Nah, we didn't stumble across some magical new Warn winch with a titanium drum and aluminum gears that weighs less than a pillow.
But we've been sitting on one of the finest winches on the planet for a couple years; the Warn Thermometric 9.5ti. Originally, we obtained it for our languishing Project Murderous Overkill '48 Willys. But since that vehicle is now destined to be a vintage hotrod/prerunner hybrid, we decided pull the Warn out of the shed and put it to good use on our '89 YJ
The trouble is, although the 9.5ti offers exceptional performance with its 156:1 3-stage planetary gear setup, 4.6hp series-wound motor, and blazing line speed of 62ft/min (no load), we didn't relish the thought of adding over 110lbs of winch and mounting plate to the front of our gutless four-banger Wrangler. So we put in a call to AtoZ Fabrication for the company's winch plate combo kits that includes a high-strength mounting plate as well as a lightweight T-6 aluminum hawse fairlead and Viking Offroad synthetic winch line. We've now got a ton of pulling power with less weight to poop out our four-popper. After all, every little bit helps.
 Warn's 9.5ti Thermometric...  Warn's 9.5ti Thermometric winch comes ready to roll with 125ft of 5/16-inch steel cable, a high-strength hook, 72-inch long 2-gauge battery leads, a roller fairlead, and a hand controller. The 9.5ti Thermometric employs a temperature indicator on the hand controller that monitors motor temperature during winching, which helps the operator avoid overheating the unit during severe use. |  A toZ Fabrication's winch...  A toZ Fabrication's winch plate is built from formed 3/16-inch plate and features welded gussets for strength. The plate by itself weighed 22.5 lbs. The company's T-6 aluminum hawse fairlead weighed in at an even 1.5 lbs. Also shown is the company's optional light mount plate that bolts between the winch plate and the fairlead, which we may add in the future. |  We bolted the 9.5ti to the...  We bolted the 9.5ti to the mounting plate and sleeved the positive cable with a length of fuel line to prevent chafing. We then ran the cables through the grille to the battery and snugged down the mounting plate to the framerails using a few washers under the rear bolt holes to equal the thickness of the factory front bumper. |
 As long as you won't be winching...  As long as you won't be winching for extended periods of time, the factory charging system should be able to handle the increased electrical loads of the winch. However, Warn does recommend your battery be rated to at least 650 cold cranking amps. We nabbed the Optima Blue Top out of our J2008 project truck. You'll also want to check your battery terminal posts and think about upgrading your charging system wiring if the factory stuff is smaller than 4-gauge. |  Our factory battery cables...  Our factory battery cables were 4-gauge and the negative post terminal was in good shape, so we reused it. Our positive post terminal was pretty boogered, so we cut off the factory cables and crimped on some new brass cable lugs using a tool from our local auto parts store. The cable lugs allow us to use a marine-type post terminal on the positive side. |  Our Viking Offroad synthetic...  Our Viking Offroad synthetic winch line arrived soon after we completed our installation. We weighed the 125 ft of 5/16-inch steel cable and hook supplied with the Warn winch at 23.4 lbs, and the 80 ft of 3/8-inch synthetic winch line and hook only clocked in at 5.2 lbs. Viking Offroad claims a breaking strength of 19,600 lbs for its 3/8-inch winch line. |
 Route the cables cleanly and...  Route the cables cleanly and secure them thoroughly to prevent chafing and damage. As an indication of how bad our old Positive battery terminal post must have been, the starter now cranks much faster and our voltage gauge reads higher even though the cables themselves are the same. Just goes to show how much juice you can lose through a bad connection. | | |
| Pound for Pound |
In its literature, Warn lists the 9.5ti at 89 lbs
complete with steel cable and roller fairlead.
Here are our weight-saving numbers as
taken with a hand-held digital scale. |
| Warn Roller Fairlead | 11.0 lbs |
Warn steel winch
cable & hook | 23.4 lbs |
AtoZ Fabrication
aluminum fairlead | 1.5 lbs |
Viking Offroad
synthetic winch line & hook | 5.2 lbs |
Warn 9.5ti,
steel cable, roller fairlead,
AtoZ mounting plate | 111.5 lbs |
Warn 9.5ti,
synthetic line,
aluminum fairlead,
AtoZ mounting plate | 83.4 lbs |