OC,
There are balls that have cover/core combinations, they're called 2-piece balls. There are very few of them but Lord Field/Lanemasters, Storm, and a few other companies make them. They tend to last a bit longer than other pieces and majorily contain higher RG, mid-low diff cores. I'm not a ball company R&D guy, I couldn't tell you why that is. A lot of the claim is that they transfer energy to the pins better than 3-piece balls.... In my opinion, that's just marketing. If that's the case, every ball would be 2-piece. Kinda the same thing with the word "Continuation" which is crap... if every ball had more continuation then the last, the ball would finish through the back stop.
I will say, thinner covered balls tend to get saturated faster, especially with these stronger cover formulas that absorb oil faster. They also may be more susceptable to cracking, I can't state that as a fact. Cracking has so many variables that even the thickest covers can crack. I've had some balls for almost my entire 20 yrs of bowling; I've had some for a few months and the start. EBI used to have a terrible reputation of oil saturation and cracking. My Total NV, Ice, Pure Hammer, Power Drive, and many other EBI offerings have cracked and been thrown away. AMF/Global has been kind of on that same tilt for me, Night Hawk remake, Bull Whip Special Edition, Clutch, and a few others have cracked or been oil saturated with very few games. My Special Edition became oil soaked after 30 games (3 weeks worth of bowling) and the oil in the ball had a weird solidified reaction. It was like old grease from a fryer on top of the cover. I am by no means bad mouthing EBI or Global/AMF, just sharing my experiences.
My advice is just to throw what you like. Some guys like storm/roto and the same guys they say they die quickly or crack. However they win enough money with them to just buy another one.
