Anybody have DVT "soup" up your reel?

[AlabamaSpothunter]

So after dozens of reels, I finally had a reel that needed service/repair I couldn't perform, thus I had to mail it off earlier today to site sponsor Delaware Valley Tackle.    My luck it's a JDM reel.   

 

When looking over the services webpage on their site, it lists a number of enhancement options like upgrading bearing, and better drag washers, and then this option..."Includes a basic reel service plus polishing of critical surfaces and Boca Bearing Soak Treatment. $39.99"

 

I have no idea what these things do outside of the upgraded bearing and really don't know if those bearing would be better than the ones that already come in the high-end reel models.      

 

The reel in question is a 19 Certate 3000CXH which until it started acting up was nothing short of spectacular.    I'm wondering if a reel of this caliber could benefit from any of these things listed above?   If you have experience on this subject, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[A-Jay]

Talk to @Delaware Valley Tackle 

I've had "Several" reels done there.

Spinning & casting.

If you are happy with Like New performance, IMO the basic service will get you that.

btw that Certate is a pretty sweet reel.

A-Jay

 

[VolFan]

What he said. I’ve had everything from basic service up to the ‘supertune’ options. His basic service makes the reels literally better than brand new and the supertune made the reel better than me. 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Most of the extra services pertain more to casting reels since the casting is mechanical. I’m always open to inspecting and making recommendations as to what a specific reel would benefit from. Email or call to discuss your specifics if you’d like. Otherwise you can send whatever you have at your convenience. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

1 minute ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

Most of the extra services pertain more to casting reels since the casting is mechanical. I’m always open to inspecting and making recommendations as to what a specific reel would benefit from. Email or call to discuss your specifics if you’d like. Otherwise you can send whatever you have at your convenience. 

Thanks for info!   

 

I mailed a JDM 19 Certate your way on Friday, so I'll just wait to hear what you think needs to be done.     

[Columbia Craw]

Mike did three for me.  Couldn’t be happier.

[new2BC4bass]

I've read a few posts where guys said it was a night and day difference.  I have to think their reels were either new and packed with grease or old and dried out.  Possibly the reel had a bearing problem.  I've never noticed this much difference.  Maybe because I'm not an expert caster like many on here.  (shrug)

 

What I have noticed is that I can get the same casting distance (or slightly better) as before, but with less effort.  Often I am able to lower the brake a little.

 

I had a new SV105 that easily backlashed.  In this aspect it returned as a totally different reel.

[VolFan]

6 minutes ago, new2BC4bass said:

What I have noticed is that I can get the same casting distance (or slightly better) as before, but with less effort.  Often I am able to lower the brake a little.

So it was a significantly noticeable difference?

[AlabamaSpothunter]

The Certate was incredible for 2 years of heavy usage, but something is wrong with it thus I'm sending it to an expert to repair.   First reel I've owned that requires a special tool to completely disassemble.   If I can just get it back to where it was, that's all I'm really looking for.   

 

I'm glad to learn about the upgrades though, and I might have to send a baitcaster or two to get the soup up treatment.      Problem is then I need all my reels souped up lol.  

 

Appreciate all the great replies, and look forward to DVT making my beloved Certate whole again 🙂

[new2BC4bass]

5 minutes ago, VolFan said:

So it was a significantly noticeable difference?

Noticeable?  Yes.  Significantly?  Not sure how to answer this.  I got started on baitcast reels late in life.  Because of this I'm not the great caster many are so I like my reels to be in as good a condition as possible.  Then I'm the limiting factor.  Unfortunately I can't afford to send them all out.

 

A couple posters said casting distance increase by a lot.  Like 20 yards or more.  I haven't seen this with my tuned reels.  That's why I think their reels weren't in any kind of decent condition before the tune.

 

Maybe there are a (very) few reels that would benefit that much by a tune, but personally I feel that is expecting too much if you are starting out with a half-way decent reel.

 

I'd imagine the best place for a bearing upgrade is when going to a finesse spool in your reel.  They would allow for a faster start up.  Some of my reels came new with ABEC5 bearings.  I don't know if I could notice a difference in a bearing upgrade on these reels for 'normal' bass fishing weights.

[VolFan]

Nobody on this thread said anything about 20 yds of casting distance. I would agree with you on that - 20 yd difference in casting means something was wrong with the reel or the user. Proper clean and lube (and putting it back together with good alignment) makes the reel cast and retrieve better. Drag service makes the drag smooth and consistent. Supertuning makes all of the above even better, but isn’t needed or necessary for all reels.  I would suggest send a couple of you have the means to - it really opens your eyes to what a properly cleaned and set up reel feels like.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Unlike much of what you see online regarding SuperTuned reels, I avoid making any similar exaggerated claims regarding casting distance. Imo the biggest advantage of improved free spool whether achieved through cleaning, super Tuning or bearing upgrades is easier casting leading to improved accuracy. Some ancillary distance gained is common. The rub is that people don’t do improvements in steps. For example, a dirty, gummed up reel gets super tuned and new bearings and gets substantial gains. A simple deep cleaning would have realized 75% of those gains and should always be the first step. This is the new baseline to compare further modifications against. Different reel models respond differently to modifications too. This also goes unaddressed all too often. Anyone with general or specific questions should feel free to contact me directly or by posting. Hopefully people I’ve dealt with will agree, I’m more apt to under sell than to push something that won’t benefit the customer. 

[new2BC4bass]

2 hours ago, VolFan said:

Nobody on this thread said anything about 20 yds of casting distance. I would agree with you on that - 20 yd difference in casting means something was wrong with the reel or the user. Proper clean and lube (and putting it back together with good alignment) makes the reel cast and retrieve better. Drag service makes the drag smooth and consistent. Supertuning makes all of the above even better, but isn’t needed or necessary for all reels.  I would suggest send a couple of you have the means to - it really opens your eyes to what a properly cleaned and set up reel feels like.

An increase of 20 yards or more was in reference to some old posts I read years ago....not to anyone posting here.

 

I agree with you and DVT.  I sent two Curado 51E reels to DVT.  One for deep clean only.  The other also got upgraded bearings.  Don't recall if any polishing was done on that reel.  I really couldn't see any difference between them at that time.  I now have much more experience with baitcast reels, so I should try them again side-by-side.  They haven't been used in quite some time as I prefer my Alphas reels in situations where I would have used the 51Es.

 

I almost always upgrade the drag.

 

I've had the above 51E plus a few other reels either cleaned, upgraded or upgraded and tuned.  Somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 reels upgraded or upgraded and tuned.  Plus I've purchased several used reels that were already upgraded and tuned (obviously no before and after experience with these reels).