JK-Joey

so money finally freed up a bit around the house and after missing my last birthday and christmas, my dad decided to get me a big gift for my upcoming birthday so my question is witch winch is recommended because i dont know a whole lot, im looking at the quadratec q9500is and the warn vr8000. i know warn is a big name and people sware by them but i like the synthetic line. If i shoot for the warn is switching to synthetic as easy as a new fairlead and spooling on the rope? Help is much appreciated.

Sahara Lee

I went with the QT instead of the W. I wanted to be different so don't do like me.

Actually, after a little research, I found that pretty much everyone's "low end" winches are made by the same Chinese supplier including W. When deciding, I went with who I had the most service experience with. Turns out it was a good thing I went with QT because on my first re-tensioning the motor failed. I'm not saying it would have happened with the W. Maybe the W would have lasted 25 years. But what I do know is when I called QT and explained the symptoms they sent me out a new motor second day.

I'm sure more people personally like the W. Hell, I like W. If I ever get another winch (on my new 2025 Jeep Wrangler Italian Spaghetti-Western Edition) I might just get me an IP67 fully submersible to 1 meter rated W.

Matthewd5

I went with the VR 10,000 with synthetic line.

I've used it a half dozen times and it works great, I even got to pull someone out of a hole they dug by spinning the wheels a lot, and they were in a pretty big pickup truck and headed up a moderate hill in the snow!

matthew

JK-Joey

also another silly question, does synthetic line work in all snatch blocks? or any at all? i have no clue and i was wondering

Matthewd5

I did a bit of research and didn't learn a lot, I just ordered a warn snatch block that specifically says that it works on both..

matthew

nthinuf

I contacted Warn when I started thinking about swapping wire to synthetic on my 14 year old hs9500i. They indicated it is not a problem, just swap rope and fairlead and go have fun.
(I had sent a few pics of the drum that was gouged and crusty from 14 years of wire and asked if it also needed to be replaced when going to synth. They didn't comment on the first reply, and when I asked again, I got the 'it's your call' reply.)

So, on a brand new winch with no burrs on the drum, go for it. For me, 'my call' will be to replace the drum as well if/when I finally get around to it.


In the Warn vs Anyone Else debate ... Lots of great reviews on many of the lower priced options out there now. All I can really add is that for the only problem I had (lost the brake around year 7, well out of warranty), I was told they would send me the parts, or I could pay for shipping and they would replace for free. So I drove to the closest repair center instead of shipping.
Some people like the 'disposable winch' route, saying they can buy several for the price of a Warn. Nothing wrong with that approach, and for my needs now vs when I got the winch, this is likely the route I would take if in the market again.
But there is something to be said for knowing you can get parts/service/support 10 or 15 or 20 years down the line.

quadratec

In my opinion you really can't go wrong with either brand. Warn is great. They have been around for decades. Tried and tested. Our Q series winches rock as well. We fully stand behind them. Not only do we have a great warranty on our Q series winches, but if you need any parts after the warranty period has ended, we sell each piece of the winch separately at the very bottom of our winch page here:
Q-Series Winches by Quadratec - Quadratec

I love the look of the Q9500i versus say a Warn VR8000 or a Q9000. I'm just a big fan of the integrated solenoid look myself. Most of us are running the Q series winches and are very happy with them. If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.

Thanks!

-Rick

garrettuecker

Where do smittybilt winches rank? Looking at one and curious as to their quality

Four Low

Rick, your PM box is full, need to clear before anyone can PM you . THANKS.