General Difference After Leading

Pioneer

Professional
I'm planning to add a total of 16 grams of lead tape to my racquet, 10g at 12' and 6 at 3/9. According to USRSA's customization tool I'll go from this:

Weight: 335g
Balance: 32cm
Swingweight: 323

to this:

Weight: 351g
Balance: 33.3cm
Swingweight: 366

This is without overgrip. Add a tourna and I'll have weight 355g and balance of about 33cm.

So, is this a good setup? And in general, how will the leaded set up be different? Will it be better at spin production? Will it have more power? I know for sure it will be less maneuverable and more stable with more plowthrough
 
Jesus that's a lot of lead.

You should try it and report back to us. Yes it will add more power. What racquet are you using?
 

pyrokid

Hall of Fame
Jesus that's a lot of lead.

You should try it and report back to us. Yes it will add more power. What racquet are you using?

I know almost everyone in the PSL support group has around that. (I think, at least. )
I have about 50 grams on mine.

I thought most people added at least an ounce. Was I wrong?
 

AJK1

Hall of Fame
I'm planning to add a total of 16 grams of lead tape to my racquet, 10g at 12' and 6 at 3/9. According to USRSA's customization tool I'll go from this:

Weight: 335g
Balance: 32cm
Swingweight: 323

to this:

Weight: 351g
Balance: 33.3cm
Swingweight: 366

This is without overgrip. Add a tourna and I'll have weight 355g and balance of about 33cm.

So, is this a good setup? And in general, how will the leaded set up be different? Will it be better at spin production? Will it have more power? I know for sure it will be less maneuverable and more stable with more plowthrough
Yeah, leading it up like that is gonna make you a way better player! Not.
Just get some lessons and forget about the lead.
 

Pioneer

Professional
If I don't lead it up it feels too headlight and I can't feel where the racquet head is, plus I whip too fast and get mishits. A friend game me some lead tape on the court and I added 10g at 12 and it felt MUCH better. The racquet is great without the lead but it's too headlight and kind of low powered. I get more depth and I'm much more comfortable on serve with the weight.

Anyway, why would this be too much lead? I've seen people on these forums who have 350g Radicals. But if you are talking about the swingweight, would 366 be too much?

AJK1, I take lessons once a week man
 

cellofaan

Semi-Pro
I don't think 366 is too much. Adding 10 grams at 12 should've already increased it with almost 35, and if you like that, you might as well try the extra 6 grams at 3 and 9.

AJK1 is right in that your tennis skills won't improve, but if it feels better, you'll hit with more confidence, and therefore play better.
 

cellofaan

Semi-Pro
YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!!!!!!!!! most pros dont play with sw that high

Did you just quote me and edited the quote, so now it looks like I made a typo and a language error?

And yes I'm serious. If he likes 10 grams at 12, then he likes it, and 366 may very well still be in his range of things he likes.
 

Hi I'm Ray

Professional
I don't get the comment someone made about not using lead tape. If the racket feel/plays good but you think it could be better with some added lead go for it. I did the same with my rackets. Started with 12.2oz and the racket played nice as is, but it felt a bit light, like it need more mass/weight in the head. Ended up with 12.5g (I said 12g elsewhere to simplify) in the upper hoop. Now it feels very solid and stable. You might need to experiment with different positioning and weight combinations to get just the right mix of heft and feel. It took me 2 tries to get the right combination. Then I tried less weight but in the same locations and it was awful so I went back to the 2nd set up. You'll know by feel when you find just the right set up

I know almost everyone in the PSL support group has around that. (I think, at least. )
I have about 50 grams on mine.

I thought most people added at least an ounce. Was I wrong?

what does PSL stand for? So many abbreviations around here to figure out.
 

phishua

Rookie
I don't get the comment someone made about not using lead tape. If the racket feel/plays good but you think it could be better with some added lead go for it. I did the same with my rackets. Started with 12.2oz and the racket played nice as is, but it felt a bit light, like it need more mass/weight in the head. Ended up with 12.5g (I said 12g elsewhere to simplify) in the upper hoop. Now it feels very solid and stable. You might need to experiment with different positioning and weight combinations to get just the right mix of heft and feel. It took me 2 tries to get the right combination. Then I tried less weight but in the same locations and it was awful so I went back to the 2nd set up. You'll know by feel when you find just the right set up



what does PSL stand for? So many abbreviations around here to figure out.

Pure Storm Limited. It is a very popular Babolat Stick. Not Aero Pro Drive (APD) popular, but a pretty bad@$$ (BA) stick that is very head-light (HL) and very customizable.
 

fuzz nation

G.O.A.T.
Aside from all the math and change in spec's, it's a fair assumption that you're going to have a more stable feeling racquet in your hand and it will certainly be less HL in balance. My only thought is that you're adding a pretty big shot of lead all at once and you might go so far as to make your Babolat feel um... foreign to you when you swing it. That can be bad, but if you're lucky, it can also be good if you get it right for you on the first try.

Whenever I've used lead tape on the hoop of a racquet, I've added only a few grams at a time so that the setup was being sort of eased in the direction I wanted to take it. When I tried adding 3/9 o'clock lead to one of my Volkl C10's, I tuned it to my liking with what turned out to be only about half the lead that I thought it would need to play stable enough for me. The upside was that it still felt almost exactly the same as it did before the added lead.

I personally don't much care what the pros use for layouts with their gear. I'm a reformed serve and volleyer and I don't have to compete on the courts to earn my lunch money. I like what I like, but I also routinely keep several different racquets in my bag. You're allowed to do the same. Just be careful not to "overcook it" when adding the lead. If you try a little and it doesn't get your feel where you want it to be, you can add some more.

That heavy tape certainly isn't permanent once you apply it, but if you need to pull some of it off, it might deform and be no good for reapplication. That's the only reason I caution you against adding too much too fast.
 

Pioneer

Professional
I don't think 366 is too much. Adding 10 grams at 12 should've already increased it with almost 35, and if you like that, you might as well try the extra 6 grams at 3 and 9.

AJK1 is right in that your tennis skills won't improve, but if it feels better, you'll hit with more confidence, and therefore play better.

That's exactly the word I was looking for - confidence. The feel is great but the 8 pts head-light balance makes me swing too fast, therefore I get a lot of mishits. When I lead it up I can swing confidently with all my strength and be sure that I won't miss it.
 

Pioneer

Professional
YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!!!!!!!!! most pros dont play with sw that high

Oh, I get what you mean. Although you've got guys like Sampras at about 380, Murray in the 360-370 range, Soderling at 385, Djokovic at 370 and others.

I could play it safe though, and just go for 5 grams at 12 and if I want some more maybe 2 grams at 3/9? This should get me to something like 345g, 32.5cm balance and 345 sw
 
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