Lq9

[X_Star05]

hello everyone.. most of you know I own an 2005 x-star. I am starting this thread because I THINK there is an issue with my engine. My dealer says its fine, but I honestly don't think its running that way it should. I have an LQ9(385hp) engine in my boat. After I fill the ballast and have about 4 people on the boat, it takes about 20 seconds (give or take) to get to 20mph. my friends has a tige(22i) with 340 and his boat pulls you right out of the water(at least twice as fast as my boat) . Also, I demoed an x-star with the 310hp engine and in my opinion it seemed as if it pulled out of the water better then my engine(LQ9).

[east tx skier]

Who is your dealer? Sounds a bit slow. Do they have another boat with an LQ9 you could demo for a comparison if they're so sure it's fine?

[X_Star05]

My dealer is Bay Watersports in Maryland... They do not have any x-stars on the lot now with lq9 engines that I could compare to mine

[east tx skier]

How much ballast are we talking about?

[X_Star05]

well.. STOCK ballast!!!

When I tried putting 1000lbs extra in the boat it would not even plain out :mad: BUT I talked to my dealer about it not plaining out with extra weight. He said the boat should easily be able to do it. He worked on the boat for a week, and I picked up the boat today. I went riding only using the stock ballast and it was struggling to pull people up with only the stock ballast. Should this be happening. My dealer said he test drove the boat before I came to pick it up and the engine worked perfect. Does not seem anything close to perfect to me… would u agree?? What should I do?

[east tx skier]

I'm not the one to be asking about Xstar performance or the LQ9. My prostar will hit 36 in around 7 seconds. It's never sniffed ballast and has a Ford with a carburetor. It's late now. Some of the xboat owners will probably have some info for you.

Rod has had some LQ9 issues on his 197 that he's worked through. Different application, but maybe he could give you some ideas.

[ski_king]

Talk with dealer again, if you don't get satisfaction, contact MC.

I never been in or behind a new X-Star, but it is a BIG boat and weighs 4200 lbs. dry and has a lot of wetted hull, add ballast and add 60 gallons of gas plus 4 people, you are moving about 3 tons. It takes a lot of power to move all that weight.

[east tx skier]

Okay, here's a comparison for you. Here is the 05 WSM Review (http://www.tmcowners.com/teamtalk/local_links.php?action=jump&id=16) from the downloads section. With the 350 hp MCX, the boat reached 36 mph in around 11 seconds. No word on how much ballast they were using.

[X45owner]

I own a 2005 X45 with the LQ9 engine. I've never had a problem out of the hole. Recently, I had a full tank of gas and 16 poeple (5 children) on the boat. I had no trouble plaining. You may want make sure you're prop is the right size. I've heard this can make a tremendous difference. Best of luck!

[PendO]

X Star05 - not that my post will help, and probalby a dumb question ... how do the RPM's look, are they as slow to come up as the speed?

Does the load in the boat have a proportionate effect on the ability to plane out and get to speed?

Ours has the L-18, but I would not think the Lq9 should dog it that much even with the load you talked of. What did your dealer "do" when they had your boat?

I might be way off as I have ZERO mechanical training, but I wonder if they changed the fuel filter (if your RPM's are dogging as well).

Also, what brand of Gas do you use, my Ford had a problem when I put a few generic tankfulls in, the dealer had me go to Chevron and all was well.

I would suggest posting your issue on the www.mymastercraft.com website as you may get some help there as well - it is the home of MC of Charlotte.

Have you had any of your initlal break in services? How many hours on the boat?

Just for S & G I might have the plugs changed and see if you had some bad fuel foul em up?

Good luck, I'll bet somebody smart will come along on one of the forums and be the catalyst to fixing your issue.

[milkmania]

dang, aside from you guys....
I don't know 16 people:cry:



bump:purplaugh

[rodltg2]

I'm not the one to be asking about Xstar performance or the LQ9. My prostar will hit 36 in around 7 seconds. It's never sniffed ballast and has a Ford with a carburetor. It's late now. Some of the xboat owners will probably have some info for you.

Rod has had some LQ9 issues on his 197 that he's worked through. Different application, but maybe he could give you some ideas.

unfortunately i cant help much here, my problems where starting the dam thing. once its going its a rocket. tops out at 52mph and can pull a cruise ship into harbor. thats when its running though :uglyhamme

[ColoradoKid]

Hey XStar 05
I was just searching for this kind of information when I ran into your post. I have an XStar 05 with the same problem. The kicker....I have the L18 450hp. Full ballast and 8 people and the boat is worthless trying to get up to speed. When I took it into service, the techs said that it was the heat in our area and they had similar complaints from other customers. It has been consistantly around 100 degrees in Colorado most days, but I hardly think that should slow down the engine like that. My solution is to drain the ballast when more than 8 get on the boat. Seems to run a lot smoother with less weight. If you could, let me know if you find more information that helps....Gas, RPM, etc... Thanks

[MYMC]

If you can please supply me with the RPM the boat will pull when you go from idle to wide open...4000? 4300? whatever the number let me know. Also prop size, ballast load, passenger load and amount of fuel on board. Let me know and I'll help if I can.

I leave for X-Games today so if you like email me the info and I will respond from the road.

[ematthew]

My 04 X-Star has the LQ9 also. I changed the prop to an ACME 13.5x17.5 instead of the stock 14x20 OJ that came with the boat and I have no problem planing with a full load. I would try a lower pitch prop. You will lose some top end speed however.

[X_Star05]

thanks everyone! I am about to go out and ride, and will check the rmp, and im going to time how long it takes to plain out. I am only going to be riding with 3 or 4 people so it SHOULD easy be able to get on plain.

I am going to talk to my dealer, and maybe call mastercraft today. Ill let everyone what they tell me.

[east tx skier]

An earlier post has me wondering what prop is on there and if it's even what should be stock.

[ColoradoKid]

If you can please supply me with the RPM the boat will pull when you go from idle to wide open...4000? 4300? whatever the number let me know. Also prop size, ballast load, passenger load and amount of fuel on board. Let me know and I'll help if I can.

I leave for X-Games today so if you like email me the info and I will respond from the road.

I will try to get all that information from my end. Won't be until the weekend. Raining in Colorado for days:( Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I would like to say that I am not complaining. That is one awesome boat and the best toy I have ever bought!

[MYMC]

No worries...I'll be glad to help when you have some data. I have logged a lot of time in LQ9 & L18 X-Stars so if you can give me numbers we should be able to figure this out.

[RobertT]

I have very limited experience with Xstars, but here is what I do know.

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to go out with two pros that are sponsored by mastercraft. We had a total of 15 people, and two Xstars equipped the same other than the engines. One had the MCX and the other had the larger engine. I believe that the MCX also had a different prop, but we never looked.

Anyway, when it came time for the pros to ride we anchored the MCX engine boat (wanting to use the bigger engine obviously), and all jumped into the LQ9 engine boat. It took about ten minutes to get on plane, and that is with all of us running to the front of the boat. The ballast tanks were empty, zero weight.

Then, we all got out and tried it in the MCX boat. We were on plane in a matter of seven seconds.

It could have been a prop difference, and the LQ9 may have a higher top speed, but the MCX equipped engine had gobs of low end torque.

I didnt notice what the RPM differential was at 20mph with both engines...I wish I would have.

For what its worth.

Oh, and it seems like after talking to a few people about similar issues that its a marketing issue. Its an Xstar, not a 197. In my opinion it doesn't need to go 42mph. Its a wakeboard specific boat, prop it to go 35 maybe. But, if the manufacturer does that, the boat will get slammed by people for being a dog. It seems that people still look at the top speed numbers when they rate a boat.

My X7 is a different story, it is also a ski boat that gets barefooted behind...mine tops out at 46mph...which is all I need for barefooting but no more.

[the legend]

Try pitching your prop down to a 16 pitch. Remember that the Lq-9 is a long stroke motor that makes most of its power in the higher rpm band. Your comparing your friends short stroke motor (developes most power in the low to mid rpm band) and to a long stoke motor (developes most power at mid to high rpm band. There is a difference. I have a customer with an '04 X-star w/ the LQ-9 and running an Acme prop part # 845 13.5 x16 it spins the eng up to 5200 rpm and has great whole shot, (for a tank off a boat) Also the LQ-9 can run up to 5400 rpm. Hope this helps

[Diesel]

Then, we all got out and tried it in the MCX boat. We were on plane in a matter of seven seconds.

It could have been a prop difference, and the LQ9 may have a higher top speed, but the MCX equipped engine had gobs of low end torque.


My MCX 209 pulls harder and faster out of the hole than my LT1 205 ever did. The low end torque is awesome on the MCX. On long lines I can stand up way earlier than I ever could behind my 205.

From what I understand the torque curve on the LQ9 is not favorable for low end grunt. That, the extra $7k, premium fuel, Rod, etc. kept me from ordering the LQ9

[jpattigr]

I own a PT 197 with the LQ9 motor and run an 18 pitch prop on it. With the stock 20 pitch and my 4000 ft of elevation it was slow out of the hole.
Once I dropped pitch the boat is a rocket!! Everyone that has skied behind it says it is the quickest boat out of the hole they have ever been behind.

I would suggest a prop change and make sure the boat will get to 5300 (+-100) rpm's at WOT. I bet the hole shot will be awesome with the correct Prop.

PS I gained 2 MPH on the top end running the 18 pitch prop along with the better bottom end. I am very happy with this combo.

[X_Star05]

so i went out today.. i timed how long it would take to go from 0-20 pulling up a rider... and with my stock ballast full and 6 people on the boat it took 23 second to get to 20mph... is that right??? then when i opened her up it would only go 33knot(off my gps) and 4600rmp with the ballast tanks not full

is there something wrong with my engine:confused:

[Maristar210]

so i went out today.. i timed how long it would take to go from 0-20 pulling up a rider... and with my stock ballast full and 6 people on the boat it took 23 second to get to 20mph... is that right??? then when i opened her up it would only go 33knot(off my gps) and 4600rmp with the ballast tanks not full

is there something wrong with my engine:confused:

That cannot be correct. There is something wrong. My 04 210VRS will beat that by half the time or less. I would be doing the *** dance?
Good Luck

Steve

[Prostar19]

How many hours on your LQ9. Beleive it or not the plugs really start to fail after 100 hours on the LQ9. My friends would not even get past 40mph then changed his plugs and he is back to 48. Mine fell off to 42 and now back up to 49 with new plugs. Indmar told me the plugs need to be replaced in the LQ9 at 100 hours or so.