FCS Quads - What are you using ?

[pridmore]

it is the firstone I have done with the flutes thru the quads, they are for a little extra lift, drive and hold, they seem to work well but hard to know coz it is the first one and there are so many diff things goin on in these board, it was a bit of a trial for a few things...I'll need to do a few more with the flutes that run along the curved fins to really see if there is a performance benefit, but so far they seem to be going ok, plenty of hold when I give it some off the top or thru a cuttie, its quick down the line especially with the drive from the fins, they feel like more fin than 3's and 1000's but when you push against them in a turn they drive you much better, they are just normal but when you push against them you get a projection down the line, would be awesome for Indo imo or other down the line tubing waves.....They are better when the waves have some power to them, I use them in all size waves but have found that when its clean and a bit of power they are much better, standard templates and fins are more forgiving in shitty waves, especially gutless onshore crap...NC has suggested some slight placement adjustments with them so might consider that for my next one....

[GeckoTube]

Whats the deal with FCS quad sets?
I've just snapped a rear SF4 fin from my FCS Stretch set.
Does anyone know where I can get that one replacement fin rather than having to buy a whole new set of four?

[dUg]

PM me.

[Cpt.Caveman]

finshop.com.au or whatever its called allows you to order single fins, try them out

[pridmore]

or maybe try another fin, might jst like it....

[Cpt.Caveman]

I've been using the combo - K-Fin/SF4 rears for a little while now. I've decided that it surfs great flat, pivots really well (very similar to the feeling of a thruster), it doesn't loose the flow and drive of a quad, but it has one major drawback.

The fins have very little depth, so on really late take-offs where you want to take off a bit sideways and try to dig into the wave mid-drop, it just doesn't lock in. That main drawback meant that it felt quite a bit harder to take-off straight into tubes. It could have been technique to blame as well, but it was stacks easier to do those types of take-offs with a larger G1000 rear fin.

Back to K-Fin/G1000 methinks

I thought I was onto something great there, almost getting close to the turning sensation of a thruster but with all of the drive and flow of a quad. After learning the long and hard way (as usual), there is a definite trade-off between pivot and drive (compared to a thruster) in the way the best quads are currently shaped. Take your pick - is the question.

[cactus]

If you haven't seen or surfed these....
http://www.powerbasefins.com
I strongly recommend trying.
We've been giving them a thorough testing here and the results are all good..!

Can't believe FCS never thought of doing this...

[pridmore]

link doesnt work for me....

FCS didnt think of alot of stuff, they have bought plenty of designs from others....my glasser does ( or did ) all their longboard fins....

[black duck]

http://www.powerbasefins.com.au/

this should work

[Beerfan]

Hey guys i have just got a fatbat, and have the M5 and M3's. I also just ordered a set of PC-3 quads. Anyone used the PC 3/5/7 quad setup?? I got the PC3's for the small overall fin area, for small stuff. Im 78kg, and 5'9''. By the website though, the PC5, and the M5 are basically the same base and height, and the PC3 is not too much smaller.

Will update.

Only 2 surfs on the bat, very tiny,weak windswell, so still not sure how it goes. Hope to get some decent waves soon, but am not holding my breath haha.

P.S, i was also thinking of trying the Q1's in the rears, they look very upright, anyone tried those??

[pridmore]

possibly try M3's and G1000's or KS 2.1 in front for extra pivot, I didnt like them myself but some people like them to get a bit more responsiveness out of a board....best to understand the board and one set of fins before swapping and changing too much imo...hope you get some waves soon....

[dUg]

http://www.powerbasefins.com.au/

this should work

website usability FAIL. Perhaps the compulsory FLASH intro was an attempt to appear "retro"?

I'd be surporised if those fins are "made in Australia" as the website suggests. Just the tooling for each design would take years to ammortise if they were made here... I know the figures having spent 4 years in consumer product R&D. They may have been designed in Aus... but the tooling and manufacture would most likely have gone to china. About US$3000 per single cavity mold.

Wow, sound bitchy don't I?!!!

If enough people want some in fibreglass I could knock up some CAD designs and get them made. Wouldn't cost as much as you might think...

[Cpt.Caveman]

Im disappointed that they don't work with FCS plugs. It looks like you need a whole new fin system.

[dUg]

Im disappointed that they don't work with FCS plugs. It looks like you need a whole new fin system.

I think they probably do use the standard FCS tab placement... just a bit of value adding with that adjustable slot thingy. They probably should have mentioned that on the website instead of adding more FLASH animations.

On closer inspection maybe they did tool up in Austraila... would explain why they only have one multi-cavity mold . I guess the idea is to get that DL model out there and add to the range once they sell a few. It looks like that base is fairly thin so it flexes quite a bit when you tighten the screws - so it sould fit fairly flush. I think it would have looked nicer though with round, recessed holes to get at the plug screws.

What would be even better is if that base was elastomer ( like the K-Flex fins ), in which case you could bend it up to tighten the screws, then it would flop over the top of them and form a nice smooth seal.

[BDL77]

Has anyone tried K2.1 front and C-Drive as back fins?

Me: 6'0, 85kg and currently using M5 front with M3 back but looking for more response and drive. So was thinking K2.1PC with small C-Drives or medium C-Drives??

Any ideas / suggestions.

[pridmore]

no way is my opinion.....i have tried both these fins in the same board, KS fins made me feel like I was drunk, way too much pivot for m round tail quad, didnt suit me or the board at all...
the c-drives were super drivey, felt like I couldnt push them thru a seriuos turn, but could drive hard around sections and go straight really fast...but as a combination, I dont imagine they would be very good, unless the c-drives were very small but I still wouldnt think they would compliment each other, a contradiction of design principles for me, one is for pivot and increased turning ability, the other is to increase drive and hold......but try them and see, just my thoughts......

[BDL77]

Thanks Mark and I honestly appreciate your opinion as a shaper and quad guru. Might go for a set by Shapers to test and play with first.

Thanks heaps.

[pridmore]

maybe tr the KS's with the M3s' in tail...or even bit smaller like G1000s' in tail....4 small c-drives would be an interesting trial...I did 4 C-drives about the size of 5's and 3's, due to their design and template, I think you can go much smaller than standard fins...maybe 10-15% overall less area....base length has a real lot to do with things, moreso than I think some realize, not just overall area......