Used with permission by Coolerman,


1.Length of pattern

2.Lengthwise taper of pattern.The larger lenghtwise taper has
more oil closer to the foul line and less at the end of the pattern.
Lanes that have an oil pattern with a larger lengthwise taper create
a pattern that controls the rate at which the ball loses speed,more
than lanes that have the same amount of oil for the entire length of
the pattern.
The smaller the lengthwise taper (more even oil front to back ) of
the pattern,the chance of carrydown problems.Oil patterns
with larger lengthwise tapers show less carrydown problems.

3.The total volume of oil applied to the lanes. The larger volume,
the longer the oil pattern will last on the same surfaces.
With larger volume patterns ( more than 20-21 milliliters),it
is very important to have a larger lengthwise taper or there
will heavy carrydown issues.

4. The difficulty of the pattern is controlled by the crosswise blend
of the oil at the far end of the pattern.(the last 1/3 of the pattern).
The crosswise blend is the amount of (units) in the center of the
lane compared to the amount of oil on the outside boards of the lane.
The more oil in the center of the lane compared to the outside,
the easier the lane plays,when the ratio gets so large the lane
becomes severe wet/dry.Crosswise blends of 4.1 to 8.1 are
the easiest.
When the crosswise blend are 1.5 -3.5 :1 are more difficult.


The crosswise blend is going to tell you how much hold you
are going to have on your line the higher the ratio the more you
will have,and the easier the shot will play.
Lengthwise taper tells you how early/late the ball is going to get
into it's roll after your release.A larger taper will cause earlier
roll and a shorter taper will provide more skid.Both are varied by
the overall length of the pattern and volume of oil applied.