Integy Billet Machined Winch Review

[Snowmaninhell]

NOTE: I am just a scale enthusiast offering up my personal opinions. I do not receive any kickbacks for this review.

EDIT: February 7, 2013 - Thanks to BADASSPONY I went to asiatees site to do a little more research. It appears this is a TopCAD product and not Integy. I am also still unable to find any specs for this unit.

Review Date: February 6, 2013

ITEM
Integy Billet Machined Realistic Power Winch Scale Rock Crawler 1/10 Red

RATING
Four out of five Thumbs Ups

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
I love the look of this winch. The first instant I saw it I knew I wanted it for my current build. I have personally never used Integy products, but have heard many others don’t think much of them. Setting those opinions aside I bit the bullet and bought one. Now I thought it would be nice to write a review for the new kid on the winch block. Additionally, I replaced the stock 2mm socket head cap screws with RC4WD Scale Hex Bolts and the stock cable with RC4WD Synthetic Winch Rope from my own inventory. Personally I find the Scale Hex Bolts and synthetic rope make the already great looking winch look even better. The modifications I made are not necessary and do not improve the performance of the stock winch.

SPECIFICATIONS
I have not found any specs for this winch online.

PROS
1. Solidly built from CNC’d billet aluminum.
2. Great looking design.
3. Stout 1/16 steel base plate.
4. CNC billet aluminum hook that easily fits RC4WD Mini Tow Shackles
5. Easily replacement of motor and gear reduction unit. It appears to be the same as RC4WD and 3Racing units.
6. Comes with a pig tail that plugs into a receiver and is controlled by a mountable three way switch.
7. Comparably priced to the competition at $35.
8. Several color options are available to best fit your build: polished aluminum or anodized red, black, green, and gun metal.

CONS
1. Motor and gear reduction unit is week. Spooling can easily be stopped by simply applying pressure to the line by hand while in use. Comparable to the competitor winches.
2. Stock cable is only 42” long and is Nylon coated. I have found Nylon coating tears easily. This can make a neat and tidy re-spool a challenge.
3. Heat sync looks out of place, as if it was an afterthought and quickly machined to cover up the motor.
4. Mounting holes under the motor are a bit tricky to access even after sliding the heat sync off the motor.

SUMMARY
I would definitely recommend this winch to those who want an awesome looking winch to show off on the front/rear of their rig. It looks very tough. However, don’t rely on it to get you out a bind while on the trails. It could be used a dummy in front of a servo winch to get the best of both worlds.

SOURCES
Stock Integy Winch – Integy or RPP Hobby

RC4WD Scale Hex Bolts – RPP Hobby or RC4WD

RC4WD Synthetic Winch Rope – RPP Hobby or RC4WD

PICTURES
Integy’s Stock Photo


My Photos Showing RC4WD Parts Installed

[old man 52]

What voltage was this tested at , What did you use.

[Snowmaninhell]

I haven't found any specs for it online so I am not sure what the manufacturer rates it at. I ran it through my receiver with a 7.2v NiMH pack.

[old man 52]

I'm not sure but i think you only get 5 volts from a receiver.

[rm25x]

Receiver output voltage is dependent on it's input voltage from the esc. Most esc's output 6.0 volts to the receiver.

[old man 52]

I order one for my tj that will be running off a bec so we'll see what happens. Do you know if the mounting holes are the same as a 3R.

[Snowmaninhell]

They are the same as the 3R, but not the RC4WD.

[BADASSPONY]

That is a good looking winch but I think I'd much rather have function over beauty. Thats probably the same as asiatees sells and I think they say its only rated at like 2.2lb pull iirc.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

[Snowmaninhell]

I got her mounted up and couldn't be happier. This will work perfect for Otter.

[joeyf]

thanks for the review and all the clear close up pictures.

the toyoda will be getting one for sure.

[Bogncrawl]

Looks nice

[old man 52]

Have you tried to use it yet. I'm really curious

[Snowmaninhell]

I have only bench tested it. I am still in the build phase with Otter and haven't got all the electronics in yet. Based on my experiences with 3Racing's and RC4WD's winches I expect that this one will perform very similarly. I'm going for looks and not performance with this guy.

[gtrplaya101]

That winch looks terrific, is it to weak for any real use though? If you can stop it with your finger it must be pretty bad

[mitchr97]

couldn't you just switch out the motor for a stronger one? Like one from a servo?

[TNT1]

That red anodizing looks gay.

[willipmartinni]

Ok, so i just snagged one of these up and was really bummed when i started reading this review. I just connected direct to 3s with the supplied switch. uh, first pull. sounds great, motor singing along, acting quite strong. my scaler is about 7 lbs lifted the front end off the ground fine. let me see if it will dead lift this truck... oh and its silver. i pulled the heat sink off the motor so i can watch the temps. the motor quality even looks real solid.



its fast. it lifted the truck completely off the ground without straining too much. dont like that the simple switch provides no brake on the winch while stopped. with weight on it it pulls out easily.

lets try again. ok, so on the third dead lift it did stall and has built a little heat... I think i like it. its fast. i am running it straight 11.1v 3s and i think as long as you dont expect it to do retarded feats it looks like it will be quite awesome. in fact upon looking a litle closer and a couple more lifts the stalling sees to be the cable binding due to it bunching on one side of the drum. i cleaned up the wind on the drum and it once again made a clean and fast pull right to the hook. so Im liking it.

i will try and get it connected through the heyok controller tomorrow. are they safe at 11.1??? anyone???

[old man 52]

I think 3 cell maybe alittle to much. Do you have a bec you could set at like 7 volts and see how that works.

[Snowmaninhell]

Originally Posted by willipmartinni

Ok, so i just snagged one of these up and was really bummed when i started reading this review. I just connected direct to 3s with the supplied switch. uh, first pull. sounds great, motor singing along, acting quite strong. my scaler is about 7 lbs lifted the front end off the ground fine. let me see if it will dead lift this truck... oh and its silver. i pulled the heat sink off the motor so i can watch the temps. the motor quality even looks real solid.

its fast. it lifted the truck completely off the ground without straining too much. dont like that the simple switch provides no brake on the winch while stopped. with weight on it it pulls out easily.

lets try again. ok, so on the third dead lift it did stall and has built a little heat... I think i like it. its fast. i am running it straight 11.1v 3s and i think as long as you dont expect it to do retarded feats it looks like it will be quite awesome. in fact upon looking a litle closer and a couple more lifts the stalling sees to be the cable binding due to it bunching on one side of the drum. i cleaned up the wind on the drum and it once again made a clean and fast pull right to the hook. so Im liking it.

i will try and get it connected through the heyok controller tomorrow. are they safe at 11.1??? anyone???

I am glad to hear yours performed well. I hope it continues to do so. I also don't think I'd run a 3s thru it. Definitely use a BEC.

[AkFordfan]

Can you get a picture of the gear box, I want to see if it will work with my rc4wd.