Maximum Cartridge Tracking Force for long LP Life

@theophile + 1. I figure the people who made the cartridge know the optimum way to set it up. I've played records on all kinds of things from the time I was a young teen in the mid-60's, and I've never come close to a tear in the vinyl. Except when I needed to tape a nickel to the headshell. 

@faustuss 

I bet there is a heavier counterweight available

SME made several weights to suit the wide range of 3009 and 3012 tonearms they made, including some to accommodate SPU cartridges which have a recommended tracking force around 4 grams.

My particular arm is a "3009 Series II improved with fixed headshell", and was only supplied by the factory with one balance weight, one outrigger weight and one anti-skate weight for a maximum 1.5 grams tracking force.  Clearly SME had the Shure V15 in mind!

Set up involves getting the arm level by adjusting the balance weight, then increasing the tracking force by sliding the outrigger weight along the outrigger which has a graduated scale with marks at 0.25-gram intervals.  I think you could reliably get 0.01-gram precision by eye, which is as good as I can manage with a new-fangled digital scale!

I am currently using an Audio Technica VM540ML cartridge which has twice the recommended tracking force of the Shure V15 type III, ie 2.0-grams versus 1.0-grams.

Logically I should almost double the anti-skate weight from 3-grams to 5.6-grams.

The dreaded details can be found here SME 3009 / 3012

@larsman 

I've never come close to a tear in the vinyl

I suspect that it might take an electron microscope to 'see' what i think of as tears, bits of the groove that have been gouged out.

@richardbrand - ah, that makes more sense. Thanks, Richard...

@larsman 

Yep. never had a record tear apart yet!