Pro Qualifier Modifications/upgrades 2025

bassh8er reply :

I'm a PQ fan, and while I might try a Curado or Chronarch next season, this topic is what can be done to my Pro Qualifiers, I currently have 5 of them.

I've read about Carbontex drags and ceramic bearing upgrades. Would these be applicable withmy PQ? I guess what I'm looking for is, what after market upgrades could I do to my PQs that would've worth it for the money?

I really don't know what the bearing upgrades mean and what the benefits would be, so any help there would be much appreciated also.

Thanks,

LgMouthGambler reply :

Save all the money that you would spend to upgrade all 5 of the PQ's and buy a Curado or Chronarch, and then you will understand why they are highly recommended.

Kevinator1 reply :

Hey Bassh8er

I used to have some Pro Qualifiers and did upgrade the bearings just to see what difference it made. I tried the Boca Bearings Ceramics and they were a little noisy but it did make a difference on casting distance. It seemed like the spool would spin forever after I installed them. I also tried the Abec 5 stainless steel bearings and they were slightly better than the originals also. Just my observations.

bassh8er reply :

Save all the money that you would spend to upgrade all 5 of the PQ's and buy a Curado or Chronarch, and then you will understand why they are highly recommended.

Please read the first sentence of my post. YOU are the specific reason I emphasized the meaning of my post, but, obviously that initial disclaimer wasn't enough for you.

Ima Bass Ninja reply :

I have upgraded 2 Carbonlite (older gold ones) and a tournament edition with the carbontex drags which did make the drag smoother I have not tried any bearing upgrades as I feel I get good distance with the stock ones properly cleaned and lubed.

ClackerBuzz reply :

I'm a PQ fan and also have 5 of them. I bought Carbontex washers for all of them (tks DVT) but only changed out 2 of them so far. Honestly I don't notice a difference which is why I haven't bothered changing the rest out. Ima with Ima Bass Ninja and happy with the stock bearings. I do flush them every winter with acetone. And I service my reels at least twice during the season. That keeps me plenty satisfied. Give me an update if you try the bearings.

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

The PQ is a fine reel and a good value. Comparing it to a Chronarch not apples to apples. My first recommendation is always to have the reel cleaned and the bearings flushed. The PQ uses a solid spool shaft design and responds well to Super Tuning. The stock drag is better in newer versions but the Carbontex is definetely better and relatively inexpensive. If the bearings are tired and need replacing anyway, then upgrading them makes more sense. Many other Revo parts like level wind bearings and eversilk coated parts will fit but again it's only worth doing if replacing worn parts anyway.

craww reply :

Carbon lite handles lighten em up a 1/2 oz. IIRC you can put the duralumin gear set out of a carbonlite. That with the handle swap will get it about an ounce lighter...Other than that.Drag,Polishing/bearing flush and relube are the best tangible things you can do.

A guy named jason Penn did some neat mods to his family of reels a few years back. Search here and TT.

Rangerjoe reply :

Most likely the best sub $100.00 reel avaiable.

.RM. reply :

Comparing it to a Chronarch not apples to apples. My first recommendation is always to have the reel cleaned and the bearings flushed. The PQ uses a solid spool shaft design and responds well to Super Tuning.

papajoe222 reply :

I have two, and although they don't get used much anymore, I did polish the gears and spool shaft and upgraded to Boca bearings (I believe ABEC 7). I'm very happy with the results. If you do your own 'super tune' don't be aggressive with the spool shaft ends. Too much is a BIG no no.

rubba bubba reply :

The ProQ drags are already carbon so if you get improvement over the carbontex it's going to be small, but because they are cheap, it's something fun to try. It could be hard to gauge how much the small improvement is going to be due to greasing/cleaning the washer stack vs. the new washer itself, however.

Send a reel off to DVT to have it supertuned. Clean and tune a reel yourself. Compare the 2 and see if they perform differently.

Bearings have been mentioned but only if you have too many miles on your current set.

Polishing the brake track is another thing to try (not just cleaning it, but hardcore polishing)

The Chronarch is just a Curado, so when you get to that point of trying, pick up whichever is cheaper and the color scheme you like more. There's no need to rush - it's just another reel. Regardless of how many times LMG opens his mouth to change feet.

retiredbosn reply :

I have four after reading this post I'm more confident than ever in them.

Ima Bass Ninja reply :

The ProQ drags are already carbon

Are these the newer versions?? I have not had any of my PQ's come with carbon drags. Even the carbonlites (gold ones) that i have did not have carbon drags.

retiredbosn reply :

Mine have carbon drags, not the multi stack though. If I remember two carbon discs one metal

Ima Bass Ninja reply :

Ahh cool! My actual pqs must be older versions. Thanks!

Dave P reply :

I have four after reading this post I'm more confident than ever in them.

And another one coming in the mail!

bassh8er reply :

Thanks for all the replies guys.

I sent my reels to a different guy last year I found on a different site and was happy, but maybe I'll send some off to DVT this off-season.

Thanks again everyone.

ChiCityBasser reply :

I have one and only had it out a couple times this year as it is my deep cranking reel but it performed well.

cody161 reply :

Save all the money that you would spend to upgrade all 5 of the PQ's and buy a Curado or Chronarch, and then you will understand why they are highly recommended.

I know this has already been stated by the OP, but is it really that hard to answer the simple question he ask? As soon as I read the first post I knew why he specified that this thread was about PQ mods and not Shimano fan boys....And that it was directly related to you. There are different strokes for different folks, so why do you always, and I mean ALWAYS, try and push everyone towards Shimano?

I can confidently say that I will never own a Shimano reel because of you and the way you try to force their product on people.

Rant off.

rockchalk06 reply :

I know this has already been stated by the OP, but is it really that hard to answer the simple question he ask? As soon as I read the first post I knew why he specified that this thread was about PQ mods and not Shimano fan boys....And that it was directly related to you. There are different strokes for different folks, so why do you always, and I mean ALWAYS, try and push everyone towards Shimano?

I can confidently say that I will never own a Shimano reel because of you and the way you try to force their product on people.

Rant off.

I am now dumber after reading this post. I have lost 10 seconds of my life.

If a person seriously would never buy a companies product because of one guy pushing it is absurd. The OP did say he would consider one next season. I do believe LMG said to save all the money he would use to upgrade the PQ's and buy one. How is that pushing the product?

Me personally and this is to the OP, I would suggest saving all your money on upgrading them. I am a die hard Abu man. I do own one PQ in 4.7:1 and I seriously don't think upgrading it would matter much. I would buy another PQ, rod, another brand of reel or more tackle.

*Hootie reply :

I am now dumber

Nuff said. lol

Hootie

shootermcbob reply :

Thanks for all the replies guys.

I sent my reels to a different guy last year I found on a different site and was happy, but maybe I'll send some off to DVT this off-season.

Thanks again everyone.

I have sent reels in to Mike at DVT and have been extremely happy with the results.

cody161 reply :

I am now dumber after reading this post. I have lost 10 seconds of my life.

If a person seriously would never buy a companies product because of one guy pushing it is absurd. The OP did say he would consider one next season. I do believe LMG said to save all the money he would use to upgrade the PQ's and buy one. How is that pushing the product?

Me personally and this is to the OP, I would suggest saving all your money on upgrading them. I am a die hard Abu man. I do own one PQ in 4.7:1 and I seriously don't think upgrading it would matter much. I would buy another PQ, rod, another brand of reel or more tackle.

He directly ask for opinions on PQ's, not on a Curado or Chronarch. Is it really that hard to give the man what he ask for? Obviously his mind is already made up about Shimano so why would LMG even mention them?

Ima Bass Ninja reply :

Is it to soon for an IBTL?

The Rooster reply :

DVT, did I catch a reference that the PQ could be upgraded to hold level wind bearings in your post?? I'm under the impression that the current reel in factory form does not have these now, but would be made more like my old Extremes where it only has plastic bushings on the level wind worm gear instead.

So, if I understand right, then you can add bearings to the level wind where none exist now. Knowing what I know about the handle paddle grips, you can add one to each of those as well, turning a standard 7 bearing reel into a 9 bearing reel. If the level wind is another place to add them then I could have 11 bearing PQ's when finished (but probably also one of the heaviest reels out there by then as well).

To the OP, I know you can add at least one bearing to each paddle grip, replacing a bushing that's there now. This will do nothing in terms of performance but it does make it nicer feeling to fish moving baits with resistance to them, like spinnerbaits or crankbaits. It's really slick feeling. I did this to my Extremes and they have become some of my favorite reels because of how they feel. I fish them along side of my Shimano E reels and for moving baits I think I like them better than the Citica for sure. In terms of ease of casting and casting distance though, my Shimanos do out gun the Extremes by a fair margin. But you cannot upgrade the Shimanos to feel as slick as the Extremes do due to their design of the handles, and I've also never tried upgrading the spool bearings on the Extremes either, which might make a good difference. That's one reason I'm starting to like the Lew's reels now. From what I'm told they're everything the Shimanos are with the slick feel of an upgraded BPS reel. I compare my Extreme for reference here since its build design is similar to the PQ in many ways. What you can do to one, you can do to the other in a lot of cases.

LgMouthGambler reply :

On 10/2/2012 at 11:42 PM, cody161 said:

I know this has already been stated by the OP, but is it really that hard to answer the simple question he ask? As soon as I read the first post I knew why he specified that this thread was about PQ mods and not Shimano fan boys....And that it was directly related to you. There are different strokes for different folks, so why do you always, and I mean ALWAYS, try and push everyone towards Shimano?

I can confidently say that I will never own a Shimano reel because of you and the way you try to force their product on people.

Rant off.

To answer YOUR question, I am simply trying to save the OP the money that he would spend to try and do something that will make the reel perform in no noticable difference. I have owned PQ's, and have tried to modify them to cast farther/smoother, etc. It was a was a waste of money, and was nowhere close to the performance of my Shimanos. You can take it any way you want. Sure I suggest Shimano products for the reels, and if you dont like them then dont buy them. I will not loose any sleep over you not fishing a Shimano reel.

Jake P reply :

On 10/2/2012 at 11:42 PM, cody161 said:

I know this has already been stated by the OP, but is it really that hard to answer the simple question he ask? As soon as I read the first post I knew why he specified that this thread was about PQ mods and not Shimano fan boys....And that it was directly related to you. There are different strokes for different folks, so why do you always, and I mean ALWAYS, try and push everyone towards Shimano?

I can confidently say that I will never own a Shimano reel because of you and the way you try to force their product on people.

Rant off.

X100000,000,000,000000000000,00000000.

bassh8er reply :

On 10/3/2012 at 8:44 AM, LgMouthGambler said:

To answer YOUR question, I am simply trying to save the OP the money that he would spend to try and do something that will make the reel perform in no noticable difference. I have owned PQ's, and have tried to modify them to cast farther/smoother, etc. It was a was a waste of money, and was nowhere close to the performance of my Shimanos. You can take it any way you want. Sure I suggest Shimano products for the reels, and if you dont like them then dont buy them. I will not loose any sleep over you not fishing a Shimano reel.

I am the OP, and the original topic was about the BPS Pro Qualifier. Maybe I should have never mentioned the Shimano reels, but I hate when a topic is started with a question about a specific brand and somebody else mentions a completely different product.

A Chronarch is twice as much as a PQ, and maybe deservedly so, but I wouldn't mention a Zillion or a Pixy in a post about Chronarchs.

Back to the original topic, which is what I want to actually get info about...

I posted this on another forum and got some info about swapping Revo worm gear and pawls since they are titanium coated. Would that be worth it?

Even if it is a little steep, I think that I'm going to "pimp" out one of my PQs, even if it costs me as much as a new reel during the Classic, just to see if I notice the differences.

Thanks again for all of the helpful replies.

K_Mac reply :

Bassh8er I have never done anything to my PQs but use them with an infrequent clean and lube. I will be curious to see what you think of your pimped out reel. I like your attitude.

LMG you make a good case for Shimano, and I agree they are fine reels. They are not the answer to every question though.

dam0007 reply :

I know its BPS who 'makes' the PQ reels, now may be a dumb question, but who is the actual manufacturer?

bwell reply :

Pure fishing I think

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

On 10/3/2012 at 4:23 AM, The Rooster said:

DVT, did I catch a reference that the PQ could be upgraded to hold level wind bearings in your post?? I'm under the impression that the current reel in factory form does not have these now, but would be made more like my old Extremes where it only has plastic bushings on the level wind worm gear instead.

So, if I understand right, then you can add bearings to the level wind where none exist now. Knowing what I know about the handle paddle grips, you can add one to each of those as well, turning a standard 7 bearing reel into a 9 bearing reel. If the level wind is another place to add them then I could have 11 bearing PQ's when finished (but probably also one of the heaviest reels out there by then as well).

To the OP, I know you can add at least one bearing to each paddle grip, replacing a bushing that's there now. This will do nothing in terms of performance but it does make it nicer feeling to fish moving baits with resistance to them, like spinnerbaits or crankbaits. It's really slick feeling. I did this to my Extremes and they have become some of my favorite reels because of how they feel. I fish them along side of my Shimano E reels and for moving baits I think I like them better than the Citica for sure. In terms of ease of casting and casting distance though, my Shimanos do out gun the Extremes by a fair margin. But you cannot upgrade the Shimanos to feel as slick as the Extremes do due to their design of the handles, and I've also never tried upgrading the spool bearings on the Extremes either, which might make a good difference. That's one reason I'm starting to like the Lew's reels now. From what I'm told they're everything the Shimanos are with the slick feel of an upgraded BPS reel. I compare my Extreme for reference here since its build design is similar to the PQ in many ways. What you can do to one, you can do to the other in a lot of cases.

The Revo level wind parts are pretty much interchangeable with the PQ. I would expect the extreme as well but I'm not positive.

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

On 10/3/2012 at 12:10 PM, bassh8er said:

I am the OP, and the original topic was about the BPS Pro Qualifier. Maybe I should have never mentioned the Shimano reels, but I hate when a topic is started with a question about a specific brand and somebody else mentions a completely different product.

A Chronarch is twice as much as a PQ, and maybe deservedly so, but I wouldn't mention a Zillion or a Pixy in a post about Chronarchs.

Back to the original topic, which is what I want to actually get info about...

I posted this on another forum and got some info about swapping Revo worm gear and pawls since they are titanium coated. Would that be worth it?

Even if it is a little steep, I think that I'm going to "pimp" out one of my PQs, even if it costs me as much as a new reel during the Classic, just to see if I notice the differences.

Thanks again for all of the helpful replies.

The coated worm gear parts should last longer but won't notice any performance difference. If the stock parts wear out and need replacing you might consider upgrading them but outside of that I'd pass. If you're curious I'd suggest picking up a Pflueger Patriarch and fish it beside the PQ. Let me know if you need help with whatever you decide to do.

11justin22 reply :

On 10/3/2012 at 10:00 PM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

The coated worm gear parts should last longer but won't notice any performance difference. If the stock parts wear out and need replacing you might consider upgrading them but outside of that I'd pass. If you're curious I'd suggest picking up a Pflueger Patriarch and fish it beside the PQ. Let me know if you need help with whatever you decide to do.

I just went and looked that patriarch up and it looks exactly like my jm signature lol

cody161 reply :

On 10/3/2012 at 8:44 AM, LgMouthGambler said:

To answer YOUR question, I am simply trying to save the OP the money that he would spend to try and do something that will make the reel perform in no noticable difference. I have owned PQ's, and have tried to modify them to cast farther/smoother, etc. It was a was a waste of money, and was nowhere close to the performance of my Shimanos. You can take it any way you want. Sure I suggest Shimano products for the reels, and if you dont like them then dont buy them. I will not loose any sleep over you not fishing a Shimano reel.

That right there would have been a much better first answer than only saying, "save your money, buy a Shimano." To each their own I guess.

TNBassin' reply :

On 10/2/2012 at 11:42 PM, cody161 said:

I know this has already been stated by the OP, but is it really that hard to answer the simple question he ask? As soon as I read the first post I knew why he specified that this thread was about PQ mods and not Shimano fan boys....And that it was directly related to you. There are different strokes for different folks, so why do you always, and I mean ALWAYS, try and push everyone towards Shimano?

I can confidently say that I will never own a Shimano reel because of you and the way you try to force their product on people.

Rant off.

AMEN! :battery-062:Any posts I make about Abu Garcia products always have at least 2 comments on how I should have gotten a Shimano. Obviously if I wanted one, I would've bought one.

retiredbosn reply :

U guys must not remember the Shimano posse, back when Shimano had the place pinnacle now does on the boards, well lets just say the gambler is mild. Except in those days there were about 12 members of the posse and every reel thread was hijacked for a while.

Ima Bass Ninja reply :

One thing that needs mentioning is that while you may replace components and get some better performance you cannot change the tolerances to which it was built. That is gonna be the differance between higher dollar reels like Shimano, daiwa, pfluegers , or abus vs the pq.

shootermcbob reply :

I have owned several pro qualifiers over the last 4-5 years. I liked them very much. I have since replaced them with "another" brand of reels because I got great deals on them, loved the performance, and most importantly to me...LOVE the way they feel in my hand.

That being said, your pro qualifiers will respond very favorably to a clean and lube at DVT. I sent a couple to him and was very impressed with the extra casting distance I was able to attain after the service. I did not really notice extra smoothness upon retrieve, but was wowed by the casting distance. I am not exaggerating when I say 5-8 yards, maybe more. Even better, DVT has very reasonable prices.

guitarkid reply :

On 10/4/2012 at 8:47 PM, retiredbosn said:

U guys must not remember the Shimano posse, back when Shimano had the place pinnacle now does on the boards, well lets just say the gambler is mild. Except in those days there were about 12 members of the posse and every reel thread was hijacked for a while.

i remember that, there was even a "shimano support group". any ways back on topic. I like my PQs, I too have been thinking about fixing one up just because.

PS. I also have shimanos, abus, and a quantum. I'm not a fanboy of any make or model.

-gk

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