DIFFERENTIAL RATIO

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Clueless
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DIFFERENTIAL RATIO

Post by Clueless »

I'm trying to learn the science of the game and after reading an article by Mo in the Nov. 2010 edition of BOWLING THIS MONTH titled "Differential Ratio" I don't find many ball descriptions that cite this info.
According to Mo "The differential ratio of the drilled ball is the most significant factor that affects the shape of the ball's motion", yet there is sparse information about it.
Believing this is scientific truth, my questions are as follows:
1. How important is it to know the Ratio of the un-drilled ball prior to drilling?
2. Is there a formula to determine the Ratio of the drilled ball before you even drill it?
3. Are the ball companies the only group that has the ability to know the DR?
3. Radical Technologies indicates DR on their ball description sheet. Do others do it?
4. Should DR be a factor when determining which ball to purchase?
5. Why isn't there more info about this? Is it not that important?

Any imput from anyone will be greatly appreciated relating to this much understated topic.
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MegaMav
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Re: DIFFERENTIAL RATIO

Post by MegaMav »

Clueless wrote:I'm trying to learn the science of the game and after reading an article by Mo in the Nov. 2010 edition of BOWLING THIS MONTH titled "Differential Ratio" I don't find many ball descriptions that cite this info.
According to Mo "The differential ratio of the drilled ball is the most significant factor that affects the shape of the ball's motion", yet there is sparse information about it.
Believing this is scientific truth, my questions are as follows:
1. How important is it to know the Ratio of the un-drilled ball prior to drilling?
2. Is there a formula to determine the Ratio of the drilled ball before you even drill it?
3. Are the ball companies the only group that has the ability to know the DR?
3. Radical Technologies indicates DR on their ball description sheet. Do others do it?
4. Should DR be a factor when determining which ball to purchase?
5. Why isn't there more info about this? Is it not that important?

Any imput from anyone will be greatly appreciated relating to this much understated topic.
I recommend you read the article again, I think you missed some important information like this:
"Remember, differential ratio is defined as the intermediate differential divided by the total differential."
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DarkHorse
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Re: DIFFERENTIAL RATIO

Post by DarkHorse »

I'm no expert, but I know enough to be dangerous.

1) The total and intermediate differentials of an undrilled bowling ball will change depending upon how the ball is drilled, so the undrilled ratio will not be accurate.
2) YES, IFF you happen to have CAD software and know the mass properties of the bowling ball. To us regular folk, NO.
3) Most likely. EBI (Ebonite) has a software program called "Blueprint" that has all the info on EBI products, but I've never used it so I don't know if it has that info. And I don't think it's cheap.
4) Not that I've ever seen. No other company provides drilling info as detailed as Radical. Most I've seen only mention drilling weight holes to get the ball back within USBC spec, and none mention drilled core properties at all.
5) If you could know the DRILLED values for a given layout, then yes. Otherwise, buy based on:
A) cover strength, since that's most important to ball motion
B) core type/strength
then use Dual Angle recommendations to get your desired ball motion

6) This is my opinion, so it won't be quick:
I used to work in a Pro Shop. I was trained by my father, who learned from a Pro Shop back in the 70's. Generally, most bowling knowledge is "tribal" knowledge, in that it is passed from one generation to the next - think of an apprentice learning from a seasoned master. People like to talk about the "glory days" of bowling. What that means depends on who you're talking to: some yearn for pancake weight blocks and urethane, while others think that's too advanced. Since those people knew what worked "back in the day," there's no reason to believe that any of this new-fangled science mumbo-jumbo matters. What those people don't realize is that this "new" science applied back then, they just weren't aware. The universe does not change, simply our understanding of said universe.

Modern bowling marketing is like a car salesman - why get bogged down in the technical details, when what you really want is a pretty red car that looks cool and gets 50 MPG (in a test chamber, on a treadmill)?
Bowlers walk in the door wanting a ball that goes long, hooks from gutter to gutter, and has massive backend, even though their release is all forward roll. Most can't tell the difference between a ball that enters the roll phase at 30 feet or 50 feet.
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