So I was reading in a thread from another coaster site, and one person claimed that Kingda Ka is horribly rough? It's intamin how could this be? And if it is indeed rough, is TTD? Someone explain that this guy just can't handle much at all...or this is sadly...true?

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It's just like how B&M's, which are known for their smoothness, can be rough (Mantis @ Cedar Point, for instance). Not all Intamins are smooth, and it's also a matter of personal opinion.

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Everytime I ride a coaster, it valleys. I've never been on a stalled coaster or had one roll back (except Wicked Twister and what was Superman: Ultimate Escape, which does that by design).
I'm indirectly profiting from Wes since he's paying Katie to sub-lease her sig, then Katie has to pay me (since she is leasing it from me).

Just rode it yesterday, and yes, it is a bit rough due to the OTSR's that cause a lot of headbanging. TTD doesn't have that problem and that is precisely why I think TTD is the better ride. The airtime hill after the drop didn't really do much for me either since you are so stapled in your seat, you are pressed uncomfortably against the restraints. I enjoyed El Toro and Nitro so much more than KK.

I found Kingda Ka to be very "vibraty". Like towards the end of the launch the cars just shake and vibrate a little. Nothing to painful for me. But can be for someone else. and i also was disspointed in the airtime hill. I didnt feel anything. I perfered TTD cuz the launch was more intense. TTD has a sudden burst of speed at the beginning while KK has a more gradual accel

Kind of a strange subject. Different rides can be at different roughness levels depending on how you sit in the seat, or where you sit. My first time on The Hulk, I sat in the back seat, bad idea, it was rough the whole way through, my second time I rode in the front seat, and it was as smooth as silk.

For intamin rockets however, my first time on TTD I rode it, got into a nice comfortable position in the seat, nevermind how uncomfortable I thought the head rests were. On that ride there was the slightest bit of vibration on the left turn going upward, that was it. My third time on TTD, I just couldn't seem to get my head to fit into the head rest properly, and before I knew it, it was too late, I experienced terrible headbanging during the launch and incline, till finally the train reached the crest and the mix of zero-gravity and airtime practically forced my body into a comfy position.

In conclusion, The awkward forward position of the headrests on TTD caused me to have one terrible ride, and yet still when they are used properly and correctly, TTD could be the smoothest launch coaster I've ever been on.

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KK can be very bumpy at times. If you sit in the front row, it is very smooth all of the time. If you sit in the second row, it is smoth most of the time. If you sit in the back, it is usually rough. Not painfully rough, but bumpy.

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In back row on the teal train (I believe, not 100% sure if it's the one) it is horribly rough with the shaking. In front it is still glass smooth, though.

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Not good at all for KK. But in the end TTD still sounds amazing...if I ever get to ride it. I know that not all coasters should be expected to be smooth no matter what company produces it, but still as a coaster critic in hiding hearing this about something Intamin produced is somewhat of a shocker. Thanks for your comment guys.

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^ Its also was a shocker to me.

I thought the smoothest companies wer obvioulsy B&M and in second place Intamin!

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I didn't find it to be that bad, nowhere near its neighbor, the Scream Machine. I even rode in the very back...

I rode it today and it showed a little vibration, no headbanging though, not even close. Was on the first launch today and was my first launch on KK.

Top Thrill is defintely the better ride though. More intense launch (shorter length of launch track I think) and the lack of OTSR's make it a better ride.

I need to ride TTD. I don't understad how there's so many people claiming that TTD has a more intense launch when the numbers show Kingda Ka is. No matter what you do, 0-128 in 3.5 seconds beats out 0-120 in 4 seconds. Before anyone says anything, I'm not claiming that speed alone makes Kingda Ka the 'winner', but the rate of acceleration. I forgot exactly how many seconds you accelerate for on Storm Runner, but I do remember the rate of acceleration was greater than Kingda Ka's and you could feel it. I guess the difference there is that Kingda Ka cruizes along at top speed for those additional 2 seconds where TTD doesn't have that extra launch track. That, and a combination of people getting weak launches.

As for the restraints creating headbanging, I have a hard time believing that. First off, I will admit that I have become somewhat of an Intamin OTSR fanboy after riding Ka and Storm Runner. I think they are simply the best OTSRs ever because they feel like glorified lapbars. It seems that no matter how long of a torso people have, they do not touch your shoulders, which is a great thing. Also, because they are so thin, they do not block your vision at all. Lastly, they do not come up very high either, staying at neck level. Headbanging is now not a problem because it's not at your head. I do admit that I have been chopped in the neck by the OTSR on occcasion, but it's very rare. Why do I bring all of that up? Firstly, I don't see how people can experience headbanging with those restraints. I believe you, as it is your head and not mine. But from personal experience I don't see it. Secondly, I do not see how one can blame a restraint for how smooth or rough a ride is.

Some may point towards The Chiller as an example of "when restraints make rides rough", but I think those people are thinking too much (or not thinking enough?) If you pay attention to how your body moves when riding The Chiller now that it has lapbars (not that you'll be able to anytime soon), obviously you still have all of that upper-body swaying that created the awful headbanging. But, the ride is more comfortable because the OTSRs are not there for you to bang up against. The ride is still "rough", the agitator was just removed.

So, if in my humble opinion, the restraints are not the answer to why Kingda Ka is rough, what is? First let's look at why there's different experiences within the same train. I think that the reason the front is smooth while the back is rough is solely because of the catch car. The catch car is holding the front car steady as it's hauling it down the launch. The rear of the train however is "loose", so it can sway from side to side as it's launching. If you sit towards the front of the second train, you can see the back of the launching train shimmy as it's going down the track.

Now, from what I've heard, TTD is not nearly as shaky as Ka is in any seat. Why would this be? My absolute guess is this. Due to the different train styles, I think that Kingda Ka simply wasn't meant for that type of speed, where TTD was. I think that what may have happened is that TTD is using slightly modified hyper trains, which are obviously built for speed. Kingda Ka's trains however appear to be slightly modified Intamin Looper trains, which don't need to tolerate speeds as high. If that is the case, it could simply be that the train on Kingda Ka, whether it be the wheel bearings, the suspension, whatever, simply was never intended for that type of speed, where TTD's trains were better suited.

Of course, as always, I reserve the right to be 100% incorrect.

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Interesting points. I first agree that Intamin does make the best OTSR's out of anyone, with B&M right behind them. My usual reasoning would be Six Flags maintenance isnt as good but GADV has absolutely improved a ton since I last went there in 2001.

Only thing in regards to the launch dog engaging at the front casing the back to sway, have to say if the ridesbeing maintained well it shouldnt "sway" in this scenario, the wheels should be in contact at all times. I do see what your saying though.

One other thing to take into consideration, the mental effect. The speedometer (sp), the white\red\white\red etc all I think add up to an effect of greater speed, along with the lapbars creating a better feeling of freedom and exposure, along with what looks like a shorter launch section.

The shaking is really annoying, especially on the pull out.

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I found the ride to be rough, unless you sit in the front. That's the only place where the ride is decent in my opinion also. The front makes it such a great coaster, but even the second row wasn't nearly as good.

I dont know, I've only been on it last thursday and I sure wouldnt say its "rough". It maybe had a little rattle. Rough for a steel coaster would be GASM not KK.

Why does it even matter if its rough? its only like 17 seconds!!

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It's a shake due to the poor train design. Don't get me wrong the Intamin OTSR are more comfy and roomy than the T-Bars, but the chasis and wheel assemblies are awful. I just wouldn't ride in the back.

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Out of all my rides on KK (9 of them), I've sat in the third row once and the other 8 in the second row. The third row was much rougher than the second row. When you're watching the train being launched, its very easy to see the back of the train shaking down the track. If you ever go on KK, I highly recomend the second row. It doesnt have the huge wait the frnot row has, and with the stadium seating you get the wind and view of the first row.

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2007 Gadv Count: Kingda Ka-6, El Toro-6, Nitro-4, Medusa-2, S:UF-2, R:TC-1, B:TC-, GASM-0, Skull Mt-0, B:TR-0, RMT-0, RT-0

I want to echo this. I've been on KK many times and I've noticed that the only time it's not rough is when you're in the front row.

There's no headbanging at all.. it's just a little shaky in any other seat.

On KK though, there's no point in sitting in any other seat besides the front. :-)

I've only been on KK once, last summer in the front row, and it was totally smooth. Not even a slight vibration. Coasters in general have more vibrations or rough transitions in the back so I wouldn't be surprised if the back was more rough.

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Ill have to dissagree.

I found Arrow loopers to be the smoothest

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worm ^ Its also was a shocker to me. I thought the smoothest companies wer obvioulsy B&M and in second place Intamin!

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Dragster is ultra-smooth. It's initial "launch" is more powerful than Ka IMHO. I don't remember Ka banging my head but I do remember a slight "rattle" throughout the ride.

Also, Ka's launch seemed like it was "shifting gears" when it launched as opposed to Dragster's, which had more of a kick.

Then again I have only rode Kingda Ka once, and Dragster many, many times.

I also like the freedom of the lapbars. Ka's (and Storm Runner's) is OK for OTSR's. They offer a little more freedom than typical OTSR's.

Still, I like the lapbars.

-Tina

Thats because the restraints dont reach your head. If anything, there will be neckbanging.

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I was once TN's top poster!
2007 Gadv Count: Kingda Ka-6, El Toro-6, Nitro-4, Medusa-2, S:UF-2, R:TC-1, B:TC-, GASM-0, Skull Mt-0, B:TR-0, RMT-0, RT-0

TTD launch is way more intense then KK's and thats why I like it better. TTD is a sudden bang and I don't think it really takes four seconds to get up to 120. KK launch is more gradual and like coasterqueen said...you feel it shifting gears. You feel like the first acceleration, then it maintains that speed for a little, then another little acceleration, etc...If you watch videos of both launches you can see that KK doesnt start off with that sudden bang that takes your breath away and TTD does. Maybe Intamin redesigned the motor to get it to those speeds and when it did, the gradual accel was the result

From what I noticed, the front of the ride was pretty smooth on the launch. But the back, you can really feel the strain on the car during the launch as it shakes a lot.

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Actually, all OTSR's are in direct contact with the sides of my head, not my neck. Being that I am only 5'4 has a lot to do with that.

The old Arrow coasters have the worst restriants for me. I usually get massive headaches from them. The Tennesse Tornado would be an exception. It's smooth as glass for the most part.

The Vekoma boomerangs and SLC's give me problems at times. The Flying Dutchmans (like X-Flight and Borg) have never given me problems. The only SLC that I can remember NOT giving me a headache was The Gauntlet at Magic Springs.

I haven't had a B&M with OTSR's give me a headache yet.

Nothing can be more painful that Flight of Fear before the went to lapbars. Those OTSR's were beyond horrible. Adding lapbars improved it 1000%

-Tina

They don't keep up with wheel changes on KK. Thats why it is usually pretty rough. TTD doesn't have that problem.

Not keeping up with the wheel changes would indeed cause many problems that many people have stated. Running with old wheels or wheels close to the acceptable limit change the gauge of the train and causes the whole train to shutter along the course.

For one of the rides I work on (Ragin' Cajun) for the side rollers when we put them on this year (not new) they were very close to the tolerable limit of 190 mm. At this time right now many of them are falling below that limit and we are getting ready to change them. We can really see which ones need to be changed as you can see the cars shake and even feel them shutter along the ride. The new wheels are only 200 mm but that totals up to a 16 mm distance and makes a HUGE difference. We currently have one car running with the new side rollers and it not only goes around the course smoother, it runs about 8 seconds faster than all the other cars.

Another reason that wouldn't suprise me if they weren't keeping up with wheel changes is that they simply ran out of or are really low on wheels and are waiting for a new shipment.

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Kyle Rehm

You are forgetting to mention the rate in which the acceleration is increasing in the beginning, the amount of jolts in the beginning of the acceleration. A low jolt value is a smooth start of the acceleration, a high value is an abrupt start of the acceleration. The acceleration itself can be lower but a more forceful beginning can make it feel better.

By the way, jolt is the derivative of acceleration in the time, or the second derivative of speed, or the third derivative of position.

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