BallReviews
General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: spencerwatts on July 27, 2014, 06:03:25 PM
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Here's an example. I purchased a Fab Blue Hammer and a Fab Burgundy Hammer back in 1995. Bill Hall, who designed the Blue Hammer, shared with me recently that the Blue Hammer's and Burgundy Hammer's differential were both about a .020; their RGs were 2.51 and 2.52, respectively.
I'm guessing that a high differential back then was anything in the .030s, probably as high as the mid-.030s. I'm curious if anyone might recall what was considered a high differential ball during that era?
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It was hard to find rg and differentials until after 95 on a lot of balls. The diff numbers you give don't surprise me, but I am surprised the rgs were that low. The first balls with that low a rg were the early ceramic core balls. Most early 2 piece balls were in the 2.55 2.57 range.
The first sub 2.50 core I remember was the Blue Triton from Track. I think it came it about 2.48 in 1996-97. Columbia had some very high differential balls about that time too, in the After Shock and Gold Quake.
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1990/91 Brunswick Phantom was RG 2.458 Diff .046 and Int dif .020
1995 when the Brunswick Zone was released they were RG 2.50ish and Dif of .047.
1993-1997 Brunswick Rhinos were RG 2.55 and Difs of .023
Quantums of 1994 were RG of 2.55ish plus and diffs .023 to .032
Quantums in 1995 were RG of 2.51ish and difs of .055
Columbia Cuda/C of 1995 Rg 2.50 Dif .058
Columbia Boss of 1997 Rg 2.51 Diff .051
Track 1995 NRg was listed as low RG and high Diff but cant find the specs
Track Synergy of 1996 Rg 2.607 Dif .050
Track Triton Blue of 1997 Rg 2.46 Dif .042
Track Synergy ETS of 1997 Rg 2.63 Dif .070
For the most part across the board in 1995 is when most manufactures started going with the more dynamic/aggressive cores. I started bowling in YABA 1996-1997. Since I was just getting into bowling I remember seeing all of this first hand and how things were advertised ect. The Zone was the it ball of that time locally followed by the Columbia Boss line then Later the Ebonite Wolf series. The Ebonite Omega line was the first main run of seeing asymmetric cores in a line.
There are many bowling balls today that use lower diff cores and still have plenty of hook to offer. First hand for me the Brunswick Slingshot diff .017 Strike King diff .028, The Ringer series Diff .038. All of these ball will work well on todays conditions. In many cases they can cover plenty of boards.
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http://123bowl.com/ball.cfm?ballid=193
This was the high range of differential!
S^2
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As I've posted elsewhere, I was away from bowling for 18 years (1996 until January 2014) and I've had a lot to catch up on. If I've listened and read correctly, the cores and coverstocks from the mid-1990s are not as strong as these newer ones, especially those that were designed for heavy oil. Taking the Track NRg, for example, it would appear that ball would probably compare more favorably to the Brunswick Ringer series in terms of RG/differential; it would be a ball better used for short to medium length oil patterns with medium to dry oil volume.
Would that be an accurate guess?
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Strength of core doesn't help a ball to hook other than to the extent you can get a few more revs from the low rg core. It is really more about friction from the shell.
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The difference between then and now isn't as big as you think. The Track NRg core specs aren't posted online but are likely close to other balls being RG 2.5 and dif. .040 to .050.
These cores are larger flaring cores which can lead to more hook. The change in coverstocks over those next few years was the other part of the equation.
It has been posted that there is very little change in bowling ball technology since the early 2000's. That is hard to promote if you are in the business of selling new bowling balls obviously.
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Avabob, as I understand from JustRico you can't get more revs from a lower RG ball. Revrate is purely dependent upon bowler ability.
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If I recall the Navy Blue Phantom was the ball that was the ball that topped low rg and diff.. No other ball could be lower in rg or higher in diff (at that time).. 2.43 and .080 ..
Obviously the diff rule is now .060
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No one understood pin placement at the time.
The early balls were virtually all had the pin near the CG and most drills were over the label so very little track flare was created. Only a few balls were drilled with what we called
block weight which was leveraged some.
Of the early balls I remember the Ultra Angle being the first ball that I really saw track flare in but no one around here understood why. But I'm sure it was do to the core shape and they were probably pin out. But I doubt if anyone drilled a left handed one correctly, they probably had the pin out at the 2 o'clock position over the label.
As avabob said most of the hook potential comes from the coverstock the cores provide track flare to expose a fresh surface to the lane and lower RG making it a little easier for the ball to go into a roll.
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Flare is only relevant if the ball slows down properly after that the strength of the core effects how the bowling ball transitions - bigger core bigger transition
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Lower rg cores will rev up quicker for any given amount of force applied. Not sure how much difference there really is from, say a 2.55 down to a 2.48. it may be only a small increment. I haven't seen anyone use this example for a long time, but think of figure skaters who start spinning with a leg and arms extended, then increase their spin rate by bringing their arms and leg in to their body. Not quite the same as a bowling ball, but they have lowered their rg, and the principle of conservation of momentum comes in to play.
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The more important number is the core diff that dictates much more than RG value
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JustRico what about intermediate differential? I've noticed similar to differential in the later 90's, only a few years ago companies were in an arms race for maximum int diffs.
You saw several high performance bowling balls with int diffs of 0.030 or higher. Now it seems most are 0.012 to 0.025 max these days.
Is there any reasoning behind this?
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There was a few camps that thought this was the new direction in ball motion...when I was with Brunswick I believe it was the Twisted Fury that had a intermediate diff of .025 or so and the primary was .035 or so...to me this creates confusion in the core what controls what...and honestly ball motion isn't and shouldn't be that difficult
That's why for the guys I work with (you included) I like the lower diffs easier to control and create better ball motions
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IMO, once you get the intermediate diff above 0.025, the mb placement is almost too much of a factor in ball layout. I had 2 of the Awesome line balls from Morich (hook and revs) hated the hook (.028 intermediate diff) and couldn't do much with the revs. Now, in my bag, my Network is .030, and I chose to use a pin placement to increase the the response to friction due to this. Even at 45*5*30, it's very rolly, and I can't go very left to right with it. I believe its due to the intermediate diff being so high.
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The Fury line signaled the decline in Brunswick equipment that has only turned around in the last couple of years.
Super strong asymmetric cores plus very aggressive shells have created a bunch of top end balls in most lines that people cant use on anything but THS. Thus the reason that the mid priced symmetric balls have become so popular.