Synthetic Winch rope Questions

I am running a Warn 8000 winch on my XJ.
Isn't 5/16 synthetic winch rope large enough, rated at 13,900 lbs?
Is there any reason to spend the extra money on 3/8 inch line?

I do plan on using an abrasion guard.

Has anyone had problems melting the cable at the drum because of the drum brake getting hot during winching out (not pulling in) situations Any solutions that have held up well?

yes the 5/16 is enough and yes you will melt the 1st layer on the drum. not on the 1st pull but over time.winch cable is not a just buy 1 and last forever part. both steel and synthetic have there pros and cons. i have heard of people wrapping aluminum foil on the drum to help. not sure if it works. i run a superwinch that has the brake on the outside so there is no heat build up on the drum.

I have the same winch with 5/16 line. I wrapped the drum a few times with duct tape, which has seemed to help alittle with the heat problem. The first roll on the drum still shows some signs of heat but not as bad as when i first put on synthetic line & didnt wrap it.
5/16 has worked for me so far, no problem. even a 4 hour winching/recovery on a buddys jeep in JV that consisted of about 20-30, 50-60' pulls.(that night f'ing sucked! )

So you guys know those "sleeves" that come on the synthetic ropes, they are black, 10 feet long or so, kinda get scrunched up pretty easy. Those are meant to go on the first wrap for your synthetic line to keep the drum from burning the line. They are not mean to be used as chafe guards, those will tear up pretty easy. This is a chafe guard. Also when you guys are using the winch to go out go in small bursts, the drum brake will heat up and burn the line if you go too much at once, and it can also burn the brake up.

-Alex

Ba-Riedo said:

So you guys know those "sleeves" that come on the synthetic ropes, they are black, 10 feet long or so, kinda get scrunched up pretty easy. Those are meant to go on the first wrap for your synthetic line to keep the drum from burning the line. They are not mean to be used as chafe guards, those will tear up pretty easy. This is a chafe guard. Also when you guys are using the winch to go out go in small bursts, the drum brake will heat up and burn the line if you go too much at once, and it can also burn the brake up.

-Alex

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if only we were all so lucky to work at a winch/recovery facility. thanks for the good info

Well I was under the belief you can use it for both. You can either use it on the first wrap for heat protection or as a chafe guard. I have one on the 1st wrap of my line and I also have 2 of Winchline.com's HD line protectors on my rope. Theirs is like a braided rope sleeve that goes over your rope. I have 2 because their will be times when you need to protect your rope in more then 1 spot.

I know also some companie's have a line that is heat resistent. I think it is called fireline, don't quote me on that though. You could either get a whole line of it or they would make the first 10' out of it then splice it to your regular line.

And the 5/16" will be fine. I have used mine to pull out a FS K5 Blazer & FS Bronco from mud holes. To me one the best things you can do and you should always do, is pull out as much line as possible and use snatch blocks. SOmetimes people think I am using my snatch blocks just cause I want people to see me use them. But the more line you pull out the more power your winch has. And pulling more line out while using a snatch block makes it work that much better.

And BTW mine isn't on my XJ, I have a Warn M8000 with 5/16" on my CJ7. I plan on getting a Smittybilt XRC8 with syn rope for the XJ when funds arrive.

Ba-Riedo said:

So you guys know those "sleeves" that come on the synthetic ropes, they are black, 10 feet long or so, kinda get scrunched up pretty easy. Those are meant to go on the first wrap for your synthetic line to keep the drum from burning the line. They are not mean to be used as chafe guards, those will tear up pretty easy.

-Alex

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Well that makes sense.... I used it as a chafe guard and it lasted about less than a pull before it got munched up pretty good. Its still on there, so I will unspool and put it on the drum side. I was under the impression they were line guards, as in guarding against abrasion. Thanks for the info.

I have the firewire (the full 100 feet), so I havent had any melting issues.

~James

stumpXJ said:

I have the firewire (the full 100 feet), so I havent had any melting issues.

~James

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Do you have a link to this one? Some of the heat resistant lines are just like our LCP lines, but the problem with using 100ft of those is they are not quite as strong or abrasion resistant as a regular line is. They also don't like being put over rocks as much, but then again most lines don't like that.

-Alex

No, I got it off of ebay about 8 months ago. It came from winchline.com though. They said it was AmSteel Blue Firewire (red in color...). It was rated at 13,500 lbs IIRC. Havent had any issues with yet, it works as it should so far. Not much rock around here, but I agree not many synthetics will hold up to that anyway.

Here is a pic before I put it on, not sure if it will help.



~James

Ok, I thought that that was a heat resistant line. But from what I can find it is just regular Amsteel blue made from dyneema fiber. Just be careful with the stainless thimble if you still have that on there, I have seen quite a few bent from with just a little force.

-Alex

Ba-Riedo,
Any chance in educating us on the finer points of rope selection?

Knowing that Dyneema will suffer from abraison and lose strength, I'm prone to spool with 3/8 x 100 rather than 5/16 x 125 but then again, 125'. As heat is an issue on the first wrap on the spool, LCP seems a decent upgrade from the budget Am-Steel for those who can't afford Superline. While I know the scrunchy sleeves are intended as heatwrap at the spool, would an extra sleeve offer some needed UV and dust protection on the last wrap?

So school me on why synthetic line is so great. Seems as though there are a lot of issues here that good ol steel cable doesnt have. Maybe I am old school but it seems that steel has worked fine for many many years and I am just trying to figure out why someone would spend hundreds of dollars on synthetic over the steel that came with the winch.

lighter, easier to work with, doesnt stretch and load as much as steel so less deadly should it break, looks cool haha

3XJFamily said:

Ba-Riedo,
Any chance in educating us on the finer points of rope selection?

Knowing that Dyneema will suffer from abraison and lose strength, I'm prone to spool with 3/8 x 100 rather than 5/16 x 125 but then again, 125'. As heat is an issue on the first wrap on the spool, LCP seems a decent upgrade from the budget Am-Steel for those who can't afford Superline. While I know the scrunchy sleeves are intended as heatwrap at the spool, would an extra sleeve offer some needed UV and dust protection on the last wrap?

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First off I would go wtih 100ft no matter what, maybe even 80ft because the less wraps you have on your drum the harder the pull. I have 100ft of line and a 50ft extension. I am thinking of cutting some off and carrying a second extension because most of my pulls are 20 or 30 ft. I also carry 2 snatch blocks, and have had to use both at the same time.

LCP line is great for heat resistant, but the reason that we don't use if for the whole 100ft is partially because of the cost of it, and also because it is not as durable to beating as the regular line, the LCP fibers are a little bit different after they are treated to become heat resistant. If you don't go with a LCP rope the defiintly use one of the black line protectors that scrunch up to keep the rope from burning, that is what they are made for!

I don't worry about heat or dust on the last wrap of my line since I run Superline, but I don't see why you couldnt use an extra one of those sleeves, or one of the thicker ones that is meant to protect the lines from rocks for that. What I use for the rocks is our chafe guard, since it velcro's onto the line you don't have to worry about leaving it on all the time or it getting in the way.

jeepme said:

So school me on why synthetic line is so great. Seems as though there are a lot of issues here that good ol steel cable doesnt have. Maybe I am old school but it seems that steel has worked fine for many many years and I am just trying to figure out why someone would spend hundreds of dollars on synthetic over the steel that came with the winch.

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redneckboarder said:

lighter, easier to work with, doesnt stretch and load as much as steel so less deadly should it break, looks cool haha

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Basically this; it floats, is more visible, wont snap back if it snaps, is stronger then steel, much lighter, doesn't splinter or hurt your hands, and if you snap one on the trail you can splice it back together yourself or send it back to us and we will splice it for you.

-Alex

jeepme said:

So school me on why synthetic line is so great. Seems as though there are a lot of issues here that good ol steel cable doesnt have. Maybe I am old school but it seems that steel has worked fine for many many years and I am just trying to figure out why someone would spend hundreds of dollars on synthetic over the steel that came with the winch.

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Synthetic is great, even though, some of us would believe cable is more trusty. Read: synthetic rope advantage over cable. IMO, synthetic worth it.

mattyj said:

.... even a 4 hour winching/recovery on a buddys jeep in JV that consisted of about 20-30, 50-60' pulls.(that night f'ing sucked! )

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I have no idea what you're talking about :spin1: