Diamond Professional red oversize 8 foot - what cushions?

[JoeyInCali]

Yup. Exact same cushions as those with the "Diamond" embossing. Half the price.

Yup. A local mech installer told me JnJ sells the same black cushions .
The original Diamonds had Super Speed but developed problems so they went with Championship then Artemis.
Blue label came later after years of people complaining they bank short.
For red label now, I'd go back to Super Speed that are better now.
It'll probably bank better than a Blue Label.

 

[JoeyInCali]

Wow, no, it is the name that is actually on the product.. I know this, for sure, I put them on my table this year.

It's still an import.
Sold by JnJ for less than half of D's price.
I bought a set for a friend's GC3 back in 2010 or so.

 

[rexus31]

Yup. A local mech installer told me JnJ sells the same black cushions .
The original Diamonds had Super Speed but developed problems so they went with Championship then Artemis.
Blue label came later after years of people complaining they bank short.
For red label now, I'd go back to Super Speed that are better now.
It'll probably bank better than a Blue Label.

It's still an import.
Sold by JnJ for half the price without the logoe.
I bought a set for a friend's GC3 back in 2010 or so.

Yup. I have them on my Gold Crown I and they play great.

 

[ironmaiden]

Championship tour edition k55.
These are what Glen recommended. I put them on a 9 foot red label and it plays great.

I picked up two Diamond Pro 8 foot tables (oversized 92" x 46" nose to nose) from a local bar for $200 each. Wayne Waters put Championship Tour Edition k55 cushions on them following Glen's advice. We also put Championship Tour Edition 3030 cloth on the table (excellent alternative to Simonis). The only modification to the sub-rail was to extend them a bit to tighten the pockets down to 4-1/8". No other modifications were done to alter the angle of the sub-rail or to change the sub-rail thickness.

The cushions are dual density. They have a firm brown rubber nose bonded to a softer orange rubber cushion.

Glen said it would slow the rail rebound a bit (noticeable on multi rail shots), but would correct the super short banking that Red labels are known for.

Glen was correct on both instances.

With these cushions the table banks very nicely now. On 3 rail kicks going around the table from corner to corner MOST tables have you aiming to the 2nd diamond past the side pocket. With these cushions I actually can aim at the first diamond past the side pocket which is insane. These cushions make a dramatic difference.

Thanks for the advice Glen!

 

[iusedtoberich]

For the "black label" topic in this thread, people are referring to two completely different things. One is the logo on the table (the nameplate), the second is the cushion.

"Black Label" means the Diamond label on the end rail is black in color. This was an aesthetic only option many years back, during the "red label" days. There is zero difference between a black label Diamond and a red label Diamond, other than the color of the logo.

The "blue label" Diamonds have the legit difference in the wood rail bevel angles to improve the bouncing characteristic of the rail. The cushions were not changed between red and blue label. Artemis for 9', Diamond Black Cushions for 7' and 8', remained.

The "Diamond Black Cushion" is what Diamond uses on all tables smaller than 9', for about 20-25 years now. They use Artemis on all 9' tables. Way older than that in the 90's there were several other cushions tried.

In summary, "Diamond Black Cushion" has no correlation with "Diamond Black Label".

*I got all this info stalking this mechanics forum over the years

 

[iusedtoberich]

Yup. A local mech installer told me JnJ sells the same black cushions .
The original Diamonds had Super Speed but developed problems so they went with Championship then Artemis.
Blue label came later after years of people complaining they bank short.
For red label now, I'd go back to Super Speed that are better now.
It'll probably bank better than a Blue Label.

Superspeed cushions have had zero problems since the GC4 came out. That was in about 2000 I believe. If a Red Label Diamond would play perfect with a Superspeed cushion, I simply can't believe that didn't become the standard upgrade advice all these years in this forum.

I'm not doubting you, just bummed if the solution was that simple that it did not get implemented.

 

[JoeyInCali]

Superspeed cushions have had zero problems since the GC4 came out. That was in about 2000 I believe. If a Red Label Diamond would play perfect with a Superspeed cushion, I simply can't believe that didn't become the standard upgrade advice all these years in this forum.

I'm not doubting you, just bummed if the solution was that simple that it did not get implemented.

It's understandable as Super Speed is a Brunswick label.

 

[realkingcobra]

It's understandable as Super Speed is a Brunswick label.

All I'm going to say is you have no idea what you're talking about. Installing Brunswick Superspeed cushions on a red label Diamond wouldn't have changed a thing!!! I DID it, and nothing changed!!!