dustdriver

I had Amsteel Blue on my last winch, and just put 100' of 3/8" Technora on my new winch. Technora is rated almost the same as Amsteel Blue but it has greater heat resistance and crush resistance. Ramsey now offers Technora on their winches. I paid under $200 for mine from a local rigging shop, with hand spliced terminal end and thimble loop end (might use a safety hook, but usually just a 3/4" clevis/D-shackle). If I were routinely dragging my winch over sharp rocks or through open flames, I'd use steel cable (still a bad idea even for wire rope), but for everything else, there's synthetic. It's just MUCH easier to work with, rig, and respool, stronger than cable, light, floats, doesn't conduct electricity, and has very low stretch so if something breaks the energy doesn't cause the line to whip back, possibly causing serious injury.

Whatever rating you choose, remember that shock loading the line (when it goes slack, then suddenly tight) can momentarily exceed the line capacity, which even if it doesn't break, could damage the fibers and set it up for breaking next time (as well as being hell on your winch). High rating just gives you a margin for error/safety.

PS: oh and for "abrasion guard" I just go down to REI or wherever sells climbing gear and get 15' of 1 in. tubular nylon webbing. Works great.

evanyj350

What is the strength of the 3/8" steel cable that comes with the winch ?

Rhino64

I don't remember exactly but it was less than the synthetic. Synthetic wins hands down over the steel IMO.

dustdriver

Typically winches come standard with 125 ft. of 5/16" steel cable, rated at about 9,800 lbs. 3/8" steel cable is rated at about 14,400 lbs. (If you replace that with 3/8" synthetic, it's common to use only 100 ft. to allow for the larger diameter.)
5/16" Amsteel Blue is rated at around 13,700 lbs.
3/8" Amsteel Blue is rated at around 20,400 lbs.

(I chose 3/8" Technora, rated at about 18,500 lbs, for it's higher melting point and improved fatigue resistance.)

It's a good idea IMO to have your line rated at least twice your rated winch capacity, so that the winch (if electric) will want to stop pulling before your line or hardware breaks. It's the "weakest link" principle.

TEEJ

I have a chart of winch ropes and wire ropes, it compares the various brands and types:




Make Size / Diameter Minimum Breaking Strength


7/16"

Wire cable 7/16" 17,600lb.


MASTER-PULLŽ SuperlineŽ XD 7/16" 40,000lb.

MASTER-PULLŽ SuperlineŽ 7/16" 40,000lb.

MASTER-PULLŽ Winch Rope 7/16" 23,800lb.

TechnoraŽ 7/16" 23,000lb.

AmsteelŽ Blue 7/16" 21,533lb.

VectranŽ 7/16" 21,000lb.

PlasmaŽ 7/16" 21,000lb.

SpectraŽ 7/16" 14,800lb.





3/8"

Wire cable 3/8" 14,400lb.


MASTER-PULLŽ SuperlineŽ XD 3/8" 26,500lb.

MASTER-PULLŽ SuperlineŽ 3/8" 26,500lb.

MASTER-PULLŽ Winch Rope 3/8" 18,000lb.

AmsteelŽ Blue 3/8" 17,640lb.

TechnoraŽ 3/8" 17,500lb.

VectranŽ 3/8" 17,500lb.

PlasmaŽ 3/8" 17,500lb.

SpectraŽ 3/8" 13,900lb.





5/16"

Wire cable 5/16" 9,800lb.


MASTER-PULLŽ SuperlineŽ XD 5/16" 21,000lb.

MASTER-PULLŽ SuperlineŽ 5/16 21,000lb.

MASTER-PULLŽ Winch Rope 5/16" 13,000lb.

AmsteelŽ Blue 5/16" 12,330lb.

VectranŽ 5/16" 11,700lb.

PlasmaŽ 5/16" 11,700lb.

SpectraŽ 5/16" 9,000lb.







3/16"

Wire cable 3/16" 4,200lb.


MASTER-PULLŽ Winch Rope 3/16" 5,500lb.

VectranŽ 3/16" 5,500lb.

PlasmaŽ 3/16" 5,500lb.

AmsteelŽ Blue 3/16" 5,400lb.

SpectraŽ 3/16" 3,600lb.






1/4"

Wire cable 1/4" 7,000lb.


MASTER-PULLŽ Winch Rope 1/4" 8,400lb.

VectranŽ 1/4" 8,000lb.

PlasmaŽ 1/4" 8,000lb.

AmsteelŽ Blue 1/4" 7,740lb.

SpectraŽ 1/4" 6,000lb.



I tried to get them in order of their strength, and relative to wire rope....it won't post nicely, but, you can still see who beats who, etc.




One thing I did notice is that with, especially the Superline XD, you could actually spool a LOT more line on with a smaller diameter rope than your wire, and have it have an even HIGHER breaking strength than the wire it replaced....

...or, you could use the same length, but have it make the spool smaller at the same recovery distance.

A smaller spool = lower gearing, and more power...making your winch "Stronger" at the same distance, etc.

JKU Rubicon

Get rid of the steel wire, enough said