+TourSpecGolfer Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 Last year TSG visited Mitsubishi Japan at the Tokyo Golf Fair and saw several prototypes labelled FRANKI they were extremely light weight as in less than 25 grams!!! Just this week Mitsubishi Japan is showing off it's official creation the OT Iron Shaft by FRANKI. Who is Franki? I have no clue but this shaft has peaked our interest as it is a major departure in how carbon shafts are made. Mitsubishi's goal was to create an affordable and highly capable iron shaft that has the soft feel of carbon yet the tight trajectory and stability of a steel shaft. If you haven't noticed Carbon Shafts have made huge leaps in terms of performance, feel and they rival the best steel shafts yet there is no widespread adoption of Carbon in irons and one of the biggest reasons is due to price. Often for high end carbon shaft's they cost more and in some cases much more than a steel shaft Those of you who have tried the Roddio I-10's or Fujikura MCI shafts know what sort of advantages carbon has. Mitsubishi want's to bring high modulus and higher tonnage materials to the masses with this shaft and the new OT Iron shaft comes in at an MSRP of under $100 dollars per shaft and they are hoping this get's players to give it a try and once they do Mitsubishi is confident it will stick. The OT Iron shaft is available in 2 weights 85g and 95g, Torque 3.0 mid kick. Do keep in mind that when using higher modulus carbon torque plays less of an effect because the heavier pressed tonnage carbon reduces shaft deformation extremely fast and in some cases even faster than steel. The Above graphic sheds some light on why these shaft's look to be a serious advancement in carbon shaft design. Normal carbon shafts are produced by rolling prepreg sheets and these sheets have been impregnated with resins by arranging the carbon fibers in a cylindrical shape. The OT iron shaft was made a bit differently by imersion of the resin into a bundle of carbon fibers "bundled" is the key here, then it's braided " braided", this is not normal people in a very good way and it means stability while keeping feel. The image showing shot dispersion is of the OT iron vs a popular light weight steel shaft in Japan, can we assume this is the NS950? Whatever it is this is a swing robot using the same #5 iron head at 39 ms and the latest Trackman then Mitsubishi took the average landing of 5 strokes on each club. To sum this all up they are saying the Braid and technology of the OT iron shaft feels better and is more accurate than steel. This shaft will be released Feb/16th in Japan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobmontana Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 (edited) "FRANKI" comes from the Japanese word "furanki" which is the term used for "egg incubator machine" MRC came up with this "FRANKI" project to develop ideas into innovative products. I want to try this shaft if they ever come up with a .355 model with slightly more weight. say around 115g If that dispersion chart is real, they are on to something here! Edited December 9, 2014 by nobmontana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmieboi Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 I thought its Franki from One Peice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegaman Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 So FRANKI is kinda like the skunk works or the AMG of Mitsubishi? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+TourSpecGolfer Posted December 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 Early Prototype pics I took back in Feb of this year, retail version will look nothing like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillip Alexander Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 (edited) In my opinion Mitsubishi makes quality product. I have used their shafts and been impressed. My question is how do the Franki's compare with the Aerotech Steelfeber's? Just maybe the Gauge Studio Hand Mades are due for a shaft upgrade. That said I have been really happy with the Nippon 1150s, its just that Jack is getting a bit older, well ok I'm the same age as Freddy Couples, so if Freddy is using 95s, maybe Jack should be too!! Edited December 11, 2014 by Jack lives here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K2_2 Posted December 18, 2014 Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 If the dispersion numbers were for shafts of comparable flex I would be tempted to try something other than a Roddio I-10... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icestorm959 Posted December 18, 2014 Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 How high modulus are the shafts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdGolf Posted December 19, 2014 Report Share Posted December 19, 2014 Would be curious to see how they compare to Recoil or Aerotech? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chanaa Posted December 20, 2014 Report Share Posted December 20, 2014 Would be curious to see how they compare to Recoil or Aerotech? Vs MCIs too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobmontana Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 I am wanting to try these out but the tip size is .370" How would you best combine these shafts with a .355" heads? Ream the hosel of the heads? or shave the shaft down to fit .355"? Also, looks like these shafts are not club specific meaning you may need to adjust the length and tip cut for each club. Is this correct? Maybe too soon to ask but has anyone tried these out yet? any feedback on trajectory and feel? turning 48 this year and want to try out some lighter shafts that I can use going forward but don't want to sacrifice dispersion or feel. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proquick72 Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 I am wanting to try these out but the tip size is .370" How would you best combine these shafts with a .355" heads? Ream the hosel of the heads? or shave the shaft down to fit .355"? Also, looks like these shafts are not club specific meaning you may need to adjust the length and tip cut for each club. Is this correct? Maybe too soon to ask but has anyone tried these out yet? any feedback on trajectory and feel? turning 48 this year and want to try out some lighter shafts that I can use going forward but don't want to sacrifice dispersion or feel. Thanks! I believe reaming the hosel of the heads is safer. Shaving down graphite can compromise the structure of the shaft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaaayelll Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 As I understand it, the MCI are .370 that are turned down to .355 if ordered that way. For me, I'd rather alter the shaft than the head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobmontana Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Thanks guys.　　 I am just a bit concerned about turning down the tips on these because of the very different construction of the shaft using a braided carbon construction vs rolled carbon sheets. Maybe it does not make a difference either way but I wanted to know what method the manufacturer would support. Perhaps I just need to choose a set of heads with .370 hosel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoon Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 As I understand it, the MCI are .370 that are turned down to .355 if ordered that way. For me, I'd rather alter the shaft than the head. This is correct ordered from Fuji and they sent wrong ones of mci. Ordered 355 they sent 370. They asked me to send back 370 and they could make 355 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdGolf Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 Interested in this shaft too and only thing stopping me is the .370 tip. Just not sure how it works with the way this shaft is constructed... Unlike other shafts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icestorm959 Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 Perhaps I just need to choose a set of heads with .370 hosel. This is the right answer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobmontana Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 moving from another topic .. to this thread... Hmmm one of the shaft on shortlist to try... Just too bad they only come in .370. Any issue with tripping it down? Ed, I don't think it would be a problem ... but for my test case, the raw length of the shaft was actually perfect for my 3 hybrid ( .355 hosel ) so I did not bother tipping it or cutting at the butt. In other words the tip section of the raw length had enough wall thickness so sanding the tip down seemed fine. But I will let you know if I do run into issues with my hybrid. Also not note this shaft only comes in a single length. Standard recommendation is to tip it in 0.5" increments starting from the 4 iron as you go down to the shorter clubs. This shaft has 120mm ( 4.7" ) of parallel tip which means the same wall thickness would be available to cover a 3-PW set plus some room to spare. The common feedback among the testers in Japan are that the feel at impact improved drastically over the lightweight steel shafts they normally use ( NS 950GH and the like ) Testers with higher swing speed who normally use heavier steel shafts ( suspecting DG, Proj. X , KBS ) also mentioned that the stability and dispersion is better with the OTi and that the 95 Stiff did not feel too light for them. They all say the trajectory is high ( in a good way ) and test results show higher back spin but not a ballooning trajectory but starts with a higher launch angle and comes straight down and stoppable on the green. The pricing point on these is really reasonable as well for a graphite shaft. I feel these shafts are going to get really popular very quickly. Fuji MCI's did pretty well at introduction but the pricing was much higher on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+TourSpecGolfer Posted February 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 I was able to compare the OT95 Stiff with the MCI100 Stiff and to me the OT felt better yet softer and higher launching. The MCI felt a bit more boardy yet it flew lower, had a tighter dispersion, and more distance. I think the OT would be good for the NS850/950 or Zelos player and a solid choice for someone looking for high, light, easy with pretty good accuracy where as the MCI player may be the player moving from heavier to lighter coming down from a heavier shaft. For me both are not the easiest to get used to as I'm coming from Modus 125, I think MCI 110/120 would feel better for me than the 100 as too light a shaft just feels different, un safe or like when I go after it the problems are more likely vs a heavier shaft. But of all the graphite or graphite/composite shafts I like MCI The most. If Mitsubishi makes heavier OTs I think they could be a game changer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gus Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 (edited) I'm in love with my Steelfibers, I've really wanted to try the MCI's but wasn't aware the OEM's would accommodate a special request for taper tips. Although I would never officially recommend it I've personally had zero issues sanding down older model parallel tip shafts (created a little sanding jig that looks like a large pencil sharpener) however now that the dynamics and design concepts have changed I too would worry about effecting the integrity of the shaft. Another interesting model for me will be Fuji's new Pro iron shafts, also look nice with decent weight. My folks telling me this particular shaft is being very well received on the PGA Tour, probably show up in a few bags at some point in time. As these designs continue to progress I believe there will come a point where the performance benefits will simply become to dramatic to ignore. Did I mention my terrible elbow pain has all but been eliminated due to composite shaft use, huge bonus....BB Edited March 1, 2015 by BigBen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdGolf Posted March 5, 2015 Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 I was able to compare the OT95 Stiff with the MCI100 Stiff and to me the OT felt better yet softer and higher launching. The MCI felt a bit more boardy yet it flew lower, had a tighter dispersion, and more distance. I think the OT would be good for the NS850/950 or Zelos player and a solid choice for someone looking for high, light, easy with pretty good accuracy where as the MCI player may be the player moving from heavier to lighter coming down from a heavier shaft. For me both are not the easiest to get used to as I'm coming from Modus 125, I think MCI 110/120 would feel better for me than the 100 as too light a shaft just feels different, un safe or like when I go after it the problems are more likely vs a heavier shaft. But of all the graphite or graphite/composite shafts I like MCI The most. If Mitsubishi makes heavier OTs I think they could be a game changer. Did you get them in parallel tip? Or can it be order in taper? If you do plan to rid your OT send me a PM....I'm interested to try Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoon Posted March 6, 2015 Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 I was able to compare the OT95 Stiff with the MCI100 Stiff and to me the OT felt better yet softer and higher launching. The MCI felt a bit more boardy yet it flew lower, had a tighter dispersion, and more distance. I think the OT would be good for the NS850/950 or Zelos player and a solid choice for someone looking for high, light, easy with pretty good accuracy where as the MCI player may be the player moving from heavier to lighter coming down from a heavier shaft. For me both are not the easiest to get used to as I'm coming from Modus 125, I think MCI 110/120 would feel better for me than the 100 as too light a shaft just feels different, un safe or like when I go after it the problems are more likely vs a heavier shaft. But of all the graphite or graphite/composite shafts I like MCI The most. If Mitsubishi makes heavier OTs I think they could be a game changer. how would you compare to the fabled roddio i10? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobmontana Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 Quick update on the OTI 95 Stiff I am trying in a 2007 TM TP Rescue 19 deg hybrid after a short range session today. - Feel is much smoother than the Diamana Thump Stiff I have in the Epon 902. - Launch is not as high as I thought. - Very anti left ( so far ) combined with this head and this coming from someone who has once given up with using hybrid all together due to the occasional hook shots with hybrids - Based on the flight of the ball I can tell it is lower spinning and it actually flies pretty straight. I am really liking this shaft!! Only if they had a heavier weight class, I might switch to these shafts in my irons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supo Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 excellent nob-san. i was hoping they wud have these in 110 ish and ill put them in irons. i have ot try the mci i think. so these niceer than the thumps ,thats no surprise, thumps dont feel good , but boy do they deliver! going to have to try this in my honma tw driving iron! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+TourSpecGolfer Posted March 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 Quick update on the OTI 95 Stiff I am trying in a 2007 TM TP Rescue 19 deg hybrid after a short range session today. - Feel is much smoother than the Diamana Thump Stiff I have in the Epon 902. - Launch is not as high as I thought. - Very anti left ( so far ) combined with this head and this coming from someone who has once given up with using hybrid all together due to the occasional hook shots with hybrids - Based on the flight of the ball I can tell it is lower spinning and it actually flies pretty straight. I am really liking this shaft!! Only if they had a heavier weight class, I might switch to these shafts in my irons. This makes me want to try a set of OT95 in my iron heads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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