Should I upgrade my prop
 

I have a malibu wakesetter vtx with the stock 350 hp engine with a stock prop. I have been reading some posts on here and people are saying that you should upgrade their prop. I was wondering what difference it would make on my wakesetter and would it be worth upgrading my prop?

Do you run any extra weight?

I havent been wakeboarding behind it due to knee injury and surgery but I have surfed behind it and I do put a 750 pound fat sac in the rear and some weight in the front and I will be putting extra weight when I get back to wakeboarding

running just that 750 plus nose weight for surfing you should be ok to stay with your stock prop. getting a bigger prop will give you more hole shot power, which would be ideal for when you get back to wake boarding, that is if you are putting additional weight in the boat besides the stock. putting a bigger prop, though, will reduce you top speed (who cares in wake boarding) but also step up your fuel consumption. therefore, it will also depend on how much cruising you do. all props have their perks and downfalls so it is completely up to your normal lake habits to decide. (cruising around and surfing occasionally vs. loading the boat and riding all day) Hope that helps a little!

Keep your stock prop until you need a spare or start running more weight and are having trouble getting up to speed. I really haven't had much trouble with the VTX personally even when we load it down with over 2500 lbs. of ballast. (That was at 500 feet.)

With that said Acme prop prices are going up Jan 1, 2013. Right now the Acme 1235 is running around $530 on sale from Wakeprops.com (me), and Nettle Props. The price is going to blast up to $685 in less than a month. Acme has taken the hit on increased material and labor costs over the past couple years and this season they have decided that the economy is strong enough to pass it along.

How much of a difference will the improved prop make? would it be worth it to change it out on my X2? We put as much weight in it as possible so I'm looking for things to make it easier on the boat.

Tyler,
From checking out your profile pic it looks like the MasterCraft is fairly new. What motor are you running and how much weight do you use to slam the X-2?

We would try to get you the most diameter and a lower pitch to give you the best transfer of power to the water during the hole shot.

For the way you use the boat the logic is this... Get the boat on plane more quickly and the motor will be running at wide open throttle for a shorter period of time. This will not only decrease strain on the motor but will also decrease fuel consumption because the boat can get to the riding RPM with less effort. You will lose some top end speed but again you do not care with how you use the boat.

You will not be able to pay for the prop based on fuel consumption saving as there are many other factors that go into your gallons per hour usage rate. Fuel consumption should only be used as firepower to sell a new prop to the wife. HAHA

Nice argument. You would be right it's a '12 X2 with the 5.7 Ilmor. I realize I won't make it in saving real dollars but we spend way too much on watersports and the boat to fret over fuel consumption. I'm just wondering if the upgrade would be worth it mostly in time I guess. The lake is smaller so sometimes getting on plane quicker would mean a longer run while wakeboarding. We put 2,000 in fat sacs and fill stock ballast. Plus usually 4 people or so on average. Also, we have the surf tabs which eliminates bow rise and I'm certain we couldn't get on plane without them. Is the prop going to make a huge difference?

Greg,
Sorry for hijacking your thread.

Tyler,
Since you have a 2012 I would assume that your boat came with the OJ 522 (14.75 x 15.5). That is a great prop for that motor and if you were not on a smaller lake it would more than do the job.

If you want to make sure your upgrade is worth the money you will need to feel the difference when you put the throttle down. At least I know I do. A more aggressive option will allow you to get the most power on the low end. I would suggest the Acme 1285 (14.5 x 14.25) which is a MasterCraft power prop with proven results. If you want the latest and greatest and in my opinion the best prop for what you want to achieve look at the Acme 2305 (15 x 12).

Thought I was going to point out one of the 5 blade props didn't you. The 5 blade props are great but when you need raw pulling power on the bottom end you can't beat a low pitched 4 blade yet. I am sure Eric will have something available at some point to prove me wrong.

Greg, what prop do you have? Maybe ACME 1939 or 537? I have 11 VTX with 330 HP LCR and ACME 537. We ski, wakeboard, surf. Only problem, when wakeboarding it takes awhile to plane with full ballast and 6 people in the boat, sometimes hard to maintain speed. I just went through this drill. Thought about ACME 1939, bucrew recommends ACME 1273. I called ACME, Jim recommended the 1847. But I went with Eric and OJ, OJ 520 14.74 X 15.5, this prop is an awesome all around prop, I've used it on X-1's, 2's, 15's, Star's and 45's. Have yet to find a better all around prop for my needs. Spencer is right you can find a more aggressive prop, but you sacrifice top end and/or you might hit the rev limiter...