Wilson 99S string experiences

[fibonacci888]

anybody considered the Pacific Xcite? I have a full bed in my tecnifibre and tension is holding great.

When i have a 99s finally to demo i'll put in a bed.

[Buford T Justice]

Has anyone tried string savers in these frames?

[Buford T Justice]

Another thought......

Has anyone tried mains strung much higher than the crosses in this frame? Say mains at 60 and crosses at 30, etc? The lower tension in the cross should decrease the force on the mains.....and perhaps reduce notching? Decreased friction between mains and crosses?

This seems like it might be a small step towards the banned spaghetti strings where there were almost no crosses and the mains in the middle were tied together?

[Buford T Justice]

Originally Posted by Buford T Justice

Another thought......

Has anyone tried mains strung much higher than the crosses in this frame? Say mains at 60 and crosses at 30, etc? The lower tension in the cross should decrease the force on the mains.....and perhaps reduce notching? Decreased friction between mains and crosses?

This seems like it might be a small step towards the banned spaghetti strings where there were almost no crosses and the mains in the middle were tied together?

Im going to try this (60 mains/30 crosses) just for yucks.......I am hoping the crosses will actually move a little bit so the mains wont "ride" the same spot on them over and over (which is what causes the notching). In the very least, it has to reduce the friction between the mains and the crosses as the crosses will be more deformed (i.e. not as straight) when crossing each main. I guess the question is...will it make enough of a difference.....

[tlm]

Originally Posted by Buford T Justice

Another thought......

Has anyone tried mains strung much higher than the crosses in this frame? Say mains at 60 and crosses at 30, etc? The lower tension in the cross should decrease the force on the mains.....and perhaps reduce notching? Decreased friction between mains and crosses?

This seems like it might be a small step towards the banned spaghetti strings where there were almost no crosses and the mains in the middle were tied together?

I tried it with kevlar main at 60 and poly x's at 65 lbs. and it still had bad control and this string set up puts super control into any racket that I have used.

[Centerforward71]

Originally Posted by Buford T Justice

Im going to try this (60 mains/30 crosses) just for yucks.......I am hoping the crosses will actually move a little bit so the mains wont "ride" the same spot on them over and over (which is what causes the notching). In the very least, it has to reduce the friction between the mains and the crosses as the crosses will be more deformed (i.e. not as straight) when crossing each main. I guess the question is...will it make enough of a difference.....

Your gonna warp and/or break the frame on a shot. Bad idea BTJ.

[Buford T Justice]

Originally Posted by Centerforward71

Your gonna warp and/or break the frame on a shot. Bad idea BTJ.

That is a very valid concern my friend!

Perhaps it would be best if I just tried the low tension all around.

[JackB1]

so has anyone found a better option than 16g 4g in the 99s? It seems pretty great to me. Nice plush feel and durability seems pretty good. The string also slides very well against itself in a full job. Only negative is that the middle mains are often getting out of place and you have to straighten now and then.

[quest01]

Well after around 5 hours of hitting with the 99s the strings snapped. Literally after 2 hours of hitting the strings were moving all over the place. I had it strung with Luxilon ALU Power at 59/60 pounds and even at that tension, the strings still didn't last very long. I had my other 99s strung with 60/61 pounds with the same string so hopefully they last longer.

I'm definitely moving to another string and going to try out the 4G stuff in either the 16 or 15g. The 16L 4G probably won't last much longer than the ALU Power 16L.

The only thing I'm concerned with is that I might generate a lot less spin with a 15g.

[Rabbit]

I just finished stringing Lux 4G 15G in a guys racquet. It looks wicked in there. I'm afraid I'm headed toward the 4G for mine as well. The 4GS is kinda cool since it was designed for the Wilson frames.

[tlm]

Originally Posted by quest01

Well after around 5 hours of hitting with the 99s the strings snapped. Literally after 2 hours of hitting the strings were moving all over the place. I had it strung with Luxilon ALU Power at 59/60 pounds and even at that tension, the strings still didn't last very long. I had my other 99s strung with 60/61 pounds with the same string so hopefully they last longer.

I'm definitely moving to another string and going to try out the 4G stuff in either the 16 or 15g. The 16L 4G probably won't last much longer than the ALU Power 16L.

The only thing I'm concerned with is that I might generate a lot less spin with a 15g.

Well thats great a high priced poly moving all over after 2 hours and breaking after 5. Who would not want this racket? Wilson hit a homerun alright but it is more like the string companys hit the jackpot. Maybe you should see if you can find some 14 gauge kevlar maybe it will last 6 hours.

I had a vortex spin racket a few years ago and this wilson is nothing more than a wilson vortex. What I ended up doing after having the same problems that you are having is use a 15 gauge low powered cheap syn. main with a cheap first generation poly 15 L. x's and string it in the high 60's and just have 2 rackets and plan on stringing often.

I was using cheap leona 66 main and it played very good and is very cheap with babolat duralast x's and they played great together. I liked the leona main because that with the poly cross gave it even better control.

[JackB1]

Since the biggest issue with the 99s seems to be poly tension loss, maybe the optimum setup for it is natural gut mains and copoly cross? Nat gut is the BEST string for retaining tension and will help to "mask" the copoly when it starts losing tension. The key then is to find the best tension for this hybrid, since it will have a lot of power.
I am thinking around 64/58? Has anyone else tried a nat gut/copoly setup and what were your results?

[jk175d]

Originally Posted by drak

guess I'd be a little concerned that with a gut/mains Poly hybrid strung at lower tensions (45-50 lbs) that power would be too high and hence control too little - Drakulie or JackB any comments on this?

I don't know this frame but it's a misconception that dropping poly into the 40's will be more power than poly in the 50s. imo poly is the most powerful and trampoline-y in the low-mid 50's. Get it into the mid low 40's and it is actually less powerful, imparts more spin and thus easier to control.

Gut on the other hand feels more powerful in the mid 40's to mid 50's than higher tensions, BUT that is mitigated when crossed with poly in the low 40's. Perfect combo imo.

[PED]

Originally Posted by jk175d

Get it into the mid low 40's and it is actually less powerful, imparts more spin and thus easier to control.

Not really sure that it's less powerful than the 50's but I find that between 41 and 45 lbs full poly in the 99S (depending on temp) and it's great: plenty of power and control.

[Ross K]

Originally Posted by PED

Not really sure that it's less powerful than the 50's but I find that between 41 and 45 lbs full poly in the 99S (depending on temp) and it's great: plenty of power and control.

What exact tension(s) would you play though if the weather was very cold and sometimes windy/damp, as it is here in the UK?

[PED]

Originally Posted by Ross K

What exact tension(s) would you play though if the weather was very cold and sometimes windy/damp, as it is here in the UK?

42/41 or 41/40 usually does the trick.

It was 38 degrees and windy today at it worked fine.

[Buford T Justice]

Originally Posted by PED

Not really sure that it's less powerful than the 50's but I find that between 41 and 45 lbs full poly in the 99S (depending on temp) and it's great: plenty of power and control.

I tried 35 lb (Head Sonic Pro 17) in the 99S and I couldnt do much with it. I know that racquets are not "rocket launchers" but people are.....but holy smokes I could hardly keep the balls from flying. And, the strings moved from the first hit and didnt return. I really really wanted to like the low tension, as the frame played pillow soft with easy easy power.

Maybe another test at slightly higher tension?

[PED]

Originally Posted by Buford T Justice

I tried 35 lb (Head Sonic Pro 17) in the 99S and I couldnt do much with it. I know that racquets are not "rocket launchers" but people are.....but holy smokes I could hardly keep the balls from flying. And, the strings moved from the first hit and didnt return. I really really wanted to like the low tension, as the frame played pillow soft with easy easy power.

Maybe another test at slightly higher tension?

I've never gone as low as the 30's and Sonic 17 is a powerful string. I think the Sonic would be great at 45ish but it also won't last very long since it's so soft.

When I used tour bite 16L last week, I did 45/44 and it was great but it popped too early. TB is powerful as well but it bites harder than Sonic IMO.

I moved up to the 16 gauge tour bite the last few days and kept the tension roughly the same.

The problem is that the 16g isn't as powerful and it also got colder so I wasn't getting the action I wanted from it.

I will say that it takes time to groove in the lower tensions but they're effortless once you get your timing sorted out. The 16g TB is also not notching nearly like the 16L did last week.

I'm going with 41/40 for next week.

[CrispyFritters]

Originally Posted by JackB1

Since the biggest issue with the 99s seems to be poly tension loss, maybe the optimum setup for it is natural gut mains and copoly cross? Nat gut is the BEST string for retaining tension and will help to "mask" the copoly when it starts losing tension. The key then is to find the best tension for this hybrid, since it will have a lot of power.
I am thinking around 64/58? Has anyone else tried a nat gut/copoly setup and what were your results?

I've got some hitting plus 5 sets of doubles with this setup:
Tonic Longevity Mains (15g) at 58 pounds
Scorpion 17g cross at 55 pounds

First 60 minutes were probably the best. Good spin, good control, strings snap back. Ball went where I wanted.

After that, the power level really picked up. It's become very pillowy and I tend to hit long more often. The strings still snap back.

I think it's a decent setup, except for my wallet. Gut is noticeably notched already, and I expect to get about 10 hours total out of it. At that price, I think I'd rather play with a cheap full poly job and just restring more often.

[Ross K]

Originally Posted by PED

I've never gone as low as the 30's and Sonic 17 is a powerful string. I think the Sonic would be great at 45ish but it also won't last very long since it's so soft.

When I used tour bite 16L last week, I did 45/44 and it was great but it popped too early. TB is powerful as well but it bites harder than Sonic IMO.

I moved up to the 16 gauge tour bite the last few days and kept the tension roughly the same.

The problem is that the 16g isn't as powerful and it also got colder so I wasn't getting the action I wanted from it.

I will say that it takes time to groove in the lower tensions but they're effortless once you get your timing sorted out. The 16g TB is also not notching nearly like the 16L did last week.

I'm going with 41/40 for next week.

Wow, nearly dipping into the 30's here. I'm not sure I've heard about TB strung that low before.