2014 G23 Questions

[nohlan_4]

Hey guys new here! How's everyone doing?

I just have a few questions for the resident experts. Looking at buying a 2014 G23 boat is fully loaded with every option. Just wonder about the XR 550 motor, does it absolutely require premium fuel? (Nearest station to my lake only has as high as 91 octane). Also when propped correctly how is the fuel consumption, gph while surfing/wakeboarding? I really like the boat and it's at a great price but my concerns are that it will be a hog on fuel as opposed to the 450hp. I know everyone likes more powa so it won't hurt resale but it will hurt my wallet over the summer if it's exponentially more in fuel cost. Also anything about the 2014 model that I should look for in a used boat? It's barely used at 107hrs.

[seachicken27]

It absolutely sucks gas and I sold mine because of the inability to get premium fuel on my lake. I'm pretty certain it has to have premium, but others may want to chime in. No shortage of power though!

[Live to surf]

I used 91 octane in mine and will use in my next. Where I come from premium gas is 91 octane. We don't have 94 anywhere near. My dealer said that was fine. I think the manual does too.

All I can say is that the 550 does like gas, my 450 did as well, but that was without a 2:1 transmission. I will admit that I don't really pay attention to cost of gas so I can't say much more. Not trying to be pretentious, if I did start worrying about it I might boat less and that is not good!

There are a couple of threads on here with gallons per hour for surfing and wakeboarding.

[nohlan_4]

Anything else that I shoul be looking for as problem areas on the 2014's? What changes took place for the 2015, anything I would miss? I know the big changes were for 2016 but I just want to make sure.

[Jeb1974]

Anything else that I shoul be looking for as problem areas on the 2014's? What changes took place for the 2015, anything I would miss? I know the big changes were for 2016 but I just want to make sure.

Nothing major. Here's a link to another post on this. It has the same 2:1 ratio as the 2015 which was a big improvement.

http://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/fo...5-nautique-g25

As far as fuel consumption, ballpark we burn about 6 gph of fuel (but maybe a bit more) with the 450. I wouldn't get too hung up on fuel consumption since it's not a big cost in owning a boat (especially at today's gas prices). It think gas in the US is around $2/gallon? Even 8 gph is only $16/hr for an entire group. Cost of depreciation, insurance, fixes, etc. is far more.

[nohlan_4]

Nothing major. Here's a link to another post on this. It has the same 2:1 ratio as the 2015 which was a big improvement.

http://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/fo...5-nautique-g25

As far as fuel consumption, ballpark we burn about 6 gph of fuel (but maybe a bit more) with the 450. I wouldn't get too hung up on fuel consumption since it's not a big cost in owning a boat (especially at today's gas prices). It think gas in the US is around $2/gallon? Even 8 gph is only $16/hr for an entire group. Cost of depreciation, insurance, fixes, etc. is far more.

I am located in northern alberta so fuel is abit more exspensive. I have read that a 16X16 prop saves alot on the XR 550 for surfing and is a big improvment?

[Jeb1974]

I am located in northern alberta so fuel is abit more exspensive. I have read that a 16X16 prop saves alot on the XR 550 for surfing and is a big improvment?

If it's the thread a few months back it sounds like it was a bit of mixed results (depending who you talk to). I think that even if there is an improvement, you should still expect 6-8 or 9 gph in fuel consumption.

What are gas prices like up there now? We're in Calgary and it's 68.4 at a lot of places. I wish I had a big drum to store it for summer. haha.

[Jeb1974]

If it's the thread a few months back it sounds like it was a bit of mixed results (depending who you talk to). I think that even if there is an improvement, you should still expect 6-8 or 9 gph in fuel consumption.

What are gas prices like up there now? We're in Calgary and it's 68.4 at a lot of places. I wish I had a big drum to store it for summer. haha.

If you're going above stock you will burn more fuel. The stock surf and wakeboard wake are awesome - I'm sure it's better with more weight but marginally better and probably not necessary for most of us.

I'm normally looking to make things better but I've never even thought about going above stock in this boat.

[wakeslasher69]

As others have posted, don't buy this boat if you are going to fret over the cost of gas. You are buying it to enjoy with family and friends but not worrying about how much you have it turned off during the day to save gas.

[nohlan_4]

If you're going above stock you will burn more fuel. The stock surf and wakeboard wake are awesome - I'm sure it's better with more weight but marginally better and probably not necessary for most of us.

I'm normally looking to make things better but I've never even thought about going above stock in this boat.

Its still 81 cents up here so it sucks. I wish I could stock pile too! Its not that I dont know boats like to burn gas its the fact that it burns alot more than a normal wake boat and requires premium, really if you could run a 550 on regular it wouldnt be all that bad but premium fuel is conservatively 20% more usually at the pump.

[JoeA]

I have an XR550 and I love it. If surfing is your sport and you can keep RPMs at 3200 or less you're burning 6-7 GPH with few people on board and stock ballast. Load the boat up with lots of people and your fuel consumption goes up. After figuring out how to drive the boat with respect I never saw more than 10 GPH....EVER.

If wakeboarding is your thing you will see some serious RPMs and that burns much more fuel.

NYRyan had a great post going this Summer that you might want to look at. He was getting some crazy good fuel consumption with some props from OJ. I'd encourage you to read this. http://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/fo...-boats-finally

If you can snag this 2014 for a good price I think you'll be very pleased.

[seachicken27]

I don't think the tank on any of the Nautiques is big enough. It would be nice to fill up a 100+ gallon fuel tank and not have to worry about trying to find premium or non-ethanol fuel all the time if you keep your boat on the water.

[JoeA]

Love the idea of a 100 gallon tank or two 50 gallon tanks if space needs to be distributed more evenly.

[pinner99]

Did you get the boat you were looking at nohlan_4??

[nohlan_4]

Did you get the boat you were looking at nohlan_4??

No unfortunately sold . But I have got some good info regarding the 550 now so if another one pops up I won't hesitate for so long!