Zillion Drag????

[BR65]

Should I/do I need to upgrade the drag washers on a new daiwa zillion 100sha???
cheers
brian

[chief 1]

I don't think you have to but i guess it could help,up to you

[TonyM]

I've ordered the carbontex upgrade for mine - for only $26 I think the question is why not do it?

[BARRAkid]

my zillion is new and fine drag but when i start fishing the sticks ill be upgrading

[NAGG]

Should I/do I need to upgrade the drag washers on a new daiwa zillion 100sha???
cheers
brian

G'day Brian

You shouldn't have to touch the drag initially...... unless you want to fish heavier lines & even greater drag pressures than the 6kg that you get.
Unless the drag washers have been contaminated with oil ...... the drags are very good

Nagg

[Steve B]

Brian, I haven't upgraded any drags in any of my reels, Zillion, TD advantage super tuned x2 and Abu Revo STX. BUT I dont fish heavy drag for barra anyway, as you probably know. The zillion fully locked up or not, has plenty of drag for barra in timber IMHO. It all depends on how you like to fish (hard/gentle) The only benefit I can see is may make the drag smoother.

A lot of blokes are having problems with there reels breaking, bending spools, wrecking internals because the are overloading their reels capabilites by using 50lb braid, 80 + lb leaders and upgrading drags then fully locking them up. Then add a meter plus barra charging in the opposite direction!!! The pressure this puts on components in reels (even the top quality reels) is phenomenal. Something has to give. I might not be on the first fish or the first trip, but in time, it cant be good for the reel.

Zillions, TD advantages, Revos, Phleugers, Curados etc are essentially just a slightly beefed up bass reel IMHO. I believe you have to treat them like that too to get the best out of them and help them live longer!!

Hope this helps. cheers steve

[TonyM]

I agree with you Steve re the low profile baitcasters and issues with strength of components. I've had a few issues in the past with pushing reels past there intended use and it isn't pretty

Mostly my zillion will be used for point casting and salt water use, I use a JDM cvz205 for the heavier line fishing in the timber stuff.

Even though I won't be pushing the zillion quite as hard I have found the erskine upgrade excellent on the other reels I have had it on, it is nice and smooth under load which I believe helps reduce the chance of any sudden jarring to destroy terminal tackle. I haven't done it yet, although I've been tempted to look at Jacks custom ground and lapped drag washers too.

[wheezer]

depends....it has been a very common occurence in zillions coming with drags contaminated with oil from the factory, resulting in a sticky drag performance...i'd change it for piece of mind anyway. in the case of my steez(same drag material as zillion), from new the drag seemed great, really smooth and good pressure. after i caught a couple of good fish at awoonga with it the drag became fairly jerky...in went a set of carbontex washer sand problem solved!

[Roo]

I found the Zillion drag to be a bit sticky when using heavy settings, up to the point where it became very peaky @ close to redline. I've put the erskine washers with a little cals grease in it and i have noticed it is smoother and more progressive drag now. may not get quite as much out of it now but it is smooth. I get about 5.5kgs with the knob turn up as hard as i can. perhaps i put too much grease on but in anycase, i won't often use 5 kgs of drag.

Note the same effect with erskine washers/cals grease in my 2500R certate too. maybe a little less drag (6kg)but heaps smoother and more progressive now. i have a spare spool with standard washers and it feels almost loose on the shaft until it is loaded up at about 2.5kg of drag......which is a bit high for 3lb crystal!!!

[Fafnir]

I'm with Wheezer, I changed mine for piece of mind. Drag seemed a little jerky as new, so changed over to carbontex. Change was purely for smoothness, not for extra drag pressure. Wouldn't want to lose a good fish over a sticky drag.

[NAGG]

I'm with Wheezer, I changed mine for piece of mind. Drag seemed a little jerky as new, so changed over to carbontex. Change was purely for smoothness, not for extra drag pressure. Wouldn't want to lose a good fish over a sticky drag.

There seems to be a contamination issue with the drag washers in new Zillions ..... but once cleaned up ..seem to be OK
I might do an upgrade of the drag on one of my Zillions & see if it does make a difference

Nagg

[reggy]

I agree with you Steve re the low profile baitcasters and issues with strength of components. I've had a few issues in the past with pushing reels past there intended use and it isn't pretty

Mostly my zillion will be used for point casting and salt water use, I use a JDM cvz205 for the heavier line fishing in the timber stuff.

Even though I won't be pushing the zillion quite as hard I have found the erskine upgrade excellent on the other reels I have had it on, it is nice and smooth under load which I believe helps reduce the chance of any sudden jarring to destroy terminal tackle. I haven't done it yet, although I've been tempted to look at Jacks custom ground and lapped drag washers too.

Tony
I put Jack`s lapped metals and carbontex in my Abu 6500 before Iused it and the first fish I got was a Spanish mack. Great stuff! don`t forget a little Cal`s grease.

[ian.young]

At the top end of its drag range, my zillion's drag is quite shuddery when it starts up. I've thoroughly cleaned the drag washers and lapped the metal ones, but this (slight) problem persists. I'm getting some carbontex.

[BR65]

Cheers fellas, the zill will be spooled with 30, and used for more open areas than the bush country I usually sacrifice my lures into.
Sounds like a set of carbontex for peace of mind anyway
brian

[Fafnir]

I changed mine without knowing the answer to this question, but how do you think it affects the warranty on the reel? I assume it would go someway towards voiding the warranty, but the benefits to me outweight the risks.