I use to work at Icon Health and Fitness(Proform, Freemotion, Nortic Track, and many others...). I worked in the R&D department, weight systems. Here is what our cables rated for. 3/16-inch rated to 2,000 lbs. Let me tell you, testing these machines before hitting market, these cables WENT THROUGH HELL! Tried to makes them fail with repeated use and weight. I believe the cables averaged 3500lbs before snapping. The ends would break before the cables most times. Just my two cents. But if I had a $12k+ machine sitting on it, I would buy supports.