Winch put on or not?
 

My neighbour gave me a free winch. He purchased it sometime back and never put it on. It's in brand new condition. The spec says it can pull 14500 lbs (6500kg). I am not sure about quality or reliability.

I have jk 2 door. I don't carry load, tow or carry a spare tyre. I am also using the soft top to reduce weight.

My biggest concern is the weight and size of it. It appears to be pretty heavy about 34kg. Carrying about 40kg dead weight in the front is not ideal for braking, taking off and suspension sag. A quick search on premium winches runva/ warn also seems those winches are also 35+ kg.

Also, I have been looking at winch plates. I came across this one.

https://www.jkwarehouse.com.au/shop/...al-Winch-Plate

It appears to be a 4 bolt mount using the factory bumper bolts. The winch plate is not supported at the back of the winch. However, the plate has been beefed up to hold the weight.

Your thoughts on the winch and winch plate?

Is it possible to get away by adding a winch say about 25kg? Like going for a smaller capacity winch?

That's a pretty big winch especially for a 2 door.

I fitted a 12000 Ibs winch on my 4 door and even that was overkill as a 9000 Ibs would have done the job. It was a cheapy Chinese winch that I wanted for a trip away soon after I bought the Jeep and I'd always planned on replacing it for a better one. I never had too, it worked like a charm and I couldn't kill it.

I never actually needed to use it to get myself out, it was always used to pull others out. The one and only time, I got mine stuck, the max trax had me out in minutes.

Synthetic rope will save a few kg.

agreed best way to drop 5kg or more straight away

I use my winch once or twice a year to help someone else, never myself, so it's probably not worth it by that measure alone... But I like how it looks and I like having the assurance when I do challenging tracks.

YMMV but I noticed a difference when I took off the winch and just ran the stubby bumper for a week. Even though my springs and shocks are tailored to a heavy AEV front bar and winch, it felt better on-road with the "lightweight" front-end.

If you think that a winch is for you, then I agree 9000lb is the ideal capacity winch on a JK and anything less wouldn't be practically useful and more can't hurt as long as the winch isn't much heavier. You won't find any meaningfully lighter 9000lb winches because that weight saving would have to come from less material in the motor, gearbox or drum (the casing is very light alloy).

I second winch rope because regardless of the weight saving, it's so much easier to work with.

If the winch has been sitting unused for a while, then it might benefit from a service. If you haven't done it before, it's actually pretty easy and I found this video series very helpful:
If you want to mount it behind the bumper, have a look at the AEV winch mount instead - it's strong, well priced and comes with a vacuum pump relocation bracket for the 3.6 models. Install video here: I used this "high mount" winch plate for around a year and I didn't have any issues with it but it won't fit with many aftermarket bumpers. There's a pic of it in the front bumper roundup thread.
That winch plate you linked might work with some M12 class 10.9 or 1/2" grade 8 bolts but I'm not sure I would ever fully trust it.

https://www.carbonoffroad.com.au/car...ounting-cradle

maybe use one of these?

Rear winch is often better for recovery.

Front to pull you through anything.

Mine is rarely used though

I can recommend the Carbon 12000lb unit. I've had one for a few years It's reliable and can move anything. Never had to use it on my own vehicle but have recovered others and is great for removing tree stumps. :->

Mine is mounted on a TJM winch plate behind a TJM bar. I made my own vacuum pump relocation bracket on top of the left hand chassis rail. Not keen on the commercial relocation brackets as they hang down in a vulnerable position near the fron sway bar.

Rod.