Lightning Rod vs Steel Vengeance
card comparison
| Stat | Lightning Rod | Steel Vengeance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Height | 206 ft | 205 ft | |
| Speed | 73 mph | 74 mph | |
| Inversions | 0 | 4 | |
| Throughputest. | 1250 rph | 1200 rph | |
| Build Costest. | 22 $m | 20 $m | |
| Vintage | 2016 | 2018 |
Vintage is the reversed stat — the older ride wins. Every number here is the same one printed on the card; see /methodology for how Build Cost and Throughput are sourced.
The verdict
Lightning Rod takes it 4–2, and the 2 Steel Vengeance does win are the whole of its case.
Lightning Rod is a hybrid Topper Track (partially retracked with IBox) coaster at Dollywood, US, built by Rocky Mountain Construction. Steel Vengeance is a hybrid IBox Track (Mean Streak conversion) coaster at Cedar Point, US, built by Rocky Mountain Construction.
Both are in US, which puts them in the same conversation for anyone planning a trip there.
They come from the same drawing office: Rocky Mountain Construction. That makes the gaps below a question of brief and budget rather than engineering house style.
Both are hybrid-track, so nothing here is the usual steel-versus-wood argument in disguise.
They are near-contemporaries — 2016 and 2018 — so they were competing for the same riders when they opened.
Stat by stat
- Height goes to Lightning Rod at 206 ft against 205 ft — all but dead level.
- Speed goes to Steel Vengeance at 74 mph against 73 mph — all but dead level.
- Steel Vengeance inverts 4 times against nothing at all from Lightning Rod — the widest kind of gap there is on this stat.
- Throughput goes to Lightning Rod at 1,250 rph against 1,200 rph — ahead by a whisker.
- Build Cost goes to Lightning Rod at 22 $m against 20 $m — clearly ahead.
- Vintage is reversed, so Lightning Rod's 2016 takes it from Steel Vengeance's 2018 — 2 years in it.