considering upgrade from vlx to x25, any wake pics or vids?

[Nordicron]

It seems to me it's only an opinion of a few owners on here that state "they" don't need it. For me after riding one with stock and 6 people on board the very first thing I would do is add 750's to the back and atleast 500 to the front, and I am far from being a pro, but love having fun on a big fat wake! But before I'd buy it I'd try and get a ride on one loaded like so to make sure it can hold its shape when loaded.

Maybe the OP should post this on Wakeworld also. Might be members there who have rode on a loaded x-25.

[bjames]

Ditto on the 'scary' wake comment when loaded up. After breaking in my '12 X25, I decided to fill all stock and P&P ballast to see what this thing is capable of. Well short is, after 2 runs, I emptied the P&P and half the stock ballast. The wake was huge! But what threw me off, was the wake felt very steep for my liking. The only time I ever used the extra P&P was for surfing.

I know this doesnt help you but alternatly you can try searching YouTube as I have seen a lot of vids on wake comparisons posted.

Cant go wrong with an X25

[501s]

Its interesting how many people say you don't need extar ballast on the X-25, but most of those riders are beginner to intermediate (please don't take offense).

The one vid that was posted was from 2008 of the CX220. I think the OP is right in that there should be easy to find pics and videos of the wake both factory and full ballast and PnP. These boats main purpose is for towing and making a big wake yet it is the one thing that's hardest to find online.

I think it would be to MC's and buyers benefit if there were videos that actually highlight the wake and wave from different angles and not just make it a 2 second clip in a video full of slow motion girls in bikinis and riders strapping on boards on the back of the boat.

[FourFourty]

I respect your comments 501, however....how do you know what any of our riding capabilities are?? You are probably right about most of us being intermediate. I wouldnt think many are beginners. At what point would you consider the transition between beginner and intermediate? I would say that if you are doing any inverts, you are intermediate. And lets not forget that the OP stated that they are not a pro by any means....

Also, the video that I posted, was from 2012, and it was an X25.

[corey]

I've had an X-25 with about 3000lbs on top of the factory kit, sorry no pics but here is what I know. The wake is huge and clean, overall it is more steep of a wake than the X-Star but not as steep as some of the Nauti's. Think of it as a smooth transition with a more defined lip than the star. The wake is very rideable, it is consistent and doesn't launch you goofy. You will not be dissapointed!

The boat we ran had the 5.7L, with this much weight the stock prop is lacking. The boat will still get on plane but you need center trim tab to do so (new auto launch would be helpful, we ran an older boat without it so manually raised tab once on plane). Personally I would opt for the 6.0 or 6.2 if you are running this much weight and I'd still prop it down a bit but that's how I'd run a star too.

[501s]

My mistake 44, I was refering to the other video, and I really didn't mean any disrespect. I agree with you on your points, and I wasn't trying to blanket all the owners, just that a few who said they don't need more then stock followed up by saying they were not pro's.

The OP was however wanting to weight it heavy (like his VLX with 4k). All he wants was pic's of the wake. Seems like such a reasonable thing to ask for IMO. I wish all the manufacturers showcased the actual wake in videos and pics and didn't showcase everything on the boat BUT the wake. For some, NOT ALL, but for some, the wake/wave is one of the most important things in the boat. My previous boat was a Moomba, and I liked the boat but the wake was finicky at times weight wise, and it needed quite a bit of speed to clean it up especially with weight. There were not a lot, if any quality videos or pics and it was my first tournament boat so i didn't know much about the different wakes. I also didn't know that once I had kids I would want a wake that was clean at slow speeds for beginners (my 4 and 6 year old kids) and was easy to dial in. I love the fact that my X-30 fixes these issues and is a better for our needs.

I am in no way knocking the reviews by the members on here because there is definite value to them but for a non owner it will always appear that the review is through owners googles and pics/vids help. Its very easy to find wake pics of some of the boats that have "game changin"' wakes, yet others are next to impossible. It should be that way for all top tier models.

[Nick911]

To echo what someone already said here, why not just buy a Star?

[JohnE]

To echo what someone already said, why can't he get out there with 4K lbs and see what it is like?

If the answer was to just buy an XStar, why make an X25?

[Nick911]

The OP should demo with 4K before spending 100K, agreed. If they want as big a wake as possible with decent handling a 04-11 XStar should definitely be on the table, or, upgrade to a bigger tow vehicle and look at new Star or G23.

[CumberlandXstar]

The older VLX needed a bunch of weight to put out a good wake and an X-25 doesn't need to add near as much weight to have a very comparable wake. I would say they are very similar wakes in terms of shape and consistency.

I don't know why people ask for wake pictures because when I am riding in the boat I still can't tell what the wake will feel like. The wake can change so much if you ride 5 feet farther back or change a 0.25 mph or shift someone around in the boat. So demo the boat how you are going to ride it and don't judge a boat off of a picture.

I am thinking about selling my X-star for a X-25 because it has a sold wake with much less ballast. The star has my favorite wake, but now that I am turning into a family boater instead of a hardcore rider, I hate to spend 30 - 45 mins filling extra ballast so I can take one set and then dump all the extra so my wife can ride.