AVET PRO EX4/02 DRAG CAM UPGRADE?

[LTM]

Hey folks,

I had read a tutorial awhile back on bloddy decks which spoke about an upgraded cam for the PRO EX4/02. The article stated:

"Those reels need three things - a new cam (free from Avet), Chris's bellevilles (don't know what they go for these days) and ABEC 5 stainless shielded spool bearings (ten bucks a pop from Boca Bearing). With those upgrades installed, the EX 4/0 becomes just as good as a Pro 30."

"The easiest and cheapest improvement to that reel is to change the factory belleville washers. They were not your standard issue belliville and they do not have a liniear increase in spring tension as they compress. Their are a number of other things I do to the reel.
If your really interested send me a P.M. Tunatoys "

"I beleive Avet changed the cam design on this reel. Maybe you purchased old inventory. A call to Avet with the serial # will give you an approx. production date."

Well, I looked-over my reel and it must be one before they started serializing their reels. Can anyone tell me about this upgrade before I attempt to contact Avet about it?  Does anyone know about "Chris's bellevilles" or better ones?  Lastly, anyone familiar with "Tunatoys"?

Thanx,

Leo

[alantani]

tunatoys can be found here!  http://www.noreast.com/discussion/TopicList.cfm?forum_ID=30

[LTM]

Thanx for the referral Alan.

Anyone else shed some light on this drag cam upgrade?

Leo

[alantani]

i've worked on a bunch of ex 4/02's.  a specific cam is chosen to give a specific drag at strike then and an equally specific drag at full.  what kind of drag ranges are you looking for?

[LTM]

Alan,

Im doing the mod you mentioned in the tutorial where the plate is repositioned. You mentioned that after the mod the drag curve is more abrupt between freespool and strike or strike and full. The bottom line is desiring to make these transitions more gradual after the mod. My goal is to use 100lb braid with 60/80lb top shots. What are your drag recommendations with this configuration?

Also Alan, do you know where I can get belleville's to fit this reel to address the belleville issue mentioned. Im thinking my reel predates Avet adding serial numbers so the bellevilles in my "early" model may be in question which I would like to address now.

You also mentioned that Avet uses less-than-premium bearings. Where would you recommend I purchase replacement bearings. Hopefully, after this all it wil need is routine maintenance.

Thanx,

Leo

[alantani]

stick with the bearings in the reel now, unless they are damaged.  if you have to replace them, check in with smoothdrag.com or bocabearings.com. 

for the bellevilles, measure out the ones you have and check with mcmaster.com to see what they have in stock.  you will need to know the inside diameter, the outside diameter, the thickness and the height.  hopefully there will be a good quality belleville that will work. 

to change the curve, try changing out the bellevilles first.  the second option is to file down the cam.  once you do that, there is no turning back, unless avet has a replacement cam for you to monkey around with.  i just did a discussion on bellevilles.  take a look.  remember, filing away at the cam is your last choice. 

[LTM]

Thanx much Alan,

I'll update this post as I evaluate and make progress and update with my findings. Ought to be an intersting project.

Leo