I have noticed that most of the super long distance records have been set with DX quality drivers. But from reading articles on Blake T. 's website, it seems to me that higher quality discs generate more gyroscopic effect and also have less air resistence, which logically makes me think they would go farther lower quality discs. So are the distance records set with DX discs because they have better grip, or is there something else that makes DX fly farther then Elite Z, Champion, and other high quality plastics. Can anyone explain?

I really like my Dx Wraith !!!! Flys far and holds !!!!

You will get different answers on this question.

Find what works best for you. Experiment alot !!! /msgboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

From what I understood from Blakes article, is that the resistance from the rough surface on the low grade plastic created pockets of air that the disc basically glided through. Same concept as a golf ball dimples.

From personal experience, low-grade flies 5-8% farther then candy. That is why I use low-grade plastic for distance contests.

From what I understood from Blakes article, is that the resistance from the rough surface on the low grade plastic created pockets of air that the disc basically glided through. Same concept as a golf ball dimples.

From personal experience, low-grade flies 5-8% farther then candy. That is why I use low-grade plastic for distance contests.



So does that mean that the discs that break distance records are well beat in rather than brand new/good condition?

greater surface friction = greater lift properties. glide = lift.

= cheaper plastic has better glide.

other result of less surface friction = you have to work harder to get the disc to hold a line that is contrary to its natural flight characteristics (turning a disc over and getting it to hold the turn is contrary).

gyroscopics is more tricky, but generally speaking, less dense rims are more conducive to throwing distance lines. cheaper plastic has less density to it than more expensive plastic (which results in less rim mass).

the last major effect, which i only recently added to one of my articles is that discs in more expensive plastics will generally end up "truer" to the mold than cheaper plastics (that is, they maintain more defined qualities during the cooling process). the more defined the rim characteristics, the stronger their effects on flight (read as: they will be harder to turn over and fade earlier).

you are correct about players using beat discs for distance contests.

well, i'm posting a retraction on some of this.

ignore what i said about surface friction and rim balance amongst discs of the same mold run in different plastic.

the real focus is on disc shape and how the disc's contours are defined after the cooling process, which varies by disc and by plastic.

so is it better to use lower quality plastic for most your throws? or does it cause inconsistency?

btw blake t, thanks for the responses, it was very helpful, also your website is amazing, whenever i am having trouble with some part of my game, i always read one of your articles and they are very helpful

generally speaking, i use lower grade plastics when i need to make a disc work or fly straight and higher grade when i want it to be overstable.

observationally speaking, i have found that lower grade discs seem to respond better to line shaping (this could be due to their break-in characteristics). e.g. if i want to flatten a teebird or cyclone from a 20 degree hyzer, i have found that a dx/d one can be thrown "pure" (no off-axis torque) whereas i will have to force a champ/star/z to flatten (by applying some form of torque).

as for consistency... that is up for your own interpretation of consistency.

to me, i see it in two ways which lead me to my purchasing decisions: 1) i can consistently make a lower grade plastic disc do what i want it to do (especially its flight characteristics towards the ends of its flight, how it finishes) but i cannot do this as well with higher grade plastics. 2) dx plastic has changed very little over the past 5 years compared to the variation you will find in upper grades of plastic, so if you lose a disc and want to walk out to the store and replace it, the chances of getting one that flies nearly identical to your last one is a bit higher.

based on my experience with teaching... i find that players who developed their game using cheaper plastics and broken in discs generally exert greater line shaping abilities than players who developed their game with higher grade plastics.

as for disc selection, my experiences have generally been that discs seem to fly the "best" in the plastics they were originally released in (vs. being retrofitted in newer plastics). e.g. dx teebirds and old plastic cyclones seem to fly truer for me than champ/z, but something like a champ orc will fly truer for me than a dx/pro orc. this isn't to say that i don't see uses for the flight characteristics of each disc in different plastics, just that i seem to get more controllability (and in most cases, distance) from each disc when it is run in the grade of plastic of its initial release.

Blake, have you had a chance yet to throw Star TL's and, if so, what are your observations regarding them?

Blake, have you had a chance yet to throw Star TL's and, if so, what are your observations regarding them?



They definitly don't fly anything like a pro TL or the SE teebirds (TL mold). u think they fly more like a viking or valkyire. im starting to really dislike mine.

i haven't thrown TL's much but hear a lot of good things about the old CE TL's... Blake tends to be more keen on the DX Teebird, and i think he was interested to see what the Star TL would be like. Now that it's been out a while i'd love to hear his impressions...

The Star TL's i have seem to have more low speed fade than i hoped for, but maybe i need to break them in? They seem pretty hi-speed stable...

The Pro TL's i threw were waaay hi-speed flippy... now that you mention it, the Star TL does sort of remind me of the Champ Viking i once had ... but i really don't have much experience with either mold...

i have only taken maybe 20 throws with the star TL and only in 1 weight (~168g).

my impression on it was that it was very straight, but less versatile than the SE TL's that were my bread and butter driver for a couple of years. there was some light wind (5-8mph) going when i was throwing the TL, but it seemed to me like it didn't have nearly the same predictable fade that my old SE TL's had. i found the star TL to be more like a more stable heavy dx leopard, and slightly more stable than the older SE/CE TL's.

that's not to say this is a bad thing... but it does seem a little less versatile than i would have liked, but i do find it to be a very straight, controllable disc.

Blake tends to be more keen on the DX Teebird



this is because it's the straightest driver of all time that has good carry on it :)

however, i always felt it was a little lacking in versatility so i always complimented it with a disc that was a little more of an S path (bit of turn, more fade), like SE TL's or DX eagles.

Blake tends to be more keen on the DX Teebird



this is because it's the straightest driver of all time that has good carry on it :)





<--- going to (finally) purchase 3 to 4 DX TeeBirds asap and incorporate them into his game

i often resist Blake's advice but eventually gravitate into trying it :D

I sell used discs so I get to try a lot of different discs in a variety of conditions. I usually throw champion orcs or star orcs if I want a little more hyzer. I used to throw a lot of starfires and preferred pro plastic for those. Sometimes I'll take all my discs (sometimes a 150 or more) to an open field and throw them all. The longest throws I've had are with good condition D beasts. I don't throw the higher grade beasts nowhere near as well. The only reason I don't throw D plastic is that I can't afford to replace them when they get flippy. If you want a good anhyzer disc though it's hard to beat a well used leopard.

I think that CE/Z plastic will always have too much low speed fade at the end to break most distance records. DX, even when new, will have that end of the flight, low speed glide that will give it that extra 40-50 ft for the big throwers.

&lt;--- going to (finally) purchase 3 to 4 DX TeeBirds asap and incorporate them into his game

<font color="red"> Me too. ASAP </font>

i often resist Blake's advice but eventually gravitate into trying it

<font color="red"> That not so much... </font>