The upgrades that actually change how you jet ski rides

Faster. Faster Faster. 

You get your new (or secondhand ski) take it for a run, and your mates beating your off the line on Day 1. So you get home and google, "how do I make my jetski faster". It's not uncommon for riders to chase speed from their first ride.

And we get it, we're super competetive too and there's no better feeling than going faster than your mate. But the truth is, the biggest improvements in your ski rarely come from just adding raw power. They come from fixing how the ski interacts with the water. Get that right and everything else works better, including speed.

Why does my ski feel so sketchy to ride from the Factory?

A stock ski is built to meet a price point, pass regulations, and appeal the broadest group of riders possible. That means compromises.

Common complaints we hear (and feel during testing):

• It spins up but doesn't go anywhere
• It feels loose in chop
• It porpoises at speed
• It slides mid corner
• It feels tiring to ride hard

None of that is "just how it is", and most can be changed with the right set up.

Do I need to buy an aftermarket intake grate?

An Intake grate controls how water enters the pump. It's there to protect your pump but also greatly affects how the water is directed up and into the pump. If water flow is inconsistent, everything downstream suffers.

A properly designed intake grate can help:

• Reduce cavitation on acceleration
• Improve hook up in chop
• Make throttle inputs predicatable
• Keep the pump loaded properly

This is often the first upgrade riders notice because the ski feels more connected to the water. Most new riders overlook it because it's not the flashiest upgrade and it sits under your ski, but an upgraded intake grate is heavily underrated. 

If your ski doesn't hook up properly, no amount of power will fix it and you'll be sitting there, revving that thing for days. 

Sponsons. Cornering without the nasty surprises

If your ski feels vague or washes out mid turn, sponsons make a HUGE difference. But there's a catch... you need to set them up correctly. 

A well-designed set of performance sponsons:

• Increase bite through turns
• Improve lean confidence
• Can reduce (or improve) sliding
• Let you carry speed through corners
• Can greatly reduce chine walk

This is especially noticeable on lighter hulls and in rough conditions where consistency matters. 

So why is set up so important on a set of sponsons? Because depending on your riding style, height, weight, conditions, everyone is going to want slightly different things in their turning. That's why Worx Racing Sponsons are designed to be adjustable and set to suit you, from your very first ride. 

Worx's brand new Play series of Sponsons for models like the Seadoo Spark and Jetblaster are the perfect addition for anyone looking to accelerate the fun. 

For most people, power upgrades come last for a reason. 

ECU Tuning and power upgrades work best when the ski is already balanced. 

Adding power to a ski that:

• Cavitates
• Slides
• Feels unstable

Just make those problems even louder. And not the good kind of loud like a new exhaust. 

Once intake, pump, and handling are sorted, you might want to start look at your speed and power. 

Installing a new impeller, the key to acceleration. 

The impeller is where engine power turns into forward motion, and small changes here can completely change how a ski feels.

One of the biggest factors is impeller pitch. Lower pitch allows the engine to rev more freely under load, improving hole shot and acceleration. Higher pitch adds resistance, which can reduce RPM but support stronger top end speed when the setup can handle it.

Check out our full article on finding perfect pitch here. 

The brains of the operation: reflashing your ECU

Nine out of ten times, if you tell us you're installing a new impeller, we're going to ask about your ECU situation (and your cooling). Adding a couple hundred RPM to your ski is all well and good, but you don't want to be bouncing off the limiter.

Reflashing your ECU is typically something that should only done by experts (like us). A good tune takes the power introduced by an impeller and refines it, unlocking the top end potential of your ski and changing how your ski gets through the range. A great impeller and ECU tune really go hand in hand. 

The biggest mindset shift

Every rider is different, every ski is different. You might jump on your jet-ski on day one , love everything about the way it handles, and say, "screw it, I need more power".

For most people however, there's going to be an area you want to fine tune, and creating the perfect jet ski set-up comes with a bit of a mindset shift. Performance is not about chasing pure numbers. It's about creating a ski that:

• Hooks up every time
• Feels predictable
• Let's you ride harder for longer
• Does what you expect when you push it
• Makes you love taking it out. Every. Chance. You. Get. 

Final thoughts

If your ski feels difficult to ride at speed, the answer is rarely "more power". It is almost always better water flow, better control and better efficiency. 

Fix the foundations and the ski rewards you every time you ride.