Factor 55® 00023

Factor 55 introduces a new line of Aluminum Hawse Fairleads for the Powersports UTV/ATV market. Our new fairlead is offered in the common 6 in. mounting bolt spacing for Powersport UTV/ATV winches. What is the best surface finish for Hawse aluminum fairleads? Without a doubt it is a Type III hard anodized coating. Not cosmetic Type II anodized finishes, not powder coated, and not raw or polished aluminum. Why? Because a hard coating can resist the abrasion damage from a dirty/gritty synthetic winch rope rubbing across it. Especially during extreme side pulls where rope fiber stresses are extremely high. A Mil-A-8625 Type III hard anodized finish leaves a .002 in. thick Al2O3 ceramic coating that is in the top 5 hardest materials known to mankind. Not too far away from diamond hardness actually. Another valuable material property from hard anodized coatings are the low coefficients of friction. Low friction equals lower rope heat. Only drawback? Hard anodizing is not offered in typical bright and fancy anodized colors. All Factor 55 fairleads only come in Mil-A-8625 hard gray finishes. Not fancy, but it is the proper finish to extend the life of your synthetic rope. The reason for this is depending on your vehicle, bumper, and fairlead mounting thicknesses the shank length of the bolts may need to be longer or shorter to prevent the bolts from contacting the body of your winch. In most cases the mounting bolts that are supplied by your winch manufacturer are adequate in strength and length.