DR98 and Leather Grip and Weight Problem -- HELP!

RichVentura

RichVentura

Rookie
I just bought a Yonex DR98 and had Tennis Warehouse put on a Babolat leather grip. My ideal specs are around 350 grams and 7 or 8 points head light.

Well, the raquet arrived with the leather grip but is 345 grams.... and TEN POINTS head light!

Can anyone recommend how I can get only a few grams more on and still get much more weight to the front of racquet so it is much more head heavy? (Over 350 grams is really pushing the weight for me!)

I was thinking about cutting off the top third of the leather grip, and then adding lead to the tip. But I still think the racquet will be too head heavy. I suspect the Babolat leather grip is just too heavy with DR98 to get back down to around seven points head light.

Thanks for your help everyone!
 
Yes, but by the time I got the balance to 7-8 points head light the racquet is going to weight upwards 355-360 grams, no? That is just too heavy...
 
Yonex tends to make, on the whole, more headlight racquets although Prince mostly errs in that direction as well.
 
There's also the way of pulling very hard from the leather grip and grip it very very tight. This elongates the leather, ultimately using less to cover the pellets thus shaving 1-5 grams from the leather grip. This will allow you to put 10g at 12:00 and achieve your desired 350g 7-8 HL stick with leather grip.

There are calculations to be done before applying a leather grip, so that you'll not end up in suck a pickle. Good luck.
 
This just reminds me of the first rule of customizing a racquet: it is (relatively) easy to add weight, not so with taking away weight.
 
Adding weight to move balance when you're close to the limit of what you want for total static weight presents a special problem. You're got to add the weight to the ends of the racket. Adding weight to the ends of the racket raises the mass moment of inertia the most and it doesn't really matter if you add it to the head or the butt. Then to convert the MMOI to SW you use the the Parallel Axis Theorem.

If it were me I would add weight to the butt only because the moves the balance in the direction you want with the least amount of change to SW. Once you get the balance you want then you can determine if you want more weight and SW.
 
That is what I was thinking.

They say the Yonex racquet handles lack a flare at the end, and so I was thinking of putting a synthetic leather grip back on and wrap a few strands of lead tape at the bottom of the handle and make such a flare -- should be half way between a leather and synthetic leather grip weight-wise, around 19 ounces. That would make static weight around 340 grams, and then I could put lead weight at 12 o'clock to get it totally dialed in -- hopefully around 346 grams and 7 points head light.

I sometimes wonder if it is worth it to stress about four or five grams of weight or one point head balance. I think the answer is "yes!"

What do you guys think?
 
I also noticed that natural gut strings are about 5 grams heavier than multifilaments... Good to know!
 
Last edited:
Surgery successful. 345 grams and 7.5 points head light. Feels MUCH better...

Can you really tell the difference between 345 and 351 grams when playing? Or is it just in my head?
 
RichVentura said:
I just bought a Yonex DR98 and had Tennis Warehouse put on a Babolat leather grip. My ideal specs are around 350 grams and 7 or 8 points head light.

Well, the raquet arrived with the leather grip but is 345 grams.... and TEN POINTS head light!

Can anyone recommend how I can get only a few grams more on and still get much more weight to the front of racquet so it is much more head heavy? (Over 350 grams is really pushing the weight for me!)

I was thinking about cutting off the top third of the leather grip, and then adding lead to the tip. But I still think the racquet will be too head heavy. I suspect the Babolat leather grip is just too heavy with DR98 to get back down to around seven points head light.

Thanks for your help everyone!
Click to expand...
It's pretty simple. Use a lighter leather like tw one then you can add all the weight you want to make it your specs
 
Thank you for the advice everyone.

I played with Yonex tonight and was not sure what to think. More used to my Babolat Pure Control Tour. They currently have almost identical specs in my bag, but the DR98 plays very differently from the PCT. On paper, I should play better with the DR98. Sigh.

I think I will just hide my Babolats and commit to the DR98 fully for a month. Get good and used to it and then see how I feel.
 
Rich, what is most noticeable difference in how the DR98 plays compared with your Pure Control Tour? (Have you also played with Ai 98 and if so how did that compare to both racquets?)
 
DR98 and AI98 play very similarly. The Pure Control Tour is a bit heavier and more solid -- the ball just "thunks" off the racquet, and the more dense string pattern is very accurate. There is less spin. The DR98 is a bit lighter, more whippy, but the more "open" 16 x 19 pattern is a bit less predictable. There is more pop in the Yonex. Less predictable - for me, at least.
 
I have a PCT and an AI 98. The 98 has considerably more power. If you swing right, you can turn that into spin. I went the opposite route - I strung my 98 very low with poly to reign in the power(about 30lbs), and make topspin more easily accessible to bring the ball down into the court. It also helps my serve some. The PCT does have more control, but bringing poly down in tension on the Yonex neutralizes that advantage. I feel they are both very close in stability, but I have plenty of added weight on both sticks. My AI is at 8 pts head light, the pct at 8.5(just how it ended up weighing, I only add lead until it feels right, and ignore specs until I just get curious). The PCT has more of an old school feel to it, I think. In fact, it is the only woofer racquet I have tried where I honestly can not feel the woofer system doing much. The Yonex feels solid as well. One of the few newish sticks that I like the feel of. Good flex on mine - feels more flexible than it's RDC suggests. More comfort in it than my 95S.
 
Don't give up on your Yonex's. You can adjust the feel of the racquet easily depending on where you place the lead tape. It's just that placing it at 12:00 allows for the least amount of added weight to achieve a desired balance.

Lead at wider parts of the racquet increase the twist weight, which resists the racquet twisting on impact and widens the sweet spot. But it also makes the racquet a little less maneuverable.

Just a gram of lead at 6:00 (leave a small space for stringing machines) will de-tune a racquet that feels harsh or unwieldy.

A gram or two at 7" up the handle, under the grip, from the butt end will help the racquet swing more efficiently.

Lead at 1.2" and 2.2" up the handle, under the grip, will add maneuverability.

It doesn't take large adjustments to make significant changes.
 
WYK said:
I have a PCT and an AI 98. The 98 has considerably more power. If you swing right, you can turn that into spin. I went the opposite route - I strung my 98 very low with poly to reign in the power(about 30lbs), and make topspin more easily accessible to bring the ball down into the court. It also helps my serve some. The PCT does have more control, but bringing poly down in tension on the Yonex neutralizes that advantage. I feel they are both very close in stability, but I have plenty of added weight on both sticks. My AI is at 8 pts head light, the pct at 8.5(just how it ended up weighing, I only add lead until it feels right, and ignore specs until I just get curious). The PCT has more of an old school feel to it, I think. In fact, it is the only woofer racquet I have tried where I honestly can not feel the woofer system doing much. The Yonex feels solid as well. One of the few newish sticks that I like the feel of. Good flex on mine - feels more flexible than it's RDC suggests. More comfort in it than my 95S.
Click to expand...
Where and how much lead? What's your style? What kind of weighting would you recommend for someone coming from an APD with a few grams at 12 and a leather grip?
Thanks!
 
eaglesburg said:
Where and how much lead?
Click to expand...

I am almost always about buttcap + 10 and 2. I tend to hit high in the string bed. I was considering the Dunlop Rev 3 27.25" stick for a touch more reach, and still low powered. I only put a touch of lead in the hoop, tho. Most of the lead is in the butt. My Bio M3 is 6 pts head light, and it took a lot of lead right in the buttcap to get it there since she started life nearly even balanced. As long as the racquets swingweights are similar, the overall weight doesn't bother me much. I swing an axe and use a chainsaw for a living as the forester on a large estate in Ireland.

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Although my DR98 and PCT have almost same static wight and balance, they still swing differently. Maybe it is how the weight is distributed differently along racquet. Maybe it is just that we become very sensitive to how a racquet swings...
 
RichVentura said:
Although my DR98 and PCT have almost same static wight and balance, they still swing differently. Maybe it is how the weight is distributed differently along racquet. Maybe it is just that we become very sensitive to how a racquet swings...
Click to expand...
Have you tried checking the swingweight?
 
No. That always seemed like a pain to figure out; never learned how to calculate swing weight.

But just swinging the racquet I can feel higher swing weight on DR98 compared to PCT.
 
RichVentura said:
No. That always seemed like a pain to figure out; never learned how to calculate swing weight.

But just swinging the racquet I can feel higher swing weight on DR98 compared to PCT.
Click to expand...

Mine was the same with the AI and the PCT. The PCT is a couple of pts head light compared to the AI. I added lead and gaffers/duct tape to the bottom of the AI both to add weight and to build up the flare.
 
eaglesburg said:
Where and how much lead? What's your style? What kind of weighting would you recommend for someone coming from an APD with a few grams at 12 and a leather grip?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

Quoting to address some new questions. My style is what the kids call all court. I used to s&v, but I'm getting too old to keep that up every point even though I mostly play on carpet. I do come to the net every chance I get. I am comfortable volleying, but simply do not have the speed any more for serious singles s&v. I mostly play doubles now. I have large loopy swings more whippy like robredo than Rafa. Dunno bout the APD. Don't have one here before me. I do like the APD storm, tho.
 
RichVentura said:
No. That always seemed like a pain to figure out; never learned how to calculate swing weight.

But just swinging the racquet I can feel higher swing weight on DR98 compared to PCT.
Click to expand...
I didn't really find it all that difficult. Just use the method that TW outlines.
 
RichVentura said:
Surgery successful. 345 grams and 7.5 points head light. Feels MUCH better...

Can you really tell the difference between 345 and 351 grams when playing? Or is it just in my head?
Click to expand...

The difference between those two static weights, for me, is on serve. Especially any serve that’s not a flat blaster.
 
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