This thread features about 6 different Sways regulars; I copped my favorite posts:
http://forum.surfermag.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=1255291&an=0&page=0#Post1255291
I quite like this one:
Duke status
Reged: 01/11/02
Posts: 16618
Loc: Oxtura 
Re: what’s the performance pros or cons of the quad [Re: Rickoray]
#1255409 - 09/28/07 09:33 AM [/url] <img src="http://forum.surfermag.com/forum/images/edit.gif" alt="" class="bb-image" /> Edit
Reply
Quote
[indent]Quote:
It is the Indian not the arrow… a good surfer can make anything "GO’, check Rasta on anything he rides…
[/indent]
And yet, world class surfers are the pickiest surfers in the world to make boards for. They reject more boards in a couple of months than many surfers have had in their entire surfing life.
So they obviously don’t agree with that whole Indian/arrow argument.
Also, the “surf” here requires a different set of dims and shape than Hawaii or even California, so I feel that one, and how.
The point/counterpoint here is quite good (these guys are often good):
Gerry Lopez status
Reged: 03/31/06
Posts: 995
Loc: avatar: h_t on a 6’2" McCryst… Re: what’s the performance pros or cons of the quad [Re: radness]
#1255650 - 09/28/07 04:52 PM [/url] <img src="http://forum.surfermag.com/forum/images/edit.gif" alt="" class="bb-image" /> Edit
Reply
Quote
[indent]Quote:
[indent]Quote:
i don’t see how a thruster would have more drag , 1 straight center fin vs an extra 2 angled fins. i like how the quads look . are they (we ) trying for more drive by adding the extra 2 back fins?
[/indent]
Quads have less drag and more drive than a thruster when you have it on rail, which is where your board should be during most of the wave. 
[/indent]
i kind of actually agree with both these statements.
i’ve been riding a mayhem sd4 for over the last 20 sessions, and i don’t really think its faster than a thruster. different, but not faster. the speed is built in trim from a higher position, but thrusters seem to turn down faster and run out on the flats in neutral faster, and thats where you can really tilt a thruster and project off the tail…the quad glides on rail from higher positions on the waves transition, and is super responsive in flatter positions and with less back foot pressure.
thrusters do much rounder turns with more projection off the tail…quads seem to shift instantly between turns, instead of rolling and banking through turns.
a thruster will project more when you’re really banking hard and riding the tail, though, whereas a quad will project off the tail less, but turn tighter and quicker, and from a less ‘tilted’ position…you tilt a thruster back and sink it the tail further and the radius of the arc corresponds, whereas the quad has a tighter arc from a flatter and higher position. you just can’t really tilt back and roll into a turn as hard off the tail of a quad because you’re arc starts tightening so much sooner.
i really think that the quad spreads out the grip of the rail near the tail, while at the same time providing more control surface pulling the entire board towards one direction or the other, whereas a thruster is much more pivoty.
thrusters have a nice transition between turns, and quads shift immediately between turns.
quads have built in trim from take-off, and can be flicked up fast into the lip immediately. they grip high on the face really well and in the barrel.
quads recover super fast…just go from one rail to the other, whereas thrusters roll through from turn to turn.
i seem to have to surf a quad with a more balanced weighting, whereas on thrusters i shift my weighting more, pumping harder off the front foot, and turning harder off the back foot.
moderating my weight shifting in my stance is probably the hardest part of the transition, but the quad has a wierd knack of staying under your feet and getting up into the lip and then helping recoveries.
quads are quicker but not faster, flickier but not better at round carves off the back foot.
i do like grinding across longer flatter sections right at the base of the wave and then hitting oncoming sections on the quad…it just glides and carries across the flats, and then you can target the oncoming section and tweak it up and then redirect instantly…very odd how fast it ricochets and rebounds you back while still high in the hook.
i don’t know what that other guy was talking about regarding twinzers…my 6’2" minami twinzer was faster down the line, looser, and more pivoty than my current sd4. less forgiving, though.
“i’m just another ‘ten-percenter’, my mind is like the ocean”
Miki Dora status
Reged: 02/04/04
Posts: 4147
Loc: SOCAL Re: what’s the performance pros or cons of the quad [Re: hallucinogenic_toreador]
#1255653 - 09/28/07 05:12 PM [/url] <img src="http://forum.surfermag.com/forum/images/edit.gif" alt="" class="bb-image" /> Edit
Reply
Quote
[indent]Quote:
“but thrusters seem to run out on the flats in neutral faster”
…dude, what thrusters have YOU been riding?
“thrusters[have]more projection off the tail…”
Dude, I am far less of a ripper than you probabaly are, however after being on quads not stop (save 15 bonzer sessions) for only a year, I can tell you that that statement is untrue. Mess with enough shapes and quad fin combos (ive ran through countless combos with futures and tons on combos/positions with lokbox) and you will easily find more projection on a quad than a thruster.
"thrusters have a nice transition between turns "
…thats that cool feeling called slowing down/drag
“very odd how fast it ricochets and rebounds you back while still high in the hook.”
Amen. [/indent]