# Sticky  Viper vs Warn... Official Showdown Thread



## Polaris425

Some reading:

http://www.mudinmyblood.net/forum/47-general-tech-audio-info/18962-viper-vs-warn.html

http://www.mudinmyblood.net/forum/47-general-tech-audio-info/9569-viper-warn-much-same.html

http://www.mudinmyblood.net/forum/47-general-tech-audio-info/538-viper-winches.html

Anyone else feel free to chime in on this thread as well.


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## Injected

I've had warn winches on my trucks, never an atv. Warn was nothing but problems. The viper I have on my atv has been flawless and it gets abused. I use it more in the winter when I use the atv to plow. Plus, motoalliance CS is top notch. I had the rocker switch go bad, no questions asked, they sent me 2 new


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## holladaymtm

I have had a Warn 2k and Warn 2.5k on my previous Quad.. They were crap and one has plastic carrier and metal gears and the other has metal carrier and plastic gears.. Viper is the best as far as quality I have heard and they have amazing customer service as I have seen on multiple threads.. I plan on buying Viper 4000lb here soon..


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## madppcs

Warn ATV winches are absolute trash. I've had one on my 07 outty and it never worked. I had it rebuilt 2 times by warn themselves and it has never worked a single time.
I just bought a 2012 can am xmr that has another warn winch. The second time I use it, it doesn't reel in. The big freewheel knob stopped working. I tried turning it has to get it to engage and it comes off in my hand. So i was stuck with 30 feet of loose cable and the frewheel knob in my hand.
I wish I could meet with Warn management one day. I would slap the .... out of them. I've been left on the trail in mudholes more times than I could count.

The viper winch I had on my renegade was worth its weight in gold! That winch was an absolute animal. It never missed a beat. I will buy viper from now on every time.


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## redneckrancher420

ya ive heard nothing but great things from viper. deffinatley ill have a 3500 soon for my bike. plus we have them as a sponsor so the discount doesnt hurt either!!!


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## bigblackbrute

Viper all the way. Best customer service ther is and winches r strong. 

FATBOYZ CUSTOMZ CREW


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## mini bogger

well I will be the first to say my viper sucked! haven't had a single problem out of my warn. I will never buy another viper. every time I rode it would quit working



"The ride says it all"


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## lilbigtonka

I had both and can't knock either the warn on my arctic cat was amazing for the most part and the viper on my brute I literally put through you know what and back...only thing I will say on viper is def seal the contactor as it is not waterproof like it says....if I buy another it will be a viper all the way.....customer service goes along way with me 

the wetter the better


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## JPs300

I'm pulling the factory Warn off my outty & putting my Viper back in it's place. - Three rides, maybe four uses & it already won't dis-engage for free spool & I've stalled it just sitting in floor-board deep stuff. My Viper has drug me through worse with a dead machine.


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## Crawfishie!!

I wouldn't use a pos warn as a trot line wright, even if you gave it to me straight out of the box. Viper FTMFW!!! 

Mud slinging' and COLD beer drinkin'


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## BlackDawg

I never did have a problem at all with the Warn that came on my brute. It pulled my out of several holes and never left me hanging. Now, I have the Arctic Cat winch that came on my Mud Pro. I've heard they're garbage, so I'm sure I'll be making a winch purchase before long. Looks like everyone loves Viper!


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## JPs300

My outty is a couple months old, the warn that it came with has been used roughly 4 times. - I'm pulling that POS off & putting my Viper on it. 

Already stalled it in floorboard deep mud(Viper pulled me out of worse with a dead bike) and the disengagement for free-spool already doesn't release.


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## filthyredneck

The 2500 warn on my dads brute has been junk since it was new. I have a 2500 warn on my brute and it has always been good to me up till the beginning of this year when the solenoid finally went out (after a little over 2 hard years of abuse). I have a brand spanking new viper max 4k for my gade....just need a bumper to mount it in

"Killing Time Using Tapatalk 2"


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## Waddaman

The older warns were complete trash, I've got the 2500 Ci and it's no good. It will work OK if you clean and repair it all the time.. lol.

Dads got a newer 3000 warn on his, I will say it does ok as far as working properly, but as said above free spool doesn't work. Other then it works fine and doesn't need to be cleaned.

My next winch will be a viper for sure though... you can see the quality compared to warn just looking at pics on the net.. All the people that back them up helps too .


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## 06BRUTEFORCE

I had a warn 2500 on my old brute and it was the best in the group I rode with. My buddies superwinch and one on an arctic cat mudpro were junk. my warn would drag dead machines out and wouldn't overheat and stop. But I did choose to put a Venom winch on my recently purchased 08 and love it so far!


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## Rack High

Viper has certainly served me well. Their products and service are as advertised and they take a backseat to no one.


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## todbnla

*Question:* I see some Viper winches advertised as being *WIDE spool*, anyone shed some light on waht this means or what the difference is?


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## Polaris425

Exactly what it sounds like. Has a Wider spool.


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## blue beast

i have not had any "working" trouble with my warn ..just some issues with the freespool knob, cleaned all the crud out of the inside of it , and all is good now . its pulled me out the hole alot. never had the other one so cant really say on it


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## jctgumby

The wide spool Vipers have 65' of line on them instead of 50'


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## holladaymtm

I think wide spools also have different size synthetic rope... I am pretty sure its what I am buying next winches arr worth their weight in gold tired of not having one myselfMy buddies Warn drug me out of creek partially before killing his battery and completely quit working..But his jeep drug me the rest of way out and home lol.....Vipers are the best according to most and i can see customer service is amazing..


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## tate

I have had 2a vipers. 1 3000# and a 4000# and they are both junk. My old 2500# warn has beenbeat to death since I bought it 05a and still pulls its guts out when ever I need it.


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## RYAN.

This is a little off topic but we should throw the xtreme winches in this mix im getting one and a few of my buddies have one got pulled out by a 3k on my bros can am saturday i was buried and he pulled me right out and with no help from the cat i was 0x4 at the time... it has a slow spool speed but will pull like hell

—————SIGNATURE—————
HIS

2010 MUD PRO
SOON TO BE 3.6
HMF & PC3
30" MUNKIES
CLUTCHWORK
RACKED

HERS/KIDS

2006 400M
SOON TO BE 4.0
EXAUST MOD
RACKED
JETTED
29.5 LAWS


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## AUbruterider

Obviously the Viper Winches are liked but which one do you guys prefer? The Elite, Max, or Classic?


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## Polaris425

Really the only difference between the Max and the Elite is the wireless remote... If you think you need the wireless remote get the Elite, if not, the Max is the way to go.


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## gunner1

I just received my Viper MAx 3000 yestersday ( a day EARLIER then I was suppossed to!) and it looks like a quality unit. The freespool knob feels like it has definite "stops", the power and ground wire are HEAVY which implies they are quality, the snatch block is heavy as well. There's even grease on the four corners where it will be bolted to the mount plate. Overall, it appears like I made a good decision. We'll see how it is on the install and in use before I pass a final judgement though..


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## MotoCEO

Hey Guys,
REALLY rewarding thread to read. Our products aren't perfect but we work extremely hard to put the best possible product out there. Our VIPER winches are all TS-16949 certified and made with military grade materials. When so many seem to be cheapening their stuff, we've (right or wrong) taken the philosophy to ramp up quality everywhere we can.

Remember you guys get 5% off any purchase for being members of the forum. It's FORUM5 in the discount code box on the final page of checkout.

And you are right.....the widespool winches have 65' of cable -- the longest in the industry.

Have a great night.

Peter Kapsner, Ph.D.
President
Motoalliance
Moto Alliance
1-866-527-7637


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## Polaris425

I put mine through a good test this week, very pleased.


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## Patchal

I am very pleased with my three viper winches. Really impressed with the customer service and shipping as well keep it up.


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## MotoCEO

Thanks Patchel.

Peter
Moto


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## Kaleb

What about the Superwinch Terra Series? They seem to have many of the features of Viper/Warn XT winches, with a remarkable price point.

Does anyone have experience with these?


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## Polaris425

Junk.


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## awdcivic

warn is better than the cheap winches but its junk compared to vipers. Ive had a viper 4000 elite for about a year now and ive abused it been underwater i even had a tree branch go through the freespool knob and it wont quit working. i ordered a new knob as i wasnt gonna claim it on warranty when it was my fault for trailblazing but im a believer in vipers. I had to rebuild my dads warn winch one of my old warns and i got a cat 400 with a warn 2500 on it that was messed up. i rebuilt it and now im selling it to buy another viper for the rear of my cat.
Heck this 2500 the contactor is not working so i have to buy a $25 contactor the winch motor was all rusty and the gears had virtually no grease in there like there supposed to just a little grease and mostly gummy nasty black stuff so i cleaned that and filled it up with grease fixed the motor and siliconed the junky winch best i could to try and make it last a bit longer for the next person before they have to rebuild it. screw warn ive never had a problem with a viper. But i had a promark and i couldnt even rebuild it after it went out so warn is still better than those cheap crap winches.


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## gtsum2

JakeBF750 said:


> What about the Superwinch Terra Series? They seem to have many of the features of Viper/Warn XT winches, with a remarkable price point.
> 
> Does anyone have experience with these?


I have one and like it better than my viper max I had


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## whoolieshop

Polaris425 said:


> Really the only difference between the Max and the Elite is the wireless remote... If you think you need the wireless remote get the Elite, if not, the Max is the way to go.


FYI, the other main difference is all viper max winches come standard with steel cable whilst the elites come standard with synthetic!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## coxhm26

Ive had a few problems with my viper not being completley water tight but motoalliance is always quickest to help fix any problem


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## mater750

Viper all the way! 

Fatboyz Customz crew


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## gcfishguy

3000 Viper Max, and no complaints at all. It's been on the Brute for nearly 7100kms, and no issues with it at all.
I see someone said their rocker switch failed and they got a couple replacements. Mine failed also, but it was going to be $22 for a replacement, and that much again to ship it.... That's my only beef.
And the switch failed internally.....to spool IN you had to start pushing really hard for it to make contact. 

Aside from the switch, I'm very happy with the product.


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## monksblood

3 viper elites, so far just 1 switch crapped out and the free spool knob on my bike does not work well. Will buy again when I get a SXS


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