The Official Lead Tape Placement+Racket Customization Thread

[Gee]

Lead experts,

I need some help from you.

I own a BA98 (stock specs: 315g - 9 pts HL - 290 SW) that I purchased from TW Europe. (I asked several times before but I still don't understand the different specs (315g - 4pts HL- 331 SW) mentioned on TW USA).



Pro Kennex Black Ace 98 - 352 grams - 7 pts HL - Head RIP Control 17g 60/57 lbs (27/26 kg) -
2 layers of 6" x 1/4" lead strips at 3 and 9 - Babolat Leather Grip - Dunlop Hydratac Overgrip

It plays better than in stock this way but I still want more solidness and a higher SW.

Should I add about 5 grams ( 1/4" of 10" long strips at 12) and counterbalance at 7" from buttcap?

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Gee]

I added 2,5 grams at 12 and a rubber band (2 grams) at 7" from buttcap.

Tonight I played indoors with my BA98.

The added weight didn't make much difference. Just only a little bit more solid.

After one half an hour I switch to my TF335. Immediately I noticed the solidness that I was looking for all the time when demoing another frame. I only wished it was a little less demanding because It is a pretty heavy frame. I can handle the TF335 well but I can feel that it costs me more energy and I need more recovery time after a match day. Especially this is noticeable when I need to play a few days in a row during tournaments.

I think I should go more to the fitness center to make my body even stronger.

[moronicfreak]

well im trying to increase the spin and power of my shots without adding too much weight to the stick,

i think i would go for a polarized set up, but i would like the balance to remain as it is.

i think i want to add at most 10 grams to the overall weight.

how do i spread out the weight evenly?

is it possible to not change the swing weight too much?

[ManuGinobili]

Originally Posted by moronicfreak

well im trying to increase the spin and power of my shots without adding too much weight to the stick,

i think i would go for a polarized set up, but i would like the balance to remain as it is.

i think i want to add at most 10 grams to the overall weight.

how do i spread out the weight evenly?

is it possible to not change the swing weight too much?

3g under the bumper guard, 3g right at the buttcap for a start?

[moronicfreak]

Originally Posted by ManuGinobili

3g under the bumper guard, 3g right at the buttcap for a start?

hmmm so should just keep the weight at the top the same as the bottom?

cool i will give it a try thanks!

anyways can any youtek radical users tell me their set up of leading thanks! would like to try

[ManuGinobili]

Originally Posted by moronicfreak

hmmm so should just keep the weight at the top the same as the bottom?

cool i will give it a try thanks!

anyways can any youtek radical users tell me their set up of leading thanks! would like to try

Oops, bad advice, I was multitasking lol.

Theory is, for polarization you add weight to those positions. Find your racket's balance and add weight till u get that balance. (the 3g & 3g only works for rackets with an even balance)

[tenis]

Originally Posted by HitItHarder

Last night I was moving some lead tape on two of my racquets and one strip actually pulled a pretty large paint chip off one of my frames. I was not particularly happy. Not the end of the world -- it is a tennis racquet and not a piece of art or anything -- but I want to try and avoid this in the future. Anyone have tips to help prevent this.

By the way, it was just regular old Gamma lead tape from TW. 3" strips (1/4 wide) at 10 & 2 on the inside of the frame of my MG Rad. Paint chip was probably an inch long.

What racquet you play? The Head Intelligence had bad paint, peeling off a lot...

[ericchuu16]

"This means you can add a LOT of weight, and still not exceed your SW2 range. More mass means more stability and power. Usually the added power means a higher tension is required to control it."

@Xfull
I have a Kblade 98 with 3 grams at 9 o clock and 3 grams at 3 o clock. I have placed 9 grams at 7" above the handle. I would like to add more weight, but I do want to add so much as to be in between the SW1 and SW2 range because isnt that where you said the balls soar long. I was wondering if you could tell me how I could place the lead tape just enough to hit the SW1 range

[ericchuu16]

@Xfull
I have a Kblade 98 that is depolarized with 6 grams total at 3 and 9 and 9 grams at 7" above the handle. I was wondering how much lead tape I can add before I hit the SW1 Range, but not exceed it because i do not want to be hitting balls long.

[Turbo]

Anyone try polarizing with a PDR+? I've heard someone say SW2 for them is around 380 or 390. Mine is at 365 with with 7g in buttcap (and also a gamma supreme overgrip) and about 9g from 11 to 1.

The problem for me is that it's too powerful. I know from trying that less weight at the head makes it less powerful (at least at this sw), so i'm thinking I can take off some there and add it to 3 and 9? Less power and more stability? Or should I just keep adding it at 12 till it gets less powerful? Not sure if i'm at sw2...

Tried higher tension, doesn't help that much.

[djinni999]

Originally Posted by HitItHarder

Last night I was moving some lead tape on two of my racquets and one strip actually pulled a pretty large paint chip off one of my frames. I was not particularly happy. Not the end of the world -- it is a tennis racquet and not a piece of art or anything -- but I want to try and avoid this in the future. Anyone have tips to help prevent this.

By the way, it was just regular old Gamma lead tape from TW. 3" strips (1/4 wide) at 10 & 2 on the inside of the frame of my MG Rad. Paint chip was probably an inch long.

i found a great, easy solution to this. it has never happened to me but when i first bought lead (gamma swingweights), the quality was disastrous, the adhesive barely working. the weights kept coming off when i took big cuts at the ball. i didn't want to use glue and make it very difficult to take off and possibly damage the paint.
i found some nice heavy duty tape and cut them into strips slightly longer and wider than the gamma swingweights. i stuck these onto the frame. applied super glue underneath the lead weights and stuck them on to the the tape. the strips should be bigger than the lead pieces/tape because when you press down and apply pressure, the super glue will bleed onto to the bare frame. so this way you're leaving a margin.
so far i haven't had a problem with lead coming off. i suspect the duct tape will come off easily without damaging the paint at all, although i haven't tried it yet. or you can experiment with various adhesive tapes to see which one comes off with the least effort, most cleanly; therefore being least likely to peel off paint and use that as a platform.

[TheGrapist]

hey thank you for the awesome info you gave, it really helped. I used the depolarized setup added 6g to 3 and 9 oclock and 6 to the buttcap, i hit with it on friday, Wow its pretty great on my FXP prestige

[Ivan Lendl's Backhand]

Here are the results of my experimentation with lead on a Babolat Pure Drive GT:

1) 4g at 3+9. Definite improvement. Racquet feels more solid on contact with the ball.

2) 8g at 3+9. More heft and weight. Noticeably improved 'clubbing' ability on serves which are now bombs. Extra weight allows me to get out of trouble with deep pentrative shots when I would otherwise be on the defensive. Slight loss of manouvrabilty at the net. Racquet feels heavy after an hour's play though and my arm feels tired. Bit reluctant to use this during long competitive matches because its just a bit too tiring for me.

3) 6g at 3+9. About the best compromise between improved stability and being able to maintain racquet head speed. BEST COMPROMISE SO FAR.

4) 8g at 3+9 and 2g at 12. Hideous. Racquet feels like a hammer and serves are uncontrollable - the racquet seems to swing without me wanting it to!

5) 8g at 3+9 and 5g at 7" from the butt cap. Unplayable. Racquet feels very ponderous and slow.

6) 8g at 3+9 and 5g in buttcap. Feels weighty but not unmanageble. Racquet is incredibly solid - no weight of ball seems to deflect its trajectory. My 1HBs are missiles and the extra weight seems to keep the racquet stable when hitting outside the sweet spot on my normally inconsistent 1HB. Unfortunately, the racquet is a too heavy for me to swing in the way that I would like. Significant reduction in racquet head speed on serves.

7) 6g at 3+9 and 2g in buttcap. I thought that this would be perfect but the racquet balance doens't feel right at all. Serves going into the net, groundstroks going long... Have removed the 2g in the buttcap.

Still experimenting.....happy to hear suggestions for what to try next.

[TennisPassion5]

Help is greatly appreciated

Just bought Gamma lead tape 1/4"

My biggest desire is additional control, followed by stability, followed by power.

I was thinking about adding lead tape at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions, but if it's geared more towards increasing the sweet spot, maybe I don't need that set-up if I'm looking for control over power.

In addition, does more head light necessarily mean more control? Because adding lead tape at 3 and 9 would make it more head heavy.

Thanks for the help in advance!

[Funbun]

Originally Posted by TennisPassion5

Help is greatly appreciated

Just bought Gamma lead tape 1/4"

My biggest desire is additional control, followed by stability, followed by power.

I was thinking about adding lead tape at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions, but if it's geared more towards increasing the sweet spot, maybe I don't need that set-up if I'm looking for control over power.

In addition, does more head light necessarily mean more control? Because adding lead tape at 3 and 9 would make it more head heavy.

Thanks for the help in advance!

Well, it depends on your playing style. If you want more directional control, put it at 3&9, so you can have more stable shots. If you want more depth control, put it at 12 so you can have more topspin in your shots.

If you don't want an extreme trampoline super power shot from the sweet spot, just increase your string tension to compensate. A larger sweet doesn't always necessarily mean more power. It just means more stability.

Nobody really wants a head-heavy racquet. They are rather difficult to move around on serves and groundstrokes. It's an extreme rarity to see HH racquets on the pro tour. Adding lead tape anywhere beyond the balance point on the racquet WILL make it more head heavy. Several pros use racquets on the head heavier side, though (like around 3-5 pts. HL).

If you want to maintain the racquet balance from adding tape to the hoop, add tape to the handle to counterbalance the weight.

[Prostaffer]

So i'm in the second half of my singles league and i'm in a tie for first place. I've split the head to head with the first place guy. Here are my specs and a little about my game.

Vantage
95"
27.25
310 grams.
70 RA
Currently playing Lux ALU @ 55lbs strung in May 2008. (Yeah you saw that)
No lead right now at all.

I played college tennis and used to play Wilson Rok, Prestige, usually with lead at 3 and 9.

Just took a two year layoff and coming back. The serve is getting consistent and i'm getting great placement.

One handed backhand, not a big hitter on that wing but I can place it where I have to.

Best shot is a slice approach. I'm able to keep the ball low and set up what I'm doing best, volleying.


I'd like a setup that helps me with two things. A little more pace on my ground strokes. Forehands tend to drop just long when I "get after it". I'm trying to spin it and it doesn't drop. Or if I want to do a topspin approach instead of the slice my topspin goes no where and into the net.

My return of serve has suffered too. The guy i'm fighting against has a big flat first serve and I get my stick on it and the ball goes nowhere. Usually I can block it back but the ball hits the strings, stick shakes and it goes nowhere.

I currently have some ALU Rough and ALU available. I'm willing to get some other poly's but would like to do this soon. Also interested in polarization. Read a little about it and wonder if it would work for me and how much lead would be needed and where? Thanks for the help guys! I promise to post results.

[(K)evin]

Originally Posted by Hidious

I see Federer had lead in the throat in his early days. This seems uncommon, what would be the effect of that?

yeah what does this do?

[Prostaffer]

Originally Posted by (K)evin

yeah what does this do?

i've been interested in this as well...

[philosoraptor]

if i remember right, it was to add weight to get to stock specs because of wilsons qc failure

[bastorm0720]

How do you find the balance of the racquet? I'm thinking about leading up my racquets for the first time.

I'm a baseliner with huge spin off both wings, so I'm probably going fo the depolarized setup with some weigh at 3 and 9 for stability (or 2 and 10?)

Also, what's the point of counterbalancing?
And where does the tape go inside the handle...