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Author Topic: Triton TKO-Contender  (Read 19593 times)

admin

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Triton TKO-Contender
« on: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM »
Ball NPS Score: Not Available
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The Triton TKO-Contender features Track’s new state of the art Pro Traction with TEC coverstock. Pro Traction with TEC offers performance never seen in the bowling industry.  It hooks on the heaviest of oil patterns and yet, does not burn up before bowlers finish their three games during league.  This amazing new coverstock material is wrapped around the Triton Elite core design, Track’s best selling core design of all times.  The combination of core and coverstock makes the TKO Contender the most versatile big hooking ball ever.  The specifications are:  Ball Construction: Multiple-Density Three-Piece (same as Triton Elite);   Recommended Lane Condition: Heavy Oil; Hook Rating: 20 (On Track’s Ball Reaction Chart);   Flare Potential: Medium; Core Design: Core 2 Technology;  Radius of Gyration: 2.503;  Differential: .0476;  Coverstock: Pro Traction with TEC;  Color: Blue/Purple with Yellow/Orange logo fill;  Finish: Sheen;  Pin Placement: 0-4.5 inches;  Hardness: 76-78;  Weights: 12-16 lbs. (core 2 technology)—10-11 lbs., (traditional pancake core design).
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Paul Nosek

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Re: Triton TKO-Contender
« Reply #1 on: July 14, 1999, 02:00:00 AM »
Test Ball Specs: 3 1/2" pin-to-CG, 3 oz. top undrilled

Drilling Used: Track sheet 4x2 drilling w/weight hole 1" past PAP

Lane Cond: Wood, fresh 38' blend on fresh stripped lane

Bowler Type: Left hand, tweener with above average speed and loft

The ball was in box condition. Generally, this ball displayed good length, a moderate flip and extraordinary carry. Even on light hits

in the pocket everything was just blasted off the deck. There was a

tendency for flush hits to be penalized; during our observation

several flush shots resulted in 6-8 splits, and the occasional geometry puzzle. This appears to be the ball's only setback. It is simply an overpowering ball. On our test condition this ball created plenty of area, and the drilling resulted in about 5" of flare.

Crankers may find that they need to drill the ball down for best results. Straighties and tweeners, if you've been waiting for the ball to buy, this is it. The Contender is probably a mortal lock for Ball of the Year 1999 at BTM. It hits so hard it's unfair.
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Randy Crane

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Re: Triton TKO-Contender
« Reply #2 on: July 21, 1999, 02:00:00 AM »
I used my new Contender for a few games in league last night.  It pretty much performed as advertised.  Good skid thru the heads with a strong turn to the pocket and it carried very well.  I did have to put it away when the heads were blown out.  It is drilled label leverage.
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LuckyLefty

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Re: Triton TKO-Contender
« Reply #3 on: August 19, 1999, 02:00:00 AM »
I got this ball to be a medium ball to complement my Brunswick Pro ZoneAzure (early roll, heavy oil, continuous backend ball) and my Brunswick Impact Zone( lots of length tremendous backend).

Based on manufacturers comments and postings here I thought this ball had slightly more skid than the Pro Zone and less than the Impact Zone. This was not what I found!  With its low RG core it started up

maybe earlier than my Pro Zone Azure and seemed to lose its backend if it hit dry. (As some say, Its so strong its weak!)  With a slightly weaker drilling than my ProZone Azure it hooked the same amount but with less backend.  

My solution was to wet sand to 2000 then polish. This added length and then a hole was placed one inch past my Pap on the ring finger to Pap line and this added backend.  Now we've got some carry.

This may be one of the strongest balls out there! If I had put my usual 3 3/8" pin position drilling on I would know.  It might be too strong for me!  Also surprised that it is as tough to gloss up as it is.  If you're looking for strong ball this is impressive.  If you're looking for skid/snap with more control than comparable reactives you may be disapointed and should probably look elseware or try a 5 in Pin drilling.  Pocket Percentage Baby!  





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Rick Pops Conley

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Re: Triton TKO-Contender
« Reply #4 on: September 15, 1999, 02:00:00 AM »
I picked up my Contender at the end of August and went over to the lanes and shot 165 - 257 in two practice games right out of the box.  For me, that is pretty good performance, since I only average 190 or so in league play at Hoinke's Western Bowl in Cincinnati and throw a full-roller.  Since then, I have used this ball in three weeks of league competition (twice each week) and my lowest game was last night when I wound up with a 176 after games of 210 and 227.  Trust me, it was me and not this ball.  This ball is dynamite.  I like to stay inside and arc the ball about 7 to 10 boards (15 to 7).  What suprised me is the way this ball handles the oil.  Last night, everyone was complaining about the heavy oil and I wasn't even aware of it.  In the past with my TKO or my Elite, I would have been moving right to compensate for my lack of ability to put "revs" on the ball.  Not last night.  The only thing that I have noticed is the tendency of this ball to hit really hard and leave some unusual splits.  Last night I left 7-10's twice on what looked to be real solid driving hits into the pocket.  I also left a solid 9 on a really solid hit. For me, being a full roller, this is unusual.  Overall, I feel that this ball completes my arsenal of Track equipment.  Now I have a ball that even I can rely on in the oil.  
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ChristosKonstantakopoulos

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Re: Triton TKO-Contender
« Reply #5 on: November 22, 1999, 01:00:00 AM »
I have my TKO for the last two months.It's been drilled 75'' degrees(according to Denny's Torgerson lay-outs) with the PIN 4 1/2 from my PAP (5 1/4 right and 1/2 up) and the distance for the PIN, from my Center Gripline, is 4 inches (the CG is stacked for those you aren't familiar with the system above).

The ball is a 15Lbs with medium Top Weight and my kind of release is semi-roller or 45'' degrees ,what ever, with 60'' degrees of Axis Tilt. I have an average speed of 16mph and average revs (14).

Till the date of getting the TKO, my average was 196,7 nation wide (GREECE)and now it's increased to 204,6.

With this I don't mean that the TKO alone is responsible for my average (I have an arsenal consists of one Code Red from Track and a Lightning from Storm all drilled strongly) but the forgivness of this ball is something not to forget.Usually I play on Top-Hat conditions and mixed Christmas Tree along with Pyramids conditions and maybe this is the reason why. I don't have any other conditions experiences, but as I believe the lay-out helps a lot as well.

Anyway the ball gets clean through the heads even if I play from 24 to 12 or from 32 to 17 and has an excellent recovery unstopable I could say.Pocket hits carry 95% strikes, head-on hits and Brooklyns carry as well. The only thing I've noticed is that I must keep the surface fresh all the time but with the today proactives this is a must(I also use Ultimate Plus every time I prepare my ball).Something else that I've noticed as well, is that I keep this ball longer than other guys with other type of proactives, meaning that I've reached to win a tournament(6 qualifying games the first day and 7 games at the Pedersen final) using this ball only with all the lane transitions going on.

Thanks to Track for this ball!!

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kevin louie

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Re: Triton TKO-Contender
« Reply #6 on: November 25, 1999, 01:00:00 AM »
THIS BALL FROM TRACK IS A KEEPER. MY CONTENDER HAD 3 1/2 OZ OF TOP

WEIGHT WITH A 2-3" PIN. HAD IT DRILLED 4x3 AND TRIED IT OUT IN BOX

CONDITION (SHEEN/DULL) AND IT HOOKED EARLY. SO I POLISHED IT WITH

600 GRIT POLISH AND IT GAVE ME A POWERFUL ARC TO THE POCKET AND

WIPEDOUT THE PINS. I HAD 10 STRIKES IN A ROW WITH THIS SURFACE AND

287 WITH IT. SEE MY REVIEW OF THE TKO CHAMP.
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Joecr

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Re: Triton TKO-Contender
« Reply #7 on: November 27, 1999, 01:00:00 AM »
         The first time I used IT was in a regional tournment and I blew the competition by 13 pins avg over the 2nd qualifier; this is a great ball. Drilled Leverage 10:30 15# and used in heavy oil with crown and it just turned the corner without leaving a 10pin standing, great control great impact and carry. At the time I`m using another more powerful one, it outhooks the TKO hands down: who can deny bowlers are such masochists. Maybe too many options become no options in a competition format!!!







;:.
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striker300

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Re: Triton TKO-Contender
« Reply #8 on: March 25, 2000, 01:00:00 AM »
IF U HAVENT FIGURED IT OUT YET I LOVE TRACK AND THIS IS ANOTHER REASON WHY.  EVERY BALL FILLS A NEED IN THEIR LINE.  THIS BALL WHILE NOT AS STRONG AS THE CHAMP IS STILL STRONG ENOUGH TO PLAY THE JUICE AND STILL FINISH LIKE A MAC TRUCK.  VERY VERSATILE BALL
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10 In The Pit

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Re: Triton TKO-Contender
« Reply #9 on: April 19, 2000, 02:00:00 AM »
I've had my TKO Contender for some 7 months now, and I must say that it is a fairly predictable ball to use.  I haven't used it extensively over that time frame, but I have found it to be a fairly good alternative ball to go to when the lane conditions are pretty tough trying to use a more aggressive particle ball such as my Complete Chaos or my Chaos.

My TKO Contender is set up with the CG near the middle of the grip span, with a slightly negative kick on the CG, plus a little bit of finger weight in the layout, and the pin is located directly above the middle of the finger bridge.  This would not normally be a drilling pattern of choice for me, but seeing as how I got a pretty good deal on the ball second-hand, with very few games on it, I couldn't pass it up.

When I received the ball, it had been through the Lustre Kleen; again, not something that I would normally do, but I tried to use the ball in this condition anyway.  It didn't take me too many games to see that the ball would skate out on me severely, so I removed the wax, cut the finish back down to 600 wet-sand, and tried to get back closer to a box condition; I've since come back and resanded it with ScotchBrite, burgundy up through the gray, and am much happier with the ball reaction now.

With the longer length that this ball layout provides, I normally only use it when the others mentioned above are too strong for the lane condition.  Several times, I have found the TKO Contender saving the day for me when the shot got just a little too dry for my other equipment; it gets down the lane fairly smoothly and isn't too jumpy on the dry, even for a particle ball.  I'm sure that I would use this ball a lot more if it was drilled more aggressively, but it still offers me an alternative to backing down to reactive resin.  One thing that has surprised me is the lighter pocket carry that this ball can generate; it's a good mixer when the conditions are right for this ball.  Also, when I can manage to get this ball in the pocket high flush, it smacks the rack incredibly.
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Rick Pops Conley

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Re: Triton TKO-Contender
« Reply #10 on: November 27, 2000, 08:45:47 PM »
I don't know about other folks findings about this ball but, I have been very disappointed with the hook potential of this ball.  I have several other Track balls (Elite, TKO, etc) all drilled the same way and this ball is the only one I have been disappointed with.  It performs fine in medium to light oil for me but I bought it for it's heavy oil potential and it is not there.  Oh well, we all make mistakes in selecting our equipment.  Unfortunately, its usually an expensive mistake in this sport!  
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INGBOWL

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Re: Triton TKO-Contender
« Reply #11 on: January 22, 2001, 11:15:20 AM »
THIS BALL IS MY ALL TIME FAVORITE, FOR OILY LANES OR LANES WITH CARRY DOWN.





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REVOLUTIONS PS

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Re: Triton TKO-Contender
« Reply #12 on: June 23, 2001, 03:07:50 PM »
The Contender is an interesting ball in that it wants to go early.  Almost regardless of shell prep or layout this ball needs solid oil up front to be effective for all but the flame throwers.

  We used two main layouts to test the Contender.  The first ball was drilled with the pin 6" from the p.a.p. over the ring finger and the c.g. at 1/4 oz. negative.  The shell was wet sanded from 400 to 600, 1000 and then 1200.  It was then polished to a fairly high gloss with Track's particle ball polish.  The second Contender was drilled with a lower pin, 4" from the p.a.p. and the c.g. at 0 side.  This ball was sanded to 600 grit and polished to a light shine with Finesse.  Our tester was a stroker who throws 19-21 revs at 17mph.

  The first set of tests were done on 35 feet of oil with dry back ends.  The 6" pin began to arc before the oil line and then finished strongly on the back end.  This ball showed a tendency to react earlier than one migh expect from this kind of layout.  The low r.g. core revs up and seems to overtake the shell, wanting to arc at least at the midlane.  The second ball was too much for this oil pattern, clearly it would need heavier oil coverage in order to be effective.  Release changes to force the ball down the lane were effective enough only to demonstrate the carry, which was very good.  The problem was that it was too much work to get the ball down the lane.

  Once we found some pairs with longer, heavier oil with less lively back ends we got to see what the Contender could do.  The 4" pin layout got through the heads and began to hook in the midlane but still had enough left to continue strongly through the pins.  We measured the flare at 6"+.  The Contender stayed in play nicely as the lanes transitioned, as long as there was oil to move into.  The 6" pin had a straighter trajectory throught the heads with a sharper break point.  This was a nice move down from the 4" layout but once the heads were dryer it was time to change to something tamer.

  Overall, we liked the Contender's ability to handle oil and it's explosive carry.  It will stick around for some lane transition but once it becomes a fight to get it to the break it's time to put it away.  There is some versitility here but the ball's "finger print" is on of an early reving, lane grabbing ball that needs oil.

  If you have any questions about this or any other review, e-mail us at: proshop@bowlero.com
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mikeyhammer

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Re: Triton TKO-Contender
« Reply #13 on: January 09, 2003, 04:37:49 PM »
I got this ball from a friend it is 16lbs drilled leverage.  Pin is slightly above the middle finger.  The ball needs oil to keep on the lane.    The ball nails the pocket very strongly and I seldom leave solid tens unless my shot is off.  I have shot several high games one of them being my first 300 with this ball.  The ball has about 200 games on it and is almost due for a resurfacing.  This ball is a very good ball to use if you like to throw a big hook and have light oil to play in  but it will also work if you throw straight up in heavy oil.  Pretty versitle ball.
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What a tenpin??  Where's the messengers?
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A_P_K

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Re: Triton TKO-Contender
« Reply #14 on: July 03, 2003, 05:31:34 PM »
I had this ball three years ago.

16lbs with 2-3" pin out, drilled off label with pin at 3 o'clock.  This was to increase my length since I didn't want an uncontrollable heavy oiler.  

I used this ball out of box and polished.  The original condition was too much for anything less than medium heavy.  The polished cover was more versatile, hit harder, and carried better overall.  The polished cover's backend move was very aggressive, and it bit the dry hard.  I could play straight up in the soups, and swing it in the desert.  I pretty much used this ball on anything I could, until even a resurface job was no good.  I even shot a sanctioned 299 with this ball, and shot my best with it until I had to retire it.  This was my favorite ball of all time.

Pin Krusher, formerly Divine Dragon.....a.k.a...The Littleboy with a Neutron Bomb

Drastically inflicting pin punishing destruction, and doing it with...................well a Drastic!!
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<b>The original Pin Krusher</b>
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