Super Tuning Reels

[Tyler j]

Howdy guys, I have some questions regarding super tuning baitcasters. I want all of mine cleaned and I may want all new drags and bearings in them. I may have a guy to do it but if I do not is there anybody out there in southern virginia ( not much on long shipping ) who would do it

P.s it's only 5 reels

Thanks guys

[Crappiebasser]

I know you said you don't want to ship them but I highly recommend Delaware Valley Tackle. He does excellent work at a fair price. I was really surprised at how quickly I got my reels back from him.

[Tyler j]

I will ship but, I just really would hate to lose $600 worth of reels to the postal service

[ABW]

I will ship but, I just really would hate to lose $600 worth of reels to the postal service

 

That's why you get insurance for em 

[new2BC4bass]

Sheeet happens, but I think losing a package is rare.  Throwing heavy objects on it is more likely, so package with care.  One of the last reels (of 4) that I sent to Mike was a Curado 51E that I couldn't remove the side cover from.  I had purchased a set of bearings for it from a fellow member who didn't like the increased noise the bearings caused.  I had Mike install them, supertune it, and replace the stock drag with a Carbontex.  I can't believe how far this reel is throwing a spinnerbait on a 7'MF Prodigy rod with 8# Siege.

 

Once your reels have been supertuned, you should be able to cut down on the amount of braking you normally use.  My stock 51E is run with 2 brakes on....the tuned one with one brake on.  Same scenario for my Daiwas....tuned reels run with less braking than stock reels.  I more than get back the cost of supertuning and upgrading bearings and drag in the enjoyment I get from using them.

[Tyler j]

I have 2 pro Qualifers , prodigy by cabealas, kvd quantum, then one more. How does the carbon drag do does it make it smoother how much is it per reel to get cleaned and bearings, drag & tuned

[Crappiebasser]

I will ship but, I just really would hate to lose $600 worth of reels to the postal service

I completely understand I was the same way. After hearing horror stories of what local places did to some folks reels I decided to take a chance and ship them. Insure them for retail value and worst case you get all new ones.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Tyler,

 

Super Tuning is $34/ea and includes cleaning. Drag kits are $8-$12 for most models. Off the top of my head, I think those are all $8 kits. Some Quantums can't be fitted, but I'd have to see inside. Bearings are $9.50 ea for ABEC5 ceramic hybrids which are recommendation if needed, but advise cleaning and testing the stock bearings before deciding on that. FWIW, anything can happen, but use a lot of Priority Mail and have yet to see anything lost. I had one shipment damaged in transit out of literally hundreds. I offer  a 10% discount on labor to members here, so be sure to supply your screen name if you send reels. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

Mike

[Josh Smith]

Howdy guys, I have some questions regarding super tuning baitcasters. I want all of mine cleaned and I may want all new drags and bearings in them. I may have a guy to do it but if I do not is there anybody out there in southern virginia ( not much on long shipping ) who would do it

P.s it's only 5 reels

Thanks guys

 

Hello,

 

I do my own, but if I were to send them off to someone, it would be DVT.  From their comments we have similar thought processes.  They are much more up on the equipment than I am, too.

 

I own a non-fishing business.  I make parts and mail directly to customers as well as commercial retailers.

 

When I mail to retailers, I use Priority Flat Rate.  I ensure the parts for actual cost of replacement plus cost of labor.  The last commercial contract I completed I sent last week.  Insurance coverage and shipping only cost $44 and the value of the shipment was well over the cost of 5 excellent reels.

 

Insured mail is handled a bit differently, too, being sorted and scanned by hand (I'm given to understand) as opposed to machine scanning.

 

Use a medium flat-rate box, ensure it for $500 or so, wrap well, seal with duct tape, and send.  Record your tracking number and you can watch it online.

 

Josh

[papajoe222]

My son-in-law asked me to 'super tune' his four baitcasters for him.  I told him that for the amount of fishing he does (8-10 outings a year) and the low end reels he wanted me to work on that he wouldn't notice the difference. He insisted and I only cleaned and lubed the reels. He said he sure could tell the difference, thinking that I had 'tuned' them for him.  When I told him what I actually did, he couldn't believe that a simple cleaning an lube could make such a difference.  Grant you, the reels were filthy and hadn't been cleaned since he bought them, but I doubt that polishing gears, drag washers, spool release, etc.  along with bearing and drag upgrades after a good cleaning would be noticeable to him.

I don't assume to know your experience level, but if you're a once every other Saturday type of angler, I'd give it some serious thought. 

I'm not attempting to take business away from DVT, they do great work and I recommend them highly.  Just want you to look at both sides of the coin prior to pulling the trigger.

[TiNuts]

My son-in-law asked me to 'super tune' his four baitcasters for him.  I told him that for the amount of fishing he does (8-10 outings a year) and the low end reels he wanted me to work on that he wouldn't notice the difference. He insisted and I only cleaned and lubed the reels. He said he sure could tell the difference, thinking that I had 'tuned' them for him.  When I told him what I actually did, he couldn't believe that a simple cleaning an lube could make such a difference.  Grant you, the reels were filthy and hadn't been cleaned since he bought them, but I doubt that polishing gears, drag washers, spool release, etc.  along with bearing and drag upgrades after a good cleaning would be noticeable to him.

I don't assume to know your experience level, but if you're a once every other Saturday type of angler, I'd give it some serious thought. 

I'm not attempting to take business away from DVT, they do great work and I recommend them highly.  Just want you to look at both sides of the coin prior to pulling the trigger.

 

I'm not an experienced tuner by any means, but I've done a handful of reels myself, and the reels that seem to have had the biggest improvement from tuning have been cheaper reels.  That being said, they still didn't compare to my higher end un-tuned reels, although I did have a now discontinued bass pro reel that was decent to begin with, but after I tuned it it was amazing. I'm talking shimano smooth and castability was unbelievable for the price of the reel.  I couldn't believe it, and this has been the exception with the lower end reels I've done. The higher end reels that I've tuned, there didn't seem to be a significant difference from the way they were out of the box.

 

DVT may feel different, and I'm curious of his thoughts.

[Jeff H]

My son-in-law asked me to 'super tune' his four baitcasters for him.  I told him that for the amount of fishing he does (8-10 outings a year) and the low end reels he wanted me to work on that he wouldn't notice the difference. He insisted and I only cleaned and lubed the reels. He said he sure could tell the difference, thinking that I had 'tuned' them for him.  When I told him what I actually did, he couldn't believe that a simple cleaning an lube could make such a difference.  Grant you, the reels were filthy and hadn't been cleaned since he bought them, but I doubt that polishing gears, drag washers, spool release, etc.  along with bearing and drag upgrades after a good cleaning would be noticeable to him.

I don't assume to know your experience level, but if you're a once every other Saturday type of angler, I'd give it some serious thought. 

I'm not attempting to take business away from DVT, they do great work and I recommend them highly.  Just want you to look at both sides of the coin prior to pulling the trigger.

I agree.  Except I think carbontex drag kit is worth every penny.  I have yet to see a reel that didn't benefit from carbontex drag washers.  I put them in all my reels now.

[warpath58]

I did my own with parts from Hedgehog in Japan Great company they have great instructions with their products. Shipping was super fast I did 2 Tatula's a type r and a 100hs. Installed air bearing on each and level wind bearings, handle bearings etc... I also got the red dress up parts the screws and red cork handles. I increased the 8-1 gears with a Titanium set I made to 9.2-1 its fly's great buzz baits reel. I increased the gear ratio on the 7-1 to 8.5-1 with a set of titanium gears that I made. I Think the total cost for all the parts for both reels was somewhere around $260. www.Hedegehog-studio.co.jp

[new2BC4bass]

I have 2 pro Qualifers , prodigy by cabealas, kvd quantum, then one more. How does the carbon drag do does it make it smoother how much is it per reel to get cleaned and bearings, drag & tuned

 

Sometimes.  Depends on how smooth the original was.  The Carbontex drag should always be smooth.  They usually increase drag pressure.  One of the main reasons I have them installed in my reels.  Especially when it is a reel like my Fuegos which don't have much to start with.  Mike (DVT) could give you a better answer.

 

Which Prodigy do you have?  Mine is the older gray one.  These are very nice reels.  Feel as solid as a tank.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

The Carbontex drag is the real deal and fairly inexpensive. They are smooth, consistent and often a touch more powerful than stock. One of my main business principles is to never oversell. I won't accept work if I think the cost/benefit is out of line. A lot of people will sell Super Tuning for ABU & Daiwa reels with full floating spools for example. There is no benefit there as the friction points are taken out of the loop. This may or may not be the case with the Prodigy. I don't recall which design they use. Higher end reels with better tolerances etc. stand to gain less than others, but you're talking about an extra $12 on top of a pro cleaning. At some point it becomes an enthusiast endeavor, but the same can be said for owning a really high end reel at all. PQ's, Pfluegers, Citicas, Curados, Revo S, Pro Tourney's make up the bulk of the Super Tuning jobs I do. Mostly Mid-level reels, but I see my share of Cores as well.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Sometimes.  Depends on how smooth the original was.  The Carbontex drag should always be smooth.  They usually increase drag pressure.  One of the main reasons I have them installed in my reels.  Especially when it is a reel like my Fuegos which don't have much to start with.  Mike (DVT) could give you a better answer.

 

Which Prodigy do you have?  Mine is the older gray one.  These are very nice reels.  Feel as solid as a tank.

Carbontex drags are smoother because they don't compress like felt, and aren't tacky and don't degrade like Shimano's "Dartanium". The start up and pulling pressure are very consistent. The weave is a little different as compared to most stock carbon drags so I see some benefit there as well in slightly increased power. The can be run dry or greased. The grease isn't necessary unless you're fighting big, hard running fish where heat build up is a concern. 

[Josh Smith]

I just ordered some carbon drag washers for my favorite 5000.  The fiber drag clutches are very smooth, but they're old.  I'm curious about these carbon drag clutches.

 

That 5000, incidentally, uses bushings.  It's the only one I've not converted to use axle bearings and honestly, when using light motor oil as lube, it casts a bit better (though this is subjective) due to the axle riding on a layer of oil instead of a solid rolling surface, although I'm playing with the idea of using the insides of the bearings as bushings so there's sort of a dual action going on. 

 

One thing that is critical is the levelwind.  I prefer reels in which the levelwind moves during the cast as it reduces line friction through the guide.  However, the worm gear spinning produces drag as well, and because many reels use bushings there instead of bearings, it creates drag.  The worm gear does not spin fast enough to build up a boundary layer of oil, so bearings are critical there.  I just ordered a kit for the 5000 I found, and if it works as anticipated, I'll be upgrading all my 5000 reels with them.

 

As DVT says, 99% of improvements will come from cleaning.

 

I hate cleaning.

 

Though I prefer to do my own work, DVT might just get a couple reels for more thorough cleanings than I give them.  There are always small bits of old grease in no-essential places because I tend to spray the insides down with degreaser, rinse, then call it good.

 

Looking at the BPS Pro Qualifier, I do believe there are several things that it would benefit from.

 

Josh