SJ winter upgrade

[FloatR]

It´s -5 degrees and 25cm snow outside and it´s time to start tearing the ski down and give it a winter makeover.

First of, the footholds.
Today I have a set of Blowsion Kickers, and I´m not happy at all with them.
I keep getting a sore on top of my left foot, I don´t have any padding besides the turf.
Have anyone else experience this?

It´s always the same tricky situation when you´re about to install new footholds, you want to try it before you buy it. And as for me who live in Sweden, where the freestyle´s not that big yet, I don´t have the opportunity to try any other models.

I´m aware of all the "foothold guides" here on the forum, but I haven´t read about anyone who have suffered the same issues as me. So it would be great if someone who have, could hand over some tips on any other variations.


Step two in the upgrade process is the impeller.
I really need a more snappy impeller, today I use a Skat Trak 12/17.....

Ski setup as follows

701cc Race Logic ported
stock 38mm
Blowsion head 35cc
B-Pipe mod
ATP programable ignition
V-force 3 reeds

Most of the riding is on flat water.

Feel free to come up with any more suggestions on what I could do to make my ski more snappy and give it a powerful bottom end power.

 

[Waternut]

I've always had that problem with just about every foothold out there no matter how much padding is on top. I also always feel uneasy in normal footholds because I don't feel like I'm in them. So far the only holds that don't make the tops of my feet sore and make me feel like I'm connected to the ski are the XFT footholds. If you install them normally they are too far back for me though so I did some heavy modification to move them forward. I love them so much that I cut them out of my old ski and modified them even further to make them fit in my stunt hull. Check out my builds if you want clarification on the mods I did.

As for power...I think you should be getting snappy power with your setup. I doubt you'll gain any advantage by going to the ever popular hooker impeller. I assume you have dual 38's right? The other things that may be holding you back is waterlogged foam that you'll find when you cut into the tray for footholds. Maybe try boring out your nozzle and going with a stubby cone.

 

[SJBrit]

I had Kickers on my ski and I was happy with them. I couldn't wear thick shoes, but I always wear wrestling shoes so that's OK. I did pad the top, and spent some time getting it contoured to match my foot. The only trouble was that I could only get about 10mm underneath once I'd done that when I would have liked more. For flatwater I was willing to compromise the thickness underfoot for some padding on top. Spend some time getting the padding dialed in and remember to wear your riding shoes and put your whole weight on the ski when you are fitting: the paddinh underneath compresses when you stand on it so you can't just slide your foot in there to check the fit - got to stand on it for real.

 

[FloatR]

I've always had that problem with just about every foothold out there no matter how much padding is on top. I also always feel uneasy in normal footholds because I don't feel like I'm in them. So far the only holds that don't make the tops of my feet sore and make me feel like I'm connected to the ski are the XFT footholds. If you install them normally they are too far back for me though so I did some heavy modification to move them forward. I love them so much that I cut them out of my old ski and modified them even further to make them fit in my stunt hull. Check out my builds if you want clarification on the mods I did.

As for power...I think you should be getting snappy power with your setup. I doubt you'll gain any advantage by going to the ever popular hooker impeller. I assume you have dual 38's right? The other things that may be holding you back is waterlogged foam that you'll find when you cut into the tray for footholds. Maybe try boring out your nozzle and going with a stubby cone.

Yeah I´ve looked at the XFT holds and they seem really comfortable.
But as you mentioned, they seems to be mounted way too far back. I´m 173cm long and ride with a shortened handlepole, so I don´t want to place myself too far back.

As for the power, yeah I have the dual 38s...
I think I´ll switch the cone and I would really like to try another impeller.
I´ve also thought of a lightweight flywheel, but I´m not sure it´s worth the money.

I even think I could switch my 35cc domes to 33cc without any problems running the fuel I use today.

 

[FloatR]

I had Kickers on my ski and I was happy with them. I couldn't wear thick shoes, but I always wear wrestling shoes so that's OK. I did pad the top, and spent some time getting it contoured to match my foot. The only trouble was that I could only get about 10mm underneath once I'd done that when I would have liked more. For flatwater I was willing to compromise the thickness underfoot for some padding on top. Spend some time getting the padding dialed in and remember to wear your riding shoes and put your whole weight on the ski when you are fitting: the paddinh underneath compresses when you stand on it so you can't just slide your foot in there to check the fit - got to stand on it for real.

The Kickers seemed like a great idea at first, but now I doubt even some extra padding on top would help.

I think I´ll need some radical changes

 

[Matt_E]

I´ve also thought of a lightweight flywheel, but I´m not sure it´s worth the money.

I even think I could switch my 35cc domes to 33cc without any problems running the fuel I use today.

Jmho, the light weight flywheel is not worth the money, unless you couple it with a programmable ignition.
More compression (smaller domes) will be noticeable.

 

[Waternut]

What kind of timing curve are you running on your ignition?

 

[Matt_E]

Me?

 

[Sospikey]

What type of shoes do you use? Do you use socks with them?
I used Rickter style holds but went with Tom21 holds and 25 mm padding instead. Wave-jumping killed my feet with the old set-up, just soooo comfy now.
About your motor; bump compression and adjust timing curve for some more punch. You could do the flywheel and billet couplers-swap, but it will not change your ski that much. But I guess every little thing helps.
How water-logged is your hull? Less weight = more speed/punch!!!
You might want to have a look at updating that intake system. Some guys modify the 38s, while others go larger. Do some research.

 

[Sospikey]

Me?

I think he was referring to FloatR, he's running an ATP ignition system.

 

[SJBrit]

Yeah I´ve looked at the XFT holds and they seem really comfortable.
But as you mentioned, they seems to be mounted way too far back. I´m 173cm long and ride with a shortened handlepole, so I don´t want to place myself too far back.

As for the power, yeah I have the dual 38s...
I think I´ll switch the cone and I would really like to try another impeller.
I´ve also thought of a lightweight flywheel, but I´m not sure it´s worth the money.

I even think I could switch my 35cc domes to 33cc without any problems running the fuel I use today.

I'm the same height as you and ride at least -4" on the pole, probably more like -5". I have XFTs and they are the best holds I've ever ridden in - I hate riding anybody else's ski now! You get used to being a bit firther back very fast. And BTW, since you can get your feet all the way into them without crying in pain, you don't end up as far back as you might think.

 

[ShowtimeStocks]

maybe glass over the sides of the footholds to enclose them then use a 8mm underpad to mould them maybe even a double layer that should make them more comforatable

 

[FloatR]

What type of shoes do you use? Do you use socks with them?
I used Rickter style holds but went with Tom21 holds and 25 mm padding instead. Wave-jumping killed my feet with the old set-up, just soooo comfy now.
About your motor; bump compression and adjust timing curve for some more punch. You could do the flywheel and billet couplers-swap, but it will not change your ski that much. But I guess every little thing helps.
How water-logged is your hull? Less weight = more speed/punch!!!
You might want to have a look at updating that intake system. Some guys modify the 38s, while others go larger. Do some research.

I´ve been using shoes from Jobe for some years now, killer shoes. Friendly prices and great quality, my opinion.
Yeah I read about the Tom21 holds and they seem ok too, I´ll put them on the list.

About the flywheel I don´t think I´ll go with that setup... I will bump the compression and test a few different curves next season.

As for the hull, I have not done anything to lighten it up. Are there anything to gain on the stock hull?

What size and brand are your carbs?

 

[FloatR]

What kind of timing curve are you running on your ignition?

As Sospikey said I´m running an ATP programmable ignition.
And it´s got an custom curve right now, don´t have the exact numbers at this moment.
If anyone uses the same ignition and would like to share their ATP file, it´s more then welcome. Always great to compare with something.

 

[FloatR]

I'm the same height as you and ride at least -4" on the pole, probably more like -5". I have XFTs and they are the best holds I've ever ridden in - I hate riding anybody else's ski now! You get used to being a bit firther back very fast. And BTW, since you can get your feet all the way into them without crying in pain, you don't end up as far back as you might think.

That sounds great, looks like I´m going for the XFT!

 

[Waternut]

It's not necessarily the padding on the footholds that help but more about the actually curvature of the hold. The XFT's are a smooth taper all the way to my ankle and every other hold I've ever tried always turns up somewhere around mid foot no matter how much or how little padding is on them. Plus the average foothold doesn't seem to have the right angle and would need some tapered padding to make them work properly. Just my thoughts.

I was referring to FloatR's timing curve. I've only played with total loss so I'm not sure how adjustable those ignitions are but IMO if I can't run at least 25° static timing and preferably 30° on my systems, I'm wasting power. I just have to make sure I back it down at higher rpms so I don't blow anything up.

 

[Mark44]

My XFT holds and wifes are like sliding your feet into pillows never had a more comfortable hold and the placement seems good to me.

Mark44

 

[Sospikey]

I´ve been using shoes from Jobe for some years now, killer shoes. Friendly prices and great quality, my opinion.
Yeah I read about the Tom21 holds and they seem ok too, I´ll put them on the list.

About the flywheel I don´t think I´ll go with that setup... I will bump the compression and test a few different curves next season.

As for the hull, I have not done anything to lighten it up. Are there anything to gain on the stock hull?

What size and brand are your carbs?

I would say I lost somewhere between 8 - 15 kgs when I refoamed. I would do it again (even if is some work) any day. Really nice change. With some planning you can loose more weight without sacrificing quality.
I use dual 46 mm Mikunis on a R&D intake with Kawi reeds. Everything modded by X-Scream.