your going to love the answer i got from warn mfg. when i asked the differnce between the 3 differnt winches. seems to be a false addvertising in the weight department if the only differnce is a steel case and 10' control.


The difference between 2.5 and 3.0 is the 3.0 has a metal gear housing and comes with 10’ remote control. Ci and ce models is the mechanical brake.

this the email from their tec department to me. what do you think?

 

Interesting. You sparked my interest and I looked at their two product specs pages:

http://www.warn.com/atv/winches/30ci.shtml

http://www.warn.com/atv/winches/25ci.shtml (sorry, my link button isnt working right now for some reason).

They both have a .9HP electric motor with a gear ratio of 136:1. They have almost the same amp draws (±2 amps). And the same diameter drums (2 inches).

Anyone have any ideas?

 

the 3.0 has the center mounted drum compared to the off-set drum on the 2.5. that's an obvios visual difference that can't be missed.

i have owned the Warn2000, 2.5ci, and 3.0 and i think the 3.0 pulls the best. (and that's why i put one on my new '06)

also, with a brush guard and Glacier plow the cable doesn't rub the brush guard when lifting the plow like the 2.5 does. so that leads me to believe that the 3.0 sticks-out a little further as well.

i kinda like that "special edition" Warn3.0. it's red and features a rope instead of cable. i saw it featured in ATVMagazine. (it's painted all bright red) considering my ATV is mossy-oak, i didn't think it would match that well so i didn't research it further.