Help with purchase…2015 or 2016 23 LSV

[ty151]

I’ve narrowed my search down to a couple boats and I wanted to get some input from you all.  Both boats are 2nd owner and have had their services down at their local Malibu dealers.

 

Boat 1- 2015 23 LSV (white and charcoal metallic)

-557 hours on the 409 engine

-soft grip flooring

-Rev 10 pair on tower 

-ez loader illusion trailer 

 

Boat 2 - 2016 23 LSV (white and blue metallic)

- 225 ish hours on the 410 engine 

- snap in carpet 

- pair of rev 8’s on tower 

- PTM clamping racks plus a standard set

- standard Malibu trailer (boatmate?)

The 2016 is about $5k more.  Both boats are within driving distance for me and are in good condition overall.  Both have G3 towers and underwater lights. The 2015 has a few more cosmetic blemishes but still in very good condition.

Im leaning towards the blue 2016 even though it’s a little more $$.  I think the value is there when you compare.  Please share your thoughts! Thanks 

Edited March 9 by ty151
Typo

[Afastmotorider]

go with 16 the 15 has the older style sport knob and no surf band.

[Stevo]

I would double check on the boat mate trailer on the 16, some dealers order a less expensive locally built trailer , 

if it is a boat mate it was an option (upgrade) when boat was ordered, if it’s a Malibu trailer I believe that might be their 1st generation in house built trailers. 
 

+1 for the 2016, 1/2 the hours of the 2015 and the set of clamping racks are $1500-2k ish option 

the factory soft grip from 2015 isn’t as soft and plush as newer generations, and being 8-9yrs old it will be less desirable, 

you can pick out a gator step kit and outfit the boat for about $2500-3k if you don’t want the carpet. 

[Kojak]

Surf band retrofit kit is available for the 2015. It's an easy install. I added it to my 15 and glad I did.

[ahopkins22LSV]

Im fairly certain that 2016 was the first year of Malibu production trailers. 
 

Based on what you describe, I’d lean 2016 with the others. I’m partial to blue though and you are getting more options with the extra money. 
 

Neither boat sounds like they are poorly optioned and neither sound like a bad option. 

[ty151]

Yes, forgot to mention.  Surf band on the 16.

I may have misspoken, I believe the trailer is just the Malibu produced trailer.  Doesn’t seem like anything too fancy but looks nice at least.  
 

The metallic blue looks great with the white hull and white top deck.  Carpet is an easy fix to go upgrade to gatorstep so I’m not too worried about that.  I do think the $5k increase in price is worth it, you guys have kind of confirmed that feeling of mine 

[Sixer]

My only hesitation on the '16 would be the 410......That was the first year of Malibu using the Raptor.  Reliability is fine, but it will be louder.  Malibu added more insulation to the engine compartment in following years after complaints of the engine being too loud.

[hethj7]

Pretty sure the 2016 got the updated tranny ratio too, which is a plus.  
 

I don’t know what the older sport knob reference is.  I think they are the same in those years.  

[ty151]

Sixer - I’ve heard about the louder raptor engine.  I wonder if there’s any sound deadener you could put in the engine bay to help out? I’m sure it’s been talked about on here

I’ve also heard about the upgraded transmission ratio.  Does it essentially help with keep rpm’s down during surfing and loaded times? 

[Ronnie]

10 minutes ago, ty151 said:

Sixer - I’ve heard about the louder raptor engine.  I wonder if there’s any sound deadener you could put in the engine bay to help out? I’m sure it’s been talked about on here

I’ve also heard about the upgraded transmission ratio.  Does it essentially help with keep rpm’s down during surfing and loaded times? 

@Slurpee

[Cole2001]

You can definitely add sound deadening which does help but it’ll still be a louder engine than the 15. If you do add it focus around the v drive and sealing the air gaps in the floor/engine compartment. 

For trans ratio the 16 got a 1.78 over the 1.5 on previous years but the big upgrade wasn’t until 17 when the 2:1 came out. The higher ratio helps when running heavy and at higher altitude. 

With the raptors you also need to run 89 octane but they do run better on 91. 

Surf band is a bit of a gimmick, some like it others never use it. 

I would take the 16 just for less hours and the clamping racks. Add in gatorstep down the road if you don’t like the carpet. 

Edited March 5 by Cole2001

[Slurpee]

26 minutes ago, ty151 said:

Sixer - I’ve heard about the louder raptor engine.  I wonder if there’s any sound deadener you could put in the engine bay to help out? I’m sure it’s been talked about on here

I’ve also heard about the upgraded transmission ratio.  Does it essentially help with keep rpm’s down during surfing and loaded times? 

If you get REALLY carried away, you can do something like this, but I'd definitely reccomend a lower RPM prop like the 2277 to help with noise.  Plus my supplier from back then retired and shutdown his store.  The tranny ratio change in '16 ups the engine RPMs and that makes more noise for a given prop RPM.  Anyways, because it's not easy to find, here's some cruising data on different props.  Lower RPMs is lower engine noise. 

[ty151]

Good info, I’ll take a look at that. 
 

I typically run 91 anyways, not necessarily needed on my old boat but it was a piece of mind for me no matter how little the advantage, even if not at all haha. 
 

I’m not sure how I feel about surf band, never used it or even seen it used in person.  I’m coming from a direct drive ski boat so this will be a huge improvement regardless 

Edited March 5 by ty151
Typo

[ty151]

@Slurpee thanks for that! Will the 2277 still perform under surfing conditions? 

[Pnwrider]

20 minutes ago, ty151 said:

@Slurpee thanks for that! Will the 2277 still perform under surfing conditions? 

yes, as long as you’re not at high elevation, no need to go 2249. Does the 16 have surf pipe? That will help a little with noise. 
I personally liked the surf band and always used it. Way easier to click a button on my wrist than have my wife hunt for the speed up or down button and take her eyes off the water. 

Edited March 5 by Pnwrider

[Slurpee]

31 minutes ago, ty151 said:

@Slurpee thanks for that! Will the 2277 still perform under surfing conditions? 

Absolutely unless you're pretty high up.  I never had a problem in 3 years.  We're at about 700' here.  If you have 8 people all sitting on each other in the back of the boat and all your ballast full, then no it won't.  But you've got lots of other problems at that point to deal with first getting your boat balanced and the right depth for the surfgates to work best.

[Afastmotorider]

needed on my 2015 mxz 24 with ls3 corvette motor at sea level with full ballast and the 650 pnp plus 900lbs of lead(absolutley needed for optimun wave) situated in diffrent locations in the boat and 4 man crew the only i can get the boat to move is with a acme 2419 other wise it would not get on plain.

[ty151]

Well, ended up with the 2016 🤩 thanks for the help! 
 

I will certainly have more questions along the way.  But man, this thing was amazing on the water compared to my old tige direct drive 

And yes…we forgot to bring the wedge up before pulling it out of the water lol 

 

Edited March 9 by ty151

[PNWoke]

Awesome boat reminds me a lot of mine!  Blue bu gang 💪 

[Shammy]

Good looking boat! Great choice.