Using different tension for mains and crosses?
 

Hi i dont know much about stringing and this will be my first time stringing a racket. Am i allowed to use a different tension using the same string for the mains and the cross to make a wider sweetspot (because i dont feel like buying 2 strings its too expensive)? Like lets say im going to be using luxilon alu power rough as a full string bed can i use it on the mains @ 57lb and then 55lb on the crosses? Its kinda like stringing hybrid but with one string am i allowed to do that? the main purpose im asking this is because i just want to largen the sweet spot by having a higher tension on the mains and a slightly lower one on the crosses

Yes you can but thy do you think that will make a larger sweet spot?

Stringing the crosses a few kilos(~2kilos) lower, helps the mains to recover to the initial position after a stroke.

there are folks who string mains at 52 and crosses at 56. no problems.

What's the purpose of doing it (stringing crosses higher than mains) ?

some people use a poly-multi hybrid, so what they do is string poly lower than their normal tension, then normal for teh multi cross. example RPM main 52lbs and sensation 56lbs. but i prefer to go lower on cross.

From what I've been told, decreasing tension on the crosses does make the sweet spot bigger and increases dwell time on the string thereby enhancing spin potential.

Personally, I like the feel and drop tension by a couple of pounds. I'm currently using natural gut mains and poly crosses at 53/51

Can i do this with 1 string? Like 56mains 54crosses?

Yes. Friction between the grommets and the string will keep the tension difference relatively stable. Unfortunately ALU isn't going to hold tension for long.

Your Instinct also have mains ending at the throat and 1st cross is at the top, so you're either going to do 2 piece or ATW for 1 piece.

On a full set/non hybrid, cross is shorter length vs. mains, thus more equal tension between main and cross.

I do it all the time for folks.

This is one of those claims that I suspect could be more myth than fact, something that was passed on years ago that's managed to survive the test of time because it's still being touted as fact. My only problem is with all the data on discussing the three sweet spots on racquets, how they affect game play, power, etc., I've yet to come across anything that says lowering the tension on the crosses definitively enlarges the sweetspot. That doesn't mean the info isn't out there (for or against); it just means I haven't found it. If someone else has or does, by all means pass it on. I'm not trying to start an argument, so please don't misinterpret my post. I'd just like clarification.

You may well be right. I know that from a practical standpoint I like the string bed better when strung 2 - 3 pounds looser. I find the string bed to be more 'user friendly' and while I have nothing empirical, it feels to me like the sweet spot is bigger.

Conversely, when stringing the crosses tighter, it seems the sweet spot is smaller.

The softer the stringbed the more forgiving the racket feels. Whether you want to get the softer from lowering the overall tension or varying the tension of different strings doesn't make any difference. The tighter the strings the less forgiving the racket is especially on off center shots. I think as your racket head speed increases you want to increase tension or use stiffer strings and vice a versa. As far as making the sweet spot larger or smaller I think there isn't a difference.

To make the sweet spot larger you have to start adding more mass. I do think the sweet spot moves toward any may that is added. Adding weight at the tip moves the sweet spot up and since the racket gets narrower the sweet spot gets smaller as it moves up. Adding weight all around the racket moves the sweet spot in all directions making it larger.

Exactly! 100% correct.

The problem is more with customizing(leadtape), aplying the lead at the correct places to improve a more forgiving sweetspot.

This is why the pro-stock rackets feels so good comparing to retail, they have lead around the head, improving the sweetspot.

with most groundstrokes is it the mains that have to be reset into place??

would a looser main and tighter cross give some difference in spin than both strings set at an equal tension??

OP: one more thing to consider: softer frames, those with a stiffness of less than 62 (radicals, prestiges) can be prone to slight hoop deformation unless you string the crosses a tad tighter than the mains.

So sure there's some factors such as moving the sweet spot around, but other reasons have to do with hoop integrity. Just depends on the frame in question sometimes.

I wish I had been smart enough to try lead tape on my racquet a long time ago. I've used a Head Microgel Radical OS for a couple of years but only last October tried adding lead tape to the head. It now feels like a completely different (in a good way) racquet. The sweet spot is huge and it is very stable.

The string combination that produces the most spin that I have tried is Kevlar mains syn gut crosses. Kevlar is super stiff so I would think the higher the tension (stiffer) in the mains the more spin.

Even more so that a polyester? If the spin is mainly from the ball hitting the strings, moving the mains and the mains resetting back into their position, wouldn't that imply some stretching of the mains? I would think that a main string can only shift so much before it starts to stretch, and the more it stretched then reset the more spin it would get. Im probably thinking of this in a completely wrong manner but I would think the Polys have a greater stretchability than the kevlar right?