Just finished!!! Tricked out D4. You be the judge.

DG

Totally disagree! First of all Plasma is a brand name. The correct term is synthetic rope.

Secondly modern synth ropes aren't prone to rot, UV damage or other similar problems. Yes, they should be cleaned, and so should all other straps and strops. Wire rope is not maintenance-free either, that needs careful use, inspection and the problem with wire is that once kinked or damaged, that's it, must be replaced, whereas synth can be cut and spliced, retaining 95%+ of its strength. Everything needs maintenance, and if my winches aren't used for say 5-6 weeks I take the time to fully spool and unspool them to run the motors at least. I'd do that regardless of wire or synth rope, it's just standard recovery gear maintenance.

However, the single biggest argument for synth rope, and why I've used nothing else on both my winches for years, and why all the comp boys use it and many comps mandate it, is when it breaks. Watch wire rope break under stress, then synth rope, and you'll open the wallet for synth immediately. It's far, far safer. And it saves weight.

Mate, nice looking vehicle. If my wife sees it she'll want to trade in the Defender.

[QUOTE=Noel's D4;1331726]Hi White D3,


Noel

Car looks good. Does the spare affect the cameras vision, if you have one fitted. How do you see right hand brake light & blinker?
Getting bull bar fitted, long range tank maybe,depends on how it effects camera after fitting spare carrier.

Thanks. KERO

There are indicators in the bar.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rmp

DG

Totally disagree! First of all Plasma is a brand name. The correct term is synthetic rope.

Secondly modern synth ropes aren't prone to rot, UV damage or other similar problems. Yes, they should be cleaned, and so should all other straps and strops. Wire rope is not maintenance-free either, that needs careful use, inspection and the problem with wire is that once kinked or damaged, that's it, must be replaced, whereas synth can be cut and spliced, retaining 95%+ of its strength. Everything needs maintenance, and if my winches aren't used for say 5-6 weeks I take the time to fully spool and unspool them to run the motors at least. I'd do that regardless of wire or synth rope, it's just standard recovery gear maintenance.

However, the single biggest argument for synth rope, and why I've used nothing else on both my winches for years, and why all the comp boys use it and many comps mandate it, is when it breaks. Watch wire rope break under stress, then synth rope, and you'll open the wallet for synth immediately. It's far, far safer. And it saves weight.

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Fully agree.
I had synthetic rope on my previous vehicle for 15 years. I'd spool it out and respool once a year to make sure the system was still working and use it maybe once or twice in earnest until the next year (when I go 4WDing I don't plan to use the winch - it's there as a backup only (and more often than not to rescue someone else!)). I've never dried out wet rope after use (it also gets wet when it rains or when I wash the car) and never had any issues.
I now have synthetic rope on the D3 - wouldn't have anything else. Even if synthetic rope didn't have the life of steel rope, the safety aspect makes it far more worthwhile in my book.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Owl

I now have synthetic rope on the D3 - wouldn't have anything else.

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How about a few pics Owl?:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Noel's D4

Hi Dorko,
Thanks for the feedback.

I have the standard "assisted air intake" which is not a proper snorkel. Even though I had the dealer water proof all external pieces, the problem lies with the flexible ducting which runs between the snorkel and the air box. The hose duct has the abilty to let in water under certain extreme circumstances, which could spell disaster. I will be fitting a Safari snorkel to aviod any possible water ingress.

Safari do not make a snorkel for the D4 at the moment. I have arranged with them to lend them my car for all the measuring and trial fit up. The car goes to them in 2 weeks, so hopefully they will be on the market in about 4 - 6 weeks.

The Tunit system has made a great difference to power and torque since i fitted it. The guys at Tunit had one on the dyno and gave me the best settings for power or economy etc. I am hoping to get a full 3 inch exhaust system made in the next coming months and then have the whole package dyno'. I will keep you posted when this happens.

I have heard great things about the steinbauer though!!

Cheers
Noel

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I have had a safari snorkel fitted to my D4 for about 4 weeks (see separate thread). It is a D3 snorkel with some very minor mods or so I'm told. I have since done the Sydney - Melbourne trek twice with no problems albeit with a little extra wind noise. It looks the goods and works well.

Cheers

GeorgeK

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Duck's Guts

Please excuse me for jumping in with my personal opinion, but...

For infrequent use & low maintenance, steel cable is the way to go. Zero maintenance, but this is offset by the difficulties during cable handling.

If plasma gets wet (river crossing etc) you must run it out, allow it to dry & respool it. Otherwise you risk mold & rot damage (actually, not 'risk', damage WILL occur).
If plasma gets dirty (during winch use, playing in mud, bulldust/road grime build-up, & eventual penetration into the deeper layers on the spool and into the plasma rope fibres, etc), it causes abrasion and/or chemical decay of the fibres and reduces rope strength. Each time it gets dirty you should run the rope out, clean it in soapy water, allow it to dry, then respool it back on the winch.

Easy to handle, plasma rope is great IF you use your winch alot &/or prepared to spend time maintaining it or replacing it frequently.
But for the majority of 4WDers who have a winch as 'a-just-in-case' risk mitigation control, the low maintenance & reliability offered by steel cable is the way to go.
In my opinion...-_-

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i agree that is probly less maintenance, and you have air sus so thats realy no problem having over hanging weight,

It is important to reduce weight regardless of air suspension or not, and especially weight that is a long way from the CoG such as over the front axle.

Quote - Safari do not make a snorkel for the D4 at the moment. I have arranged with them to lend them my car for all the measuring and trial fit up. The car goes to them in 2 weeks, so hopefully they will be on the market in about 4 - 6 weeks.

Love your optimism. Safari are notoriously slow at product development, even for the high profile models. I think it comes back to their perchant for 'doing it right the first time', and you can't blame them for that. Just frustrating to deal with them. Really not sure what R & D they are doing. 4wd shops around the country have been fitting the D3 snorkel without issue to D4's for 6 months at least.