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View Full Version : 2013 Supra SA 450 Review



mmandley
10-03-2012, 09:35 AM
My fellow Moomba / Supra brothers. I got to the spend the day in the official 1st SA off the line boat. It has a ton of new features this year, and i was mind boggled at all the attention to detail this boat really has. Theres tons of good things and a couple why did they do that thoughts but overall this boat is legit and is a real Game Changer for Supras line up. This boat is going to bring it to the next level.

Colors
Britney Blue
Black
All new Charcole metal flake metalic

The boat is just MASSIVE to look at. You wouldnt think its only 22.6 from bow to stern. You also wouldnt think it was a 22.6 from sitting inside the boat. Supra was very smart and custoer minded when deciding what to do with the extra depth in the cabin. Some boat companies chose to add this depth to just the seating area making the seats feel very deep. Supra did add a couple inches there but they added more to the storage areas. From the floor to the bottom of the seats is 9 inches deep now and this makes for very large storage areas.

Sitting in the boat you never feel like you might fall out or take a side roller while surfing.

The floor has the snap out carpet, 3 kinds, the one i was in had the upgraded carpet and it was a recycled plastic material in a weave type pattern and looked for cool. The standard is carpet and then you have the push top upgrade Supra logo flooring.

Inside the rear of the boat is the hard tanks, these sit under a fiberglass flow that is removable, it also has removable inspection ports to look at the tanks. The floor is solid and designed to have more weight added. The SA had regular ballast bags in it to add to the hard tanks capacity.

In the bow it has an options U shapred IBS bag as well.

The power plant in this boat is UNREAL. I cant even imagine what the 550 can do because this 450 was a beast to behold, listen to and drive.

Right from the start you turn the key and this engine roars to life with authority reving up a little to let you know it means buisness. It has a very agressive growl at idle. Nothing like any SC engine i have herd yet. Drop it into gear and start to push that throttle a little and she really comes to life.

Hitting it hard to get on plane is litteraly like a 3 or 4 second task for this boat. It leaps up and moves accross the water and just as your smill cant get any bigger your doing 30+. I drove the boat and she toped out at 40 at 5500 rpm and it had the ACME wake prop.

Riding behind this boat and listening to the engine is a feat to behold. It growls at you the hole time letting you know its got all the power you will need. It has a poping and growling noise that took my senses over and the entire time i rode behind it i didnt care the stereo was off. I was happy listening to this engine.

Other features this boat has was the all new Supra touch screen Vision system. It was very user friendly and all you needed to do watch touch the screen to get more details such as fuel %, water temp, oil pressure, battery voltage, and ballast levels. You also have an array of switches to toggle and play with. This serves as the manuel functions for the boat. You have the option to hit the ballast switch or use the touch screen.

One cool feature Claudia really liked while driving the boat was the Power Heated Drivers Seat. At the touch of a switch the seat goes up and down so you can see better. It also has a heated option to warm the bum. The seat of course rotates, and adjusts front to back.

Behind the drivers seat is a compartment with a trashcan and space to keep a few items.

Boat has 2 options for coolers. 1 is the soft cooler that drops down into one of the storage compartments. Current LSV owners up to the 2012 model, this compartment is the same spot center observers side.

The one thing i saw that really made me thing what the hell is going on here. I lifted the rear center seat over the V drive and there sits a cooler. Its a drop in and is completly removable. No insulation just plastic and it sits right over the V drive. All the engines heat goes to this cooler location. I really hope that was just a test to see what people think because thats the worst place for a non insulated cooler i have seen. In the PNW you might as well toss the beer over the side in a fishing net and let the water keep it cold LOL.

Bow area. OMG this place is Ginourmous. It looks huge when you look in it but its nothing untill you get in it. 3 people my size can sit up there legs stretched and be comfortable. Or you can have 1/2 dozen ladies. <i prefer that option> You can lay accross it and take a nap if you like. It is just huge.

Riding in the boat with the ballast full, apx 2500lbs plus 8 people and the boat diesnt feel crowded, also the boats engine doesnt strain at all getting up on plane. When the guys wake boarded the boat didnt roll side to side as they loaded the line for there jumps. The boat was very stable feeling.

One of the surprising side effects of the nose on this boat. Even though its a pickle fork and these are pretty known to nose dive and take rollers. This one is no exception in taking a roller if you drop off plane really fast, especially with people and ballast in the nose. One thing i did notice and liked a lot is when you start to take a little water over the nose, the shape of the boat catches that water and directes it away from the people. Yes you still take some water over the nose but you dont scare the people or soak them as easy.

Lastly the boat sitting on the trailer it looks huge. Supra was very smart on there trailer situation and actually moved the boat up, or moved the trailer nose back, depends on how you look at it but the boat sitting on the trailer is still 22.6 feet long. Take swim deck off and fold the break a way tongue in and all your left with is the actual boat length. This was made possible because the winch and breakaway are actually under the nose of the boat when its on the trailer.

The swim deck has new brackets and pins to hold it in place, it is on a cantalevel system and works very well. I dont expect this one to rattle like the platforms of the past.

Lets look at the pics

The man who made this possible.
Shane Stillman with Skiers Choice
Greg Waters Supra / Moomba Sales with AWS Oregon / Washington <driving>

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0081-1.jpg

The First SA off the line. Heres the Vin to prove it

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0233.jpg

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0226-1.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0227.jpg

mmandley
10-03-2012, 09:36 AM
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0231-1.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0232-1.jpg

Look at the front lines of this thing.
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0230.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0229.jpg

mmandley
10-03-2012, 09:38 AM
Optional Factory LED underwater lighting.
Also the platform mounting.
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0236.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0235-1.jpg

All new Charcole Metal Flake Metalic
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0234.jpg

mmandley
10-03-2012, 09:39 AM
The massive Bow

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0028.jpg

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0119-1.jpg

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0118-1.jpg

mmandley
10-03-2012, 09:40 AM
What people see when shes coming.

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0010-2.jpg

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0015.jpg

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0017.jpg

mmandley
10-03-2012, 09:42 AM
The cockpit

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0020.jpg

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0024.jpg

Optional Sub, its actually a fully enclosed fiberglass box

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0025-1.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0026.jpg

mmandley
10-03-2012, 09:44 AM
The glove box, stereo

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0033-2.jpg

It wasnt pretty when me and Claudia rode, it was 60 cloudy and water temp is 65. We trunked it and Claudia was told she is officially the first PNW Female to ride behind this boat LOL.

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0061.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0065-1.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0080.jpg

We have 3 videos ov her surfing if i can get them to upload.

mmandley
10-03-2012, 09:45 AM
One of the guys who came out early.

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0035-1.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0057.jpg

mmandley
10-03-2012, 09:47 AM
Regular wave dialed in

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0086.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0084-1.jpg

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0096-2.jpg

Did a little wheel time
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0116-1.jpg

mmandley
10-03-2012, 09:59 AM
Dam 15 minute timer on edits. Didnt get this section in.

I know the real question is what did i think of the boat, in it, driving it, and surfing it.

Overall i really loved this boat. Its put together well, rides really well, tons of power.

Wakeboarding comments from those guys. It ramps are solid, tall, easy and smooth launch and landings. The wave is Wide and its a real game changer to wake board boats. This boat is legit

Surfing, ive been skepticle the entire time as i know this isnt a Supra Surf style boat. Sciers Choice doesnt have a Surf boat and the really need to make one. Its to the point they are going to fall behind as the surf market is growing like weeds in your yard.

We filled the ballast up, apx 650 in the reat and roughly 900 in the nose for the goofy side. Awesome point to this boat, its so stable you can let people sit on the non surf side and it doesnt effect this boat as much. When you turn away from your surfing generaly you will flatten there wave and they fall out of the pocket. Not so with this boat.

Once we got the surf wave up and rolling <10.1 mph and wake plate 68% goofy> it looked really decent. Shorter then im used to seeing but good.

Claudia jumped in and was ready to test it out. Puller her up and she took some time getting used to the boat we started out at almost 11 and droped the speed to where she liked it and adjusted the plate and ended up with the above result.

Claudia was able to free rope the surf easily and this shows the boat is throwing a good wave. After her ride her comments were, " Its got Potential ". Honeslty this is a great thought because no way you will take a new boat of any kind and fill it then surf it and be happy, all boats require tweeking to get the wave the way you really like it.

Also she said it needs more length to the wave. She felt like she was closer to the boat then she is used to.
Overall though she liked the boat and wouldnt be mad if it was in our garage.

When i surfed we did apx 10.4 wake plate 100% andi too was able to free rope it and i too felt like i was on the back of the boat more then i liked as well. I wasnt uncomfortable but wasnt impressed with the wave eigher. I was honestly thinking if i really sacked this boat out like i do mine then it could be a real contender.

Later in the day when we had 8 people on the boat i went again and it was worlds different. The wave was larger, longer and had a lot better push to it. I was much more impressed and this just solidified my thinking it just needs more weight.

I know if i had thsi boat for a weekend i could make a serious surf boat out of it. It wouldnt be as good as a Surf designed boat but i could do a lot with it.

kaneboats
10-03-2012, 10:02 AM
Awesome pics. Looks like you got in a real good evaluation day. I love this boat!!!

lewisb13
10-03-2012, 10:14 AM
That "cooler" you saw under the rear seat is not a cooler. Its to put a wet life jacket or ropes to dry them out. Did you notice there was a drain on it too? Pretty neat, but a huge pain to lift up the rear seat.

mmandley
10-03-2012, 10:40 AM
That "cooler" you saw under the rear seat is not a cooler. Its to put a wet life jacket or ropes to dry them out. Did you notice there was a drain on it too? Pretty neat, but a huge pain to lift up the rear seat.

Good point. I thought it was a cooler as it looks exactly the same as the one i removed on my boat, including the drain.

The seat that covers it was on a hinge system on this boat.

bergermaister
10-03-2012, 10:55 AM
Nice review Mike! So how are the negotiations going?? :cool:

mmandley
10-03-2012, 11:03 AM
Nice review Mike! So how are the negotiations going?? :cool:

HAHA we didnt talk about it yesterday, i have an appointment with the Mojo next week in Cali.

jpetty3023
10-03-2012, 11:04 AM
Great write up Mike, looks to be a fantastic boat. Maybe with the new SA line I can one day afford a 242


sent from my home phone

sandm
10-03-2012, 11:30 AM
nice writeup and looks like it was a great day.. I like the looks of this boat a lot. it's a nice design. doesn't seem that it's too different from the mojo, but for whatever reason, it looks different. interested to know what the height is folded down and if it'll fit in 7ft doors or not. looks tall.

can't wait to crawl around one here at the boat show. I like the fact that it has both the touchscreen and actual switches and wish my boat did, but I still don't like the placement of that touchscreen. doesn't feel right that you have to reach over the steering wheel to use it. there's a reason why cars place all that stuff in the centerstack. that being said, the drivers area looks to be very well laid out. stereo puck is in a nice location and that cupholder looks very well placed.. disappointed that they chose clarion for the deck. clarion doesn't make a 4v output boat unit. very nice that they got a different mount for the platform.

jester
10-03-2012, 11:38 AM
Mike, Great write up. Do you know how long Active is going to have it for? You made me want to test drive it now.

mmandley
10-03-2012, 11:39 AM
As for height on the trailer with the tower up it was 9ft 11 tall.
With the tower folded down it was over 7ft, 7.4 i think. Its designed for an 8 foot garage door opening. Pretty standard on most newer homes.

bergermaister
10-03-2012, 11:59 AM
but I still don't like the placement of that touchscreen. doesn't feel right that you have to reach over the steering wheel to use it.

I sorta see your point here but if you sit in the boat, any boat really, and reach up to touch something on the dash, your arms are attached to your shoulders which are off to the sides -right? Not meaning to sound like a total smart ass, but by nature you are reaching in from the side anyway so being centered doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me.

mmandley
10-03-2012, 12:21 PM
Mike, Great write up. Do you know how long Active is going to have it for? You made me want to test drive it now.

It was a one day deal man. You should have came up lol. The boat was on the highway back to Cali last night. AWS did just get there SA350 in stock. I'll try to get pics of it next week when I take mine down to the dealer for winterization.

squeeg333
10-03-2012, 03:35 PM
Where's the key at? I didn't see a key. Does it sense who you are, and when you sit down fires up? Now that would be sweet. Though in some instances could be an issue...

jester
10-03-2012, 03:38 PM
Dang I should have had them stop by last night on their way down. There is a lake not too far off I5 they could have stopped at. hahah It might have been for the best. If they have a 350 in then I might just stop by in a few weeks when I am back up that way.

motosno963
10-03-2012, 04:05 PM
should have gotten a picture of that sweet motor

mcdye
10-03-2012, 04:42 PM
Where's the key at? I didn't see a key. Does it sense who you are, and when you sit down fires up? Now that would be sweet. Though in some instances could be an issue...

The key is located on the right side. I had the opportunity to spend the day on a SA450, When it starts you hear it and it sounds throaty (is that a word) :)

mmandley
10-03-2012, 05:10 PM
should have gotten a picture of that sweet motor

I was going to but honestly it didn't look to fancy.

Just a week or 2 before it had the big 550 in it for some R&D testing. When they put the 450 back in they didn't put all the panels back in it that mark it as a Corvette LS3. It was just the intake and wires laying around. I think a picture of that would have hurt the image more then helped

tnbrooks01
10-03-2012, 08:00 PM
Good write up. That boat pull the younger divisions at Worlds in Wisconsin. While the boat was not in the water I had the opportunity to check out the entire boat and was very impressed. I don't know anything about the surf aspect of the boat but as for wakeboarding the wake looked awesome and my son had nothing but positive things to say about it.

wolfeman131
10-03-2012, 08:34 PM
Where's the key at? I didn't see a key. Does it sense who you are, and when you sit down fires up? Now that would be sweet. Though in some instances could be an issue...

The 2011+ Malibu's have a touchpad that you enter a code into to start the engine. No key required.

mmandley
10-03-2012, 08:40 PM
Id like to add the Supra really isnt even a Key start.

Brad Webb's boat has a key but all you do is turn it and let it go, 1 second later the engine starts on its own. If you hold it like a normal key then you will over start the engine, like holding a key in a car to long.

jmvotto
10-03-2012, 09:52 PM
The 2011+ Malibu's have a touchpad that you enter a code into to start the engine. No key required.

Didn't older nautiques have this, like 2001 forward...

Btw mike great write up, sick looking boat... Glad they put a decent stereo in it as well...

wolfeman131
10-03-2012, 10:44 PM
should have gotten a picture of that sweet motor

Here ya go

16244

rdlangston13
10-04-2012, 12:06 AM
My dealer should have gotten their SA450 worlds in today. Need to arrange a time to go check it out!


Sent from my iPhone newtys droid killer using Tapatalk

ian ashton
10-04-2012, 01:44 AM
I can't past the logo on the side looking like it says "SAYSO"

mmandley
10-04-2012, 08:59 AM
Heres a Video sent to me the day we were out on the water of the SA450.

Sounds like a NASA car going by you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0DRMWMJF5Y

mmandley
10-04-2012, 09:01 AM
Here ya go

16244

Thanks Wolfe, the one i was in there was no covers, just the rest of that pic so i didnt take a pic of that LOL

jpetty3023
10-04-2012, 09:26 AM
Man that thing was moving. And sounded cool while doing it


sent from my home phone

mmandley
10-04-2012, 01:06 PM
Man that thing was moving. And sounded cool while doing it


sent from my home phone

We just hit the throttle too, it wasnt a pass by video LOL

volfo
10-04-2012, 05:20 PM
that "cooler" over the engine sounds like a hot box. My new boat has a plastic tray over the engine and that's what it's for. It is awesome. When it is chilly, throw your wet vest in there. It doesn't dry it out, but when you are ready to go back out, it's like a heated towel you are wrapping around your body - very nice. Also, sometimes on the lake we smoke pork tenderloins the night before and slice them and stick them in Sister Shubert's (sp?) rolls for eating on the lake. We used to eat them cold and they were good. Now about 20 minutes before we want to eat, we throw them in the hot box and it is like putting them in a warming drawer. Works awesome! In other words, you are going to love that feature, just don't put your cold beer in it!!!

viking
10-04-2012, 11:14 PM
Love the looks of it and jealous you got to ride around in one. Won't see that happening around here :(

Mobius22
10-08-2012, 12:37 AM
I was just fooling around and noticed that the colorizer is up for the SA. It also has a cool interior coloring feature now if you press the arrow symbol in the bottom corner.

jmvotto
10-08-2012, 08:23 AM
Man that thing was moving. And sounded cool while doing it


sent from my home phone

= more EXILE power for the riders....

motosno963
10-08-2012, 04:45 PM
i just ran across the SA550 video and it had the cadi superchared motor in her...man does she sound sexy haha..i think i might have to bite the bullet and get one of those lol..i wish