What's Your Opinion on High G Forces?

[dropzonefan]

Well, most of us here love airtime, but I've heard some complaints on various boards, including this one, about high g forces, mostly due to things like grey/black outs. Personally, I like a good amount of g forces on rides, with some of my favourite flats and coasters pulling upwards of 4-5g, such as BTR clones, the Mindbender (Edmonton Mall, Alberta, Canada), and chance zipper rides, where durring multiple flips, the g forces can get pretty extreme.

 

So, what's your opinion?

Edited August 13, 2013 by ernierocker

[alwaysairtime14]

Depends. You can always have too strong g's and too powerful airtime. It usually depends on what restraint I'm in. I love El Toro's airtime because you are strapped in so tight with the hydraulic restraints your thighs can't move and it's not that painful. Other rides like Lake Compounce's Boulder Dash the restraints can be too loose and you get a painful ride because your thighs get pulverized on the airtime hills. If it's a hot day and SFNE's Bizarro is running fast your thighs get destroyed on the final bunny hops. On a day like that I'd prefer the helixes over said final bunny hops. Older wooden coasters that deliver floaty airtime are nice.

 

An example of overpowering g's would be on a Starship/Gravitron. I can handle one ride on those but not another. Batman clones deliver just right g's without being too strong or being too weak.

 

If I had to choose: airtime>g's

 

[Dr. M]

I don't really understand the distinction being made, airtime IS g-force, just in a specific direction. In any case, I don't NEED high g-force to enjoy a coaster, Millennium Force being a great example, it has height and speed to compensate for it. Lightning Racer is another, you get great visuals and the racing element to make up for it. But at the end of the day, high g's almost always make for a great ride. I can honestly say I never thought a ride was too forceful (how could that be possible?), but uncomfortable restraints can ruin a forceful ride. I don't mind graying out on a ride, when it happens, which is very rarely.

[alwaysairtime14]

I don't really understand the distinction being made, airtime IS g-force, just in a specific direction.

 

True, but I think the author meant "g-force" as positive g-force without saying it. I never call airtime negative g-force and my friends understand me when I just say "g-force" if we're in a loop or helix instead of saying "positive g-force".

[Aceattack52]

I generally don't like high and/or sustained G's because I don't want to black or grey out. I do like the high and unusual combination of G's on those Schwarzkophf perfect circle loops like on Mindbender.

[gisco]

I prefer floater air over g's. Both are fine as long as they aren't in the extreme. ejector air can be painful and high g's a lot of people don't like. I have never had a problem with graying out so the high g's haven't bothered me so far.

[cmullin]

I love the feeling of high g's and greying out, but nothing beats long, floating, airtime, or insane ejector airtime.

[Dr. M]

I generally don't like high and/or sustained G's because I don't want to black or grey out. I do like the high and unusual combination of G's on those Schwarzkophf perfect circle loops like on Mindbender.

 

I don't think "perfect circle" loops have ever been put on a modern (i.e. any still operating) coaster. Mindbender has the normal "tear drop" loop shape. Perfect circle loops would give you incredible whiplash.

[Anything]

Back row on a Boomerang in reverse cycle is awesome.

[Invertalon]

I personally, am not a big fan of excessive positive g-forces. I prefer laterals and short abrupt airtime (like the GCI pops of air in and out of turns, for example).

 

Not a big fan of helices... Goliath, Titan, Raptor, Silver Bullet... Those helices are my least favorite part of the ride.

[mightypotato]

I enjoy a ride that pulls strong positive g's. However, I like it in short bursts like the various Batman clones do it. The sustained positive g's that Titan pulls was almost too much for me.

 

In the end though, airtime will always trump positive g's.

[alwaysairtime14]

Back row on a Boomerang in reverse cycle is awesome.

 

Shhhhh...don't give away the secret...let the others continue to think Boomerangs suck.

[Jello_Biafra]

The higher the G force, the better.

[cmullin]

The higher the G force, the better.

Until it gets so high that it can make you unconscious or kill you.

[Angry_Gumball]

I like intense g's and airtime... Superman Ultimate Flight at SFDK is one with thigh-crushing airtime quickly transitioning to a nice session of positives as you dive down and into the bottom of non inverting loop.

 

If a ride can make my feet go numb and I see grey spots, it's awesome. Bonus points for the ride being capable of stretching your lips

[Schrecken]

I'm not too fond of heavy-duty sustained positive g's on any rides (for instance, I will only ride things like Enterprise flat rides if I'm with someone who wants to ride them), or even strong "grind you into your seat" pops of positive g's, like on the bottom of the drop on many coasters and also in helices. I used to not mind those, but now that I have a bad back they just don't often agree with me.

However, I can't get enough of hard core positive g's like those found on coasters like El Toro and Skyrush. I also don't mind (and actually rather like) the powerful forces that pin you into your seat on various launched coasters. Laterals can be fun or not so much depending on the kind of coaster or ride in question and the kind of restraints it has. They don't bother me on many woodies unless they are really severe and there are lots of them, like on the Legend. But I can't deal with them when they are on coasters like Maverick with the kind of OTSRs it has.

[richtrav]

Not too big on them, as an extreme example the back seat of SFOT's Shockwave is generally fun because of its crazy air but the exit out of the second loop in the back has one of the highest G moments I've ever experienced, if only for an instant. I remember getting off the ride and feeling like someone had put a grapefruit in a sock and hit me in the back of the head the day before.

[richtrav]

I generally don't like high and/or sustained G's because I don't want to black or grey out. I do like the high and unusual combination of G's on those Schwarzkophf perfect circle loops like on Mindbender.

 

I don't think "perfect circle" loops have ever been put on a modern (i.e. any still operating) coaster. Mindbender has the normal "tear drop" loop shape. Perfect circle loops would give you incredible whiplash.

 

Thriller/Taz's TX Tornado/Zonga has (or had?) two circular loops at the start of the ride.

[rcdude]

I like rides with high positive g's in general, but I don't like anything that results in a greyout or rides that have nothing but high g's. For example, I like forceful loops and tight turns, but the helix on Goliath I'm not too crazy about. I'm also not a huge fan of the Batman rides as they are almost nothing but positive g's. When it comes to positive g's or airtime, airtime wins if the restraint is a lapbar and positive g's win with a shoulder harness.

[IronWolfman]

I love both, which is why Sidewinder at Elitches is amazing (I prefer front car for backwards extreme airtime). Boomerang and Mind Eraser in the back both have very nice positives.

[boardwalkbullet91507]

I don't mind strong positive g-forces, but the problem is I tend to grey out easy. If the forces are withheld for too long it's just longer for me to recover. I usually grey out on B:TR clones at the bottom of the first drop and fully recover by the end of the zero-g-roll, and in the helix after the second loop and fully recover by the first wing over. I grey out on Titan all the time, I greyed out on my first rides on Iron Rattler; positive g-forces are just a little more problematic but I still like that heavy feeling you get. I love Schwarzkopf loops, especially the double loops on Shockwave. And yes, you guessed it, I grey out. After a few rides though, the greying-out effect tends to die down a little bit.

[Dr. M]

What about your biology effects graying out? I'm a total feather weight, 5'8, 125 lbs, you'd think I'd gray out all the time but I honestly can't even remember the last time it happened. Lightheaded yes, but never vision impairment.

[gerstlaueringvar]

The only time I greyed out was on Titan during the helix O' death. It feels pretty crazy and I love it.

Yes, I agree that B:TR has nothing but positive G so I don't like it that much. During my visit to SFMM and TPR tour, most of B:TR clones were credit run except for Goliath at SFFT and Great White.

All in all, I like positive Gs but when a coaster has nothing but positive Gs, I wouldn't ride it multiple times. I prefer airtime especially ejectors!

Edited October 17, 2013 by gerstlaueringvar

[boardwalkbullet91507]

What about your biology effects graying out? I'm a total feather weight, 5'8, 125 lbs, you'd think I'd gray out all the time but I honestly can't even remember the last time it happened. Lightheaded yes, but never vision impairment.

 

I guess it just depends from person to person, and their ability to withstand high G-Forces as we are relatively the same in proportions. I'm 5'6 and weigh 110-115lbs (weight varies day to day). Your body might just be able to handle more than mine.

 

EDIT: According to the 100% all the time accurate and never failing Wikipedia, human tolerance to high G-forces is trainable and does indeed vary from person to person. This would explain why the effects (i.e. greying out) become less intense the more times you ride a coaster. For example, my first ride on the Titan at SFOT on any given visit, I will grey out on both helixes, but every ride after I will not grey out at all on the second helix.

[zentanker]

The only time I greeted out was on Titan during the helix O' death. It feels pretty crazy and I love it.

Yes, I agree that B:TR has nothing but positive G so I don't like it that much. During my visit to SFMM and TPR tour, most of B:TR colones were credit run except for Goliath at SFFT and Great White.

All in all, I like positive Gs but when a coaster has nothing but positive Gs, I wouldn't ride it multiple times. I prefer airtime especially ejecting air!

 

 

 

My wife greys out every time she rides the Titan. It usually doesn't bother me too much, though once or twice I did get a little perceptible peripheral fuzziness.