Some winch suggestions needed

[300bhp/ton]

Ok been looking at the idea of entering a Challenge Event and quite evidently I'm going to need a winch.

Any suggestions on what would be a suitable winch?

Criteria:

-It would need to fit the Cheviot 4x4 winch bumper

-Not worried about it being to fancy

-Would prefer cheaper over expensive (this is a key requirement )

-Suitable for winching a heavy Discovery

Winch bumper (not purchased yet): http://www.cheviot4x4.com/shop/Vehicles/Di...0Body%20Armour/

Regular:

Lowline:

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Give us a clue then

EXCLUDING winch bumper

How much is your £££ budget for the winch itself ?

Nige

[300bhp/ton]

Give us a clue then

EXCLUDING winch bumper

How much is your £££ budget for the winch itself ?

Nige

No idea really, but only because I don't even know what they start from and I don't have a Land Rover magazine to hand to have a qucik flick thru.

Can you get them for a few hundred quid? Or is that being too optomistic??

Seriously I have no idea about winches.

[bishbosh]

Oh dear, another winch debate!

Electric? Hydraulic? Mechanical?

I am going to go out on a limb here and say electric due to cost constraints.

On thoses grounds I would go for an EP9 from superwinch. Relatively cheap, relatively fast, external brake (good for plasma) and from a good stable. Will pull a Disco around the place no problem.

Also, if you get hooked on Challenges and find you just have to have an 8274 (insert reason why here.. ) then the EP9 will be an excellent rear winch.

[pugwash]

go electric i reckon (personally i like hydro)- it's easy, quick to fit, cheap to replace and a great starter.

i've rarely used a leccy winch, but seen alot on events, EP9 seems strong, reliable and reasonably fast. Some of the champion stuff pull sbloody well too and seems quite reliable enough for getting into winch challenges!

[pux]

No idea really, but only because I don't even know what they start from and I don't have a Land Rover magazine to hand to have a qucik flick thru.

Can you get them for a few hundred quid? Or is that being too optomistic??

Seriously I have no idea about winches.

Why don't you buy a cheaper bumper as i looked at getting a cheviot 4x4 bumper and i could not justify that amount of money!!!!! so i went for a firstfour tubular shadow bumper as fitted to my old disco.

this bumper was well made and gave me a great approach angle too and it cost £245 with delivery from mail order 4x4 this way will free some more cash up for a decent winch i.e superwinch or warn etc etc

[300bhp/ton]

Why don't you buy a cheaper bumper as i looked at getting a cheviot 4x4 bumper and i could not justify that amount of money!!!!! so i went for a firstfour tubular shadow bumper as fitted to my old disco.

I guess its looks as much as anything plus I liked how slim it was at the ends compared to most other Disco bumpers.

Do you have any more pics of your Disco with the winch bumper?

[300bhp/ton]

On thoses grounds I would go for an EP9 from superwinch.

Any good places to buy from?

[bishbosh]

David Bowyer is as good as any....

or Phil at PG winches.....

[pux]

300bhp you have a pm

[Exmoor Beast]

tapered bumpers do lok better than the tubular ones but with the full weight of a stuck Disco on the end of the taper I would think they would bend quite easily.

Enter White90 stage left. I think he ended up stiffening his tapered winch bumper IIRC...

Having said that I think we would go for the tapered variety, Devon4x4s one on their D2 looks great, does that fit a D1??

Will

[bishbosh]

Errr, Will, the taper doesn't affect the bending strength from a point load on the end in the front-to-back plane.

Look at any bent bumper - it will bend at the point of support - like wot mine did!

[300bhp/ton]

300bhp you have a pm

Cheers, nice pics

Do you have a link for where to get such a bumper??? I looked on Mail Order 4x4's website and can't see it, Forst For Off Road have something that looks similar but it's nearly as expensive as the Cheviot bumper.

Ta.

[300bhp/ton]

So how do Britpart and T Max winches compare to Superwinch, they seem to be a lot cheaper?

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Ok

Hydro Fan as I am........................................

If £££ is crucial then its elecrtic no contest

If you wnat a budget electric winch then my advice is to buy either a second hand Husky (not bling but hugely underrated) or if funds will allow a s/h 8274 (allows huge potential to upgrade and improve on std unit)

BOTH will hold their values S/H, both are well buit and spares easy to get

Failing this M8000 and M10000 although old are okish, or an old X9, but to be really honest I wouldn't waste my money, I would just wait a while longer save the extar and go 8274 or Husky

Aviod like the plague cheap chinese imports, as they will let you down and value will drop like a stone

[russ3120]

try recovery solutions for your winch

try guardian bumpers

[Orange]

The EP9 had no problems hauling my lardy RR around Seven Sisters and I hope it will perform well at the Mike Wolfe! I got mine at Billing last year after a lot of digging and haggling to find the right price. The package was bare minimum:

EP9

100ft of 11mm Dyneema

Wiring + controller

Isolator

Stainless Hawse

I, personally, didn't want the rest of the strops, shackles and snatch block that was part of the package as none of them appeared to be rated, so managed to speak with David Bowyer and negotiate a much better price. I don't know what your idea of a few hundred quid2 is, but I was more than happy with the price I paid and no-one else could better it!

Goodwinch have standard prices and only really offer discounts at the big shows. For a basic idea look HERE

The important thing to remember with accessories is that they are all rated/stamped. I think all of my shackles are at least 4.5t rating and the snatch block I have is an 8 ton rating and all of my strops are 5000kgs I think.

I'm sure the Honiton Hobbit, Mr Lovepump himself, will be along in a while to sing the praises of the Come-Up 9000 range in a minute, and he is well justified in doing so. They are a rebadged EP9 and perform equally as well.

You will also need to look at whether you are going to run wire or rope. There is a distinct advantage in having an external brake mechanism (EP9, 8274 etc...) if you want to run dyneema or plasma as the heat build up will be less than with an in-drum brake set-up.

[Orange]

Southdown also do a nice bumper - not specifically for a Disco, but it fits a RR, so it should work....

And a slightly modified one:

I'm sure it would look pretty good on a Disco!!

[300bhp/ton]

try recovery solutions for your winch

try guardian bumpers

Do you have a link for Guardian bumpers? I tried Gooling it but to no avail.

Ta.

[russ3120]

Do you have a link for Guardian bumpers? I tried Gooling it but to no avail.

Ta.

i found the through eblag, just type in guardian bumpers, free delivery

Russ

[will_warne]

300, my 2p worth I'd trawl Sodbury and flee bay for an 8074. They're much better built than an 8274 (better case, roller bearings everywhere, stronger mainshaft) and everyone thinks because they're old they won't be any good. I got one recently and it looked like this:

It didn't cost much and there's not that much that needs doing to it (a couple of bearings, one of which is an incorrectly sized replacement, new brake pads, new motor, a couple of seals and welding up a hole in the casing where a previous owner added a hole ) and, for about £350 - £400 you'll have, effectivly, a good as new winch.

The EP9 is a good winch but the high mount Warns are a better competition winch IMHO due to their deeper drum and faster line recovery.

[Lewis]

I think you'll find Will that an EP9 is faster/more powerful under most circumstances than your "Better than new" 8074, unless you are fitting a 7.8 motor

I say this from a lot of use with an EPi9, and owning several 8074's. Yes, I agree that the 8074 is a fantastic winch, and ideal for the purposes that you and I need, however, for plug and play no messing you cannot beat an EP9/EPi9. I imagine that when the upgrade kit finally comes out that you will see quite a few adorning competion vehicles

Oh, and as for the drum, an EPi9 will take 100ft of 11mm plasma, or 150ft of 9.5mm

Lewis

[300bhp/ton]

Cheers for all the responses. But as I'm new to winches and this will be my first winch I think I'd like to get a nice shiny clean new one to start with. I think it will make it an easier learning curve and easier install.

Besides I doubt I'll really need the massive speed offered by some winches I only want it encase I need it and to enable me to enter winch challenges rather than win them.

[honitonhobbit]

I would suggest you go for a Warn. They are generally un reliable and inefficient but parts are cheap and easy to buy as they are (like most winches) made in China (and oh my god assembled in the US of A so how cr*p is that) The Antique daddy of them all is the 8274, reputedly designed by IKB and easy to wreck by putting unsuited motors on that draw huge current...

In all seriousness me old mucker, it works like this:

You have three types of leccy winch.

1). Parts made in china and assembled in the US or UK - Some Warn and Superwinch stuff

2). Made in China by reputable companies with decent quality control - usually to a UK or Aussie design - Warn, Superwinch, Champion, T-max, MM, Come-Up, Premier, OX etc

2). Cheap Chines sh*t - AEW, GEW, Britpart, MM etc

The 8274 is a great of kit, especially when left standard and un bastardised (watched one today, lovely, low run on rates, pulled like a horse, brake worked). Has a massive current draw under full load and is not that quick under big load. Opt for an M8000CE or XD9000CE if you have to go Warn. Avoid the vastly overpriced XP - just not worth it.

EP9 and EPi9 - great bit of kit, as is the grey version under the come-up name. The New EP9.5 and EPi9.5 is the Daddy, faster than an 8274 through the full load range, external brake like it's little brother, very efficient as well.

T-Max. Very popular in the land of Boomarangs and weak lager and getting more and more popular by the day. The Outback 9500 is a stonker and very good VFM.

Remember this. Speed is NOT the be all and end all. Reliability is, as is the ability to haul a vehicle through anything all day and every day. Run on is a nightmare, especially with worn synthetic rope. Light weight and low current draw are essential.

Another tip. Avoid Optima batteries like they had herpes, same goes for Deta, Exide and Oddessy (sp?). Massively overpriced and unreliable when you need reliablity. Opt for something like Numax Marin Starter batteries - I use a 1000CCA/130AH Deep Cycle version (60ishquid), you could fit two in a defender seat box (but why bother?) and you get a three year warrantee.

Ignore the fashionable stuff, as St Jezmondo, patron Saint of real off roaders said "Think out of the box".

If I was looking for a decent strong winch bumper, two places come to mind: Cheap but strong Padia; the best Southdown - the rest are just unsubstantial shadows...

[TomG]

Am looking at a new electric winch for the rear.. Come-up DS-9.5 specs look good: no load speed 1st layer is 62 feet/min, 5hp motor.

At £400+vat for the 12volt, seems good value for money