Factor 55 Fairleads – Which size is right for you?
Following up on our last article about the Factor 55 FlatLink E, we wanted to briefly touch on fairleads and the options you have.
Factor 55 has a few options in their line of Aluminum Hawse Fairleads but the 1″ and 1.5″ fairleads are their popular options for most off-road trucks and SUVs. The other options are their UTV, Offset and short drum competition fairleads which are used in ULTRA4 racing. You can read more about all their fairleads on their fairlead section.
Their most popular fairleads are CNC machined from 1″ and 1.5″ thick USA 6000 series aluminum bars, and for reference, the industry-standard fairlead thickness is .75″ inches thick. Factor 55 fairleads are thicker.
Factor 55 Hawse Fairlead Specs
- 1″ thick: Check Price
- 1.5″ thick: Check Price
- Color Options: Gunmetal gray
- Overall Dimension: 12.35″ x 3.25″
- Standard 10″ Bolt Mount Spacing
- Rope or cable: Synthetic rope only
- Material: Mil-A-8625 Type III
- Made in the USA
The Factor 55 Closed Winching System
- FlatLink E:Â Check Price
- Hawse Fairlead:Â Check Price
- Rope Guard:Â Check Price
- Crosby D-Ring USA-made Shackles: Check Price
Hawes Fairlead Material & Design
Factor 55 Hawse Fairleads all come in their classic gunmetal gray finish. All units are made from type 3 mil-spec hard anodizing which is just as hard as sapphire, belive it or not. They found this to be the best surface to prevent scraping and scratching when your synthetic rope is rubbing across the surface.
Synthetic rope can be especially sharp and cause scratches and scrapes when you’ve been dragging it through the rocks and the rope is embedded with sand, rocks, and dirt. With Factor 55, you don’t have to worry about your rope scratching these aluminum hawse fairleads. They are built rock-solid and designed to prevent severe scrapes and scratches.
Another benefit from hard anodized coatings is the low force of friction between the synthetic rope and the fairlead. Low friction = lower rope heat = less stress on parts.
Large Corner Radius
One of the other main notable features on these hawse fairleads from Factor 55 is their large corner radius.
The large corner radius is great for those situations where you’re doing a severe side pull on your 4Runner.
As you’re pulling really hard from the side, you’re putting a lot of stress to the synthetic rope fibers. The large corner radius is what you want in order to reduce that stress.
Behind Great All Parts – a Dedicated Engineer
Everyone has their process and machining parts is actually a pretty straightforward simple process, you just need a badass, dedicated, sleepless engineer behind the whole process to make sure it all goes smooth.
With that being said, Factor 55 has a very thorough process from start to finish. Each of their finished products goes through a post machine tumble and deburring process.
This means any sharp micro edges that may have been left behind from a mill cutter are actually removed in a tumble deburr process. What you end up with is an ultra-smooth surface which is ideal for the synthetic rope to rub across.
Factor 55 Hawes Fairlead Installation
Installation is about as easy as it gets.
Unbolt your old fairlead off and bolt your new Factor 55 Fairlead on. If you are installing a FlatLink or any other closed winching system shackle from Factor 55, you are likely removing your old winch hook so now is a good time to slide your old fairlead out and over your winch rope.
Once you old fairlead is off, slide your new fairlead onto your rope and bolt it into place. Done.
