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Infinity ZX-1 any pros or cons?


badwheel
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I have the WSM buyersguide for that yr. The guide does not stack them up side by side like they used to. It's more of a brochure type review. According to it, the 2002 model added running surface material to reduce perhaps eliminate the significant 22 off bump found on the 2001 model. Personally I like most of the design ideas of the boat. Notched transom for easy in easy out. Corner backseats vs. bench. Engine reversed for wait distribution, instant planing, tracking, and interior room. Gas tank center of boat for level planing. The huge walk around room and leg room to spare upfront (do to the motor running backwards and moved aft). It seems to be designed as a towing work horse and not your family OB ski boat. According to WSM this boat is louder than usual like the MS or SN. Always try before you buy. Word of caution. This boat does not have a long history and no longer exists so parts could be a challenge, especially small things designed specifically by Infinity for this boat.
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Only time I skied one I was M2 in a tourney opening at 28 off at 36 mph. Was fine for me and was terribly strong...like the rope was a no stretch steel cable. Any 34 mph skiers opening longer complained that the wake was terrible at 15 and 22. Another skier on the forum owned a SVfara which was the same hull and was, um, less than a fan.
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Wasn't infinity the boat that had a serious chine lock issue during their first batch of hulls due to warped molds. If it is there shouldn't be any in existance with the issue but I think this was part of what killed the brand.

 

Doh! that was Epic not Infinity.

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In the late 90s, MC approached Rob Shirley about coming back and designing a boat for them. As many of you know, the late 90's MC's did not have a great reputation. Well, Rob came back with some pretty outside the box ideas....but MC decided they weren't going to produce them.

 

So, Rob came back in the boat business in 2000 with the first Infinity ZX-1. The basis of design was pretty simple. A rear mounted gas tank is similar to a ballast tank in a wakeboard boat.....lots of weight in the back pressing the hull into the water. The idea was to move that tank to a more central location in the hull....hopefully to help reduce the size of the wakes. However, to achieve this, the engine had to be pushed towards the rear of the boat to make room for the fuel cell. With a traditional direct drive set up, this wasn't feasible. However, you slap a center mounted V-drive in there....and voila! Now you have a boat with AMAZING handling and acceleration....not to mention TONS of interior room.

 

The ZX-1 was truly an outside the box desing and had lots of great features on it. There were complaints about the 22 off bump (it was very dense and hard)....but shorter than that and it was great. Due to the V-drive, the angle of the prop shaft was not as steep as a direct drive. This resulted in more direct thrust towards the rear vs the competition. This made the ZX-1 one of the fastest 0-36 mph boats on the market. This also gave the boat that "strong" pull that some of the others referred to. Many jumpers loved the Infinity b/c of that extra strength.

 

I believe the factory caught on fire and most was lost. The molds and design were sold to the Canadian company Svfara. The ZX-1 is now the SV-1....I'm not sure if it's still manufactured.

 

Overall, the Infinity was an excellent boat. If you're a short line skier, I think it would be great. But do remember that Infinity is no longer in business....I don't know if Svfara is still servicing or producing replacement parts for them or not.

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Thanks for the post. I am excited to hear others feedback on Infinity’s.

I have two friends that love Infinity’s, one of them wont ski behind anything else. I occasionally ski with them but rarely drive their boats. I found an ’01 ZX-1 for about ½ the money of an equivalent year/condition SN or MC that I am considering buying, but it’s on the opposite coast from me. To do a little research I drove and skied behind one of the friends boat, it drove well, better than the ’99 MC SportStar(95-97 Prostar Hull) I used to own, but didn’t track like the ’05 197 or ’07 LXI I more regularly drive. The space inside the boat is great, especially since I don’t like open bows. The drivetrain is a chevy PCM, so hopefully getting parts to maintain that wouldn’t be bad, but as others mentioned other parts could be hard to find or require fabrication. Part of the reason the price should be allot lower than one from the big three brands.

For my next boat my priorities are for tracking(so my wife can drive easier), good long line wake(’15-28’ off 30-34mph), closed bow and good resale. I am not sure an Infinity fits those criteria. But getting an Infinity for less than $10k, feels better than $14-17k for a ’97-99 SN which are 15 years old, with an antique looking dash.

 

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Fastest boat out of the hole ever, great for short set ups. Walk through transom was great. Drives like a race car. Wake is great other than the 22 bump. I remember the pull being very strong compared to other boats at the time. Not sure how it would compare today wrt strength. My buddy has had one since 2000 and not had one single problem with it.
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Friend of mine has one here in Bakersfield. Insane crazy good slalom boat. I know not all of these boats were good but some were really good.

 Goode ★ KD Skis ★ MasterCraft ★ PerfSki ★ Radar ★ Reflex ★ S Lines ★ Stokes

Drop a dime in the can

 

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Probably not but I sold the 2008 Sv one for $16000. That's how much it sucked ! If it was so awesome like others have stated, why is it not still around ? Plain and simple the hull design sucked. It was cool looking and fast as hell. Mine was equipped with the PCM 330ex. But other than that it blows. The wake at 15-28 was only part of it's suckness. I've skied many a boat and the only wake that was even close to size and hardness was an 02 sport nautique. The boat is awkward to drive and pain to trailer on and off. If anyone wants details I'm happy to enlighten.
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I have had one for 6 years - and it is every bit mechanically as good as any of the big 3.

The interior is not as plush. The idea of the Hexcel composite panels for the removable floor boards was by far the worst feature but not a big deal to fix.

 

The mechanical parts are PCM engine w/ ZF V- drive. The Steering is teleflex, engine controls are Morse and so it goes. The same as everybody else uses.

 

The fuel tank in fron of the pylon is a good feature - Why they put the battery in the ass-end? Rather than behind the observers seat is mystery.

 

The notch for the walk thru is great for keep the rope headed to the fallen skier ans you circle them to pick them up and great for prevent the rope from geting caught somewhere else at startup.

 

I think it was just a simple case of bad timing - a GREAT Slalom boat when the market was moving to Wake Board boats..................

 

I love mine.

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Only skied one once. 32-15' in the course. (Not as good as I used to be, and was never as good as most of you.) Skied great at that line length and speed. Pulled nicely. Driving was a bit of a chore, though I suspect the boat could use a streering cable. The owner is pretty meticulous, so it could just be that the steering requires a great deal of effort.

 

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This boat was a total race car on water. The steering and throttle response were second to none. If steering was a chore, I'd expect something was wrong with that particular boat. Maybe torque on the rudder wasn't set properly. If you can convert a ZX-1 to zero off, I would totally buy one.....especially considering how relatively inexpensive they are.
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I had a chance to buy one, nice low hours and open bow. One thing really made my desicion against it. The prop shaft comes through the hull under the engine. Looked like a total pain to adjust or change shaft seal. I've spent my life as a mechanic / engineer so those things are important to me.
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Rod was yours the Red/Black one on Ebay & else where?

I thought about upgrading to yours but thought the color scheme looked great but difficult to maintain and bloody HOT in the Summer sun.

Gregy you're right about changing the sharft seals but not bad to adjust. No room though for the dripless seal with the water cooling...... Never had to mess with the replacement. Boat is only in the water for an hour or two. It doesn't drip enough to matter.

One great feature is that the prop & rudder are about a foot or slightly more further forward which is why the boat leaps out of the water so quickly - end plate effect - safer too.

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@otisg - very tough to get them onto lifts?

 

I know when we bought our first inboard I had to source a bunch of U bolts and tubing to raise the bunks above the lift, and slide the lift a bit deeper into the lakes. Would the infinity require more lift clearance to get the prop over the bunks?

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@otisg yes that was mine. It was a beautiful boat , but I could not get it top perform well for me for slalom at my level. One of my biggest pet peeves about it was the rub rail always falling off. I ended up screwing it down in a few places to stop it from happening. Someone got a great deal at $16K

 

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b265/rodltg2/svone2010b.jpg

 

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b265/rodltg2/svonestillwater3.jpg

 

 

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b265/rodltg2/svone2010overhead.jpg

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@rodltg2 I looked hard at those pics when for sale, but almost thought it must be a scam at that price or s'thing wrong with the boat. Sounds like you had a screwy hull if the wakes were that bad and I'm glad I passed. She's sharp, though.
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Several boats at our lake, mostly bu's of different years from 2006 onward and a couple of MC's , one a 90's and one a 2005 I think. We also have an Infinity. The Infinity is definitely the fastest/strongest (not sure if it has a 1:23 to 1 tranny) by far and the wake is the least offensive at 15 off. By that I mean it's easier to forget it when you get behind the Infinty versus the others that are not your boat. It's getting a little long in the tooth and has not been lovingly maintained but it certainly is a great ski boat. It is the boat of choice for some of the 34 MPH 28 off and shorter line length skiers (it's their boat) on the lake. The general comment from one of them is that they can ski 2 sections off better behind the Infinity than the other boats (its also the boat they mostly ski behind). They added some wings on the side to keep boat spray down at short line lengths. Don't think it will/can be converted to zero-off though. Just my experience with the boats we have. BTW I have a BU and am currently a 32 MPH 15 off skier at best so my opinion is skiing at that level.
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rod's SV is now here in Eau Claire, WI. A dude I know owns it. He had it for sale this summer for $24k or something close, with no bites.

 

Infinity's are hard to find. We looked for one, hoping to find one cheap enough just to have, as they are fun to drive. Instead, we found a nice '86 MC for $3,500 - a great deal IMO anyway. Handles like a racecar on water:)

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