QA1 Front Shocks - Poor Fit

[Floor]

I have had a set of QA1s on the red truck for 12K miles, and they installed just like Carls. So far no problems.
There is not an aftermarket shock that will fit our trucks correctly.
The rear sway bar mounting holes are not the same from week to week on most trucks, as so many running changes were made to the trucks.
I had to drill out my sway bar link mounting holes on the frame bracket to get a larger bolt in. Some fit and some don't. The 04s and 05s were somewhat alike but the 06s are a breed onto themselves.
That is what we all have to deal with, beacuse it is a limited production vehicle. Yes it is a pain in the rear, but after a while you get used to having to make most things on a very custom basis.

I recently had an experiance with a big time aftermarket front end fabricator/manufacturer that swore to me ( 3 different people at 3 seperate times ), that their air ride kit would fit. Well after I had the front suspension peeled apart there is no way that it would work even with major modification. I am out of pocket about 900.00 for shipping and other costs directly related to this fiasco. I have just learned to suck it up and move on. It is truly not worth wasting energy on as that will still not get the end result I need.

I will try again, this time with a custom fabricator in SanTee that builds trophy trucks and class one cars. We are going to have to do some very unconventional things to get the results I need.
The bottom line is every time I change something from stock I will really not be surprised if the modification takes some modifying to work correctly. This is true with all hotrods, and the truck is a factory hotrod.
This is what makes modding and hotrodding such fun, "making things work".

I agree. Only thing I'dd like to add is "SRT 10 kit" should fit spot on. If it needs additional adjustments and even extra parts, it should be mentioned beforehand so that people who don't want/can do the modding know what to expect. If you buy an aftermarket kit of a Hemi RAM you know you might have to do some finetuning. When it is mentioned SRT it should be another story. A manual/instruction is also the absolute minimum IMO.
Carl, thanks for sharing your experience. I'm sure both of you will work it out.

 

[Carlwalski]

Thank you guys, we were level headed enough to work out the last few issues with the shocks via email. I will move on now and have said my piece. I'm more worried about safety. They fit in, yes, but the shop and I were just surprised and disappointed about the way they went in. If others haven't had any trouble after a few miles that is a good sign. Again, I'm sure they'll work OK just kind of a "messy" setup. This is a post about the shocks, not JMB or that they fit, just about how they fit. I'm kind of kicking myself for mentioning the Justin bit but, won't delete it now it's been said and done. I like this place far too much to cause shit.

Having had 3 classic E-Bodies I am very familiar with "massaging" parts and agree, not all factory items are the same but cars built 40 years ago have an excuse lol. A 2006 model in that location isn't going to vary a lot, if at all. So, to me, there is no excuse for having a shocks that mount that loose. These trucks are 2.3 tonnes of MoPar pride so I would have liked something a bit more stout, like the original shocks for peace of mind. They should be fine and take some abuse, just have to wait and see how they hold up. Again, this thread had a purpose of sharing the fitment and to ask why no one has said anything about the "fit".

By the way, Stinkers lower kit is in and fantastic! He was the best, called him on the road and talked to him about the bumpstops and how much to cut them by. Unlike some others I have dealt with, Tony actually had time to talk to me without it being a burden. I think he actually enjoyed talking to me due to my accent! :laugh: I swear I heard him laugh when I said "cheers mate" a friendly laugh that is.....good man, he cracks me up. Thanks Tony. Plus, Roe racing bits are in + Billy Boat exhaust which kicks ass. More photos when the truck is out of the shop, these photos are dirty parts, not cleaned etc.

A lovely piece by Justin. 06 grille emblem, again, he has good parts. Just, well, you know what I think of his service.....
Brilliant Black pearl coat background with black logo, fits my stealth theme perfectly.

 

[amtrucker22]

Surprised to hear about his customer service (he has always been good to me), but it is good to know about the kit (not that the stage 3 kit would fit my truck). I would of assumed that everything bought would be a really good fit as all the items I have purchased from all our vendors so far have been. I am a beginner when it comes to this stuff and would probably find myself in big trouble when it came to fitting something that does not quite fit.

The only other thing I have heard is that 06's really have a hard time having things fit because of the body style changed.

 

[blackviper]

I have nothing but good things to say about Justin. The fit of the QA1's is questionable on the 06's but they work.

 

[Prof]

I understand your accent getting a laugh from Tony...but how the hell did you understand him? Please understand that many of us here in the States have to ask him to repeat his words, look them up in a dictionary and then guess because he can't spell them for us...:dontknow: :dontknow: :dontknow:

 

[Carlwalski]

I'm by no means a mechanic or knowledgeable in terms of car restoration but the fix is easy. A few washers (supplied but for the top bushings) take up the slack. I'm more surprised/disappointed at how they fit and even more surprised no one has mentioned it. These things are miles off, it's not like a 0.2" gap, it's miles off. So much so as I said, the shop thought the wrong shocks were supplied as when they fitted them they thought the fitment was way off and couldn't possibly be the correct shocks. It is reassuring to here others have the set up and that they haven't had any problems with them.

Prof - LMAO :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: It was hard but I won't lie, not too bad. I can see what you mean (no offence Tony lol). I spend a lot of time on the phone to US vendors and American friends so I've gotten use to the accent by now. I the first thing I say to American vendors when calling the first time is: "Hello, I'm calling from New Zealand so you'll have to excuse my accent, I'll try my best to speak slowly and clearly." Most reply with: "That's fine Sir, you're doing good."

 

[spdrcrj]

I've delt with Justin a few times before and found him very pleasureable and helpful on every occasion. Sorry to hear you had an unpleasant experience with him. Maybe a few different bad things happened to him (like me calling him as he was eating his lunch....opps) and it added up to him being unpleasant. It's human nature. Like someone else said, if you buy kits from these fine vendors, some items might have to be modified for our fitment. JMB's cat-less mids did not fit "perfectly". My exhaust tips stuck out way to far for me. No biggie....a air saw and 15 mins later, everything fit to my taste.

505'sfastestviper...you have a PM.

 

[Carlwalski]

Thanks spdrcrj. No matter how busy or how much is going on in a vendors life, customers should not be affected. Period. We all have things going on in our personal lives but part of being a professional is to keep these things just that - Personal.

 

[JTS VENOM PERFORMANCE]

Anytime Carl, glad to help sir

 

[JMB Justin]

The shocks have been proven, plain and simple, I stated this and many others have as well, the fitment is of a universal shock on a specific application, no one has ever bitched to me that I can remember about fitment of the front shocks. I offered before to refund you for everything, but you chose to keep them.

My "lack of service" and "unprofessionalism" on these last three orders is purely your opinion. I would not call 69 emails (yes 69, I counted them) 2 PM's, a phone call on saturday night at 8PM, as well as a discount on the last order because I made a mistake on the previous one; "lack of service". After being reminded and reminded and reminded about how I screwed up and didnt send instructions (which where emailed immediately), and sent the wrong shocks (which I offered to express the correct ones immediately), I finally decided that there was no way I was ever going to please you. Anyone who works in customer service or owns their own business knows that you cannot please everyone no matter how hard you try, and I simply cannot please you, so I chose to not do business with you, it should be less headaches for both of us. No hard feelings at all on my part, life is too good and too short.

Fact of the matter is, peoples personal lives get involved with their work, this is not a 9-5 job and I dont treat the customers like its a 9-5, so sometimes my personal life gets mixed up in everything because im working 60-80 hours a week and answering the phone 14 hours a day 6-7 days a week. A 9-5 M-F isnt going to answer your call or email on saturday or sunday or evenings, but I almost always do because thats the level of service I feel my customers deserve. Im trying to juggle finishing up a divorce, a new relationship with a wonderful woman and her 2 year old child, selling two cars, and purchasing a home, while working those hours. This is not an excuse, its the truth, life happens and shit happens and all you can do is make the best of it.

Im sorry you feel that my service is lacking, I disagree, so I guess all we can do is agree to disagree. I will not be arguing with you or posting anymore in this thread, As I said before, life is too good and too short.

Justin

 

[Carlwalski]

69 emails? I have sent 39 over 5 months and at least half of these were order related e.g. requests for shipping costs etc and the placement and confirmation of orders as I like to know that the parts to be shipped are correct for my vehicle, which I believe is prudent. Despite my best efforts, you still managed to send the wrong parts, no instructions and some parts missing altogether. The remaining emails were follow-ups and questions resulting from incorrect orders and lack of instructions.

I'll repeat what my last PM said to you and which I had thought to remain between us, until now. I am disappointed, but not surprised, by your response, which shows a total lack of professionalism. If you're too busy to do justice to each and every order or customer, then don't take the business. No one, including myself, is forcing you to take the orders or the money. No matter how busy or how much is going on in your life, your customers should not be affected. We all have things going on in our personal lives but part of being a professional is to keep these things just that - Personal.

To say "If you are unhappy with my services please spend your money with other places" is worsened by you adding that it's a pain to ship internationally. If you're not happy to do it, DONT! I have emailed you on many occasions to proffer my thanks and praising your services, so for you to say that I am merely interested in pointing out your mistakes is laughable at best. Again, a nice way to talk to your customers.

I had mentioned that you need to brush up on your service. This was due to the lack of advice once an order had shipped, despite assurances when taking the order that you would do this. Also, on being advised that the wrong shocks were received, and instructions missing, you dismissed it as it it were my fault and something you would address at your leisure. The above was mentioned purely as constructive criticism - something which you obviously can't handle. Like you, I have said my piece on this matter. At least we can agree on one thing - Life is good.

 

[Prof]

Let's close this one...they have agreed to disagree.

 

[Carlwalski]

As the original poster of zed thread I am happy with that call and agree with Prof and have requested a Mod to lock or close his thread. My point of the thread was the poor QA1 shock fit which we have definitely covered and I am happy to hear that although the shock fit is somewhat poor, the shock setup it self has served others without problems. Thanks for everyones input in the matter.


Regards,
Carl

 

[WOLFRAM]

I have been emailing Justin to get this kit in. This topic has gone off, it's about the way the shocks fit and the poor set up, not the vendor, or that they go on, they go on, just quite shocked and HOW they go on. Just surprised no one else has said anything because these shocks are far from a perfect fit yet out of all the posts no one has mentioned it before. I realise Justin doesn't make the shocks, only the sleeves I believe. I'm glad you had good service, I have had good service from Justin too, just the last 2 or 3 orders I was treated unfairly and felt his service was very unprofessional.

E-mail sent.