EEXP: Warn 16.5ti Winch

ExploringNH

Explorer
The Warn Zeon has an external brake, to the drum, and is designed to specifically work well with synthetic line. Warn only offers the synthetic line up to 10K lbs, but a number of other winch line suppliers make great products for he 12K lb Zeon.

The Zeon 12k can not take synthetic, any synthetic, due to the drum design. Call Warn and ask. I did. Sure you can put the line on, but it's not designed for it and under a hard pull with limited layers on the drum... People put hockey pucks between body mounts for a cheap body lift. It works. It isn't right. Same deal here. It can work for a while but eventually it will see failure.

Like I said before. I would have a 12k Zeon platinum on my truck today if it could take synthetic.

Maybe you don't care and are willing to take the risk. I personally want to be able to use 100% of my winch's capacity if needed.
 

dp7197

Adventurer
I don't think that winch can take synthetic. It will crush the drum.

Synthetic rope will flatten some placing additional pressure on the winch drum and in some cases crush(deform) the drum. Superwinch did a bunch of testing on this and made the drum thickness of their winches thicker. I think you are right in the OJ winch test article experienced this on the Warn 12k# test.
 

Exploring Elements

Supporting Sponsor
The Zeon 12k can not take synthetic, any synthetic, due to the drum design. Call Warn and ask. I did. Sure you can put the line on, but it's not designed for it and under a hard pull with limited layers on the drum... People put hockey pucks between body mounts for a cheap body lift. It works. It isn't right. Same deal here. It can work for a while but eventually it will see failure.

Like I said before. I would have a 12k Zeon platinum on my truck today if it could take synthetic.

Maybe you don't care and are willing to take the risk. I personally want to be able to use 100% of my winch's capacity if needed.

I have not used and do not own a Zeon winch. I also do not work for Warn. If you have talked to them and they have told you that the Zeon 12K is not suitable for synthetic than I'm sure that is sound advice. From my factory tour and information during the original Zeon launch that is not what I understood, but I for sure could be wrong on that.

I would for sure put a Zeon 16K platinum on my rig if they made such a thing. I agree that a winch needs to be completely reliable and able to handle loads appropriate for your vehicle.
 

pugslyyy

Expedition Vehicle Engineer Guy
I've always had good experience with Warn products, but I'm surprised that they haven't evolved their product line as the market has shifted to synthetic. I suspect that >99% of the time all their winches are fine with synthetic (that's what I run on them) but that their lawyers are worried about the <1% of the time it causes a problem.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

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