The Thunder Thread

[Space Cowboy]

Also the boltholes seem to stretch out on forged base plates over time for me, I think this is because the forged base plate is stronger and thinner so it stretches, the cast would probably just crack but i haven't had any issues with cast base plates yet, Ive always preferred cast.

The team hollows just seem to be the ideal thunder truck for my preferences.

[bbk]

Ya Team Hollows are 100% always cast and always 1mm taller than standard cast. Forged plates are always 1mm lower than standard cast plates, so 2mm lower than Team plates.

No.

[LebowskisRug]

Barring 147 and below, how is that wrong? It seems accurate per the truck thread on here and most sources that measure.

[Mbrimson88]

Team plates are standard baseplates aren't they?

There are only two types all up, the standard (which for Thunder is called "Team") and then Forged plates.

[yourbreakfsat]

Team plates are standard baseplates aren't they?

There are only two types all up, the standard (which for Thunder is called "Team") and then Forged plates.

This is my understanding as well. I think the confusion comes from this:



Thunder is comparing this height difference to the Lights, not standards. To be fair, they don't make this clear at all and it's natural to assume they're comparing it to the standard trucks.

Standards:



Team Hollows:



Lights:



All images directly from Thunder's website.

https://www.thundertrucks.com/truck-styles/

[Mbrimson88]

Yes totally.

There are a few different options with kingpins though.

Team with normal kingpin (50mm on 147s / 52 on wider)
Team with hollow kingpin  (50mm on 147s / 52 on wider)
Forged with hollow kingpin (49mm on 147s / 51 on wider)

There is no Forged with normal kingpin option.

Wider being 148, 149 and 151.
The 161 are another 1mm taller again.


Not related to height, but then there are regular, hollow and then titanium axle hangers too, so a few more options thrown in the mix, but most of the hollow and ti axles are more on the forged hollow plates, which then also causes some confusion.

I know I have taken apart trucks before to mix and match for what people want though, eg put ti hangers on team plates, when they wanted light but not lower trucks.

[europa1991]

Damn, 52mm? Was curious about switching from Ace to Thunder team editions but Idk seems kinda redundant now… I guess there’s always Indy’s :-/

[LebowskisRug]

Ya so I was partially right, Teams are 52 and forged are 2mm shorter. Weirdly I got my plates at DLX and was told they were higher than normal hollow kingpin plates so that’s what I was going off. The images on their website are wrong, it’s been covered in this very thread several times.

[realbasedgod112]

what's the deal with bones bushings on thunders? i've put a set in before for them to blow out after a month or two, but that's how thunders just tend to be.
any advice on increasing the longevity of them?
(i would get thunder bushings but no shops seem to stock them)

[nitro89]

stick to stock as much as you can, bones bushings always blow out quick whether you run tight, med or loose trucks. deserve to have there own overrated thread, that's just my opinion though. Others will swear by them.

[PuffinMuffin]

what's the deal with bones bushings on thunders? i've put a set in before for them to blow out after a month or two, but that's how thunders just tend to be.
any advice on increasing the longevity of them?
(i would get thunder bushings but no shops seem to stock them)

There's a bunch of Thunder bushings in stock on paradeworld:
https://www.paradeworld.com/brands/thunder-trucks/c/skateboards/bushings/

Thunder bushings always crack and blow out for me (probably due to the low temperates here). Krux bottom bushings are the exact same height as the Thunders and have lasted me a long time. They're also cheaper and don't harden up in the cold.

[bbk]

Ya so I was partially right, Teams are 52 and forged are 2mm shorter.

Jesus, NO.

145 and 147 are 50 on cast/team, this is the same, and 49 on forged. 148, 149 and 151 are 52 and 51, and 161 are 53 and 52.

What is it you're not getting?

[Mbrimson88]

Just in case there was any further confusion, the baseplates were either cast (all the same height) or forged (all the same height), regardless of the width of the truck, as listed above - cast plate or hollow forged plate (also regardless of kingpin or what was printed on the baseplates).

It is the hanger itself that is taller, as per putting them all side by side to measure on the wider trucks in the shop.


It is late here and don't have the info in front of me (or the trucks to actually measure) but the baseplates were between 3 to 4 mm thick on the cast and 2 to 3 mm thick on the forged, if I recall correctly. *

* Just looking at simple calipers here in front of the computer without any trucks to measure right now.

[ggbbbbbbbs]

OKAY so first time slap poster here but this is driving me insane. Ive ridden thunder 149s for the past 3 trucks always black kingpin black washers blue bushings, and then today i received my newest pair. They have black washers blue bushings like always but then the kingpin is now silver which has never happened and also on the back lf the truck u can see the kingpin is like pushed in more so maybe this truck will feel different? Idk just wondering if anyone has the same trucks as i do right now or if i just got a weird/fake pair.

[yourbreakfsat]

OKAY so first time slap poster here but this is driving me insane. Ive ridden thunder 149s for the past 3 trucks always black kingpin black washers blue bushings, and then today i received my newest pair. They have black washers blue bushings like always but then the kingpin is now silver which has never happened and also on the back lf the truck u can see the kingpin is like pushed in more so maybe this truck will feel different? Idk just wondering if anyone has the same trucks as i do right now or if i just got a weird/fake pair.

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Looks like Thunder is setting the kingpin deeper into the baseplate now. Should allow to get them a little bit looser.

[close]

I saw a newer set of Ventures that are like that too. I think it's just a shorter kingpin because the hanger clearance up top looks about the same as the old ones. Maybe that recessed bit on the baseplate is designed to fit a sleeve (like on the Mindys) if they ever release that inverted kingpin version.

[close]

I dm’d and got this response pretty quickly. DLX is awesome.

[LebowskisRug]

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Ya so I was partially right, Teams are 52 and forged are 2mm shorter.

[close]

Jesus, NO.

145 and 147 are 50 on cast/team, this is the same, and 49 on forged. 148, 149 and 151 are 52 and 51, and 161 are 53 and 52.

What is it you're not getting?

The poster was comparing forged to Teams, which are 2mm difference. I just measured my forged 148 at 50mm on the dot and my Team Hollows at 52. I was incorrect about normal plates not being 51. I don’t normally think about 147 since I’d never ride them.

[Dan Gerous]

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Ya so I was partially right, Teams are 52 and forged are 2mm shorter.

[close]

Jesus, NO.

145 and 147 are 50 on cast/team, this is the same, and 49 on forged. 148, 149 and 151 are 52 and 51, and 161 are 53 and 52.

What is it you're not getting?

[close]

The poster was comparing forged to Teams, which are 2mm difference. I just measured my forged 148 at 50mm on the dot and my Team Hollows at 52. I was incorrect about normal plates not being 51. I don’t normally think about 147 since I’d never ride them.

No, the Team baseplates and the regular baseplates are both cast and have the exact same height and geometry. They are actually made from the same mold, they just alternate fittings for the lightning bolt or three lines or team markings.

So a basic Thunder 148 is 52mm high and so are the Team Hollows and every 148 Thunders with the forged baseplates are 51mm high. The 147 and under have a hanger that's 2mm lower so they are 50mm and 49mm high.

If you get 2mm difference for the same width Thunders, you either have measured only at one end of the axle and the hanger wasn't straight or the forged 148 that measures 50mm has non-stock bushing or is tight to the point the bottom bushing is compressed and changes the truck geometry.

[Xen]

There are only two baseplates: Forged or Cast.

Team is a configuration consisting of cast plates with solid, hollow or TI axles with either standard or hollow pins.

[Space Cowboy]

stick to stock as much as you can, bones bushings always blow out quick whether you run tight, med or loose trucks. deserve to have there own overrated thread, that's just my opinion though. Others will swear by them.

one of my coworkers at my local shop ran the indy hard bushings in his thunders, he rides super tight trucks, and he seemed to love em.

we commonly sell the bones bushings but we constantly hear about them blowing out, however Ive never heard complaints about the wide range of Indy bushings we have sold, people seem to prefer them once they try them.

personally i found that the stock bushings in any of the truck brands i have rode (thunder, indy, ace) at a medium tightness have worked like a dream.

[LebowskisRug]

When I measure trucks I measure both axles to the center and average them. It's measured on a perfectly level workbench with digital calipers. Both sets of trucks are run with stock bushings and washers and stock tightness. I skated both for about the same amount of time. I guess something is strange about the trucks I buy because my last pair of forged Ti were also 50 and the Team 149's I pulled out of the closet are 52mm. What I was 100% wrong about is there is no generic in between version as I had previously thought.

[Murge]

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stick to stock as much as you can, bones bushings always blow out quick whether you run tight, med or loose trucks. deserve to have there own overrated thread, that's just my opinion though. Others will swear by them.

[close]

one of my coworkers at my local shop ran the indy hard bushings in his thunders, he rides super tight trucks, and he seemed to love em.

we commonly sell the bones bushings but we constantly hear about them blowing out, however Ive never heard complaints about the wide range of Indy bushings we have sold, people seem to prefer them once they try them.

personally i found that the stock bushings in any of the truck brands i have rode (thunder, indy, ace) at a medium tightness have worked like a dream.

I have the 92a conical Indy bushings in my thunders and I’m enjoying it. I prefer stock but they was busted and I had the 92a new just never used cause I don’t care for conical but it’s nice. Flat bottom washer from bones

[Space Cowboy]

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stick to stock as much as you can, bones bushings always blow out quick whether you run tight, med or loose trucks. deserve to have there own overrated thread, that's just my opinion though. Others will swear by them.

[close]

one of my coworkers at my local shop ran the indy hard bushings in his thunders, he rides super tight trucks, and he seemed to love em.

we commonly sell the bones bushings but we constantly hear about them blowing out, however Ive never heard complaints about the wide range of Indy bushings we have sold, people seem to prefer them once they try them.

personally i found that the stock bushings in any of the truck brands i have rode (thunder, indy, ace) at a medium tightness have worked like a dream.

[close]

I have the 92a conical Indy bushings in my thunders and I’m enjoying it. I prefer stock but they was busted and I had the 92a new just never used cause I don’t care for conical but it’s nice. Flat bottom washer from bones

yeah the only complaint Ive heard was the shape of the Indy bushings fitting weird in some trucks, and the Indy bushings are a bit bigger than the thunder ones which I'd imagine could be weird depending on the tightness of the trucks

[realbasedgod112]

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what's the deal with bones bushings on thunders? i've put a set in before for them to blow out after a month or two, but that's how thunders just tend to be.
any advice on increasing the longevity of them?
(i would get thunder bushings but no shops seem to stock them)

[close]

There's a bunch of Thunder bushings in stock on paradeworld:
https://www.paradeworld.com/brands/thunder-trucks/c/skateboards/bushings/

Thunder bushings always crack and blow out for me (probably due to the low temperates here). Krux bottom bushings are the exact same height as the Thunders and have lasted me a long time. They're also cheaper and don't harden up in the cold.

how would you say they turn compared to stock bushings? i prefer to ride looser trucks, so the quick responsive/twitchy turn matters more to me than having more stability.

[PuffinMuffin]

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what's the deal with bones bushings on thunders? i've put a set in before for them to blow out after a month or two, but that's how thunders just tend to be.
any advice on increasing the longevity of them?
(i would get thunder bushings but no shops seem to stock them)

[close]

There's a bunch of Thunder bushings in stock on paradeworld:
https://www.paradeworld.com/brands/thunder-trucks/c/skateboards/bushings/

Thunder bushings always crack and blow out for me (probably due to the low temperates here). Krux bottom bushings are the exact same height as the Thunders and have lasted me a long time. They're also cheaper and don't harden up in the cold.

[close]

how would you say they turn compared to stock bushings? i prefer to ride looser trucks, so the quick responsive/twitchy turn matters more to me than having more stability.

They're more stable feeling than the Thunder bushing. The Krux are barrel-shaped and 2 durometers harder on the A scale. Probably not what you're looking for, sorry. 

[Mbrimson88]

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OKAY so first time slap poster here but this is driving me insane. Ive ridden thunder 149s for the past 3 trucks always black kingpin black washers blue bushings, and then today i received my newest pair. They have black washers blue bushings like always but then the kingpin is now silver which has never happened and also on the back lf the truck u can see the kingpin is like pushed in more so maybe this truck will feel different? Idk just wondering if anyone has the same trucks as i do right now or if i just got a weird/fake pair.

[close]

Expand Quote

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Looks like Thunder is setting the kingpin deeper into the baseplate now. Should allow to get them a little bit looser.

[close]

I saw a newer set of Ventures that are like that too. I think it's just a shorter kingpin because the hanger clearance up top looks about the same as the old ones. Maybe that recessed bit on the baseplate is designed to fit a sleeve (like on the Mindys) if they ever release that inverted kingpin version.

[close]

I dm’d and got this response pretty quickly. DLX is awesome.

[close]

As said in the quote, they are genuine products, just issues with supply of the normal black kingpins, so the silver ones are being used for the time being.

Are they both silver kingpins in the trucks, so a matching pair?

One set that came through ended up having one silver and one black kingpin, so one newer and one older truck, which was a real pain as the usual skateboarder OCD just could not deal with that (and because of that the guy didn't want them, so sent them back) but they still work exactly the same way.

For another guy I know, he swapped out his older baseplates as he just didn't want to deal with silver kingpins either, so luckily the old baseplates were fine and was an easy fix.


* Not to stir up OCD truck madness, but looking at that silver kingpin with black nuts and washers, it does look funny, but when I swapped those parts out, to silver nuts and washers, they had a much more normal look.

[Dan Gerous]

You could easily have fixed it with these Thrasher branded Sharpies...

[europa1991]

I guess you can say the KCDC sale is convincing me to pick up a set of standard team editions… so is it nuts to run 144s on a 8.25 with 54mm conical fulls. Will I be in the place they call wheelbite city? Is there a way around this without risers? Size up to a 149 axel  the madness is getting to me folks

[LebowskisRug]

148s are 8.25 wide…

[Xen]

148s are 8.25 wide…

That's not what he's asking, at all. Jesus dude.

[europa1991]

Yeah I’m aware what size they are lol… but I just asked because I’ve been told that riding an 8.5 size truck on an 8.25 deck causes less wheelbite. Could be just their personal preference but I’m curious considering Thunders are a fairly low to mid level truck.