Daiwa TD-Z Drag Upgrade

[Hapi Hooker]

I'd like to send out my reel to upgrade my drag and the bearings. Can someone please refer someone in the US. Any feedback on what components I should use would be appreciated.

Thanks, HH

[Oolie]

to do it yourself, carbontex drags from smoothdrags.com and bearings from boca zpi or vxb bearings, or you could send it to D.R. and it will all be taken care of.

[ChuckE]

For the TD-Z spool, you'll need (1) 5x11x4 and (1) 3x8x4 ceramic hybrid bearing:
- VXB has Abec 5 ceramic hybrids in both sizes, but they come packed with grease. The grease can be difficult to remove if you don't want to temporarily remove the shields and don't have an ultrasonic cleaner.
- VXB has an Abec 7 ceramic hybrid in 5x11x4 only, it comes dry and is easy to clean. Unfortunately, they do not offer a 3x8x4 in Abec 7 ceramic hybrids.
- Boca has Abec 5 ceramic hybrids in both sizes. If you call them to order, make sure you specify to ship them dry. If not, they'll come packed with grease, that it is fairly easy to clean/remove with a solvent or cleaner.
- ZPI offers SIC ceramic hybrids in both sizes. They will come without shields; which has some advantages and disadvantages. Although they are easier to clean and lube, they will also be more susceptible to fouling, need more frequent cleaning and lube.
- TG offers Abec 7 ceramic hybrids in both sizes, but they are the most expensive of those listed and are a little more difficult to find in stock at times.

All of the bearings listed above will provide an improvement in casting performance, over the stock TD-Z bearings. (Most notice casts of the same distance with less effort put into the cast, and improved casting accuracy.) However, upgraded bearings will require more frequent maintenance in order to keep top performance. You'll find you need to oil them a little more often with a light oil, and may also need to clean them a little more often when compared to the stock bearings. (If you are not willing or able to do this, I suggest you consider staying with the stock bearings.)

For the Carbontex drag upgrade, you'll need 1 set of "Daiwa Reel #1" carbontex drag washers. Dawn at smoothdrag.com can help:
http://www.smoothdrag.com/installation.html

Unless you've worked on reels before, doing the spool bearing and drag upgrade can be a little challenging. Getting the spool pin out seems to be a big problem for some on the bearing upgrade. Disassembling the reel to do the drag upgrade is a bit 'harrowing' for some, if you haven't done it before.

Lastly, DR can do your drag and spool bearing upgrades, you can PM him here on TackleTour. He keeps bearings and Carbontex drag washers in stock and can offer his suggestions on bearing upgrade. A lot of forum members use him.

Chuck