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Power Wedge vs. Power Wedge II


rakr

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I did a good bit of reading this weekend and found a good information, but didn't see any definitive answers to my ongoing questions. Although I did enjoy reading an "active" discussion on how the magnitude of the Bernoulli Effect is proportional to the angle of the dangle....

Anyways, a little context here: I am hoping to get a 2013-2015 VTX. Is the Power Wedge II (Only on the '15) that much better than the Original Power Wedge? What are your favorite features? It seems that both can adjust on the fly, and have presets, but the PWII has the lift feature, is larger, hydraulically powered (vs. gear/screw driven actuator?) and it looks like is coupled with a nicer Maliview display.

Lastly, I realize this is a bit of a square peg, round hole question. From reading, the lift feature can run up to 29mph, before a warning is thrown or it moves to a further aft/flat position. Can the lift feature be run for extended periods of time? Has anyone used this to reduce the wake size at lower speeds? I am asking specifically for wake tricks on a trick ski, or even to help a younger skier with wake crossings at lower speeds. I hear under 30/32mph the VTX kicks up a pretty good wake. Has anyone attempted this or have experience?

It is a pretty fun read if you haven't seen it yet! Thanks again crew.

www.themalibucrew.com/index.php?/forums/topic/51141-power-wedge-2/&page=3

 

Edited by rakr
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If i am not mistaken, pw2 has different actuators, and has lift mode. This will help in getting a boat on plane at wakeboard speeds. 

 

Not 100% sure but if its the same as the Axis lift mode only work at speeds greater than 20mph. 

I you can run the wedge in lift mode up to 29 before the alarm warns you. If you stay under that speed i dont see any issue running it while towing someone. You can also try to just stow the wedge and see how the wake is.

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rakr I was in your exact shoes a little while back. So hear are my thoughts.

1. The Malibu Touch command on 14 and 15 are exactly the same. size quality etc. It changed for other boats but not for the VTX in 2015.

2. From what i had read the wake does get softer and maybe a little smaller with the wedge in lift mode.

3. As posted above the actuators are different. Weather they are better/more reliable probably remains to be seen as the PW1 was around for years and the PW2 has only been since 2015. 

4. As far as purchase I ended up buying a 2014 vtx. Not sure if they didn't make many 2015 vtx's or just when i was looking but they seemed much harder to find. 

5. Not sure what boat your coming from but i can give you a little experience. I came from a Mastercraft prostar 205 then 197 then VTX and my neighbor has a response FXI (same hull as vtx) slower speeds on either vtx or FXI are not as good as either of the prostars but they are not bad either. 

Let me know if you have any specific questions happy to share my experience.

 

Edited by dinovtx
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15 minutes ago, ahopkinsTXi said:

Good above points, PW II also bigger so it helps the surf wake as well. 

Dont forget that you get zero off gps cruise control in 2015 as well. 

Good points too you can add the GPS cruse to 13 and 14. My dealer charged me about $600 to add it so should not be a deal breaker but is very nice to have. If you add it you actually end up with a switch so you can go back and forth between GPS and wheel. So if your running on a river you may want to switch back to paddle wheel. 

As a side note only reason I left the Prostars is because we started surfing as well as skiing. With extra bags you can get a good surf wake from a 13-15 VTX. However I have heard the surf wake is much better on the 16+. I have 850 bags plumed into their own reversible pumps in the back lockers and a 400lbs bag for the bow. Depending on the number of people in the boat will fill the different bags. All stock ballast full power wedge all the way down surf side bag full and non surf side bag approximately 50%. You will need to play with your bow ballast to make sure the surf gates stay in the right area or you get wash on the wave face. Speed is anywhere from 10.4-10.8.

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ahopkins22LSV
19 minutes ago, dinovtx said:

Good points too you can add the GPS cruse to 13 and 14. My dealer charged me about $600 to add it so should not be a deal breaker but is very nice to have. If you add it you actually end up with a switch so you can go back and forth between GPS and wheel. So if your running on a river you may want to switch back to paddle wheel. 

As a side note only reason I left the Prostars is because we started surfing as well as skiing. With extra bags you can get a good surf wake from a 13-15 VTX. However I have heard the surf wake is much better on the 16+. I have 850 bags plumed into their own reversible pumps in the back lockers and a 400lbs bag for the bow. Depending on the number of people in the boat will fill the different bags. All stock ballast full power wedge all the way down surf side bag full and non surf side bag approximately 50%. You will need to play with your bow ballast to make sure the surf gates stay in the right area or you get wash on the wave face. Speed is anywhere from 10.4-10.8.

16+ is definitely better surfing but isn’t quite as good skiing. No doubt you can get a good wave out of the 13-15, PW II just helps get there a little bit easier. 

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14 minutes ago, ahopkinsTXi said:

16+ is definitely better surfing but isn’t quite as good skiing. No doubt you can get a good wave out of the 13-15, PW II just helps get there a little bit easier. 

Do you deploy your wedge all the way. I found at surf speeds only a little wedge seemed to be better. Maybe with the PW2 being bigger it works better?  Since we have ours all the way down we only get a few hundred pounds of down force vs max. 

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I have had the pw1 on two boats and pw2 on two boats.  Biggest difference imo is pw2 has lift mode which is really nice for wakeboard disciplines but does nothing for surfing.   I honestly could not tell much difference in the larger pw2 foil, minimal change and nothing game changing.

The single hydraulic actuator on pw2 has been a huge improvement from the pw1 dual lenco rams which inevitably will leak and fail on you.  So far the pw2 actuators have been rock solid.

Also the 2015+ 12" screen has a much easier wedge adjustment icon from the previous maliview.

  • Like 2
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ahopkins22LSV
16 minutes ago, dinovtx said:

Do you deploy your wedge all the way. I found at surf speeds only a little wedge seemed to be better. Maybe with the PW2 being bigger it works better?  Since we have ours all the way down we only get a few hundred pounds of down force vs max. 

I run very little wedge compared to some. Even in the bigger boats. This is from the other day:

 

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ahopkins22LSV
1 minute ago, Fman said:

I have had the pw1 on two boats and pw2 on two boats.  Biggest difference imo is pw2 has lift mode which is really nice for wakeboard disciplines but does nothing for surfing.   I honestly could not tell much difference in the larger pw2 foil, minimal change and nothing game changing.

The single hydraulic actuator on pw2 has been a huge improvement from the pw1 dual lenco rams which inevitably will leak and fail on you.  So far the pw2 actuators have been rock solid.

Also the 2015+ 12" screen has a much easier wedge adjustment icon from the previous maliview.

Unfortunately the vtx didn’t get the new screen until 2016.

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Great information! I don't see us doing a ton of wake boarding (I say this now, but things are certain to change). My primary focus is Slalom, followed very closely by "family boating" and surfing.

I might throw up a thread to see if anyone has a 13/14 or a 15 in the midwest and take a day to ski/ride one.

Thanks again everyone!

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2 hours ago, dinovtx said:

rakr I was in your exact shoes a little while back. So hear are my thoughts.

1. The Malibu Touch command on 14 and 15 are exactly the same. size quality etc. It changed for other boats but not for the VTX in 2015.

2. From what i had read the wake does get softer and maybe a little smaller with the wedge in lift mode.

3. As posted above the actuators are different. Weather they are better/more reliable probably remains to be seen as the PW1 was around for years and the PW2 has only been since 2015. 

4. As far as purchase I ended up buying a 2014 vtx. Not sure if they didn't make many 2015 vtx's or just when i was looking but they seemed much harder to find. 

5. Not sure what boat your coming from but i can give you a little experience. I came from a Mastercraft prostar 205 then 197 then VTX and my neighbor has a response FXI (same hull as vtx) slower speeds on either vtx or FXI are not as good as either of the prostars but they are not bad either. 

Let me know if you have any specific questions happy to share my experience.

 

This will be my first boat. I have skied behind only DDs and have surfed behind a MC NXT. Thanks for your input!

Edited by rakr
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2 hours ago, dinovtx said:

rakr I was in your exact shoes a little while back. So hear are my thoughts.

3. As posted above the actuators are different. Weather they are better/more reliable probably remains to be seen as the PW1 was around for years and the PW2 has only been since 2015.

Actuator on the PW2 is the same actuator that has been used on outboard motors for tilt/trim for many years. Pretty dang reliable.

 

The lencos on the PW1, not so much from research.

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35 minutes ago, 23LSVOwner said:

Actuator on the PW2 is the same actuator that has been used on outboard motors for tilt/trim for many years. Pretty dang reliable.

 

The lencos on the PW1, not so much from research.

Good to know. I figured it was a new malibu part. I had heard the lenco's have had problems. 

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