Upgrades On Reels

[Harrybass]

What are the best upgrades and the prices of them for abu garcia baitcasters low profile and round?

[Long Mike]

Bearings and brake disks, and it depends upon how much you want to spend.  Since you have asked a general, all encompassing question, without providing further information on the reels, I have provided you with a general, all encompassing answer.

[alexandboi]

It depends on what you mean by upgrades, either cosmetically or performance wise. The only upgrade I feel makes a noticeable difference is upgrading the drags, which should cost you no more than $10-$12. There are other upgrades such as spools and such that will improve performance, but they are pricey...

[rockchalk06]

What are the best upgrades and the prices of them for abu garcia baitcasters low profile and round?

As to ensure that you as a new member does not get run off or offened by any statements made prior to mine, yes with all the upgrades available the possibilites are endless. More so for the low profile reels than the round.

 

An inexpensive way to start is with drag washers and new bearings. As for anything else on the inside, my knowledge ends there. Mike at Delaware Valley Tackle can help you better.

 

As for the outside, I know Hawgtech makes a carbon fiber handle and cork knobs that will fit both. Abu makes a carbon fiber swept handle and EVA knobs for the low profile.

 

You can also break the bank on new spools, custom paint and the list goes on.

[Loop_Dad]

The cheapest upgrade is to flush out the factory grease from the spool bearings and put a drop of reel oil. It increased a casting distance a little bit for all of my reels that I have done so far, but what I appreciate more is the smoother and lighter feel of the spool spin when I cast.

[Fishwhittler]

What are the best upgrades and the prices of them for abu garcia baitcasters low profile and round?

 

 

#1:  Flushing and re-lubing the spool bearings.  Labor is free if you do it yourself.  If you have someone else do it expect to pay at least $18 for a complete reel cleaning.

#2:  Adding a carbon-fiber drag washer under the drive gear (there are four drag washers in all; only three are carbon-fiber).  The washer should run you $3 plus $1 shipping from smoothdrag.com.

#3:  Polishing the ends of the spool shaft as well as the brake race in centrifugal-brake reels.  This can be done by any good reel tuner, and it's done in conjunction with a cleaning.  It adds $8 - $10 to the cost.  Or you can do it yourself.

 

After that you can add bearings, replace handles and knobs, add custom paint, etc., but very little that actually increases your reel's performance.  I don't know if there are any aftermarket spools that fit the Revo G3's, though there are spools that fit other Abu Garcia reels.  It all depends on what you want to do with your reel and how much you're willing to spend.

 

Now, that's for Abu's low-profile reels.  Their round reels are a different breed of cat, and they have even more upgrade options.  In addition to those listed above, you have this:

Brakes & level-wind upgrades

Handles & knobs

Spools

[new2BC4bass]

Some people never upgrade a reel, and are perfectly happy.  Some have their reels upgrade with better drags, bearings and supertuning as a minimum in order to be happy with their reels.

 

I have both and am happy with either.  I can say that for me a supertuned reel...and with upgraded bearings...allows me to cast with the brakes set lower than on reels that are factory stock or have only been cleaned.  Why I couldn't say as all 3 reels I have had supertuned and upgraded are Daiwa (magnetic brake only).  I have read that polishing the braking surface on centrifugal brakes allows them to work better at lower settings.  Makes sense to me as surface contact area should be better than on a factory reel.

[Raul]

I am one of those who never upgrade reels, if I want a reel with more features the "upgrades" are practically available by purchasing the next reel up in the scale of what the manufacturer offers, example you got a Citica and you want to add a couple of bearings, get nicer knobs, get better drag, well you could have saved all the trouble and purchase a Curado.

[War Eagle 44]

Citica and Curado have the exact same drag, just saying...

[Fishwhittler]

I am one of those who never upgrade reels, if I want a reel with more features the "upgrades" are practically available by purchasing the next reel up in the scale of what the manufacturer offers, example you got a Citica and you want to add a couple of bearings, get nicer knobs, get better drag, well you could have saved all the trouble and purchase a Curado.

 

Yes, but if you buy a used reel to upgrade you can spend the same $$ and get a better reel.  Example:

 

Used Citica E in good shape - $80

ABEC-7 SS spool bearings - $14 for two

Crankshaft bearing - +/- $7

Carbontex drag - $8

Power knobs - $10 for a set

Super-tuning - +/- $20

 

Total = $131

 

Used Curado E = $125 or so.  The upgraded Citica will have a better drag, better casting, the same knobs, and it won't be too easy to tell a difference in smoothness.  If you get a new Chronarch E it costs at least $150, and the drag is still only partially carbon-fiber.

 

It still boils down to personal preference, but a tuned/upgraded reel often performs as well as a reel several price brackets up instead just of the next bracket up.  I also like personalizing my reels so they have exactly the features I want.  Like this:

 

 

Still need to get EVA power knobs for the handle, and someday I might go in and rip out the brass guts to be replaced with aluminum.  Gears, crankshaft, etc., and then I'll also be able to swap in a carbon-fiber handle and a new drag star.

[J Francho]

Hot rod President?

[Fishwhittler]

Hot rod President?

Yep. Added a bearing to the level-wind to bring the count up to 10+1 bearings; carbontex drag, polished spool shaft and brake race, paint and custom porting. Can't remember if I upgraded the spool bearings or not; I'll have to check.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

On a cost/benefit basis

 

1. Carbontex Drag $8-$12 +/-

2. Super Tune (only on solid spool shaft models) $34 including cleaning

3. Spool Bearings $14-$28 depending on ABEC rating

4. Level wind kits (mostly benefit non-disengaging level winds in Ambassadeurs) $ varies by model.

5. After market spools. whiffle spools generally allow casting of lighter baits. $ vary

6. Handles, cosmetic changes

 

These rules apply to most any reels. The single best thing you do for reel performance is a pro deep cleaning and lube but I don't consider that and 'upgrade' per say.

[Capt.Bob]

I would do the deep cleaning degrease and relube with the addition of smooth drag carbontex drag washers before deciding to spend any more money on upgrades, by doing this you are going to see the biggest gains and the smallest investment, then you will know how little there is to gain in performance for the dollars spent over those initial cost. Those cost should be less than 15 bucks shipped, for the drag washers. The acetone and lube, I prefer yellow Rocket Fuel, (fairly light and good retention so you won't have to relube every week), and Cal's light drag grease,,,,,(I prefer a wet drag---but that's personal) the lubes are not considered part of the cost as they will be items you will need every time you clean and lube. This is the only way you will see how little there is to gain after these procedure,,,,as DVT said there not an upgrade but will give you the biggest improvement for the money spent.   

[bigbill]

I purchased the better quality drag plates for my us reel 230/240 super caster spinning reels and the ceramic bearings and the better quality drag plate for my us reel 800x hibdon super caster baitcaster.

[kickerfish1]

Forget the internals... go all bling!

[bigbill]

I never wore out a drag disc yet? Am I doing something wrong. I set the drag a tad tighter than loose. I really never actually hear it working. Do the drag plates wear or does the better quality plates work better because of more friction?  Can you grease them or run them dry?

[J Francho]

I never wore out a drag disc yet? Am I doing something wrong. I set the drag a tad tighter than loose. I really never actually hear it working. Do the drag plates wear or does the better quality plates work better because of more friction?  Can you grease them or run them dry?

 

An aftermarket Carbontex drag washer from Smooth Drags is an upgrade to the typical stock drag, which are made from various materials such as cork, Teflon, Dartanium, felt, or some other proprietary material.  They are smoother, more powerful, more durable, and require less maintenance than stock.  They feature a very consistent "slipping point" with almost no stickiness.  It is the #1 upgrade I recommend over bearings, handles, and other so called upgrades.  Every single reel I own have Carbntex drags in them.  You can run Carbontex drags dry, or with a light coating of drag grease.  Cal's or Shimano drag grease are the only two I recommend using.  Most reels can be upgraded for around $10, if you do the work yourself.  Alternatively, you can have them replaced when you get your reels serviced by a reel tech, like DVT.

[.RM.]

On a cost/benefit basis

 

1. Carbontex Drag $8-$12 +/-

2. Super Tune (only on solid spool shaft models) $34 including cleaning

3. Spool Bearings $14-$28 depending on ABEC rating

4. Level wind kits (mostly benefit non-disengaging level winds in Ambassadeurs) $ varies by model.

5. After market spools. whiffle spools generally allow casting of lighter baits. $ vary

6. Handles, cosmetic changes

 

These rules apply to most any reels. The single best thing you do for reel performance is a pro deep cleaning and lube but I don't consider that and 'upgrade' per say.

X2...