Whos got QA1s ? Pix, thoughts?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 304
Likes: 0
From: Littleton MA
Originally Posted by Gold1986Vette420
Is there something wrong with the stock bilstiens? I just replaced them on my 86 Z51 and the new set were like night and day.
Aren't they tuned to the stock setup?
Aren't they tuned to the stock setup?
. ( not the real reason, just happens to be a side effect) 
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 1,238
Likes: 0
From: walled lake MI
Originally Posted by JrRifleCoach
I undestand that the QA-1 support shops can revalve those shocks to your liking. C45 had a set on his 84 and visited the shop there in Sacramento.
if you call QA-1 they can give you the contact number for an authorized service center near you. they can revalve the shocks, in addition to regular R&R. i think QA-1 told me that they do not service their products themselves.when i destroyed my piston rod in installation (see below for details), i got mine repaired and had them back in about a week including shipping time. at $100 to repair two, i can't say it was cheap, but it was much cheaper than buying new ones, and the service was good and prompt.
note to self: don't tighten the nuts on the piston rod per the OEM spec. the threaded parts of the rod are different OD, and the thread pitch is much finer on the QA-1's. tighten the "lower" nut about three or four threads after contact to compress the bushings.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 30,858
Likes: 293
From: Boston, Dallas, Detroit, SoCal, back to Boston MA
Originally Posted by tempest
if you call QA-1 they can give you the contact number for an authorized service center near you. they can revalve the shocks, in addition to regular R&R. i think QA-1 told me that they do not service their products themselves.
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 109
Likes: 0
From: oregon
my friend had these shocks on and they werent bad on the road when you were in the car but from outside it looks like those little hondas with you bouncing all over, excellent for drag racing only flaw with them is they kept leaking and he had to keep taking it off and sending it in to get it fixed, i think he did it three times inside of a year, for that much money for shocks you would think they would at least be problem free for a while
Heel & Toe
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 15
Likes: 0
From: Davenport IA
Ive got qa1's with coil overs very similar setup to what mo has, I like them alot, and they're easy to adjust. not to mention I got a super sweet deal on them. If you do decide to go with qa1's go to www.arundelchassis.com and send a e-mail for what you are looking for and they should be able to get them considerably cheaper than summit or jegs. 
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 139
Likes: 5
From: Cleveland oh
double adjustables
I bought the double adjustable qa-1's for the front of my 94. Very happy with the quality and ease of adjustment. I went with them because of the best bang for the buck factor. They did a test on everyone's double adjustables before they came to market with theirs and they were pretty suprised at the outcome. Basically to say that companies that have great reputations in racing don't necessarily get it right every time.
There is a big span of dampening curves between the 14 different settings. Every click does make a noticable difference. QA1 is a BIG company now since they aquired Carrerra and they've got the technical know-how and manufacturing ability to make parts as good as anyones.
Don't follow that "they're for drag-race only" crap...Just because that's where they got started doesn't mean anything.
There is a big span of dampening curves between the 14 different settings. Every click does make a noticable difference. QA1 is a BIG company now since they aquired Carrerra and they've got the technical know-how and manufacturing ability to make parts as good as anyones.
Don't follow that "they're for drag-race only" crap...Just because that's where they got started doesn't mean anything.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 304
Likes: 0
From: Littleton MA
Originally Posted by Lateral Motion
Ive got qa1's with coil overs very similar setup to what mo has, I like them alot, and they're easy to adjust. not to mention I got a super sweet deal on them. If you do decide to go with qa1's go to www.arundelchassis.com and send a e-mail for what you are looking for and they should be able to get them considerably cheaper than summit or jegs.
Thanks for the link, unfortunatly I already bought them from Jegs.
I have them in my possession. What a really sweet set of shocks if they perform as good as they look, they will be winners.
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 1,238
Likes: 0
From: walled lake MI
make sure you get a couple of thick washers for the lower rear mounts. the QA1s have a narrow mount and the nut will not go far enough to tighten on the mount. use the washers to fill in the gaps. i think i bought three 1/8" thick washers for each side; two on one side of the shock and one on the other.