I’m going to buy a battop for my new Killer Instinct Mad Catz joystick. I was going to just pick up a Sanwa battop but I noticed the FA Nippon Aluminium ones on the focusattack.com web store. They seem to be an ounce heavier than the normal battops. Can this extra weight affect the way the joystick performs? I see they offer a heavy duty spring as an optional add-on.
One ounce isn’t going to severely affect your stick’s performance. If anything, the feel of aluminum might feel a bit different, but you’ll quickly adapt within a day or so.
The spring-mod you’ll definitely feel a difference in performance though.
Yeah, I like stiff springs and it’s not noticeable at all if you’re replacing the spring as well . I also can’t speak to the ALU tops, but the old Toggleme tops were quite hefty. Since the lever is longer, you get more leverage that way too, and the extra weight means it returns to center a little differently so you can get a different feel from it.
wasnt there someone on here awhile back that was making marble/rock balltops?
I’ve gone from plastic to aluminum tops so I can comment that indeed, it will affect the over all feel of the stick a good bit and change how it performs. You might not think so but the weight difference is easily noticeable. I would not recommend it on a JLF without also picking up a spring mod, otherwise, the already loose feeling JLF is going to feel even more loose. If you don’t, then the stick will not return to neutral as fast and the deflection will get less accurate because the spring won’t be tense enough to handle the extra weight being moved around. You’ll need at least a 2 or 3 lb spring to compensate the extra weight.
I would get a spring and aluminum bat from Paradise Arcade. Reason is because they’re the ones who manufactured the JLF springs and they’re the ones who will continue to have them in stock from here into the foreseeable future. If you ever needed an exact replacement you will be able to get them there. If you have any questions or problems with the springs they are the ones to talk to since they’re the ones who spec and make them. The FA Nippon aluminum tops are exactly the same as the ones PA sells, so you will be getting the same products and not worry about the springs selling out and being gone for good from FA. Plus, save yourself a little shipping by getting both products at one place.
Thanks for the detailed information! How difficult it to attach that spring? Are the instructions anywhere? I am a newbie at this.
Which tutorial should I be looking at? I don’t see it after going through the list twice.
It’s berm awhile since I changed one on a sanwa, but I should be as easy as removing the c clip. Pull the actuator out and old spring, replace and put everything back together. Basically once you remove the c clip everythi.g that comes out just has to be put back in the same order.
It’s really easy
It can be a little tough to get the clip on and off, but beyond that, a spring mod is pretty easy. Just don’t lose the clip when you remove it! If you’re not careful, it’ll fly away, quite literally.
Good note on the clip. I remember the first time I took the c clip off a ls32, damn near lost an eye haha
To expand on this slightly, the “FA Nippon” top on FA are the same as the “Premium” tops on PAS. Both say “ALU” in the title.
PAS carries two types of aluminum bat tops which have different coloring and different shape, they aren’t really compatible with one another. Their standard non-premium line has a feel much more akin to an American/European stick. You can see that they taper in quite a bit more to achieve more of that teardrop shape where the ALU ones keep the Japanese style of bat top where the thickness doesn’t change so much from top to bottom. One other thing to consider is because of that, the less expensive ones won’t work with the Link if you planned on using that at all…
I have the black anodized aluminium ball top from Paradise Arcade Shop. It is very heavy. It made the joystick feel less stiff.
And… they can use adapters for sanwa bat tops to work with 6mm threaded sticks and they include one for free if you ask them.
The two types of aluminum are greatly different. The “Premium” as you noted are the same as FA Nippon, since they got them both from the same place (still sad neither has spoken much on mirror and translucent mesh since it is from the same supplier and FH has been using them on a few sticks). The PAS Anodized are exclusive to PAS and have a much greater weight to them, MUCH more noticeable than the import aluminum, which while they feel a tad heavier in comparison to plastic, are not relatively heavy in comparison. PAS Anodized are also bigger in size (38mm vs 35mm) which is a nice change if you feel the 35mm tops are too small. While they aren’t drastically bigger, it can be a nice change or a bad change depending on one’s preference. There is also a difference in colors but that doesn’t affect the play of a stick at all…
For the OP, I would consider a 2 or 2.5 lbf spring to compensate for the heavier top. Plastic with stock is fine and all, but heavier tops will make your stick, JLF especially due to the light spring, more loose. But I must stress that you try several, as one user’s preference may differ from another and the feel of the stick may suit another person or even game genre. So don’t treat ALL the advice as concrete (some is, other is subjective statements), but go and try out different springs and sizes to your liking.
Springs are cheap too at a $1 each. No reason to not pick up a few and try them out.
I winded up ordering the FA Nippon black aluminium battop along with the 2lb spring. I also ordered a regular Sanwa black battop just in case I can’t figure out how to insert the spring for the aluminum battop. And being a bit greedy, I bought a black mesh balltop that caught my eye too!
No Qanba black glass ball top? I heard its a more rich and more deeper black than the default Sanwa black ball top.
I heard that the quality of it was rather lacking from @W00p MstR FresH when we were talking about seamless balltops.
Aw no good I just ordered one.
Well maybe what wasn’t for W00p could be for you. Just cause one person doesn’t like a brand of balltops doesn’t mean they’re not for everyone. If you like it when you get it, then it will be of greater value and quality than what another person views it as.