Would you surprised if two of the same model racquet were 0.2 - 0.4 oz different

bluetrain4 · Sep 28, 2007

I have two Prince Diablos and one seems measurably lighter than the other.

Has anyone else noticed this. I added lead tape to the lighter one and they seem fairly similar now.

Is this normal?

jura · Sep 28, 2007

Totally normal. It's very difficult or nearly impossible to produce tennis rackets inside of a range closer than + 5 gramms.

gjoc · Sep 28, 2007

Here is what TW stated in another thread:

TW Staff said:
The following is a typical spec tolerance used within the racquet industry.

That is, a racquet that falls within these perimeters would still be considered within spec.

Weight: +/- 10 grams
Balance: +/- 10 mm = 3 to 4 points
SW: +/- 10 points
Ra Stiffness: +/- 3

KFwinds · Sep 28, 2007

gjoc said:
Here is what TW stated in another thread:

Those are pretty generous ranges. One would think manufacturers could come closer to matching their products.

0d1n · Sep 28, 2007

KFwinds said:
Those are pretty generous ranges. One would think manufacturers could come closer to matching their products.

At least one manufacturer did/does.

bluetrain4 · Sep 28, 2007

1 ounce = 28.3495 grams

So, 0.1 oz (a standard number for talking about differences in racquet weights) is 2.83495 grams.

So a 0.2 oz difference in racquet weights = 5.6699 grams (close to the +/- 5 gram standard that an earlier poster mentioned).

A 0.3 oz difference = 8.50485 grams

A 0.4 oz difference = 11.3398 grams, which is considerable.

MichaelChang · Sep 28, 2007

Given the fact almost all rackets now are made in china, I won't be surprised to see these ranges for the same model rackets. Many factories in china are in small towns in the southern china, I try not to think about this when I buy a racket, but just try to customize it myself after I get the stick.

pmata814 · Sep 28, 2007

bluetrain4 said:
I have two Prince Diablos and one seems measurably lighter than the other.

Has anyone else noticed this. I added lead tape to the lighter one and they seem fairly similar now.

Is this normal?

I have a pair of Diablo MP's and was also surprised to find that they were off by quite a bit. I don't remember what the number was, since I switched racquets, but I do remember it was more than 10 grams.

z-money · Sep 28, 2007

Yes that is very normal

VGP · Sep 28, 2007

FWIW, rackets now are manufactured pretty tightly in comparison to years past.

For example, the well desired and sought after (by some) St. Vincent Pro Staff had stickers on it that gave the weight and balance specs.

Weight/Oz. 11.6-12.3 Unstrung
Balanced 1.0-1.5 in. Headlight

Now you're talking 0.7 ounce weight difference, 4 points balance difference within "acceptable" production ranges for one racket model.

Back when I was getting better, I used to use the Prince Graphtech DB 110. I had one frame that I used all the time. When I started breaking strings more often, I bought another one. The difference in the frames was drastic. Even the beam cross-sections were different.

Now, when I got my Dunlop HM200gs, I bought them around the same time and customized them to match as close as I can. I did this before when I bought Taiwanese Wilson PS85s.

I've also bought some more Taiwanese PS85s since then and there are rather big differences in weight and balance. I just try to compensate with lead tape and such.

Lefty5 · Sep 28, 2007

MichaelChang said:
Given the fact almost all rackets now are made in china, I won't be surprised to see these ranges for the same model rackets. Many factories in china are in small towns in the southern china, I try not to think about this when I buy a racket, but just try to customize it myself after I get the stick.

Just be sure not to eat the paint chips off your racket!!!

MichaelChang · Sep 28, 2007

Lefty5 said:
Just be sure not to eat the paint chips off your racket!!!

and you have tried done that yourself?

krz · Sep 28, 2007

gjoc said:
Here is what TW stated in another thread:

Those are horrible QC specs. 3-4 points in balance will be very noticable.

gwrtheyrn · Sep 28, 2007

Weight: +/- 10 grams
Balance: +/- 10 mm = 3.149 pts
vs
Weight/Oz. 11.6-12.3 Unstrung (11.95 +/- 9.922g)
Balanced 1.0-1.5 in. Headlight(1.25in +/- 2pts)

Really it only seems like a larger error because it's listed as a range, not a x+- (Ex: 27in+/-.2 and 26.8-27.2 are the same thing)

KOtennis · Sep 28, 2007

normal.

i use lead tape to make the balance/weight as close as possible.

VGP · Sep 28, 2007

gwrtheyrn said:
Weight: +/- 10 grams
Balance: +/- 10 mm = 3.149 pts
vs
Weight/Oz. 11.6-12.3 Unstrung (11.95 +/- 9.922g)
Balanced 1.0-1.5 in. Headlight(1.25in +/- 2pts)

Really it only seems like a larger error because it's listed as a range, not a x+- (Ex: 27in+/-.2 and 26.8-27.2 are the same thing)

point taken

still a big range.....I've got a couple of PS85s that are on the extreme ends of the range.....

Voltron · Sep 28, 2007

jura said:
Totally normal. It's very difficult or nearly impossible to produce tennis rackets inside of a range closer than + 5 gramms.

Oddly enough, my three head Flexpoint Prestige MPs all came out to 351 grams, I didn't even have to match them. However, two of them are from the same batch, and I think the third is pretty close.

snoopy · Sep 28, 2007

I guess it makes TWs $20 matching service worth it.

They don't perfectly match the racquets with lead. They select frames from there stock with the closest weight and balance.

krz · Sep 28, 2007

its possible with those QC specs that you can end up with rackets that are 20grams different (.7oz) and 6-8pt difference in balance.

AmericanTemplar · Sep 28, 2007

snoopy said:
I guess it makes TWs $20 matching service worth it.

They don't perfectly match the racquets with lead. They select frames from there stock with the closest weight and balance.

I wish that I had known about that when I bought my racquets from TW....oh well. Anyway, people shouldn't obsess too much about their racquets being exactly the same. Differences are more mental than anything else anyway. That's not to say that I don't notice differences, but I generally am able to adjust within a single rally.

I matched the weights and balances of my 3 racquets when they all had different strings. Guess what!--Blue Gear weighs about 6 grams more than whatever string that was on there before.

If you ever change the grips on your racquets you will have to match your racquets all over again, and if you are a real perfectionist you will have to re-match them every time you install a new overgrip. Actually it might even be a good idea to match a back-up racquet with a racquet that's handle is weighted with sweat. Anyway, I think I've made my point. But I still have one question: how do you match stiffnesses?

Would you surprised if two of the same model racquet were 0.2 - 0.4 oz different

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