stargazer or zero off?

[Spud]

I have an 07 196 se with PERFECT PASS DIGITAL PRO installed I want to upgrade it to either stargazer or zero off. I only ever ski open water at the moment... which system would be best suited to my boat? The river we ski on has a varying current throughout the season. I have been trying to ski the course but have very limited access to one at the moment; would the difference in pull in the open water effect which system I should choose?
Any advice greatly appreciated Steve

[NautiqueJeff]

RE: stargazer or zero off?

With an '07, you might not be able to get ZO anyway without swapping out your ECU. If you don't have an eControls ECU, you're out of luck with ZO. Some late '07 Nautiques had the eControls ECU, so check and see if yours does.

[Spud]

thanks jeff how do i tell which control i have?

[AuMDLST]

I was under the impression that the ECU issue was solved after the early model 2006's
Early 06's are out of luck with ZO - but the later 06 ones didn't have an issue.

[NautiqueJeff]

Nope, you're one year off. The early '07 boats still had the old ECU's installed. eControls didn't become standard until mid to late 2007. I know this for sure because I was a tester for ZO/CC and had to replace the ECU in my 2007 236 in order for ZO to work.

[qstufflebeam]

If you mainly ski open water I don't know that it would be worth it to spend $1,600 to upgrade to ZO. If you spend a lot of time in the course and you compete I would definitely recommend at least an upgrade to Stargazer and if you are really serious I would drop in ZO if it is compatable with your ECM.

[wtrskii3156]

Nope, you're one year off. The early '07 boats still had the old ECU's installed. eControls didn't become standard until mid to late 2007. I know this for sure because I was a tester for ZO/CC and had to replace the ECU in my 2007 236 in order for ZO to work.

Yeah, we were testers too. We had to replace the ECU of our 2007 196. I would also recommend ZO if you have the right ECU. I think we can almost say ZO is "perfect."