TackleTour

I was looking at purchasing a Daiwa TD-X or S... or maybe two of them. I would be interested in enhancing the performance on them, so what would be the best thing to do. Should I upgrade the spool, bearings, ect. If I get new bearings, should I get Abec5's (cheaper than 7's). How about the spool, should I get a ZPI, wiffled spool, or a hyper long cast. Then for the spool, does it matter whether the spool is capatable for magforce v/z.. or with the ZPI, does it even matter? Does a carbon handle really do much to the reel?

Thanks.

Btw... how would be the best way to remove/cover stratches and boatrash?

Also, is there much of a difference between the US version of the TD-X,S and the Japan version?

Get the Super Tuned TDX, it only cost 10 more dollars than the regular TDX.

roachy wrote:I was looking at purchasing a Daiwa TD-X or S... or maybe two of them. I would be interested in enhancing the performance on them, so what would be the best thing to do. Should I upgrade the spool, bearings, ect. If I get new bearings, should I get Abec5's (cheaper than 7's). How about the spool, should I get a ZPI, wiffled spool, or a hyper long cast. Then for the spool, does it matter whether the spool is capatable for magforce v/z.. or with the ZPI, does it even matter? Does a carbon handle really do much to the reel?

Thanks.

Btw... how would be the best way to remove/cover stratches and boatrash?

The ZPI bearings(or any bearing upgrade) make a huge difference in the TD-S. I have a TD-S 103HL(black JDM version). As far as the spool and carbon handle go I wouldn't think the gains would be worth the cost although a ZPI handle would look .
Cover scratches and boat rash are just going to happen, but getting a neoprene cover for it will help with the rash.

roachy.
I don't know if you are getting the TD-X or TD-S new or used.... So, don't know how much you want to sink into the reel. They are a nice reel and perform well, especially the supertuned version. However, a new spool, carbon handle, drag upgrade and bearings will set you back at least $200 if the components are purchased new. Assuming you are getting a new reel new for $200 and the $200 upgrades, you could almost get a new Steez, or Zillion instead. Just a thought, since only you will be able to justify the costs to performance improvement.

I have several TD-X's and S's that I let my nieces and nephews use, and they do perform well with stock components, lighter spool oil and upgraded drags -- the economy upgrades. However, they are not a low profile reel and as light as the current models -- and the TD-X's/S's have been around for quite a while.... You can get some nice deals on ebay or even in the For Sale Section of the forum (you might make a WTB post).

Here is a link to a 2002 review:
http://www.tackletour.com/reviewdaiwatdx.html

Here is a link to a recent post that is related to performance upgrades:
T3Forum/viewtopic.php?t=20485

Chuck

ChuckE wrote:roachy.
I don't know if you are getting the TD-X or TD-S new or used.... So, don't know how much you want to sink into the reel. They are a nice reel and perform well, especially the supertuned version. However, a new spool, carbon handle, drag upgrade and bearings will set you back at least $200 if the components are purchased new. Assuming you are getting a new reel new for $200 and the $200 upgrades, you could almost get a new Steez, or Zillion instead. Just a thought, since only you will be able to justify the costs to performance improvement.

I have several TD-X's and S's that I let my nieces and nephews use, and they do perform well with stock components, lighter spool oil and upgraded drags -- the economy upgrades. However, they are not a low profile reel and as light as the current models -- and the TD-X's/S's have been around for quite a while.... You can get some nice deals on ebay or even in the For Sale Section of the forum (you might make a WTB post).

Here is a link to a 2002 review:
http://www.tackletour.com/reviewdaiwatdx.html

Here is a link to a recent post that is related to performance upgrades:
T3Forum/viewtopic.php?t=20485

Chuck

Forgot about the drag upgrade.

Also as Chuck said you can find good deals on these reels on ebay if you keep your eye out. I really don't like to buy reels off ebay, but I found my TD-S NIB for $50.00 and it actually arrived as such. I couldn't pass it up, but the S reels do need some upgrades to make them good performers.

I have several TDs and one TDx (103HVLA). Here's what I did:
-Purchased TDX spool for my tds, they are drilled out spool so I save a bit of weight. This way I kept the original spool with a different line size that gives me more opportunity to to have the excat line size I need without trhowing away otherwise good line.
-Put in boca bearings abec 5 hybrid. They make a big difference specialy on the liter tdx spools and they're fairly cheap.
-I polished to shine the washers for the brake. I don't get much better performance but I know have a very smooth drag with very little difference between start up and running drag.
All that cost around $70 a reel which is not bad I think. These reels are fantastic reels for pitching and flipping. With the lighter spool I can throw some very small baits like a bevy pop or a weightless 4" grubs. Once you get a new spool, the difference between a tdX and a tds is minute!

I'm not going to purchase them new... well, for retail. I can easily pick up other reels for better deals than the 200 for the supertuned td-x. I got a chronarch 100mg, that I bought new for $140. So for the price, I didn't plan on getting them new. Either I could get them for under 100 on ebay new, or like 50 used. Which $50, would be a good deal especially if you can put 50-75 into it and than be comparable to a high end reel. I was thinking about maybe getting an airbrush and painting a td-x or s to match a rod.. like a bright orange td-x to match a carrot stix... that would be sick. If I airbrushed them, I would take the entire reel apart, then do a multi- layer and finish it with some sort of gloss. If I did make a custom td-x to match the carrot stix, I might see if I could pick up a carbon handle for half retail and maybe a ported spool.