Disc Weights

Hello,
I was wondering what everyone's experience is w disc weights. I know the lighter the weight the less overstable or more understable the disc will fly. My question is how many grams lighter does a disc have to be to notice the stability change in flight? Any ideas?

[Corndawg13]

probably 5

[Mike McFarlin]

Weight is not the only factor in the stablility of a given disc compared to another of the same model. I have two Lat 64 Visions that are the same weight, but they have a noticeable difference in stability.  I also have a 175g Star Valkyrie and a 167 Star Valkyrie that are almost identical in flight. I have notice that a each 5 - 7 gram weight difference in Champion or Star Leopards does make a very noticeable difference in stablility.

Different plastics have different effects on stability depending on weight. DX plastic is much less stable then Champion plastic, but seems to gain stablity faster with weight increases.

There have been many discussions here about different molds (year produced) of Rocs, Tee-Birds, etc. each having different stabilities.

 

 

[Christian Lamb]

Yeah, after I posted I thought about all the other factors that effect disc stability and figured this is a tough question to answer.  Figured it couldn't hurt to ask though.

Main reason I ask is because I ordered some discs online and I couldn't choose an exact weight..... it was a 3 gram difference and then some discs I ordered they only had in 170 - 172 when I have been throwing 175's for an innova max, xcal and banshee.  We will see if the little bit of weight change is noticeable.  

Thanks for the info guys! :)

[Dookville]

The wider the rim of the disc the fewer grams it will take to notice the pull on your fingers. 5 grams on a Roc might go unoticed, but on a Boss, 5 grams feels like a pound.

[Jim Coonradt]

I noticed it with a Vulcan. I originally bought a 167 gram Vulcan but it still seemed overstable. So I sold it to someone else and went down in weight to 161 grams. Now I can flip it pretty nicely. I usually don't go that light with weight but it worked in this case. It does really depend on the disc and plastic. I usually tend to stay in the mid 160s to low 170s range. With a midrange you probably won't notice the weight change that much.

[Nick]

From what I understand, the stability doesn't necessarily change, the disc just requires more or less power. In general though, I think the lighter the disc, the faster it will go, but it'll be more vulnerable to wind and other outside forces. The heavier it is, the farther it will go (the weight acts as a pendulum and propels itself) and is less vulnerable to wind and such.

 

Or...something like that...maybe I got it reversed..anyone?

[David Ledford]

You got that correct. An extreme example would be throwing a balloon filled with air vs. a water balloon. There is a balance point however where weight and speed come together and each individual is different due to throwing technique and strength. Too much weight = reduced velocity, Not enough weight = reduced kinetic energy (distance). It is critical therefore when going for distance that each player find the heaviest weight possible without sacraficing velocity and let the disc do the work that it was intended to do.

I can throw a 167g much farther than a 182g however there are times when wind is a major factor and I go with the heavier weight.

[Jeffery Nugent]

For me it was about 7-8 grams, I had a 163g boss that was fairly flippy, gave it away and picked up a 171g boss and the dang thing is a meathook. part of that may be the difference between rpro plastic and champ plastic, all of my champ plastic discs are more stable than the pro or dx versions.

[Eric Day]

Yes R-pro Boss and any other plastic boss are not the same. An Rpro is not even a Boss really they are something else with the Boss mold lol.

 

[david swamp thing black]

I got a 150 flick thats moe stable than any disc ive seen so i dont know if it makes a difference. Throwing a light disc that can't handle your power is like shooting a wooden arrow through a compound bow. It aint got the spine to handle the propulsion and wobbles and turns over and the arrow shatters.

 

[Donny Olow]

Depends on Each Disc and each Disc Manufacturer.  Usually 10 grams or more will be more noticeable.