2-speed trany worth it???

[dtown]

:ohmy: Hey guys, I\'m new to the MB forum. I am seriously considering ordering a 2009 F21. We are dead set on getting the ZR-409 motor and possibly the two speed tranny. We do live and ride at an elevation between 8,000-5,000 feet. We primarly wakesurf, some airchair... and slalom ski when we get Lake Powell glass.

 

How many of you have the 2 speed trany?

Have you had problems with it?

Is it worth it?

Is it overkill with the ZR-409 and the 2-speed?

Do you wakesurf with it in the low or high gear?

Does the 2-speed give you better fuel economy when cruising (30ish mph)?

 

Thanks for your input!

[dan.smith]

Alan will probably be the best source on this, but I can tell you that I have the ZR6 (375HP) in my B52 V23 w/ the normal transmission, and I\'ve never had a problem w/ hole shot. And that is with stock ballast (2500lbs) + 400 lbs of lead.

 

My real issue w/ the 2-speed is that its hard to find people who can drive the boat as is (especially my wife). Adding the shifting dynamic just gives me one more thing to worry/argue about while riding...

[Guest admin]

My Tomcat last year with the 390hp ZR6 had no holeshot problems. The only time it was slow was when we had 12 people in the boat and 2400 lbs of ballast. But when we DID plane out, the wake was HUGE! In my personal opinion, in a 21 ft boat with the big motor, you won\'t need it.

 

Oh, and even with all that ballast, it still planed out faster than a slammed X-Star

[dtown]

Thanks for the input so far guys. I am hoping to hear from at least one person that has it on there boat.

 

The dealer where we live, says that because of our altitude, the two speed is the way to go.... I\'m hoping that they aren\'t just wanting the additional money for the optiuon.

[uttomcat]

We purchased our F23 Tomcat without the 2 speed option so we can\'t answer your questions about the actual transmission. But we can say we used our boat at Lake Mead last year and plan on using it at Lake Powell and Bear Lake in Utah and with the ZR6 motor we have had no problems with hole shots with it loaded with people and ballasts tanks full. From looking at the video demo it looked like the shifting was awkard at best, you would have to pull back on the stick shift and accelerate, I prefer to just push and go and not worry about shifting.

[uttomcat]

According to the dealer I spoke with before we bought Admin\'s boat, he said that the two speed had nothing to do with holeshot, he said it was all about fuel economy. He might have been full of it but thats what he said. I also thought it would just be one more thing tht could go wrong on a boat.

[mlb75]

my 07 tomcat doesn\'t have the 2 speed but I have driven an boat with it. If you have a bigger boat and a smaller motor it\'s the way to go, it takes a couple tries to get used to shifting it smoothly but yanking back while shifting only makes the shift smoother. As a rider especially if the person driving does it right you never even feel the shift. It\'s a really cool feature and I think if you played with the props some more you could get more out of it ie prop it up a bit and then use low gear for wakeboarding and high for skiing / haullin butt across the lake when the ballast is empty.

 

That being said if you\'re going with the 21\' and the 409, you won\'t need it. Even when you take the altitude into account you\'ve still got more than enough motor for that boat. Save the money and upgrade the trailer or stereo.