SLROC Forum

am looking for a new winch cable for my warn m8000 am not sure to either buy a sinthetic or wire any ideas and where is local to buy 1 thanks

From what I understand Synthetic seems to be lower maintenance and is safer when it breaks, but cable is more durable - but you need to look after it properly.

I didn't oil my last one often enough and the core started to rot... Not healthy at all!

If your winch has previously run with a wire on it then you will also need a new fairlead suitable for a synthetic rope. Wire is strong and cheap but will chop your legs of if it parts and you are in the wrong place. Synthetic is diameter for diameter much strong and lighter however it does need some maintenance too - it you get it muddy then you should wash it properly as tiny bits of grit and sand will chafe the rope from the inside. If you part it out in the wilds you can repair it easily unlike a wire, by tying the two ends together with 2 bowlines or if you are really clever you can splice them together. Also Dyneema synthetic such be kept covered when not in use to prevent degrading by UV in daylight and to prevent road dirt and oil/chemicals degrading it. When a Dyneema rope parts it is less likely to chop off your legs, but it will give you a nasty whiplash! The thing that will hurt you is the necessary aluminium or stainless steel thimble that you have to have where the hook joins the rope! You also have a choice of 9 or 11mm synthetic - either is well capable of hauling at stuck 110 out of a bog
Rufftracs were mentioned in another reply - Andy Thomlinson the proprietor operates out of Milngavie and he is also the sole importer of the Tangiers Orange Dyneema Synthetic ropes that LR used on their G4 challenge vehicles - he used to have it for sale to the public but I don't know if he still has stock.

Another vote for Andy T / Ruftraks and synthetic rope, especially if you've ever seen what wire can do when lets go 

http://www.ruftraks.co.uk/ for Plasma  (I would, I have and I will again).
or for a comparison David Bowyer sells Dyneema 'Bowrope' - http://www.dborc.co.uk/goodwinch/dyneema.htm

260835523846 on ebay does anyone know if thats any good or a waste of money

Your winch has an internal brake,powering it out or lowering a load for any distance results in the drum becoming very hot,so hot it will melt synthetic rope,thats why the rope on ebay has heat protection fitted! Whether it works is another matter,the drum can become so hot you cannot touch it. The freespool has to be used as much as possible to pay the rope out. Wire rope is perfectly ok if used in a safe manner and is properly maintained,biggest cause of damage is winding in a heavy load on top of loosely coiled and crossed layers of wire.The wire has to be fed onto the drum in an even pattern before the real load comes on,a synthetic rope is the opposite,it has to be wound on unevenly otherwise when the rope goes tight it can squeeze down to the bottom layer,becoming trapped by the layers above. I have 30M x 8mm wire winch ropes, ?30.00

pm sent colin

If a synthetic winch rope is getting "buried" (we have the same problem on the ship with somewhat larger diameter synthetic mooring ropes) between the layers of rope lower on the barrel then what to do is run the rope off, spool on one complete layer on the barrel then take the line diagonally from one end of the barrel to the other in one turn, then run on another layer of " regular" rope turns and then another single turn diagonally again. The tighter you can run the winch rope onto the barrel the better too so try to spool it on with a load of weight against it