Shimano drag washers

[BassSteve]

I was doing some maintenance on one of my reels and it had me thinking about the drag washers. I was reading about these "carbontex" washers everyone raves about. Does shimano use this brand of drag washer in their current reels, or their own stuff? Would it be worth it to change them to carbontex, or are the washers installed more than sufficient? I am assuming they would already be high quality but I am just curious ?

 

 

[MN Fisher]

Depends on the price-point of the reel. I've got reels that came with them, and others from the same manufacturer that didn't.

 

Carbontex isn't a brand - it's a material...carbon infused fibers.

 

Pic of some carbontex washers I cut out of a sheet - one of the original felt washers is the off-white one under the caliper dial.

[BassSteve]

Sorry I could have been more specific. Price point for reels like the curado 200k, bantam mgl, stradic 2500FL etc. Is there a way to tell it is carbontex by looking at it? Any distinctive features?

[MN Fisher]

Partially disassemble - the carbontex will be black, oiled-felt will be off-white.

 

You can also look at the specs online - Shimano calls it 'Cross Carbon Drag'...that's carbontex.

[BassSteve]

Thank you sir, it appears all the reels I have by shimano use carbontex??. If you had to guess, what is the life span of washers like these with regular fishing?

[MN Fisher]

Years - maybe lifetime if you're a casual fisher.

[BassSteve]

So I probably have no reason to buy new sets of drag washers for my reels if that's the case. Do you think I should buy them just to have around? They are pretty cheap 

[MN Fisher]

Up to you - I cut my own, so I just keep sheets of carbontex material on hand, but some people keep spare washers on hand...just in case. They might just sit in a box forever though.

[Bankc]

55 minutes ago, BassSteve said:

So I probably have no reason to buy new sets of drag washers for my reels if that's the case. Do you think I should buy them just to have around? They are pretty cheap 

Nah.  They're pretty fragile and break easily if you bend them.  In a reel, they won't get bent, so they'll last a long time.  In a drawer, other stuff will rest on top of them and bump them around, so they have a lot higher probability of getting destroyed.  Plus, you'll probably start to notice them going bad in a reel, as you'll find yourself having to tighten the star nut tighter and tighter to get the same drag pressure.  So you'll have time to order new ones when the old ones eventually get worn out.  Plus, by then, there will probably be other parts that need replacing as well, like bearings and maybe gears.  

 

And just because the drag isn't holding like it once was, doesn't mean the washer is worn out.  It could be that it's gotten oil or grease on it.  So before you decide to buy new ones, clean your old ones.  And when you have them out for cleaning, you can feel if the texture is worn off or not.  

[FishTank]

You should be good for a long time with the washers you have.  I have upgraded a few over the years but only had to replace a couple in my reels, mainly because I had accidentally over tightened them or they had just started to fall apart.  I think the one I replaced this year was about 15 years old in my Shimano Calcutta. 

 

 

[CrankFate]

Once you get to mid market, the reels all have good quality carbon drag washers. They don’t need to be upgraded. Unless there is a fiber washer under the main gear. That is something a lot of people replace, if there is one. The only benefit of adding an “upgraded” drag is that the washers might be thicker and could make the reel feel more solid and could give you more than stock drag pressure. I put “upgraded” in quotes, because I’m not sure if this is an actual upgrade. I, personally, prefer the feel of a reel with slightly thicker washers, but is is not at all necessary.

[J Francho]

No manufacturer uses Carbontex brand washers.  They are available through Smooth Drags.  From speaking to the owner, she says there is a proprietary coating to the carbon fiber that other washers do not have that is supposed to add to durability and smoothness.  Every reel that I purchase gets a Carbontex upgrade as SOP.

[BassSteve]

Do you guys think I should leave them dry or add a light grease coating to the washers? I see many different opinions of this 

[J Francho]

I go dry.  Zero maintenance and unaffected by freezing temps.  If you add grease, you only want a vapor thin coating.

[CrankFate]

5 hours ago, J Francho said:

No manufacturer uses Carbontex brand washers.  They are available through Smooth Drags.  From speaking to the owner, she says there is a proprietary coating to the carbon fiber that other washers do not have that is supposed to add to durability and smoothness.  Every reel that I purchase gets a Carbontex upgrade as SOP.

Didn’t know that, but I did notice the dryer scratchier feel to the stock carbon washers, which almost feel like charcoal fiber. I also noticed that the stock washers work better dry and get a matted varnished type of look to them when greased. Now you have me questioning whether or not to put carbontex in my next reel when it comes? Which has been SOP for me.

[JustJames]

4 hours ago, BassSteve said:

Do you guys think I should leave them dry or add a light grease coating to the washers? I see many different opinions of this 

If you use stock carbon washer, I grease them just a little to ensure more smoothness. I just dab a tiny bit on my finger and rub them all the way around the drag. I don’t grease any of metal washer or main gear. To clean them just lay them fat on paper towel and just a couple swirl should be enough. I don’t see the benefit of smooth drag over stock carbon drag.

[WRB]

Back in the 90’s I upgrade all my reel drags to Smooth Drags and trouble free for over 25 years. Smooth Drags are trouble free.

Tom

[Michigander]

10 hours ago, BassSteve said:

Do you guys think I should leave them dry or add a light grease coating to the washers? I see many different opinions of this 

I go dry on reels that I want high drag and a light grease on the carbontex plus a mirror polish on the metal drag washers for light line applications. Doing this seems to reduce the max drag available but I don't care about the upper limit on light line, I want immediate smooth operation.

[Guitarfish]

I never have dry drags even on my saltwater reels.  Smooth start up is what I'm after always.  If I lose a bit of drag pressure I go to the next size up reel.  And carbontex of course, either cut or bought from SmoothDrag.

All that said, if I'm fishing light line for trout or crappie the stock clean oiled felt will suffice.  

[Bigassbass]

Small reels work great and are smoother with felt drags, bigger reels work  with carbon but know that carbon can grind into the brass or whatever medal your reel is made of.  I've replaced felt don't like carbon and most all Shimano CI-4 reels need new felt pretty fast plus the Stella and lots of other Shimano reels come with felt.  I think it's a personal choice and you choose what you like.

[Bankc]

No grease for maximum drag.  Very light coating of drag grease for maximum smoothness.  Either way is good for general use, as it doesn't really make a whole lot of difference one way or the other.  So long as you don't apply too much grease, it's hard to go wrong.  

[Revival]

I upgraded all the washers on my spinning reels.  Easy install and well worth it.

 

When I placed my last order, I asked them if the recommended light grease or dry and the recommended using light grease.

 

I believe the Vanfords 3000 and up already come with the carbontex washers but I wish they all did.

[CrankFate]

On 5/14/2021 at 11:25 PM, WRB said:

Back in the 90’s I upgrade all my reel drags to Smooth Drags and trouble free for over 25 years. Smooth Drags are trouble free.

Tom

I did mine in the mid 2000’s. Just serviced my Aldebaran that wasn’t opened in 2 years. The fiber washer under the main gear was waxy and sticky and leaving a black blotchy stain on the metal. It looks like every drop of loose oil that went into the reel for 2 years soaked into it. Replaced with SD Carbontex. That never happens with the SD washers. 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Carbontex drags are not harder than brass or aluminum alloys. They are more durable, as smooth or smoother than felt and don not swell and bind should they get wet. Replacing felt with carbon makes more sense than swapping out casting reel drags just to lock them

down (I don’t recommend that either)

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

Had Chronarch Ci4 stock drag washers replaced to carbontex it was a downgrade not worth the cost as far as I experienced. CI4 stock was very smooth performing.