VISX 16 Freespool Clicking sound

[Leonman44]

Is the cam too straight or I did something wrong ? I am having issues setting up the reel as I want to , I can't get both low and high drags at the same preset , moving the lever drag adds braking force little by little so if I want max drags at max then even at 1 it has massive force. I want to have low drags at 1 but high drags at Max 

As i have set it up now I am getting 6 lb at 1 , 17 lb at strike 4 and 22lb at max. That's only the half of the real reels max but I really need a low setting at 1.

The metal and carbon fiber disks.

Nice , will do better job next time I open the reel !

[Porthos]

So with the lever at FREE, you are unable to dial the drag button clockwise?

How are your bellevilles configured? (), ((, )), or something else?

[Leonman44]

Seems like that i am getting exactly what i should :



According this specs sheet the preconfigured strike is 10lb that its at number 4 and at FULL is 15lb.

So i am getting also 5lb difference from 4 to FULL , thats to little but thats how the cam is for these smaller reels. I was expecting something more like the 20visx that its 10lb difference from 4 to FULL. I dont have a way to grind the cam and fix that so i guess i am stuck with mediocre settings.

So with the lever at FREE, you are unable to dial the drag button clockwise?

How are your bellevilles configured? (), ((, )), or something else?

Seems like that everything works as it should but i wont be getting near close to the 45lb max drags and be practical. Best i could achieve up to now is with a little backed off strike position and more clicks on that preset that gives me : 9 lb at 1 , 18 lb at strike and 25 lb at FULL. The minimum drag at position 1 is a bit high but i will see how it goes during action. I wouldnt like to tighten the preset any more as the lever drag already got heavy and moving the lever from strip position is already harder so constantly cranking my bait and letting it drop back to the bottom will make me tired , any more than that and its unusable for that purpose.

Not sure about the bellevilles.

[Porthos]

That's...interesting...Alan set his 50VISX at 45lb STRIKE and 60lb FULL. These numbers are significantly higher than Penn's chart.

He's also set up a 16VISX and 30VISX with 50lb FULL.

My "new-to-me" 16VSX is 42lb FULL in ()() bellevilles, and 48lb FULL with (()).

[Keta]

My VISX16 is set 28# at strike and it gets 45# at full.

[Leonman44]

That's...interesting...Alan set his 50VISX at 45lb STRIKE and 60lb FULL. These numbers are significantly higher than Penn's chart.

He's also set up a 16VISX and 30VISX with 50lb FULL.

My "new-to-me" 16VSX is 42lb FULL in ()() bellevilles, and 48lb FULL with (()).

Alan was also getting very linear drags out of that VISX 16 : https://alantani.com/index.php/topic,36088.0.html

"setting the drag to 40 pounds at full gave me a 30 pound drag setting at the number 1 position.  no bueno."

Also said then "out comes the cam.  it was ground down to a 3.5 degree angle.  here is the result."

So these reels need a cam tuning otherwise you are stuck with very linear drag curve.

Maybe i should open my reel and wipe the drags a bit to increase friction and gain a bit more but still its exactly as the penns sheet report. Doesnt hurt one more try.

To be honest i dont understand the bellevilles topic , could you please explain?

My VISX16 is set 28# at strike and it gets 45# at full.

Weird , did you grind the cam too or it was just like that out of the box?

[Porthos]

To be honest i dont understand the bellevilles topic , could you please explain?

Bellevilles are conical hence they have properties of "springs." The way they are oriented and how many control the amount of pressure that can be applied to them.

A () two washers config offers "softer" resistance, so lower pressures to compress them...i.e., lower drag range.

A ()() four washers config is also "soft."

A (()) four washers config is "harder" resistance, so higher pressures to compress them...i.e., higher drag range.

With (()), the stack height will be lower than ()(). so the drag control mechanism may "bottom out" before exerting the "max" pressure possible, so sometimes adding an additional ((()) may make up for the height loss but offer similar drag range of the original (()).

[Leonman44]

To be honest i dont understand the bellevilles topic , could you please explain?

Bellevilles are conical hence they have properties of "springs." The way they are oriented and how many control the amount of pressure that can be applied to them.

A () two washers config offers "softer" resistance, so lower pressures to compress them...i.e., lower drag range.

A ()() four washers config is also "soft."

A (()) four washers config is "harder" resistance, so higher pressures to compress them...i.e., higher drag range.

With (()), the stack height will be lower than ()(). so the drag control mechanism may "bottom out" before exerting the "max" pressure possible, so sometimes adding an additional ((()) may make up for the height loss but offer similar drag range of the original (()).

Thank you for explaining , so if i understood correctly from the schematics : https://www.mysticparts.com/Assets/images/pennparts/schematics/16visx.pdf

I am looking at parts 18HH ? As i see it my stock config is only () , then i should order a few and try (()) for starts ?

Also would the VISX 20 cam fit in the 16 since i cant grind my cam ? or that performance difference in drags curve is from different  Bellevilles hardness ?

[Keta]

All of my VISX and Torque reels have ground drag.

Contact Alan and see if he has any modified cams.

[Porthos]

Thank you for explaining , so if i understood correctly from the schematics : https://www.mysticparts.com/Assets/images/pennparts/schematics/16visx.pdf

I am looking at parts 18HH ? As i see it my stock config is only () , then i should order a few and try (()) for starts ?

Also would the VISX 20 cam fit in the 16 since i cant grind my cam ? or that performance difference in drags curve is from different  Bellevilles hardness ?

It's experimentation from this point on with the bellevilles and the stack height...

The VISX's came default with two bellevilles...but any spacer/shim washers?

Alan showed this in his 50VISX tutorial:


In Aloha Dan's 16VSX (yes, it's an eariler variant BUT the concept is the same) tutorial, there are these shims:


I had at least two...the intent is to start the pressure application earlier when you dial IN the Preset Knob (#144) to avoid bottoming out.

It is also possible to do (() instead of shims, but I suspect a single belleville cost more than multiple shims and also there may be clearance limitations.

Would only do (()) with no shims to start. The Preset Knob needs to be completely OFF...dialed all the way out to ensure it is at "zero" before trying this.

As always, YMMV...

[Leonman44]

All of my VISX and Torque reels have ground drag.

Contact Alan and see if he has any modified cams.

Just opened it up again , wiped any excess grease i could find , drags alreay looked drier but the metal ring was quite oily , gave them a wipe too. Still getting exactly the same results so i did everything correct from the start!

Tried to get a bit more out of it: 14lb at 1 , 20lb at strike 2.5 , 26lb at 4 and 33lb at full. Killed the low range a bit , i hope that wont cost me...

Sounds like i do need a ground cam too , will pm Alan and see if he can help me ! 

Thank you for explaining , so if i understood correctly from the schematics : https://www.mysticparts.com/Assets/images/pennparts/schematics/16visx.pdf

I am looking at parts 18HH ? As i see it my stock config is only () , then i should order a few and try (()) for starts ?

Also would the VISX 20 cam fit in the 16 since i cant grind my cam ? or that performance difference in drags curve is from different  Bellevilles hardness ?

It's experimentation from this point on with the bellevilles and the stack height...

The VISX's came default with two bellevilles...but any spacer/shim washers?

Alan showed this in his 50VISX tutorial:


In Aloha Dan's 16VSX (yes, it's an eariler variant BUT the concept is the same) tutorial, there are these shims:


I had at least two...the intent is to start the pressure application earlier when you dial IN the Preset Knob (#144) to avoid bottoming out.

It is also possible to do (() instead of shims, but I suspect a single belleville cost more than multiple shims and also there may be clearance limitations.

Would only do (()) with no shims to start. The Preset Knob needs to be completely OFF...dialed all the way out to ensure it is at "zero" before trying this.

As always, YMMV...

Very nice ! I think that i will go for the cam mod first as this is a bit harder and requires a lot of assemble/dissasemble that i would like to avoid but i do enjoy learning about more things ! 

[Leonman44]

I just wanted to make an update , i received a ground cam from Alan and it did fix the drag curve , now i am getting both very nice Max and Min drags at the same preset ! Big thanks to Alan for unlocking my reel ! 

Finally i can enjoy this reel now that everything got fixed !