synthetic winch rope question

[HaleYes]

Has anybody measured the weight difference between steel cable and synthetic rope? Would be interesting to see if the synthetic rope will have an impact on the amount of front end sag that is associated with carrying a winch on the front.

I plan on doing just that.

I've got new coils that should be here anyday. I'm going to install the new coils, and measure with the cable. Then I plan to remove the cable and install the synthetic and see what I gain, if any.

 

[Stumpalump]

Has anybody measured the weight difference between steel cable and synthetic rope? Would be interesting to see if the synthetic rope will have an impact on the amount of front end sag that is associated with carrying a winch on the front.

Don't foget you save quite a few pounds by getting rid of the metal roller fairlead as well. It all adds up to about 25 lbs.( sorry you can do the conversion to kilos). But any way 25 lbs way out on the nose of your Jeep is enough that you can feel it when you drive and go over dips.

 

[CanMan]

The synthetic rope weighs 5lbs max. I can weight it tomorrow at work. Its quite light material. Add a hawse fairlead, at 2 lbs, you are way down on weight. Savings on weight, yes, but you wont gain another inch of lift by going to synthetic from cable.

 

[HaleYes]

The synthetic rope weighs 5lbs max. I can weight it tomorrow at work. Its quite light material. Add a hawse fairlead, at 2 lbs, you are way down on weight. Savings on weight, yes, but you wont gain another inch of lift by going to synthetic from cable.

1" no probably not. 1/2" wouldn't surprise me though.

 

[IllianaXJ]

Don't foget you save quite a few pounds by getting rid of the metal roller fairlead as well. It all adds up to about 25 lbs.( sorry you can do the conversion to kilos). But any way 25 lbs way out on the nose of your Jeep is enough that you can feel it when you drive and go over dips.

25 lbs for a roller fairlead!? I don't think so. They're heavy, yes, but they don't weigh as much as my 14 month old daughter.

Edit: my reading comprehension sucks. You meant cable + fairlead, right? My mistake.

 

[jeepster09]

Cable works fine if your winch already has one, I wouldn't run out and buy rope to replace it. Just use safety sense and throw a blanket over cable when winching so cable "blows down" if it breaks.

 

[Badride]

I put a synthetic rope on my new 9.5 Warn when I bought it. The first time I used it was to just pull a little non-running Honda Civic out of the way for a friend. I had to turn the wheel to the left pretty hard as I backed up. I didn't notice it when I installed the rope but there was an edge that was a little sharp that the rope touched. I wasn't even using the winch, I just had about 15' let out and was pulling the car. It cut my new rope completely into. I had to remount the hook. Bad experience.

 

[CanMan]

The synthetic rope weighs 5lbs max. I can weight it tomorrow at work.

Just put some Winchline.com rope on the scale, 3/8"x100ft with an aluminum thimble, still in the plastic bag, weights 4lbs, FWIW.

 

[Mattitude]

I went with 3/8"s. My 8274 came with 5/16" stock, but since I was using synthetic, I wanted the extra insurance. Researching on pirate4x4.com, there were a few reports of failures with the 5/16", but couldn't find any problems with the 3/8". Bought it from a local rigging store for $1.56/ft.

Did you find a rope thats the full 150' or did you go shorter? and how do you have that winch mounted on your xj? I have a warn 5687 (same thing but older) laying in storage and im not sure how to mount it so its not killing my approach angle or up to high..

 

[HaleYes]

Just put some Winchline.com rope on the scale, 3/8"x100ft with an aluminum thimble, still in the plastic bag, weights 4lbs, FWIW.

FWIW,
According to UPS my package that contains 100' x 5/16" weighs 4lbs, packaging and all.

 

[Timber]

That's awesome (regarding the weight, Haleyes). But (slightly O.T.) I won't be able to afford to go that route when I first get a winch this spring, unless there's a market for never-used but fresh-off-the-drum winch rope.

 

[IllianaXJ]

FWIW,
According to UPS my package that contains 100' x 5/16" weighs 4lbs, packaging and all.

Nice, finally got it I see.

That's awesome (regarding the weight, Haleyes). But (slightly O.T.) I won't be able to afford to go that route when I first get a winch this spring, unless there's a market for never-used but fresh-off-the-drum winch rope.

You can order some winches with the synthetic rope already on it... roll it into the package price

 

[HaleYes]

Nice, finally got it I see.

Nope not yet. UPS tracking info.
Scheduled delievery for Monday.

 

[HaleYes]

You can order some winches with the synthetic rope already on it... spool it into the package price

Fixed. :jester:

 

[IllianaXJ]

:roflmao::moon:

but seriously, think about it. It is worth it.

 

[1996cc]

Did you find a rope thats the full 150' or did you go shorter? and how do you have that winch mounted on your xj? I have a warn 5687 (same thing but older) laying in storage and im not sure how to mount it so its not killing my approach angle or up to high..

I bought it by the foot, could have bought as long as I needed. I decided to go with 125'. There are trees everywhere in the NW, and that is 25' more than most winches have. But the 8274 would EASILY hold 150' of the 3/8", the spool is definately not full. Here is a pic showing how full it is:

As to mounting, here are the pics of my homemade bumper:

 

[Timber]

How much airflow does that block? I guess there's a better way to ask that, unless you actually have airflow figures, but I noticed a temp. increase from a few large lights in front of the radiator.

 

[1996cc]

Here is my response on a local board when posed the question after I built it:

"For those that were concerned about cooling, here are some stats. There are approximately 292 square inches of grill surface on the cherokee. My bumper and winch take up about 91 square inches, or roughly 31%. But behind the winch, there is at least 2" of free space at the closet point to the radiator. Therefore, my opinion is, there is plenty of room for air to wrap "around" the winch and cool the radiator. Only time will tell."

It has been on there since October. I've driven it on the highway and several trail runs, and have not noticed any increased temps at all. My hood is spaced up in the rear 1" (did that a year ago). Granted, it hasn't been through a summer yet, but it doesn't get that hot here. But really, how fast do you ever go on a trail 10-20 mph MAX. The air gets pulled through by the fan, and there is space for it to wrap around the winch. I'm not worried.

 

[HaleYes]

I weighed my Amsteel today at work on a calibrated scale.

100' x 5/16" = 2.83 lbs

That's with no hook.

 

[CanMan]

When I weighed the one here at work, it was just on a normal house scale, made for people. Still very lightweight.