2016 AR240 Cobra fins - Magnum AK w/ Fangs - install and first impressions, plus EZ locks refresher

[swatski]

I finally ordered, received, and installed the Cobra Magnum AK w/ Fangs on my 2016 AR240. I have about 25hrs on my boat, wanted to run it stock for some time to get a feel for the baseline (before mods).

Jeff @Cobra Jet Steering LLC currently offers a forum discount, so I ordered fins, fangs, and EZ locks, everything arrived in 2 days.





Installation:
The instructions are very clear and the install is "So Easy a Caveman Can Do It".
Here are some pics.

Before:


After:


The new rod (on the left) has two right handed threads (just like the OEM, on the right). There is room to adjust the length perfectly, a turn or so of each end in my case. The quality is first class, and the whole system looks factory.

Testing:
The boat feels like it's on rails, especially at speed -- the turns are just laser sharp. Love it! Between the factory keel and the cobra Magnums (which are deployed at all speeds) the feeling is deceptively close to running with an outboard. It is almost hard to believe. The difference with/out fins is how fast the boat turns at speed. I run with/ Fangs -- for the "power steering" effect (albeit I did not test those separately this time).

Control at no wake speeds and in reverse is improved dramatically. If you are already used to that sloppy feeling of sliding/walking/drifting sideways - you are going to miss it (it is gone).

Overall -- this is a WINNER. Absolutely impressive system.

Predictably, slow speed maneuvering and docking is a lot easier (for a guest captain anyway). However, the best part of this system is in the increased turning ability under conditions of decreasing thrust/speed (at planning speeds). Under those conditions, the new "keeled" boats really want to track strait and it takes a lot of thrust to make them turn. Which can be tricky when decelerating...

Here is one specific example, to better illustrate what I mean. On return to port, I have to enter a narrow inlet into my marina (Meramec River, MO). It requires me to make a hard (usually) right turn in/out of a narrow channel. It used to be totally easy with my 190 (I could run like a bat out of hell and still make a last second turn, with ease). But - when I first got the new boat I started routinely overshooting that turn (running too fast and trying to make it while decelerating proved all but impossible in the new 240). With the Cobras - a different story, I can gun it all the way until I'm very close and still make the turn, even in full deceleration.


My top speed has been about 49mph (sustained) and that has not changed. However, one interesting observation is that my delta WOT RPM number got a bit smaller... I used to consistently run about 150-200 RPM higher on the port engine, and now with fins/fangs the difference dropped to about half that (50-100 RPM). It is probably not much of anything, but I find it a bit curious. Wonder if anyone else had seen any effects of fins on the RPM delta (between the pumps).

EDIT: For "EZ locks refresher" see post #24 below)
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[firecap797]

I'm thrilled with mine. Made a major change to the steering.

 

[Mainah]

@swatski - Great review! I so need to do this next year when I de-winterize my boat. Perfect pass, ballast system, table leg mount with mag light clips, connext voltage fix, cobras ... It will feel like a new boat all over again!

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

So you are experiencing both engines running closer to the same R P M than before you installed the system? Interesting . Thank you for your feedback and for choosing my system .

For the record this system also works on the new 21 foot 2017 model articulating keel boats.

 

[swatski]

@Cobra Jet Steering LLC Thank you for your amazing products.

Spent the whole day on water today, amazing day! We were running hard with up to twelve adults at some point, plus their gear, full tank of fuel, large coolers full of beverages, etc. At the end of the day, just me and my son. Doesn't matter what load, the boat turns very tight and feels like it's glued to the water while doing it. It is impossible to side-slide it, and there is no cavitation when throwing it around at WOT.

I could not convince some of my guests that it is indeed a jet boat. Fine with me.

Regarding the RPM difference, it is fairly subtle but it is real and makes me curious. I am getting about 7400-7450 RPM on both engines at WOT with 10-12 adults running at 43-44mph. With just two adults, RPM max at 7600-7650 port and about 7550 starboard running about 49mph. That is the same speed as before the fins install, but the RPM difference is smaller by some 50+ RPM as compared to the difference before the fins install. As we all know, Yamaha stopped installing differently pitched impellers with the new 240 model (2015-on) boats, so presumably the keel isolates the pumps somehow to make that unnecessary. Yet, many reporting here indicate a small but considerable difference with port spinning 150-200 RPM faster, which exactly what I found with my boat. That difference has now dropped a bit. I wouldn't make too much of it until someone else can confirm that effect, or not. I'm just happy I no longer need to think of tweaking with the impellers or using L13 cone to bring the two pumps closer in sync at WOT, at least for now.

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[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Well that is an interesting observation and I am very happy that you are impressed with the results of the Cobra Magnum A K steering and fangs .
Honestly I designed the steering to deal with the lack of a second tie rod so as to increase the life of the steering components by balancing out the load and providing a redundancy in the system as it was obvious to me this was absolutely the first thing in need of attention in the original design .
Secondly I dealt with the fact that a keel down the center of the boat will absolutely make the boat less maneuverable at speed and the faster you go the harder it will become as you experienced first hand, so I added a balanced set of steering fins to each side, taking care to keep it effective and reliable.
I then targeted the need for easy steering and improved reverse response by adding in the optional fangs to the system.
The FANGS actually reduce the stress on the steering parts and make it easier to turn the steering wheel at higher speeds prolonging the life of the steering system.
The rack and pinion steering helm was a way to deal with the increased resistance in the wheel by gearing it down but that made you turn the wheel a lot more to move the nozzles and rudder and it only masked the actual resistance created by the rudder.
I also noticed the rudder was being blocked by the with of the keel making it take longer for the keel to have any noticeable effect on directional changes .
Placing the fins directly in the flow of water on either side of the nozzles now provides immediate and increased influence to the boats steering effect.
As for the R P M match improving I honestly can not make any claim to that as I targeted the steering system only since that is what I do and have done for 15 years. I can say that if this system helped your boat in that area I am very happy for you but again I can't take any credit for that it never crossed my mind hell I didn't even know there was an issue with the r p m match on those boats. That being said if it does help , GOOD for ME!

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I just had something brought to my attention by a customer with the exact same boat that @swatski has , He contacted me today early in the morning asking for steering locks and fangs for the boat that he just purchased. I provided him with the information he needed to make a decision including info from this post along with many other testimonials from people with similar boats.
I was instructed to send the invoice to his email for the A K system The Fangs and the ez locks.
After I sent it as he requested, I noticed that it was not paid. At 4.09 pm today I received a call from the customer who was concerned that his dealer who sold him the boat was trying to sell him some thrust vectors, he said that the dealer told him my steering would void his warranty and that thrust vectors were the only steering approved by Yamaha. The customer was assured by me that This was not the case and he had been seriously misinformed, he then completed his purchase of my steering and other parts at about 4.37 pm.
I forwarded this information to my lawyer immediately!
So I am asking you to please let me know if you or anyone you know have also experienced any similar sales tactic regarding any of my steering products.
This is just wrong in so many ways First there are federal laws regarding warranty's being voided and neither my steering or my ez locks will void your warranty. Secondly as a consumer there are laws that protect you from deceptive practices. If you are or have been chorused in any way by any retailer telling you this type of bad information, ok call it what it is "a LIE" or any other information that you question please let me know When a dealer stoops to that type of tactic it needs to be dealt with in no uncertain terms.

 

[Minh Nguyen]

Nice review! This is on my to do list...and this list is long!!!

 

[swatski]

I just has something brought to my attention by a customer with the exact same boat that @swatski has , He contacted me today early in the morning asking for steering locks and fangs for the boat that he just purchased. I provided him with the information he needed to make a decision including info from this post along with many other testimonials from people with similar boats.
I was instructed to send the invoice to his email for the A K system The Fangs and the ez locks.
After I sent it as he requested, I noticed that it was not paid. At 4.09 pm today I received a call from the customer who was concerned that his dealer who sold him the boat was trying to sell him some thrust vectors, he said that the dealer told him my steering would void his warranty and that thrust vectors were the only steering approved by Yamaha. The customer was assured by me that This was not the case and he had been seriously misinformed, he then completed his purchase of my steering and other parts at about 4.37 pm.
I forwarded this information to my lawyer immediately!
So I am asking you to please let me know if you or anyone you know have also experienced any similar sales tactic regarding any of my steering products.
This is just wrong in so many ways First there are federal laws regarding warranty's being voided and neither my steering or my ez locks will void your warranty. Secondly as a consumer there are laws that protect you from deceptive practices. If you are or have been chorused in any way by any retailer telling you this type of bad information, ok call it what it is "a LIE" or any other information that you question please let me know When a dealer stoops to that type of tactic it needs to be dealt with in no uncertain terms.

@Cobra Jet Steering LLC Jeff - That sounds terrible! I hope that whoever does it stops immediately.

I think we are very fortunate here to have this forum where the kind of shenanigans do not seem to permeate. Keeping this forum commercial free as much as possible and the opinions honest and not obfuscated by financial interests, religion, politics, and other bullshit.

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[blacksapphirez]

hows the steering effort compare to the stock? I understand it will be noticeably heavier but if you could.. elaborate lol

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Not totally sure I understand your question, the system for your model is different than the one we are discussing here however for the A K steering or the ultimate and the regular magnum sets like your boat would use the fangs added to either of them, were designed to allow for the fins to be set in full deployment mode all the time and provide both better reverse handling and to address your question " power steering", with the power steering added it actually reduces the forces on the steering components so it is easier on the driver and the parts. So you can get all the influence you want , and enjoy the boat.

 

[swatski]

hows the steering effort compare to the stock? I understand it will be noticeably heavier but if you could.. elaborate lol

Adding the AKs w/FANGS, there is noticeably less slack/play on the wheel and the steering is much tighter. With the rack and pinion steering in new twins there is a ton of play on the wheel -- and that is mostly gone.

I have to say that my previous experience with FANGS was so good I decided not to test it with/out this time. It would be easy enough to take the FANGS on/off if I have any reason to play with it. I don't. The system works exactly how Jeff described it above, and it is just wonderful.

With my old 190 I did everything step-wise and the difference with/without FANGS was marked, like you could not NOT notice.
Basically, as I posted somewhere else, the steering with ULTIMATES alone (which I had deployed at all speeds) felt harder but a lot more in control with FAR LESS sliding sideways, which I really liked for water sports; then with FANGS it just got smoother/easier at speed without any loss of steering enhancement. It also helped the reverse, a lot.

hope this helps.

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[swatski]

Reposting here (not to further hijack @blacksapphirez thread) an informative post by @MicahH on Cobras in 2016 AR 240:

I have fins, fangs and EZ Locks...thanks Jeff! They are on my new AR240. I removed the fangs to feel the difference and never put them back on. I like the feel without better, less tension and tightness at higher speeds. The fins work great alone at high and low speeds. The fangs may fight the new keel and response isn't much different aside from the tightness. They probably work much better with the pre 2015 models. Love all the CJ products and service is next to none...highly recommended!

I will try to revisit the with/without FANGS question in my boat this weekend and report back. Good discussion.

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[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

That was the reason I gave you the heads up about being sure that the fins were even front and back or slightly towed in before installing the fangs to be sure they tracked correctly. I just sent him the same information, as these are new I was aware that occasionally someone would get a pull or resistance from the fangs It took a while to put my finger on the cause of it . These fangs are very effective so if one is not in proper alignment it can cause a pull or resistance similar to the front end of a vehicle being out of alignment, so making sure that they are slightly towed in will make them track properly, on the Magnum A K steering you need to measure the distance between the front of the fins and the rear of the fins that you add to the nozzles and adjust the second tie rod so that the distance is either the same or slightly towed in 1'8 to 3/16 of an inch. On the single fangs I have enough play in the bolt holes to allow you to push the leading edges of those fangs toward the center of the nozzle before tightening the bolts to provide a slight tow in and on the twin sets you push the front of the fang in toward the center of each nozzle to accomplish the same thing .

 

[MicahH]

Thanks for the message and reply CJS! I installed everything per the instructions making sure the tie rods were the same length(love having the additional tie rod). I didn't play around with the toe in/out. I did notice it was considerably tighter with the fangs and a slight adjustment might make all the difference. For me, the fins were exactly what I was looking for regarding low speed and high speed handling. There may have been a quicker wake speed response with the addition of the fangs but honestly I love the feel with the fins only. This could be just personal preference. They removed any slop in the wheel and I feel planted on the water with great docking speed control. Reverse may have been slightly better with the fangs but I try and move forward as much as possible!. Great product either way, I'd purchase over the vectors any day and would equip my future boats with them. Live the E-Z Locks too. Super simple install and design.

 

[swatski]

Thanks for the message and reply CJS! I installed everything per the instructions making sure the tie rods were the same length(love having the additional tie rod). I didn't play around with the toe in/out. I did notice it was considerably tighter with the fangs and a slight adjustment might make all the difference. For me, the fins were exactly what I was looking for regarding low speed and high speed handling. There may have been a quicker wake speed response with the addition of the fangs but honestly I love the feel with the fins only. This could be just personal preference. They removed any slop in the wheel and I feel planted on the water with great docking speed control. Reverse may have been slightly better with the fangs but I try and move forward as much as possible!. Great product either way, I'd purchase over the vectors any day and would equip my future boats with them. Live the E-Z Locks too. Super simple install and design.

Now I'm really curious about it. In my old 190, the difference with FANGS was very pronounced, and I would not go without them. With the 2016 AR240 the rack-and-pinion steering changes the way the steering feels, it IS power steering (in a sense, out-the-box) as compared to direct cable/pulley. That said, the FANGS will still balance the load on a fin better, whether it is felt on the steering or not.

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[USN SCPO RET]

I like the reviews.

I'm thinking of investing for my 2016 242 LS next season.

 

[MicahH]

It's one I would recommend! For the cost, the difference is night and day. The upgrade improves handling from idle to WOT! The install is super easy, reinforces the steering w/ additional tie rod and is great quality. There are no plastic pieces or springs. It's all "bolt on" and rugged. You can't go wrong. Get the E-Z locks at a discount too and you'll be all set.

 

[Sean Clements]

Installed mine today and it made a hugh difference! Very happy with them!

 

[swatski]

Just got back from the river.
The Cobras just freaking rock.
I thought of adjusting the Fangs settings and such, but decided not doing anything at all. I'm happy. (And -- I'm never just happy...)

I was giving rides at my marina all day long and it is very interesting to see the faces, especially the old timers. No one thinks I know what I'm talking about once I tell them it is a jet boat. I don't blame them, it does not ride like one.

Get the Cobras people.

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