Author Topic: Hot Rod (Read 24259 times)

admin · « **on:** December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM »

Ball NPS Score: Not Available

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Coverstock: Curelyonâ„¢ Pearl Reactive

Weight Block: Modified Inverted 2-piece

Ball Color: Candy Apple Red & Chrome

Ball Finish: 1500-Grit Polish

Radius of Gyration: 2.56 (Medium-High)

Differential: .033 (Low)

Durometer: 75-77 Rex D-scale

Track Flare: Low (2.5-4.5")

Weights 10-16 lbs

Doug Sterner · « **Reply #1 on:** March 30, 2003, 12:10:13 AM »

YES !!!! Finally I get the first review of a ball..WAHOO!!!!

I was debating between the Hot Rod and the Sonic X. Well the Hot Rod won out because it was a Storm ball :-)

I was struggling on flying backend and then the heads broke down and it went early so I drilled this ball for length and a medium aggressive reaction....more of an arc really.

Specs.....
Pin out 2-5/8
Top weight 2.06 oz
Ball weight 15#

Drill pattern:
Pin over ring with cg stacked under
Basically ends up a 5 x 4-1/2 for me
No weighthole
Side weight: 1/2 oz, Finger weight: 3/4 oz

The lanes:
Typical top hat house shot. Oiled to 32 buffed to 37. 45-55 units in the middle that drops off to 5-7 units at 8 board and under 3 outside of 5.

The Hot Rod gives me more area than any ball I own. I have more room with it than I do my X-Factor, Deuce, XXXL, Nino Gold, Big Hit Solid or anything.

The ball has a smooth, hard roll in the midlane and again a smooth but not too arcy backend. I can't explain the breakpoint shape. It is not an arc but it not angular either. The only way I can explain it is...perfect!!!!

The ball does not overreact, I have left exactly 1 9 pin and 1 4-9 split. That is not normal.

One thing you will not see or hear is a thunderous hit and blown away rack. That may change if you rip the ball hard but what I get is a powerful but not bone crunching hit. The ball clears the deck better than most balls I own but it does not sound that strong. It gave me from 5 to 15 on the lanes. I could pipe it hard up between 12-15 and it would hold. If I sent it wide the ball would go out, sit and then roll smooth back in. I have been used to 3-4 boards worth of area with my X Factor so this was huge.

Over the last 2 weeks I have averaged 210 while carrying a 189 average. I have not had a 600 set since Christmas. The lanes have been way too dry and hooky for me. If I was a better spare shooter I would be averaging 225+ for the last 2 weeks.

This is THE ball if you want to eliminate mistakes and give yourself some room.

I know I have sung the praises of the X Factor but I am telling you....this is a must have.

I am saying the X is a 9 out of 10. This ball is a 9.8 out of 10. It is that good. And best of all, they are cheap!!!!!!

THANK YOU STORM !!!!!!! This is another reason I am a Storm head.
--------------------
Doug Sterner
Doug's Pro Shop
Owego, NY
www.dougsproshop.net

Dakota · « **Reply #2 on:** March 30, 2003, 06:22:02 AM »

A great low price ball by Storm! Good Ball

I purchased my Hot Rod at the Knoxville ABCâ€™s to overcome the hooking conditions. I had it drilled with the Storm layout pattern #1. The pattern is a label drilling providing good length and a mild backend reaction. My pin is just below and right of the index finger and the CG is 1.75 inches above my thumb. The Pin, CG, and thumb are aligned at a 1:30 angle. This is a 15-pound ball.

I really like this ball! It does not read the lanes to early. It has a strong backend movement on synthetic lanes or wood lanes. It has power in the pin deck. With a stronger hand, I normally stand in the 25 to 30-board area, target the 7 to 10-board area at the range finders and work the break-point area around the 6-board at approximately 45 feet. With a weaker hand and considerable head oil, I find targeting 2-board area at the range finders with an approach position of 10 to 15 to be satisfactory. My speed is a little faster than most bowlers. The ball is responsive to the different releases that I use to gain mid-lane read or delay mid-lane read. The scores are better in games 1 and 3 on synthetic or wood lanes. Game 2, lane transition is a problem

It picks up a lot of lane and ball return dirt / grime and should to be cleaned after each event. I use 409 and neo-tac Renew-it. Also, you could use WinDex as a cleaner. It is a great ball for the price and I would not limit it to entry-level players.

Mike Austin · « **Reply #3 on:** April 16, 2003, 11:53:39 PM »

Blank Specs:
3.86 Top Weight
Pin out 3 1/4 inches

Drilled Specs:
3/4 Finger weight
7/8 Positive side weight
1 1/2 Top weight

Layout:
I put the pin over my ring finger, with the cg directly below or in a strong position. This comes out to about a 4 1/2 X 4 1/2 layout in about a 90 degree position.

The first poop I got from Storm was that this ball was a suped up Too Hot. I love the Too Hot, and there are times when I wished the Too Hot would do just a little more, but the Eraser or Eraser Blaze were just too much. I thought this ball would be cool.

The Too Hot is my dry lane ball, and I like it. I have had about 4 Too Hots, and have liked all of them. I thought I would use this ball as my reference point. I warmed up during the day, before the lanes had been run for the evening. The lanes were pretty toasty, I was standing about 35, looking around 15 down the lane, and had a nice reaction. Sooo time for the Hot Rod.

Kept everything the same, feet and target. Missed the head pin to the left. Ball didn't make it 3 feet past the arrows, and it was going left. Brooklyn the next shot. By the time I got lined up, I was standing 49, looking at 22 at the arrows, but the ball was really laboring on this condition. Clearly, this is not a dry lane ball.

Two days later (Tuesday) I decide to try the ball in my scratch league on fresh lanes. This ball was right at home. I shot 753, my high series for the season in this league. Hardly moved my feet all night, which is rare. I was still hooking the ball plenty, but it was very clean through the front (mellower coverstock). The ball had plenty of backend, but did not jerk or bounce really hard, giving me some room to the right (weight block). The Hot Rod finished all the way through the pins, hit very hard, carrys extremely well. That Friday I threw the first 19 bowling some pot games on an open pair of lanes during the early shift. I kept moving my feet and target trying to get tapped during the second game, but the ball just kept striking. I think I could have bowled back to back 3's if I hadn't been trying to not run off the competition.

This ball is a very nice ball. Great at this price point. It is NOT exactly what Storm bills it as though. They are gonna have to come out with another ball to replace the Too Hot. This ball is almost as strong as an Eraser, maybe just as, but not as sharp a break point. I think all kinds of bowlers can use this ball, whether they have an arsenal or just one ball. Would make a decent entry level ball because of the amount of performance at the price. Straighties will love it on drier lanes, may need some ball speed for toasty lanes. Tweeners will like it on mediums to some drys. Twisters can throw it on some fresh and most medium lanes. Not well suited for oily lanes, better choices here.

Pretty good medium type reaction for most players. Pretty predictable. Only does something stupid if you make it. Must have some head oil for laydown. Only a good dry lane ball for the high speed guys.

Hope this helps ya....
--------------------
Mike Austin
Mike Austin's Precision Pro Shop
Houston, TX
strikes4days@sbcglobal.net

Coming Soon!! www.bowlingthunder.com

Bob Hanson · « **Reply #4 on:** April 24, 2003, 06:18:09 PM »

I wasn't really looking for a new ball of this type, but a friend talked me into trying it. After some consideration I decided I had not been getting what I wanted from my ScreamR and maybe this ball would be an improvement. The Hot Rod is a throw back to older generation core and shell technology. It features the cureylon resin shell make popular on the Thunder series of balls. It also has a core similar to that generation. It looked to me like it had the potential to be a good dry condition ball so I layed it out mellow ( 5 x 4.5 ) for length. The result is a versatile little ball that is nicely predictable. We are talking pearl resin here, so yes, it will still over under and flip quite a bit on wet dry for you guys with lots of hand. However it will get more push than the X factors and Red Fuzes with less over reaction.

For lower rev player like me it gives a nice even but strong move out of the dry, and more important it will find a little bit of hold when you want to square up on that last residual of 10 board oil. The one thing I can't do is start it in the oil and play much out angle to the dry. It will recover but the price is a bunch of weak corners. For you power players it could give you the opportunity to open up the lane from deep inside by storing a lot more energy through the heads than some of the stronger polished stuff you may now be throwing.

This and my Tour Power will be my dry condition balls. The tour power moves earlier but stands up and stops after an early midlane move making it great for up the board shots outside 2nd arrow on strong back ends. The Hot Rod goes longer but has more continutation throught the back end. This allows me to hug a longer low volume pattern outside, or feed a drier track from deeper inside. The latter being something the Tour Power just won't do for me.

Nothing spectacular here, but a real nice, what you see is what you get, dry lane ball.

khescock · « **Reply #5 on:** May 06, 2003, 10:36:01 AM »

The Storm Hot Rod is one the best all around bowling balls that I've ever thrown. I now have two Hot Rods. I got my first about the end of March and I drilled with the Pin under the ring with the Mass Bias in a strong position. I threw it on oil and I scored in the 680s and then on a drier condition I shot 705. The hits hard, but it keeps the pins low to the pin deck and creates more carry.

The new one that I got a couple of weeks ago I drilled week with the pin just over the fingers and the CG. It gets good roll through out the entire lane.

I throw these two more then anyother ball in my arsenal and I'm even thinking of getting third one.

ih8stupid10pins · « **Reply #6 on:** June 11, 2003, 01:42:28 PM »

Specs: Pin-in 1.5"
Low top
16#

At the time I drilled this ball, I was carrying a Deuce, and a Trauma. So I needed something that would give me alot of length and good oll in the backend when the lanes got torched. Upon recommendation of the shop operator, I went with the Hot Rod over the Sonic X.

Oops. Contrary to Storm's belief, the Hot Rod was too much ball for drier lanes. I layed it out with the pin under my ring ringer, CG kicked out about 1/2" towards my axis, balance hole on my axis to level it off. This ball was only about 2 boards weaker than my Trauma, which had a similar layout on it. As most of the other reviewers have stated, it reads the dry very early and makes a left turn without warning. I wanted this ball to shoot like 8 and out with, but now it's become my ball for swinging 12-7 like thirds or fourth game.

This ball is awesome, don't get me wrong. It's just stronger than advertised. It out hooks my Eraser Blaze, which I used a label drilling on. Don't let the price fool you, you get more hook than you pay for.
--------------------
~Matt
----------------------------
Junior Coordinator
AMF Sayville Lanes
Long Island, NY
Msulzer300@aol.com

Frobro989 · « **Reply #7 on:** July 19, 2003, 09:25:57 PM »

This is a pretty good dry lane ball. Just don't use for oil, you really don't have enough room. I bowled with this on a patchy lane condition where there were spots of oil and dry areas. Stood on 33 and threw out to 5 and it really came back and smashed the pins.
--------------------
It's NOT the ball, it's the bowler.

StormLefty · « **Reply #8 on:** September 05, 2003, 05:11:24 PM »

Ball specs...15 pounds, pin 3 inches, pin over ring, CG at grip center, MB on arc/track side of ball, drilling is about 4.25x4.5 for me.

Bowler specs...lefty, 215+ average, stroker, medium speed.

I got the HR to possibly replace a Too Hot as med-dry ball. The goal was to have a bit more pop/carry than the Too Hot, which is a great ball but sometimes can be a bit weak. The HR has a lower Rg and more diff/flare, so it should be a bit stronger. In a month of use, the HR seems to be only a couple boards weaker than the XF to me on a fresh league shot (dry hooking backends), which is enough to provide an angle or control change if needed, but its not a big stepdown. It is almost equal to my Eraser, but without the power ball it does not hit quite as hard. On shots when the XF or Eraser burns early, the HR will still go a bit longer. As others have said, it is much stronger than advertised...it might be a dry ball or a high speed player, but for a 15 mph tweener like me it hooks a lot when it hits the dry.

Overall for the price its a bargain. For higher speed players it will be a dry lane ball, for lower speeds with any amount of hand it will be too much for dry, and be better suited to mediums as long as you have dry to make it hook.

PGdragon · « **Reply #9 on:** September 22, 2003, 03:59:17 PM »

Was looking for something to fill the gap from light medium to toasted. What I got was heavy-medium to light medium. Not complaining at all. This is an extremely easy to deal with ball. I only use Storm/Roto-Grip equipment, so I checked out the Sonic X first. Pro shop talked me into giving this ball a try. Added an easy 15 pins to my game after the lanes started going south and I switched from my Fuel to the Hot Rod. Best advice I've gotten in quite a good while.

ScottyJ · « **Reply #10 on:** September 24, 2003, 12:33:10 PM »

This is my first review, so I hope it makes some kinda sense.

BALL
15 lbs.
3" pin
approx. 3 oz. top weight
box finish

BOWLER
Left-handed
Medium ball speed
Medium revs
Medium axis tilt

The Hot Rod is a good, inexpensive ball. Like others have reviewed, it is a good bit stronger than advertised, but I found that to be a pleasant surprise.

I laid this ball out with the pin approx. 1" away from my PAP, with the CG just above the midplane. The pin and CG are basically on the same plane just above the midplane.

This ball is extremely controllable, reading the midlane nicely. Very smooth off the dry and hits 'em hard. It doesn't like it when you yank it up in the oil, but that's not what it was made for. This ball is great for later shifts when the carrydown's not too heavy and there's still a little juice left in the heads.

If your looking for a solid, low-buck, medium condition ball, this should be your choice. Good ball!

frobro · « **Reply #11 on:** January 03, 2004, 07:22:38 PM »

Drilled to: Go Long, Turn Hard
Reaction: Goes Long, Turns Hard
Carry: Good, watch out for solid 9's (righty)
Great ball for the money.

shawn · « **Reply #12 on:** January 11, 2004, 10:47:56 PM »

GOT A USED ONE OFF OF A FRIEND FOR THE DRIER BREAKDOWN SHOT IN LEAGUE, I LIKE THE WAY THE BUT LOOKS AND THE WAY IT ROLLS, THE ONLY TROUBLE I HAD WAS ONCE THE BALL GOT TO THE PINS I COULD NOT CARRY A 10 PIN, AFTER PLAYING A FEW DIFFERENT SHOTS I GOT A FEW LATE KICKS BUT STILL NOT MY FIST CHOICE OUT OF THE BAG WHEN LANES BREAK DOWN I WOULD HAVE TO GO WITH THE BIG HIT MUCH EASIER TO CONTROL AND HITS LIKE A TANK. I THINK STORM IS THE BEST ON THE PLANET BOTH GOOD BALLS THANKS STORM. Shawn

Bill-in-Ohio · « **Reply #13 on:** January 13, 2004, 09:58:36 PM »

Had a Too Hot for some time and looking for a replacement for it. Picked up a Hot Rod before Christmas last year and have been using it since. Shot my first 800 series with this ball (810 series). Able to say now that I was able to join my father and brother in celebrating 800 sets. Have not shot under 675 since getting it. This ball is definitely a good ball to get. The ball goes long for me and hits like a tank. Seem to carry the 10 pin alot better with this ball than the Too Hot.
--------------------
Bill S

bowlfishing · « **Reply #14 on:** January 26, 2004, 07:20:27 PM »

What a great ball and good price. Perfect for light to medium oil with some backend. Definitely needs some back end. Avoid medium heavy or long oil patterns, was not meant for this. It has impressive carry, even on some tug shots in the juice. This ball can score with the best of them. Keep it shined or it will could unexpectedly hook early on you during some later league sets.

drilling - balance hole on pap.

OO *
c -not sure of the exact numbers but pin about 4", cg kicked in about 5"
()

For me the ball drilled this way is not very flippy but will come back strong if sent out to the dry by accident. I like to play 5-10 boards (depending on the break point) inside the dry with this ball and belly it out.
Great reaction and again great carry.
Oh yeah, I was not able to used this on light oil to dry. Had to play too deep and lost the great carry. Perhaps drilled differently...maybe.

Author Topic: Hot Rod (Read 24259 times)

admin

Hot Rod

Doug Sterner

Re: Hot Rod

Dakota

Re: Hot Rod

Mike Austin

Re: Hot Rod

Bob Hanson

Re: Hot Rod

khescock

Re: Hot Rod

ih8stupid10pins

Re: Hot Rod

Frobro989

Re: Hot Rod

StormLefty

Re: Hot Rod

PGdragon

Re: Hot Rod

ScottyJ

Re: Hot Rod

frobro

Re: Hot Rod

shawn

Re: Hot Rod

Bill-in-Ohio

Re: Hot Rod

bowlfishing

Re: Hot Rod