Altitude With AR190

[Rack801]

Hey guys! New to the forum. Interested in a used 2017 AR190 that's in incredible shape and has plenty of extras. Only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger on it is a boat dealer here in Utah (Northern) that sells Yamaha boats told me they don't even order the 190 anymore because of the altitude changes and loss of horse power up here due to being above sea level. Lakes I would be using range from 3-7 k above sea level. My primary interest in this boat is wakeboarding, surfing, and general cruising with friends and fam. I have searched the forums before posting and the only thread that was related is roughly 2 years old. So I know about adjusting the prop, ribbon delete etc..

My questions is will there real be a huge lack of power for pulling someone out of the water on a wakeboard and 4-6 people on the boat? Do these prop adjustments and ribbon delete actually work? Personal experience would be awesome to hear about! I really love the look of this thing, just don't want to be disappointed and the 195 is a little out of our price range right now.

 

[Farny]

IMO you will not be happy with a 190.. I have 195 with just enough power at lower altitude to do everything wanted. recommend at minimum the 195. Maybe you can get 212 used for similar price to 190 new.

 

[AZMark]

I’ve never changed impellers/prop on my jet boat but I’ve done it on jet skis and an outboard boat and it can make a big difference in holeshot but at the expense of top speed.
190 isn’t going to be great for surfing no matter what you do because it’s so light.

 

[J-RAD]

I'm in Utah county. I am going to agree with the dealer on their opinion. I gave a '16 AR240 with twin 1.8L engines. At sea level these boats hit ~52mph and hit the rev limiter at 7800 rpm. My boat after having the dealer do the ribbon delete would top at 42mph and max at ~6850 rpm. Being twin engine it always had plenty of towing power for watersports. After adding an extra 850lb (2,250lbs total) ballast bag to the swim deck for surfing it was, it was managing okay, but I thought it could be better. Swapping impellers to apair of elevation pitched impellers got me up to 46mph at 7500rpm. It helped the performance in every regard.

The 190 is powered by a single 1.8L and although I saw decent improvement, I think the fact it was twin engines made the mods more effective. I wouldn't expect big gains from a single engine.

I don't think it'll ever have the power you want for watersports up here. With 4-6 people on board, in all honesty, it may struggle to plane... If you plan to wakesurf, minimally you'll want a 21' boat with twin engine power.

 

[2kwik4u]

I love my 190. I preach it to be an amazing boat to anyone who will listen.

However, if you're at elevation, and wanting a heavy load, pass for something with more power. Any of the single engine normally aspirated boats won't be great for you, even with mild modifications it will most likely be a struggle

212X or 212S will probably see the least impact from elevation in a stock boat.

 

[Sean R]

I had a 2017 Ar190, boat was perfect when it was my wife, two sons and myself. (850ft above sea level) But when we would bring 4 adults, 4 teenagers, coolers, full tank of gas, etc.. it would really struggle with tubing and boarding. You can still cruise and swim, the 190 is beautiful but not a power house. If you go in thinking you and your 6 200lb buddy's are going surf you will be extremely disappointed. If you go in thinking you can get on the water have some fun for a few seasons and upgrade in the future, go for it. Also don't forget a 190 is at its best when its just You, your girlfriend and her bikini

 

[JBehrens]

A 190 is likely not the best option for you, if you want a 19ft get a 192/5 something with a supercharger. That being said, I do a decent amount of high-ish altitude boating at Lake Powell (~3800ft), stock boat is not going to cut it, with 6 people the power just isn't there but after adding an L13 cone, and a high altitude impeller the story changes. I can wakeboard with 5 people in the boat no problem and the boat seems to do well at the altitude, not as good as Mohave or ocean but still decent. So if you go for it there is ways to make it better but it still might leave a lot to be desired at anything above 4000ft.

 

[Rack801]

Thank you all for the reply's. Looks like I will have to get a more expensive model. Waiting to have one pop up around here with how fast boats are being sold due to Covid might take awhile! I just love the sporty look of these things and the swim deck is so cool! I will be like 4000-7000 with the highest being Strawberry reservoir so I know I need more boat!

 

[J-RAD]

Thank you all for the reply's. Looks like I will have to get a more expensive model. Waiting to have one pop up around here with how fast boats are being sold due to Covid might take awhile! I just love the sporty look of these things and the swim deck is so cool! I will be like 4000-7000 with the highest being Strawberry reservoir so I know I need more boat!

@Bothomas has been looking for a buyer for his '16 AR240. I'm not sure what he's asking our your budget, but it's a great option if it's still available. Definitely sleek and functional boats. We have loved ours.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Thank you all for the reply's. Looks like I will have to get a more expensive model. Waiting to have one pop up around here with how fast boats are being sold due to Covid might take awhile! I just love the sporty look of these things and the swim deck is so cool! I will be like 4000-7000 with the highest being Strawberry reservoir so I know I need more boat!

Here’s a guy in your area and his trials and tribulations with a 195.... rule of thumb for hp loss at altitude is 3% per 1000’ of elevation gain on normally aspirated engines. During the summer the hp loss can be as high as 5.5% per 1000’. Supercharged engines still have some hp loss but not nearly as much as normally aspirated engines. When you read the thread below you can see the difference temperature makes with his boat. After getting a high altitude impeller his performance improved quite a bit, and when the air and water temps cooled off later in the season he would start to get blow outs (so much cavitation the boat wouldn’t move) when accelerating hard from a stand still. That’s because the engine was making more power when it was cooler than when it was hot and that was enough to cavitate the impeller while sitting still.

As AZMark says, putting the correct pitch impellers on your future boat will pay huge dividends, and that’s true with whatever boat you end up getting. The practice of changing props is very common in the marine industry. Think of high altitude re pitched impellers as changing the differential gears in a vehicle to lower gears, with greater mechanical advantage given to the engine. At a given speed, your engine with the high altitude impellers will turn more rpm’s than with the OEM impellers due to greater mechanical advantage. More rpm’s equals more air moved through the engine with more fuel being burned equals more power.

If you do a search here using High Altitude you will find several threads of folks working on overcoming the high altitude hp loss.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/2017-yamaha-ar195-working-through-issues-at-elevation-addressing-performance.28099/

https://jetboaters.net/threads/ar190-vs-ar195-for-denver-altitude-boating.20124/

Impros in CA does a lot of impeller work, talk to Glen.

Impros - Impellers Repair and Parts (951) 737-2900

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impros.com

 

[Calphor]

I have had an AR190 in Northern Utah for 8 years now and have really enjoyed it. When I purchased it, it would max out at 7300 rpm. I had a new impeller put on and picked up 400-500 rpm and have enjoyed it ever since. I top out at 42-44 mph on Willard Bay and 38-40 at East Canyon. Adding a Lucky 13 cone to the boat eliminated the cavitation on the hole shot.

I find myself looking for a bigger boat from time to time, especially when I am carrying more than 5 people in the boat, but overall it has served well for tubing and wake boarding.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

If you are planning to do wake boarding with a non supercharged engine you should add the viper to it, the viper has a huge plaining surface and will get you up on a board or a slalom ski a lot easier the average report was the boat was on plane 500 rpm's sooner and stayed on plane 500 rpm's slower It will not increase your power but it will help the boat quite a bit getting out of the hole. during water sport activities. you can also add top fangs for some serious slow speed steering control in forward and reverse.