STREET ROD^TM Technical Specifications
Coverstock Reactor^TM Solid Reactive
Weight Block Turbine^TM
Ball Color Blue/Black
Ball Finish 2000-grit Abralon
Durometer 74-76 Rex D-scale
Flare Potential 3″-4″ (Med)
Fragrance Blueberry
Weights 10 – 16 lbs.

HIGH OCTANE PERFORMANCE

Reliability and performance best describe the new Street Rods^TM from Storm®. On the outside, these beauties feature the Reactor^TM coverstock, true beyond any doubt to give reliable motion on today’s demanding lane patterns. But beauty is more than just skin deep!

Inside you’ll find a muscular modified 2-piece Turbine^TM power plant. By chopping the mass and adding a flip block on the bottom, we dropped the RG and raised the entry angle. The result – massive backend!

Storm Street Rod Solid DigiTrax data on medium 40′ test pattern. Black is the Cranker, Red is the Tweener and Blue is the Stroker. Ball paths represent bowlers shot average over several shots on the same pattern.

BTM comments:

The Street Rod features a new core design for Storm called Turbine. We have seen this shape used by other companies, but to our knowledge, this is the first time that Storm has used this core shape. The cover on the Street Rod is Reactor, which has been used successfully by Storm on several releases in the past. This core/cover combination creates a ball motion that is both strong and controllable. We found the Street Rod to perform best on our medium test pattern. The box finish worked well for all three testers on this condition. Stroker played it the straightest of the three as usual…with Tweener and Cranker playing their normal swing shot. The transition from the wet to the dry was easy to predict with no surprises. The Street Rod had all three testers playing pretty straight on the heavy oil pattern. Our reaction wasn’t quite as good as it was on the medium pattern. We applied a 1000 Abralon finish to all three test balls which gave us a stronger read of the midlane and a much better overall reaction on this pattern. On the dry test pattern, we used Storm’s Reacta Shine to give use the necessary length. The box finish caused it to read the lane too early, making it difficult to hit the pocket with any consistency. After the polish was applied, we experienced similar length that the Street Rod Pearl offers, but a slightly smoother change of direction at the back end. The Street Rod worked best for both Tweener and Stroker on the sport pattern. Slight surface adjustments would only improve their reaction on this pattern. Cranker didn’t have as good of a look as the other two. His style of release would allow the Street Rod to work better on a medium to oily sport pattern.
Strengths: What we liked most about the Street Rod was the strong continuous motion that it offers. The slight midlane read and arcing motion at the breakpoint and back end makes adjusting to the oil pattern’s breaking down a breeze.
Weakness: The box finish of the Street Rod is a little too much for short and dry patterns. Those looking to use this one on drier lane conditions will need to smooth out the cover and apply a good coat of polish.
Overall: The Street Rod offers a decent amount of performance without emptying your pocket book. The solid Reactor cover gives this new release the ability to handle any medium oil pattern and some oily patterns with the box finish.

Hammer Black Widow Bite DigiTrax data on oily 42′ test pattern. Black is the Cranker, Red is the Tweener and Blue is the Stroker. Ball paths represent bowlers shot average over several shots on the same pattern.

BTM Comments:

Those that have been yearning for a stronger version of the Black Widow need yearn no more. With the release of the Black Widow Bite, Hammer has created just that. This new Widow features the Violent Bite Reactive cover, which offers more friction compared to the Violent Reactive cover used on the original Black Widow. In our testing, we found it one to be three or so boards stronger overall. The stronger cover gives it the ability to handle larger volumes of oil than the Black Widow. This ball will still work on medium patterns as well, but will have to be played from a deeper line. Even though it creates more friction in the oil, it still has the same strong back end recovery that this series is known for. Those with super slow ball speeds will be limited to oilier patterns unless polish is applied to the cover. Those that never see heavy oil will definitely need some surface work and/or longer pin to pap layouts if they wish to use it on medium and lighter oil patterns. The strong continuous ball motion will come in handy on medium to oily sport patterns. The Black Widow Bite performed so well with the box finish that we recommend leaving the cover alone and possibly making this your first ball out of the bag on oily conditions.

Ebonite Complete NV DigiTrax data on medium 40′ test pattern. Black is the Cranker, Red is the Tweener and Blue is the Stroker. Ball paths represent bowlers shot average over several shots on the same pattern.

BTM Comments:

With the Complete NV, Ebonite has kept the same user friendly ball motion that both the Total NV and NVS offered. This NV offers a stronger ball reaction in the oil with the Traxion Reactive .045 cover. The core was modified slightly, giving us version 1B of the Spike Symmetrical Mass Bias design. This core/cover combination matched up best with our fresh medium pattern. The tester that had the most unbelievable reaction was Tweener. It literally didn’t matter where he had this one at the breakpoint. When he missed wide, it roared back and when he got it inside a pinch, it held the pocket. His ball speed and rev rate were a perfect match up with the Complete NV. Stroker and Cranker had a great ball reaction, but no where near what Tweener had. As this pattern broke down, Stroker’s and Cranker’s pin carry suffered slightly as they moved deeper. Tweener’s ball reaction and pin carry never lessened. The only thing that would have stopped Tweener from striking would have been a power failure. Our reaction on the heavy oil pattern wasn’t near as good as it was on the medium pattern. We experienced an extra foot or two of skid from this pattern, creating a much smaller pocket…making it harder to strike. As this pattern broke down and the track area opened up, our ball reaction improved immensely. Cranker had the best look after we broke the pattern down. He was able to bump the track and get the Complete NV back to the hole with ease. The dry pattern, which is the shortest as well, offered more hook than the Complete NV could handle. This ball doesn’t need as much help as the dry pattern offers. Balls like the Clash or Bash would be better suited for this type of condition. The Complete NV offered an excellent reaction on our sport pattern. This pattern requires a ball that is consistent in reaction shot after shot, which is what the Complete NV gave us on this condition.

Columbia Wrath Dead Flush DigiTrax data on medium 40′ test pattern. Black is the Cranker, Red is the Tweener and Blue is the Stroker. Ball paths represent bowlers shot average over several shots on the same pattern.

BTM Wrath Dead Flush comments:

The Wrath Dead Flush features a pearl version of Columbia’s “Bring It Back” reactive cover with the proven Ti-Boss core design. This core design has always had the ability to store lots of energy for the back end. Then, when you put it in a polished pearl cover it takes this characteristic to the max. As with the Wrath High Flush, this ball will perform best on medium patterns, which includes the typical house shot. This new release also has the ability to handle some drier lane conditions as well. We gave it our highest marks on our medium test pattern. The length and strong back end was perfect for this type of condition. This ball’s ability to retain energy for the back end allowed us to stay with it as the pattern broke down. All three testers were able to chase the shot inside without loosing the ability to carry the corners. On the drier pattern, we were about an arrow or so deeper than we were playing on the medium pattern. As long as we didn’t bump the track area too early, we were able to hit the pocket and carry with a rather high percentage. Just be wary of hitting the friction too early. Doing so will cause the Dead Flush to jump dead flush into the headpin, leaving some creative spare shots. The length created by this Wrath was too much for the heavy and long pattern. The Resurgence and Rival would be a better choice when facing this type of condition. The Wrath Dead Flush would be our first choice on sport type patterns. This ball will find some playing time on medium sport patterns that have opened up a little. Other than that, it will probably stay in the bag on all other sport shots.

Roto-Grip Cell DigiTrax data on oily 42′ test pattern. Black is the Cranker, Red is the Tweener and Blue is the Stroker. Ball paths represent bowlers shot average over several shots on the same pattern.

BTM Cell Comments:

Everything about the Roto Grip Cell is new. The Cytoplasmic Reactive Solid cover is Roto Grip’s newest coverstock. It offers an ideal amount of friction in the front as well as the back end of the lane. The Nucleus core is a new design as well. This core and cover compliment each other extremely well. The overall ball motion is both strong and versatile giving it the ability to handle a wide variety of lane conditions for all styles of play. Those with above average revs rates will have the best look on oilier conditions while Stroker types will like it best on medium patterns. On our oily test pattern, both Tweener and Cranker were able to play small swing shots…experiencing a strong continuous ball reaction. Stroker’s ball reaction was almost as good as the other two with the box finish. His lack of revs required a touch more surface on this pattern to give him the same reaction as Tweener and Cranker. On the medium pattern, Stroker had the best look. He was able to start the Cell closer to the track area giving him a strong angle on the pocket with excellent carry. The other two testers were playing deeper on this pattern. The only time their carry suffered was when they didn’t trust the Cell enough. As long as they sent it to the dry, the corners fell every time. Cranker types might want to look into a 4000 Abralon finish so that they are able to stay with the Cell after this type of pattern breaks down. Even though this new Roto Grip release is very versatile, it isn’t going to work for most on dry conditions with the box finish. This type of condition will require weaker layouts with a good coat of polish. We found the Cell to work exceptionally well on our sport pattern. With the right layout and surface, the Cell has the potential to be a winner for sport like conditions.