how much effect does weight have?

[ladysmanfelpz]

How much does a few grams of a weight have on the flight of the disc and your power? Ive been playing about 3 years and just started getting into it with practicing and trying multiple discs. I'm 6' 1" and 185 lbs so can rip it pretty good. I would say average about a 330ft drive but ive put it next to the basket on holes in the upper 300s. I never paid attention to weight until i had a couple discs that were really squirrlely on me. Knowing i had decent power I looked to buy upper 160's to max weight. But how much can a few grams really affect it? Is a 170 destroyer going to be that different from a 175? Or is it only when you start dropping 10 grams that you notice different flight characteristics?

Thanks

[jubuttib]

The weight itself doesn't do all that much unless the change is more in the range of 10g than 3g, but from a theoretical point a lighter disc will always be easier to get up to speed, glide a bit better, slow down a bit faster, more susceptible to form flaws and be blown around by the wind more. The differences are very small though unless you're talking about huge weight differences. More defining is the shape of the disc, and most often you'll find that lighter discs tend to mold up differently from heavier discs (especially Parting Line Height, PLH, which is just about the most definitive difference when it comes to comparing two discs of the same mold), and there the difference doesn't have to be large. But if the shape and PLH of the disc are identical the weight makes fairly little difference, my 172g Echo Star Destroyer is just as stable as my 136g Blizzard Destroyer that has the same PLH. The Blizzard is longer though usually, since it glides much better and is easier to get up to speed.

But yeah, going from ~175g to ~165g does have a very significant effect on the flight of the disc, but the results aren't always consistent due to things other than weight affecting things more. It's still usually a good idea to throw discs that are more or less the same weight since it helps keep timing consistent.

[ladysmanfelpz]

so is PLH referring to domey and flat? and if im correct its domey is more understable while flat tends to be more overstable.

[jubuttib]

so is PLH referring to domey and flat? and if im correct its domey is more understable while flat tends to be more overstable.

No, domey and flat is not what PLH is, and whether a disc is domey or flat in general doesn't mean squat when it comes to stability. Some flat discs are overstable, some are very understable, same for domey.

PLH is this business:

Both discs in the picture are S-Line PD's, and both are max weight. Notice how the nose of the one on the left is slightly higher? That means it is more stable/overstable than the one on the right. Very small differences have a big effect. In this case the left one is a great driver for headwind use, while the one on the right is a great straight and neutral driver for calm conditions, but will turn in the wind.

[ladysmanfelpz]

oh okay. I get the parting line height. I know im new to these forums but maybe it could be organized a little better. First the search sucks, so sorry if im asking noob questions, but then where are the stickies!! A sticky on PLH would be good and how about domey vs flat, and maybe another on weight. Just a thought

[jubuttib]

You'll have better luck on the equipment forum anyway when it comes to questions about discs. =)

The PLH really should get a sticky, because it's so consistent. But dome and weight aren't that clear cut when it comes to the overall flight of a disc, and heavily disc, run and plastic dependent as an indicator of stability. Dome really only affects glide and wind resistance directly (bigger dome => more glide and more resistance, lighter weights => easier to get up to speed, heavier ones => blown around less by the wind and more tolerant of form flaws). But those are things that anyone with a middle or junior high level of education should be able to deduce, so not much point in stickying that.