Disc weights and stability

[Kris C]

Is a lighter disc going to be more overstable or more understable than a heavier identical disc? Or will there be almost no difference?

[RonTheWhip]

Typically the heavier a disc, the more stability it has. However, wide rimmed discs (along with other general rules of thumb) seem to be turning that ideal on its head. The most stable boss is a domey 167 red star boss....go figure.

[Kris C]

If I'm having a dumb moment, please forgive me... but when you say "the more stability it has" does that mean it's more overstable?

[Bruce]

Yes, that is what he means.

[sillybizz]

Typically the heavier a disc, the more stability it has. However, wide rimmed discs (along with other general rules of thumb) seem to be turning that ideal on its head. The most stable boss is a domey 167 red star boss....go figure.

I've found that most discs that are lighter are less stable then their heavier counterparts with the exception of Star and ESP plastic; for some reason lighter molds in this plastic seem to be more stable. (or more overstable for Kris)

[REDFIVE]

Typically the heavier a disc, the more stability it has. However, wide rimmed discs (along with other general rules of thumb) seem to be turning that ideal on its head. The most stable boss is a domey 167 red star boss....go figure.

they call this starlight and they are "stabilized" so they are different than normal star and meant to be more overstable. odd but true.

[captain jack]

they call this starlight and they are "stabilized" so they are different than normal star and meant to be more overstable. odd but true.

This new stablizing process is only currently used for the lightest Star Boss's (166-169), and Star Destroyers (165-169), but does allow the lighter weights to have more fade, aka overstable, than thier heavier counterparts.

I dont think the 25 grams (150-175) difference really affects stability as much as the design of the disc does, or the degree of wear.
I have a 150 gram Dx Destroyer thats far more stable than its beat 169 gram Star brother.

[RonTheWhip]

The reality of the situation is, there are dozens of variables that affect the flight path of our discs. Weight is just one of them...

[Parks]

All other things being exactly the same, a higher weight will be more stable since that mass is generally distributed mostly in the wing. This makes the disc more gyroscopic.

That being said, there are a lot of other factors that can actually dominate weight. Wing design, plastic type, cooling rate after molding, stabilization process as with "Starlite", dome, amount of wear and tear, and other things.

For the most accurate generalization of how stable a disc is relative to another disc of the same mold, check the parting line height. The parting line is the thin line of flashing on the outer edge of the wing where the top mold meets the mold for the bottom of the wing.

Place two newish discs of the same mold side by side on a flat surface. The one with the higher parting line will be the more stable disc 99% of the time.

[Jeff Hemmerling]

Place two newish discs of the same mold side by side on a flat surface. The one with the higher parting line will be the more stable disc 99% of the time.I like it!

[Parks]

I'm glad you liked it, Jeff, because I posted it just for you!

[Mikk]

I started throwing Japan open discs in the sub 159g weight. All of my lighter discs are high speed understable (rhbh) and massively overstable at slow speeds. My 158 champion Japan orc is stupidly overstable at slow speeds. It reminds me of a star boss on steroids. I also have a 159 Japan star destroyer which behaves just like my 171 star destroyer, but at slower speeds the 159 becomes a overstable hooker!!! I don't realy notice a difference in drive distance but I do like the lighter plastic for carving around the trees!!

[Uhlman]

All other things being exactly the same, a higher weight will be more stable since that mass is generally distributed mostly in the wing. This makes the disc more gyroscopic.

That being said, there are a lot of other factors that can actually dominate weight. Wing design, plastic type, cooling rate after molding, stabilization process as with "Starlite", dome, amount of wear and tear, and other things.

For the most accurate generalization of how stable a disc is relative to another disc of the same mold, check the parting line height. The parting line is the thin line of flashing on the outer edge of the wing where the top mold meets the mold for the bottom of the wing.

Place two newish discs of the same mold side by side on a flat surface. The one with the higher parting line will be the more stable disc 99% of the time.

Sounds like a great theory... is there a scientific study to back it up?

[Tim]

There was a thread on DGR (which is under construction right now so I can't try to find it) that had lots of empirical evidence backing it up. With my own discs, I have 2 Vikings, both champ, one is 175 and the other is 162. The 175 flies like it's supposed to (a bit more stable than a Valk), and the 162 flies like a Firebird. I put them side by side, and sure enough, the parting line height (PLH) was way higher on the 162.

[Parks]

Sounds like a great theory... is there a scientific study to back it up?

Ya, let me put on my white lab coat and get my beakers and Erlenmeyer flasks and reproduce the experiments...

Fuck no, of course there's not a scientific study. This is disc golf.

Try it for yourself and check it out.