Super Jet So what's next?

[SJ 701X]

Hey guys, I have a superjet that I bought last year and I am in the process of going through it and fixing stuff to my liking and getting it ready for the season. I was wondering what should be the next upgrade on my list, and if I should run dual cooling to it. Here are the following mods:


Pro-Tec 175psi head
Stage 3 porting
carbon reeds
Factory b Pipe Limited
44sbn carb with stock f/a
Solas? impeller
msd enhancer
rn waterbox
umi steering
deep scoop grate

It may have a lightened flywheel, but I'm not positive. No hull mods.

 

[Matt_E]

What are your goals for riding this ski and what is your budget?

 

[SJ 701X]

No barrel rolls, no back flips. Going to try some nose stabs. I don't want to do hull mods because I am going to take some cash within the next few years and just make a carbon sn hull, or buy an a/m one. I want to make it more reliable right now because I had a 550 last year that was nothing but a headache. I'm heading off to college so it will most likely be cleaned and put away in late august and then I will be tearing ti down when I get the time so I can powdercoat the cylinders and replace the gaskets and clean up some other stuff. I ride 100% salt so maintenance is big. I want to keep everything in tip top shape. I also ride in relatively warm water, ~70 degrees fahrenheit, and it's silty.

 

[Matt_E]

There are no reliability upgrades, short of having a pro shop build you a setup with all-new components.
Is there something wrong with it now, reliability or otherwise? Anything that you're missing?

 

[SJ 701X]

No, the only thing I think that could really improve it is blueprinting the pump and putting a hooker in it. Is the surf seal good? I have the oem seal and I don't know if I should re-glue that down or buy a surf seal.

 

[Matt_E]

Do you have a problem with water intrusion right now?
Don't fix anything that is not broken.
Blue-printing the pump is a waste of time. If you want an arts & crafts project, there are probably better venues than that.
Hooker - well, it may improve your power delivery a little.

 

[SJ 701X]

Not sure about water intrusion, haven't ridden it that much. Right now I think it has something like a solas i or j impeller, not sure. I am just trying to prevent stuff from breaking or being a headache later on. All the bolts are getting greased so they don't corrode. Is the dual cooling worth it? It comes out pretty hot right now, and I have a bilge pump and I don't have the stock siphone piece, so all I have to do is tap the pump and run it up the hull.

 

[Matt_E]

If you ride in a southern state with nice water temperatures, that may be something worthwhile. Otherwise, just ride the thing.
Chances are, it will get less reliable the more you muck with it. (Unless it's terrible now)

 

[SJ 701X]

I'm northeast, but my pond is at about ~70 Fahrenheit. I don't think I am going to screw anything up, I've put in plenty of time on skis, just not superjets. The guy before me wasn't the brightest individual, after seeing some of the stuff he has done, but that's beside the point. I just don't want to end up overheating her or anything. I guess I'll just have to ride it and find out

 

[iangdesign]

Sounds like you have a pretty sweet set up as it is...I would just ride till you get tired of the hull or blow the motor and then upgrade at that point. Blueprinting the pump didn't do much to my SJ over stock. You could do little bolt on stuff if you really need to tinker with it. FCV valve, stubby pump cone, d-cut the stock plate if you are into free styling.

 

[sjetrider]

No barrel rolls, no back flips. Going to try some nose stabs. I don't want to do hull mods because I am going to take some cash within the next few years and just make a carbon sn hull, or buy an a/m one. I want to make it more reliable right now because I had a 550 last year that was nothing but a headache. I'm heading off to college so it will most likely be cleaned and put away in late august and then I will be tearing ti down when I get the time so I can powdercoat the cylinders and replace the gaskets and clean up some other stuff. I ride 100% salt so maintenance is big. I want to keep everything in tip top shape. I also ride in relatively warm water, ~70 degrees fahrenheit, and it's silty.

you say no hull mods but footholds are worth the minimum investment if you are going to attempt stabs and so forth. If you plan to "MAKE A CARBON SN" in the future the a Carter-b SN mod to nose would be advisable as it would come in VERY HANDY should you actually use this hull in future for a plug. These 2 hull mods would be very benificial long term weather you keep this hull or build a new one.
FOOTHOLDS make you a more confident rider! A total of 200$ installed and will be best mod you ever made.

 

[Matt_E]

Or use foot straps. Probably a $50 investment.
Not saying one is better than the other, I'll leave that up to the surf riders. Just an option that is less hull work and less expensive.

 

[sjetrider]

if you have aspirations of building a hull some day then the glass work will come in handy now. Or if your already skilled in composites then it should be a cake walk. The work in this instance will pay off in dividends now and later.

 

[SJ 701X]

In response to all about footholds: I don't want to put those in because my father isn't exactly keen about chopping the hull up. I dumped a bunch of money into a 550 that is now sitting downstairs not working, and his motto is "just ride the damn thing". I am thinking about getting a BOB 3ride in a few years, depending on how they work. I also had the idea of making a custom carbon ski. Where I modify my SN with a rocker nose, tubbies, and bob style footholds, and then make a top and bottom mold for it and vacuum bag it in carbon. My father has tons of composite experience but I have very little. I barely have 1 hour ride time on this ski because it was bought in fall of last year. I know the holds will make a huge difference in handling and stability, but at this point there is no way it is going to happen.

How do the straps go in? I don;t want to take a drywall screw and just go straight through my hull, we all know that leads to wet foam.

Oh, and I forgot to mention I have a fcv and a rn waterbox, I was thinking about the stubby cone as well, that seems like a big improvement.

 

[SJ 701X]

I was just reading about the solas 144mm mag pump. It seems like one of the more common sense investments, if you can't get the big power from your engine to the water then what is the point? Is this a good investment to make down the road or is it not worth it unless you are a serious rider?

 

[Matt_E]

Maybe it'd be better for you to get your very own ski that you can mod however you want without your father stepping in. That's the way I would go.

 

[SJ 701X]

Maybe it'd be better for you to get your very own ski that you can mod however you want without your father stepping in. That's the way I would go.

I bought the thing and I can see where he is coming from, but I am the one that rides it, not him, so he doesn't exactly know the difference that certain mods will make, like extra stability and grab from footholds. I've lost complete contact with the tray sometimes even though I dig my ankles into the sidewall and it hurts like a biyatch when I land.

He always says "It does 50mph, why do you need to get other stuff for it?" I look at him and say "If I wanted to go fast I would have bought a couch."

 

[Matt_E]

Well that makes sense. I apologize for misunderstanding then.

 

[SJ 701X]

I understood what you meant. I don't go all out, I cruise around and jump my own wakes mostly, nothing major. I am just looking to make a nice setup. I want to put footholds in it but he thinks that if I do anything to the ski I am going to break it. I just want to maximize the ski so it does what I want and I won't have to worry about stupid stuff down the road.