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Surf Pipe Worth it?


ndemos717

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About to close a deal on a 2019 A24. Was curious if the surf pipe is worth it? I know the A24 has catalytic converters so I feel like that would be enough to get rid of most of the exhaust fumes. 

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There are some strong opinions out there both ways, but IMO no.  Surfed all summer without it can't say I so much as once wished i had spent the money on it when I got my '18 last year.  Instead I took that and bought some new boards this week :)

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I have FAE since I am in an older boat. But I do have catalytic converters. IMHO this is the advantages of the surf pipe

  1. Stereo sounds way better behind boat
  2. I can have a conversation with the rider while surfing

And I would say it is such a drastic difference that I wish I had done it earlier....

I never had fume issues that I can recall.

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ahopkins22LSV
4 hours ago, NWBU said:

ICBW, and maybe some dealers have been able to make exceptions, but I was told the surf pipe is a required option as part of PW3 on the 2019s.

That is my understanding as well. If you are getting power wedge 3, you must select surf pipe. I’m for one very happy we have it and the way they tucked it into the wedge is very nice. 

FWIW I also wouldn’t get an axis without PW. 

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23 hours ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

That is my understanding as well. If you are getting power wedge 3, you must select surf pipe. I’m for one very happy we have it and the way they tucked it into the wedge is very nice. 

FWIW I also wouldn’t get an axis without PW. 

They actually require it with the Auto-Set Wedge now, too. It's not built in the same way as on the PW3, but still required.

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On 1/24/2019 at 3:03 PM, ndemos717 said:

About to close a deal on a 2019 A24. Was curious if the surf pipe is worth it? I know the A24 has catalytic converters so I feel like that would be enough to get rid of most of the exhaust fumes. 

Would you want to spend 10 minutes breathing the exhaust out of a brand new, 4 cylinder car at idle?  Didn't think so.  Now surf behind a V8 under load that doesn't have as strict of emissions requirements.  

I get there is a different, but cat's only do so much.  Then you have how much quieter the boat is with the Surf Pipe - best stereo upgrade you can do.  No brainer IMO.

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Its hard to tell without being able to do side by side test with the same boat but my overall impression of my surf pipe is it should probably be called 'idle pipe' or 'docking pipe' because thats the only time I notice it. 

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  • 1 month later...

I put it on after 3 years. It made less of a difference than I expected with sound. Not sure I noticed any performance loss. The main thing is I don't see clouds of smoke like I used to. So I guess it's doing its thing. 

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In the last 11 years behind my boat without surf pipe, I've maybe noticed exhaust smell 2 times, when the breeze is exactly right.  Maybe it makes it slightly quieter, but I'm having a hard time justifying the cost when I dont smell the exhaust now.

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Someone needs to do a test and surf with a carbon monoxide detector behind both exhaust types.  Just a reminder it's odorless, tasteless & deadly

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I've read unconvincing comments on whether or not it impacts the wakeboard wake.  Can someone confirm that it does or does not impact the wake?

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The factory surf pipe doesn’t impact the wake. An aftermarket FAE may require some fiddling to get right. 

If you like music while surfing or wake boarding it’s totally worth it. 

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There was a USCG test done a number of years ago.  You can see some conclusions here.  http://www.freshairexhaust.com/carbon-monoxide-exposure-associated-with-towed-watersports/

Reader's digest version - something like surfpipe certainly doesn't hurt, the biggest risk of CO seems to be on the boat itself if idling (turn it off...).  I find the benefit questionable, but there definitely is some measurable benefit.  I never put a FAE on any of my older boats, the A24 I got came with surfpipe, I like the feature but doubt a huge difference.

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