DIY Surf Pipe

The surf pipes on the new boats look very simple. Has anyone made their own? Thinking of hitting the muffler shop to bend some stainless.

Not that simple to just throw on a pipe as there are tremendous drag forces on the pipe due to water drag. Some guys have made some home brew designs, but they require extensive bracing to hold us to those loads.

Does seem simple but wouldn't the pipe need to be tuned as well to not hinder performance or cause improper exhausting?

I would be surprised if there was much formal tuning going on....maybe I am wrong.

I need some 4” stainless and no muffler shop in my 250,000 person city had it. I was amazed!

I've made two. First 1 for a Mobus V, this one for the Epic. Best stereo upgrade ever!

There's no tuning, and really no drag.

I can't find a good pic. Sorry

Hardest is probably the flange in right place and a support bracket, figuring out the bends would not be that bad and as long as big enough diameter, I dont think there is any issue with tuning. Sure it can be done if you are handy and wanna spend the time on it, I bought an FAE and its one of the best mods I have done, my time is too valuable right now, but if I had the right tools and time to make one, sure it would be a fun project.

Here's one

You can make a functional one out of pretty much any kind of pipe. I’ve even seen a few made entirely out of ABS plumbing pipe and they worked fine. They were ugly as sin, but functional.

Wondering if I can just slap some extensions on my turn downs to get the noise under the water? Surprised no one on these forums has developed one TBH.

Originally Posted by racer808

Wondering if I can just slap some extensions on my turn downs to get the noise under the water? Surprised no one on these forums has developed one TBH.

They have to tilt up to allow the wakeplate to elevate, and then an elbow back down into the water. I like what Centurion did, integrating it into the wakeplate.

Originally Posted by Stazi

They have to tilt up to allow the wakeplate to elevate, and then an elbow back down into the water. I like what Centurion did, integrating it into the wakeplate.

Ah, didn't think about that

I can’t speak on making one yourself. But Larry and Fresh Air Exhaust are top notch on customer service. Their shop is just down the road from me. I’ve been there several times. Larry actually installed the first FAE I had on my RZ4. I would recommend them over anyone else out there.

In general, the FAE is probably my favorite upgrade I’ve done to the boat. Beside the obvious benefits of not surfing with exhaust in your face. The reduction in noise is pretty incredible. It’s a real game changer.

Larry (FAE) is a huge asset to the boating world. If you can afford it, support him and buy directly.

The FAE design looks terrible from a free-flowing, nonrestrictive exhaust point of view. Pointing the 2 exhaust pipes directly at each other, then expecting it to take a 90 degree bend is just about the worst flowing design you could come up with.

I'm working on a surf pipe. Bought mandrel bends and tig welding together. That being said I agree Larry at FAE is very good for the industry and I'm a huge fan of surf exhaust in general. Easiest to buy from him, which is what I did on my last boat.

But my solution should be better for the power wedge in particular, which makes it convoluted. Should get it done next few weeks and I'll share results.

FAE does look terribly restrictive, which can hurt both power and economy. I wonder how much if any of the restriction is mitigated by the venturi effect on the underwater outlet of the pipe.

I just made this. Havent tryed it out yet due to high water on our lake. Hope to try it soon.

Originally Posted by gravity

I just made this. Havent tryed it out yet due to high water on our lake. Hope to try it soon.

Sheesh...drilling into the wakeplate is an expensive experiment.

I Built the bigger plate with the hole and attached it to the factory plate. My factory plate is small and not on a actuator so not too hard to take off it doesn't work as planned.

Originally Posted by gravity

I Built the bigger plate with the hole and attached it to the factory plate. My factory plate is small and not on a actuator so not too hard to take off it doesn't work as planned.

Ah huh!

I'm no fluid dynamics engineer, but wouldn't that create more exhaust backpressure than the engine/exhaust was designed to handle?

cadunkle?

I hope not.

Originally Posted by gravity

I hope not.

probably not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, just obviously a tad more restrictive than dumping it out where your tubing begins.

Originally Posted by denverd1

I'm no fluid dynamics engineer, but wouldn't that create more exhaust backpressure than the engine/exhaust was designed to handle?

cadunkle?

It would probably create more at idle, but moving through the water should create a venturi/motive-flow pump effect and increase scavenging.

Think about how restrictive car mufflers are, with all the baffles in them. I couldn't imagine 3 90 degree bends with 4 inch pipes, would be that bad.

I had concerns about exhaust restriction and performance reduction myself, but went ahead and ordered a FAE for my 1997 Sanger V210. Yesterday I got the chance to test it out, and took the time to do a before and after comparison. The setup was as follows

1997 Sanger V210, Black Scorpion engine, Acme 911 prop. 2113 hours on the clock.
450 lb bags in each rear locker, realistically holding 350-400 lbs.
Ski locker bag and triangle bow bag, totaling 800 lbs in my estimation.
300 lbs lead mid ship.
Total in the neighborhood of 1800 lbs + my less than svelte 210 lbs.

I did timed runs of 0-23 mph at full throttle to see if there was any reduction in holeshot. The average of 4 runs each before FAE was 7.76 seconds, and after the FAE was installed it was 7.8 Seconds. The difference is clearly within the margin of error and I am satisfied that despite how it looks the FAE is not hurting performance.

I also compared RPM at different speeds to see how much effect the drag had.
RPM at 10.5 mph: W/O FAE 2250, with FAE 2300
RPM at 23.0 mph: W/O FAE 3050, with FAE 3100
RPM at 33.0 mph: W/O FAE 3750, with FAE 3790

top speed at redline, no ballast, with FAE was 40 mph. Didn't get the number without FAE as I don't really care about that figure.

Noise was greatly reduced, as expected, but of course nobody is debating that.

I spent a lot of time trying to find some specific numbers like this before ordering FAE, hopefully anyone in my situation will find this test useful. I'm satisfied with the purchase and looking forward to riding with the setup. And in case anyone is wondering I have no affiliation with FAE and paid full price for the setup.