# Speed buttons; do they work or are they a marketing ploy?



## iwannahoyt93

They are called speed nocks and yes they do speed up your bow in some cases and in other some bows dont like them or its not worth the fus. I put them on my vector 35 and went from 295 without to 305 with them. i use what are called speed buttons in the lancaster archery book


----------



## TNMAN

Believe it. Chono's do not lie for profit. A little more speed and getting the arrow off the string quicker are both good things, imho.


----------



## Huntinsker

Okay if they work, how do they work? Why do peeps and D loops and kisser buttons slow you down while speed nocks and speed beads speed you up? What physics behind them make it possible? I'm not being a smart a** I just want to know if it's worth messing with and I'm a guy who likes to know how things work.


----------



## BadgerT

It has to do with *WHERE* the weight is positioned on the string. When placed in the correct position in proximity to the cams (or cam in the case of a one cam bow) they can speed up the string. You will have to be patient and try different positions to see where and how many are needed to give positive results, and have access to a chrono.


----------



## edthearcher

by just installing them on a string and not useing a crony you can slow down the arrow


----------



## Alpha Burnt

I have read on here where Kevin Strother determined the optimum positioning is 4" from axle to placement on string. I can neither confirm nor deny this, but in the absence of a chrono, I trust his judgement (on this matter). I have also read that they provide a "whip" or "sling shot effect" and it makes a little bit of sense when you consider it. When you release, the weights drive towards the cam and forward, their momentum creates drive which makes the string more taut at brace height and releases the nock of your arrow directly at brace height instead of travelling with the string a few more milliseconds (this should promote accuracy also?). Brass nock sets weigh 7 gn on the average and from what I have seen there are typically 5 on top and 5 on bottom, for a total of 70 gn added string weight. That is the equivalent of 7 extra peep sights in your string! I really do not know how it all works, but it does.


----------



## Alpha Burnt

Now on the other hand, perimeter cam weighting, seemed like a marketing ploy. It was used a few years, then companies quit adding weight to their cams and started reducing their weight by skeletonizing through machining to gain fps.


----------



## Pigsticker64

years ago before all the the bows you see had them. It was a little country archery shop out in the sticks in Cleveland Texas the man that had the shop was putting two are three maybe four nocks three inches up from your bottom axle and gaining you 5 to 8 FPS. so yes it works and has been for years, just went main stream last few years.


----------



## iwannahoyt93

Its like bagderT said. Every bow is different. If you look at the speed nocks on the monster they are quite a way from the cam but my vector 35 likes them 1 inch from the cam. So you just start with them far and move them toward the cams. You eill see as you get closer it will start to speed up and if you go to far it will start to slow back down or no matter where the speed nocks are you might not gain speed. My friends alpha elite wouldnt gain speed so we just took them of


----------



## Huntinsker

Thanks for the feedback. Alpha Burner, I like that answer. I can wrap my head around that idea and can see how it could work. I may have to experiment with this on a few different bows and see what happens. Thanks again!


----------



## Robert43

I allways thought they were a lot of crock but I did it as a trial & picked up 7 fps so I ate my words. To be honest I still cant work how extra weight puts speed on the string but it works


----------



## ebonarcher

i think it has more to do with string harmonics and that the weight added to the string reduces the flex that the string would have at the point of release from the nock, forcing it to be a bit cleaner break.


----------



## beachbuggy

I called the number on the package and was told they will actually slow down a Z7. I appreciate their honesty. Wish I had called before I bought them.


----------



## wolbear

On my Monster 6 (2010) I replaced the "string grubs" with my own brass nocks (4 of them) with shrink tube they ended up being 2" from the end of the cam. I feel they are more streamline and look more professional. I tested with the chrono during installation and they added 6 fps, if I added a 5th, I began to lose fps, so went with 4. Like stated above, they DO work, as long as you get the placement correct.


----------



## Huntinsker

I tried it at work yesterday on a Strother Wrath with no speed gain. I got my baseline and then added 3 brass nocks to each end moving them from 2, 3 and 4 inches from the cam with no difference. I added 3 more to each end and tried all 3 positions again with no difference. At least it didn't slow it down which I guess is a good thing for string silencers. I still plan on trying them on a few other bows to see what happens.


----------



## ebonarcher

You added nocs and put shrink tubing over them ?


----------



## Huntinsker

For the ease of the trial, I did not put shrink tubing on them. I didn't want to have to cut it off each time I moved them or added to them.


----------



## BOW BUM

I've heard they help to a point. I believe the results are more effective when using a light arrow. When arrow weight gets up high enough the nocks fail to "whip" the string anymore.

B


----------



## Huntinsker

That makes sense. Thanks, I'll try a lighter arrow and see what happens.


----------



## David199619

So what happened?


----------



## Ctrl Alt Elite

Now I am just hypothesizing here, but I feel that its a fairly complicated set of physics, the farther away from the cams the weight is, the farther the weight has to travel back to position from full draw thereby usurping more energy from the limbs that would go into the arrow, because to move mass takes energy, and the farther it needs to move... well you know. Now on the other hand when they are in the 
"sweet spot" they would increase the momentum of the string,without robbing too much energy and thereby (in theory) make the energy transfer into the arrow more effiecient. I also agree with the taughtness supposed by an above poster, the weights are traveling in in two planes each, both forward, but also going in opposite directions, back towards the limbs, making the arrow release more snappy by again increasing the momentum of the string IMO. I just want to say again that this is just my hypothesis on how the mechanics of this works.

In closing, string weights definately WORK, BUT on a VERY individual basis, you will NEED access to a chrono, and you probably will if you are trying to squeeze out an extra 5-10 fps on a bow, they are pretty much for people who obsess (like me) I personally use spyder speed silencers, and I have seen a speed increase of around* 3fps, so not very much. BUT they do remove an audible amount of noise from the shot, so I feel like they are a good product, they do wear out fairly quickly though, but are cheap to replace.


----------



## jcm151

beachbuggy said:


> I called the number on the package and was told they will actually slow down a Z7. I appreciate their honesty. Wish I had called before I bought them.


Beachbuggy could you provide that number to me? I would like to call and ask about my bow.. or maybe someone here has experience with a Hoyt Carbon Element?


----------



## dwagoner

try 2 nocks on both ends also, would be best to start there, Did you notice any difference in noise the bow made with the speed nocks on the string????


----------



## wacker stacker

From what I understand it takes the string harmonics out and keep them from being transferred into the cams, bearings, axles etc. This allows them to operate smoother and quicker.


----------



## Nitroboy

It doesn't have to be nocks with shrink tubing or any factory made speed nocks, on one of my AlphaBurners I did some experimenting with Sims Everlast leeches and found the sweet spot it gained me nearly 10fps, I built me a string with end serving just past the cam and installed the leeches about 4" from axles then started shooting moving them in a 1/4" til I got 315fps out if a 28"/60# 335gr arrow set up, measured where they were and reserved the end serving stopping where the leeches were, worked awesome, now my Vector Turbos neither one likes speed nocks or leeches


----------



## dwagoner

AND bowjax makes those too, slide thru string in location where you would put the nocks and it adds weight and the rubber helps silence too. i HATE THEM cus there a PITA to get on but they do work,


----------



## Brown Hornet

they work for sure...while I don't always use them because I don't feel like messing with them always. They do work. 

However I prefer to use TRU Balls speed balls. Much easier to move around and find the sweet spot and they can be used over and over and over and over again. I bought my 1st set of them back in 1998  The set that will be going on the bow I have coming are at least 10 years old as well. They have given me more speed on EVERY bow I have ever taken the time to install them on. The lowest gain was 4-5 fps on a single cam and up to 10-12 fps more on a Hoyt dual cam....I usually get about 8fps more probably on avg.


----------



## 454casull

Worth 8-10 fps on my Primal. Did some testing with a bare string then added the studs. A quarter of an inch can make all the difference in the world too so trial and error is necessary. Honestly for a few minutes of work it nets some pretty good results.


----------



## 454casull

Brown Hornet...good to see you back. Now If OBT would make a guest appearance things would become more lively...


----------



## Brown Hornet

454casull said:


> Brown Hornet...good to see you back. Now If OBT would make a guest appearance things would become more lively...


Thanks buddy it's good to be back :darkbeer: 

It's good to be back....OBT won't be making an appearance anytime soon I reckon. Other then an occasional drive by. Heck I don't know if he even knows what a bow is anymore. I was down his way a couple years ago for a field shoot for 3 days...stayed at Macaholics the 1st night and I called him probably 4 times that week and we never saw or heard from him.


----------



## wy_will

Are these still being used and getting results? What brand/style is preferred?


----------

