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Thread: Highway To Hell Oil Pattern

  1. #1

    Unhappy Highway To Hell Oil Pattern

    Has anyone here ever bowled on this oil pattern? AKA ( Highway To Hell )?
    If So, how did you figure this oil pattern out? What layout, surface, type ball did you use? what part of the lane did you play with the most success?

    At our center we only have three patterns in the machine according to the lane man. 1. Recreation series 2. Middle of the road. 3. Highway To Hell.

    It seems I cannot figure this pattern out as on our lanes the ball will not hook side to side or front to back for me.
    It does not matter if I bowl single handed or two handed, the ball will not hook until it is far too late. My ball speed is only 13.5 mph.

    I am totally lost on this one... Any info greatly appreciated! The only way that I can get the ball to hook is put 180 grit abralon on the ball,
    and no one should ever have to do that in my humble opinion.
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  2. #2
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    I have personally never bowled on this pattern, but from what I have seen online the recommendations from people that have are to use a strong asymmetrical solid with around a 500/1000 finish, and then play 20 to 12 at the breakpoint or 15 to 10 at the breakpoint. Most also suggested using a pin up layout. Again, not having ever bowled on the pattern I can't be sure how useful these internet warriors suggestions are.

  3. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ryster View Post
    I have personally never bowled on this pattern, but from what I have seen online the recommendations from people that have are to use a strong asymmetrical solid with around a 500/1000 finish, and then play 20 to 12 at the breakpoint or 15 to 10 at the breakpoint. Most also suggested using a pin up layout. Again, not having ever bowled on the pattern I can't be sure how useful these internet warriors suggestions are.
    Hello Ryster, Thank you very much for your input as it is greatly appreciated! I will keep this in mind as i do have several asymmetrical bowling balls that i can try to adjust the surface on. The bowling balls that i have tried were mostly symmetrical with only a couple being Asym.

    My Storm Proton Physix at 1000 grit Abralon was simply not strong enough, meaning the ball skids so far that it looks like it only finds friction at around 55ft down lane and only if i get out to the 4 board at break point, yet the pattern seems long as Anything left of 4 to 6 board down lane would not move, not even wiggle.

    Bowling balls that were thrown anywhere from 2nd board all the way to 15 board that would not move at all down lane were:
    1. DV8 Verge ( Purple)
    2. Hammer Black Widow 2.0
    3. Motiv Forge Fire
    4. Motiv Fatal Venom
    5.Motiv Tank Blitz
    6.Track Triton elite remake
    7.Columbia Messenger pearl
    8.Roto Grip Hustle Ink
    9. Roto Grip Rubicon
    10.Roto Grip UC3
    11.Roto Grip MVP
    12. Roto Grip Nuclear cell
    13.Roto Grip Hot Cell
    14. Brunswick/Hammer Purple Urethane

    The above bowling balls had no more than 5 to ten games on them. Some i adjusted the surface using 4000 pad, 3000 pad, 2000 pad, 1000 pad, 500 pad, 360 pad and 180 Abralon pad.

    The only bowling ball that i could get to read the lane was an old Track Contender with a 3 & 3/8ths leverage layout with 180 grit Abralon. From my understanding this old track contender is a particle reactive cover with the original Triton Elite core, and only at 180 grit would it hook on the back ends. There was no hook on the sides. The pattern played much longer than the advertised 40ft. It played more like 53 to 55ft as silly as that may sound.

    I guess different centers play different depending on if it has Brunswick or AMF synthetic lanes. I normally don't have trouble on AMF lanes, but i do struggle on Brunswick lanes if the pattern plays too heavy and or long. This pattern being only 40ft I would not think it would be this tough, yet it has me puzzled.

    Again thank you for your input, I will keep on trying using the 500/1000 on an Asymmetric bowling ball.
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  4. #4
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    Makes sense that there was no hook on the sides. If people are laying the ball down between 15 and 20, then getting out no farther than 10-12 at the breakpoint, that sounds like you have to play a pretty tight line with no wiggle room on the outside.

  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ryster View Post
    Makes sense that there was no hook on the sides. If people are laying the ball down between 15 and 20, then getting out no farther than 10-12 at the breakpoint, that sounds like you have to play a pretty tight line with no wiggle room on the outside.

    Ryster you are 100% correct in the above statement. I have never seen anything like it!

    20 years ago my ball speed was 18.5mph and the amount of hook on the lane was so much that I normally had to use a very weak entry level reactive, or even an old school black beauty rubber bowling ball. Now there is so little back end reaction that I cannot get a high end reactive to work unless I sand it to death!! I know i am old now and my ball speed only being 13.5 mph.. i have hard time accepting that i can no longer hook the ball. It has made my average drop so bad that bowling is not fun anymore. Even my wife who's low ball speed and higher rev rate she cannot get her ball to hook either.

    It seems today's Bowling game favors the super high rev players, us strokers & tweeners are simply out of luck.

    I tried staying with a tight line such as 20 to 12 or straight down 12 board, but the ball would only hook maybe twice on each lane then the back ends go away to the point that rolling the ball 8 mph down the lane it does not want to turn.

    Keep in mind that my wife and I have a low rev rate and ball speed....Meaning less than 350 rpm & less than 14mph. In the old days our bowling balls hooked too much as we bowled on a 35ft oil pattern way back then. Eventually in the 1990's the center went to a 40ft house shot that was fairly easy. Five years ago the lane man went to go to work elsewhere and the new guy in charge finds it cute to put down this shot where it is nothing more that a struggle due to the volume and length of the oil pattern.

    The straight ball bowlers have the advantage here & the super high rev guys!!

    I refuse to buy anymore bowling balls as I have bought too many in the last three years just to watch them go straight down the lane and never hook even though my side rotation is about 45 degree's. Switching to 90 degree rotation makes things even worse naturally,.. yet trying to stay behind the ball having 20 to 30 degrees of rotation still is not effective. The oil pattern simply plays too wide and long!!!!! I am sure our USBC just loves people not being able to have fun, I am sure they laugh as we waste money on equipment that simply due to their regulations will not work like in the past, especially for us old folks who have rev rates like the Great Walter Ray Williams Jr.

    The days of old are gone!!! When I started bowling in 1969 using an old rubber bowling ball i never had trouble getting the ball to hook. Now I cannot even get reactive bowling balls to hook!! Maybe I should look into finding another hobby? I just hate giving up on the sport i love the most!!! We are so discouraged that we are thinking about driving an hour away to another city that actually has ball reaction, I just hate that idea due to the cost of fuel these days....
    Last edited by Trex; 04-24-2022 at 02:40 PM.
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