Axis Wakeboard Boat Forum

im thinking of selling or trading inn my 2011 a20 for a 2013. Im pretty sure i want to upgrade the motor to atleast 6.0L 409hp. im wondering if anyone on here has a bigger motor upgrade in their a20s, and if its worth it? ive got the standard 330 in my current boat and have problems getting on plane when its sacked out. im sure even if i had the bigger motor we would add more weight and still struggle to get on plane.

another question i have is, we run bought 3500lbs of ballast now, the wake is sick. but with the bigger motor, could we get 4500lbs to plane? and would the wake be bigger? i had heard that after a certain point, the wake wont get any bigger. is this true? any info would b great! thanx

I can't speak for the a20 but I have the 6.2 400 hp engine in my a22 and it planes easily with 3500 (people and ballast weight) plus the wedge. The wakes do get bigger. I rode in Randalls boat and that wake is huge. I am not sure how much weight he runs (I would guess around 5500-6000, although I could be way off) but it did have trouble getting on plane with the larger engine (not sure what prop) without the wedge and three peeps in the boat.

I'm curious as well. I don't plan on running anything in addition to the plug and play bags and the stock ballast on a new A20.. Does anyone have the LS3 motor in an A20 and think it's a must have for that setup? I'm not thinking of anything in between, either stock or the LS3.

Anyone with experience on both, thanks for sharing your opinions..

If you are that concerned about size of the wake, it would be my opinion that you need the A22 from the get go. I have the LS3 in an A22. Stock plus Plug n' Play, I should be right about 3000lbs (750# sacs in lockers).

Then I add another 550# sac on the floor and (2) 450# sacs in the bow. Plus about 5 guys and it takes a minute to get on plane but it gets there.

I wish I could have an a22! But unfortunently I live on a lake with a 20' length restriction

I have been in 2 boats with the LS motor over the last month and I can say I am impressed with that motor.. Full ballast with 1100 each in the rear and 1200 extra in the nose on top of the factory in one boat. The other had factory hard tanks and then some smaller 500s in the rear. Super smooth out of the hole. Not sure what the upgrade cost is on the LS motor but I like it.

I'm in the same "boat", if you will, as Giesh. I live on a private lake with a 21' boat restriction. So I have to go with the A20. I'm coming from a 2000 Supra Launch that we threw 3 fat sacs in on top of the in boat ballast (which wasn't much back then) for a total setup of about 2200#.

I don't want to have to deal with pumps and extra sacs and all that when I buy my new boat this winter. It was my understanding that the A20 with PnP had a pretty awesome wake. I'm not a professional by any means, but I don't want to have to throw a bunch of sacs on the floor to get a decent wake in a new boat. Since I want to stay around/ below 60k, I've more or less limited my search between the A20 and the Tomcat. From what I'm reading about the MB, you more or less need to add a fat sac in the nose to stabilize the wake and I don't really want to drill a new boat or fill fat sacs.

So my original question, stock ballast + PnP (750s, not 1100s), which engine? Do I need the LS3 for that setup? Or is it overkill?

Thanks!

Pretty much everyone is running extra bow weight in addition to the PnP bow sac. It's pretty much a must if you want the best shaped and firm wake. Those who do not have an extra sac/pump to try the extra bow weight well...once they see or hit the wake with it they'll start using it.

Adam, I also live on a private lake with a 21' boat restriction. Depending on how or if they messure the boat the A22 is exactly at 21'. Check it out. Have your local dealer bring an A22 down to your lake and see what they say. It cant hurt. We have 4 A22's on our lake, including mine. Regarding the motors with the set up you are talking about, I would think the standard 335 would work fine but the LS3 is a bad ass motor.

If that's all you'll ever weight your boat, the stock 335 motor will be just fine.