there. We boat on a smaller lake around 3200 acres at 650ft elevation in NC so power and top speed have not been a problem yet.

I had STE on my previous Mastercaft Prostar and it deff did help but was not as much reduction as i am really looking for, but could be an option.

Thanks for all the great information here. Can't wait to get back on the water this spring.

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If you add the FAE, definitely delete the muffler.  My sound level actually went down very slightly after removing the muffler.  It also really opens up the area to service the impeller.

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On 1/30/2018 at 6:58 PM, Nitrousbird said:

Don't know anything about short vs. long pipe - not sure if that was even an option to choose from on mine.

I will say that it ruined my surf wave until I built a custom surf matt.  I'm hearing that Larry is creating something that attaches to the pipe, similar to the OEM surf pipes, that will help with that.  

I also lost 5MPH top speed.  I was able to make some of that up with a muffler delete and a more aggressive prop (which should have technically lowered my top speed but really just got everything into the proper power band for this setup).  I will say that way too much time/money was invested getting all of this right, but I'm now very happy to have the FAE setup.  Don't think for a second there aren't downsides to having it, though.

If you just want to reduce noise, you can also consider going with the Silent Tip Exhaust (STE).  I did that before my FAE and it did reduce the noise a noticeable amount.  Will be cheaper and easier than doing the FAE, but won't be as quiet and doesn't take care of the of carbon monoxide issue.  That said, the fumes are WORSE at dead idle with the FAE but totally gone while under way, so another trade off to consider.

What's the STE?  I have turn downs but they're loud AF

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5 hours ago, dinovtx said:

Not following the surf matt post guess I have never seen one of those. Do you have a picture of what your talking about?

Not sure if I have any pictures.  It is basically a rubber attaches to the platform.  When the wedge is down, it hangs down until moving, then the flow of water pushes it up...but it flattens out the water the FAE disturbs and resolves the wash out.  When the wedge is up, the mat simply stays up and stick out a couple inches past the platform.

2 hours ago, formulaben said:

If you add the FAE, definitely delete the muffler.  My sound level actually went down very slightly after removing the muffler.  It also really opens up the area to service the impeller.

Agreed.  I don't know if mine got any quieter, but it didn't get any louder.  Increased power and much more room for service make it worthwhile.

26 minutes ago, racer808 said:

What's the STE?  I have turn downs but they're loud AF

https://www.bakesonline.com/turn-down-3-1-2-stainless-steel-silent-tip-exhaust-port-each.html

That's a good sale Bakes is having on them right now.  I think I sold mine used for that much.  They have a baffle in them that helps reduce sound.  I can tell you the difference in sound between the flappers and STE is greater the STE to FAE.  So if the STE is 40% quieter than flappers, the FAE would be like 60% quieter than flappers (all made up numbers).  

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1 hour ago, Nitrousbird said:

Agreed.  I don't know if mine got any quieter, but it didn't get any louder.  Increased power and much more room for service make it worthwhile.

When you guys deleted the muffler did you buy the metal bypass from Larry or get more exhaust hose and run it down? 

 

1 hour ago, Nitrousbird said:

baffle in them that helps reduce sound.  I can tell you the difference in sound between the flappers and STE is greater the STE to FAE.  So if the STE is 40% quieter than flappers, the FAE would be like 60% quieter than flappers (all made up numbers).  

If you were to do it again would you go with the STE or FAE? I think i am still leaning towards the FAE. 

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2 hours ago, dinovtx said:

When you guys deleted the muffler did you buy the metal bypass from Larry or get more exhaust hose and run it down? 

 

If you were to do it again would you go with the STE or FAE? I think i am still leaning towards the FAE. 

This should answer your first question:  

For the 2nd question, I'd still do the FAE.  The lack of fumes is the big one for me (though it does increase it on the platform at idle when not moving...don't know why but it is noticeable on my boat and my buddy's 247 with the FAE.  

If I had Cats, I don't know.  I can say we feel fresher after a surf set with the FAE, so that alone should be a good enough reason to have it I suppose.  I just wish the build quality was a bit better for the amount of money we pay for the product.

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On 2/2/2018 at 7:19 PM, Nitrousbird said:

This should answer your first question:  

For the 2nd question, I'd still do the FAE.  The lack of fumes is the big one for me (though it does increase it on the platform at idle when not moving...don't know why but it is noticeable on my boat and my buddy's 247 with the FAE.  

If I had Cats, I don't know.  I can say we feel fresher after a surf set with the FAE, so that alone should be a good enough reason to have it I suppose.  I just wish the build quality was a bit better for the amount of money we pay for the product.

Thanks Nitrousbird you have made my decision and questions for Larry a lot better. Thanks to everyone else for the posts as well.

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On 2/2/2018 at 1:29 PM, Nitrousbird said:

Not sure if I have any pictures.  It is basically a rubber attaches to the platform.  When the wedge is down, it hangs down until moving, then the flow of water pushes it up...but it flattens out the water the FAE disturbs and resolves the wash out.  When the wedge is up, the mat simply stays up and stick out a couple inches past the platform.

Agreed.  I don't know if mine got any quieter, but it didn't get any louder.  Increased power and much more room for service make it worthwhile.

https://www.bakesonline.com/turn-down-3-1-2-stainless-steel-silent-tip-exhaust-port-each.html

That's a good sale Bakes is having on them right now.  I think I sold mine used for that much.  They have a baffle in them that helps reduce sound.  I can tell you the difference in sound between the flappers and STE is greater the STE to FAE.  So if the STE is 40% quieter than flappers, the FAE would be like 60% quieter than flappers (all made up numbers).  

Can't get an answer on the MB forum, I swear that place is useless for technical help.  Do you by chance know if 3.5" is standard on all these boats?  I can't get out to measure my tips but want to order those STE's & Bakes wasn't quite sure but thinks they are all 3.5".

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  • 1 year later...

I installed the FAE on my 2014 VTX before the July 4th holiday. I haven't noticed any spray from the pipe while surfing or otherwise. Here are some pics from the install. It went pretty easily, but I took it apart and put it back together several times to get everything right... definitely use the regular nuts they give you before installing the nylock nuts. I also had to hacksaw to size the metal tubes they give you as spacers between the support bar and the welded connection points. They were too long so the bar didn't sit above the power wedge housing at the right height. Once I got it installed, it was solid. I've taken the boat out a bunch and haven't had any issues. It is still solid and I haven't had to tighten any straps or nuts. 

I'm very happy with it and would recommend to others. If anything, it gives you some peace of mind. 

IMG_0923.thumb.jpg.62df6844bb2a9300925db8e59b5655ce.jpg

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IMG_0925.jpg

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IMG_0834.jpg

 

Edited by Gmoney73
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey Randy / Gmoney73

Did you get any pre / post CO readings?

I have an 01 Sunsetter VLX and I took an LEL/CO detector out and had quite high readings on the Sundeck and even while sitting on the back seat / bench...

By looking at the pipe in your pictures it doesn't look like it actually puts the exaust much deeper in the water... maybe about a foot further back  of the boat though...?

 

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No, I haven’t taken any CO readings. I trust it works the same on my VTX as any other boat. It isn’t about the depth of the exhaust. It is all about putting the exhaust into the prop stream which is where the FAE is positioned. When the boat is sitting idle with the engine running, the FAE doesn’t do anything since it requires the prop to push the exhaust out. 

Were you moving when taking the readings? If so, how fast?

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On 8/13/2019 at 11:54 AM, Mpeters said:

Hey Randy / Gmoney73

Did you get any pre / post CO readings?

I have an 01 Sunsetter VLX and I took an LEL/CO detector out and had quite high readings on the Sundeck and even while sitting on the back seat / bench...

By looking at the pipe in your pictures it doesn't look like it actually puts the exaust much deeper in the water... maybe about a foot further back  of the boat though...?

 

Are you taking a reading at idle or while moving?  The FAE does NOTHING at idle/no wake speeds.  You have to be moving for it to have an impact.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 8/17/2019 at 5:05 AM, Nitrousbird said:

Are you taking a reading at idle or while moving?  The FAE does NOTHING at idle/no wake speeds.  You have to be moving for it to have an impact. 

I would disagree that it does nothing at forward idle/no wake speed.  Yes, in neutral I agree, but in gear (idle) I can see the trail of exhaust bubbling up back from the boat in the prop wash.  There may be some residual exhaust that makes it up to the platform, but the majority of it is far away on my boat...not that you should be back there on the platform anyway, but YMMV.

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