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JLH
I have not tried to do what you are attempting, calculate in advance the required weight based on volume changes, although it sounds like you are going at it correctly. Still, there are some other variables involved.....particularly lift...... which become important once forward motion is imparted to the plug. I'd expect the lift forces to increase as a squared function (i.e., proportional to surface area) rather than a cubed function (proportional to volume). I suspect the balance between lift and weight is what you are after, not so much the balance between weight and volume, but I know nothing about hydrodynamics so don't take the above as gospel. My guess is you need less extra weight than a simple weight/volume calculation would indicate.
That out of the way, I have some other thoughts about this issue.
First, needles are strange plugs. They all seem to work no matter how they are shaped or weighted. I suspect it has more to do with their long narrow profile than their specific action or retrieve speed.
Years ago I spent a lot of time figuring out how to make them swim which turns out to be unnecessary. Likewise I stressed over sink rates and sink angles/balance points which also didn't seem to matter (except for casting distance). I thought I was getting somewhere until I built a copy of an old Eelpunt needle that was Steve Shiraka's favorite plug (and a plug others had taken 50+ lb fish on) and found out the effing thing floats and comes in straight as a toy boat!
So now I don't stress it too much. On calm nights I throw lighter stuff, on rough nights heavier stuff. I'll carry a long one and a short one, a light one and a dark one but I no longer believe that for needles the specific action of what I throw means a lot.......which is why I prefer darters and swimmers but that's another issue.
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