The Thunder Thread

[Too Frank To Fred]

What / where was the source for T2 pics?

DLX Summer Drop 2 catalog.

[Rick Trapasso]

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Was just going to post the pic for reference. Compare the right truck's axle (current Team Edition) to the left truck's axle (T-II). Offset by a couple of mm.

[close]

If you match the holes it really is a couple of mm only

This makes sense.

The difference will be twice that though since there are two trucks.

Probably around a 1/4 inch all together. Give or take a bit

[tom]

Neat, and curious to give them a real try longer than the few times I’ve tried them on someone else’s board myself, but I like the current iteration of Thunders. There have been a few slight tweaks to them, but they’ve stayed pretty consistent for the almost 20 years I’ve been skating Thunders. I’d honestly buy another 20 years supply now if they were to phase them out

[art hellman]

Neat, and curious to give them a real try

[Jort250]

Great timing. I’m really not feeling the Venture Lows I grabbed over Xmas so this’ll be something to look forwards too soon. I have faith in DLX and their testing to make something decent

[fakiefs180]

Pals I have a bit of truck madness right now.

I ride the Thunder 148 team hollows (cast hollow base and hollow hanger). I have those set up with an Indy cylinder 90 duro bottom bushing and Indy 92 conical top. So far I like it, but the turning can feel a bit limited sometimes and I wanna change the bottom bushing. Which of these Thunder bushings would give me a more stable ride but also a bit more turn as the Indy cylinder bushing?

90? 94? 95? And how long should I cruise around with the Thunder bushings until they firm up and I can maybe make the kingpin nut a bit tighter if needed? I think the general consensus on Thunder bushings is, that you don't tighten them too soon.

[Rick Trapasso]

Pals I have a bit of truck madness right now.

I ride the Thunder 148 team hollows (cast hollow base and hollow hanger). I have those set up with an Indy cylinder 90 duro bottom bushing and Indy 92 conical top. So far I like it, but the turning can feel a bit limited sometimes and I wanna change the bottom bushing. Which of these Thunder bushings would give me a more stable ride but also a bit more turn as the Indy cylinder bushing?

90? 94? 95? And how long should I cruise around with the Thunder bushings until they firm up and I can maybe make the kingpin nut a bit tighter if needed? I think the general consensus on Thunder bushings is, that you don't tighten them too soon.

I'd say you should just sand/cut the Indy bushings down to match the stock thunder bushing height and you would probably have what you need.

Maybe use a thin flat top washer if you still want more turn.

I can't attest to the thunder aftermarket bushings, never went down that hole. But I've tried every Indy bushings duro

[fakiefs180]

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Pals I have a bit of truck madness right now.

I ride the Thunder 148 team hollows (cast hollow base and hollow hanger). I have those set up with an Indy cylinder 90 duro bottom bushing and Indy 92 conical top. So far I like it, but the turning can feel a bit limited sometimes and I wanna change the bottom bushing. Which of these Thunder bushings would give me a more stable ride but also a bit more turn as the Indy cylinder bushing?

90? 94? 95? And how long should I cruise around with the Thunder bushings until they firm up and I can maybe make the kingpin nut a bit tighter if needed? I think the general consensus on Thunder bushings is, that you don't tighten them too soon.

[close]

I'd say you should just sand/cut the Indy bushings down to match the stock thunder bushing height and you would probably have what you need.

Maybe use a thin flat top washer if you still want more turn.

I can't attest to the thunder aftermarket bushings, never went down that hole. But I've tried every Indy bushings duro

Thanks for the answer mate. But I already cut the Indy bushings to the Thunder specs. I've now tested all three bushing options that I have laying around. Right now, Indy 92 top bushing cut down and Thunder 94 conical bottom bushing. I think someone mentioned that those Thunder bushings firm up after a while?

May I ask what bushings are you running in your Thunders?

[vicious cycle]

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Pals I have a bit of truck madness right now.

I ride the Thunder 148 team hollows (cast hollow base and hollow hanger). I have those set up with an Indy cylinder 90 duro bottom bushing and Indy 92 conical top. So far I like it, but the turning can feel a bit limited sometimes and I wanna change the bottom bushing. Which of these Thunder bushings would give me a more stable ride but also a bit more turn as the Indy cylinder bushing?

90? 94? 95? And how long should I cruise around with the Thunder bushings until they firm up and I can maybe make the kingpin nut a bit tighter if needed? I think the general consensus on Thunder bushings is, that you don't tighten them too soon.

[close]

I'd say you should just sand/cut the Indy bushings down to match the stock thunder bushing height and you would probably have what you need.

Maybe use a thin flat top washer if you still want more turn.

I can't attest to the thunder aftermarket bushings, never went down that hole. But I've tried every Indy bushings duro

[close]

Thanks for the answer mate. But I already cut the Indy bushings to the Thunder specs. I've now tested all three bushing options that I have laying around. Right now, Indy 92 top bushing cut down and Thunder 94 conical bottom bushing. I think someone mentioned that those Thunder bushings firm up after a while?

May I ask what bushings are you running in your Thunders?

I just put the Indy conicals into my Thunder inverted. They are pretty much the same dimensions. I took the 90D. Feels solid and they don't freeze in the cold.

Messured with caliper.:
Indy conical bottom - 14,6mm, Top 10,3mm
Thunder bottom - 14mm, Top 9,5mm

[fakiefs180]

I came upon those Ace low hard bushings and will try these when they arrive, I will report my expressions then.

I think someone mentioned those Ace bushings being nice and are not as sensitive to temperatures. Maybe it was Tom Asta or someone here.

[Osage]

May I ask what bushings are you running in your Thunders?

 It's winter here and below freezing regularly. Thunder bushings are useless this time of year. I ride Bones Hard in my Thunders. Washer on the bottom but none on the top. I'm a big guy and they give me the stability I need, they turn fine and they don't freeze. Also, they don't really need to break in although I do ride them a little loose for the first day or two before I tighten them down to where I keep them.

[fulfillthedream]

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May I ask what bushings are you running in your Thunders?

[close]

 It's winter here and below freezing regularly. Thunder bushings are useless this time of year. I ride Bones Hard in my Thunders. Washer on the bottom but none on the top. I'm a big guy and they give me the stability I need, they turn fine and they don't freeze. Also, they don't really need to break in although I do ride them a little loose for the first day or two before I tighten them down to where I keep them.

140 pound/5'7 dude - i ride the 96duro thunder bushings.  i have the IKP ones that came with the purple bushings that were TOO squishy.

[Mbrimson88]

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May I ask what bushings are you running in your Thunders?

[close]

 It's winter here and below freezing regularly. Thunder bushings are useless this time of year. I ride Bones Hard in my Thunders. Washer on the bottom but none on the top. I'm a big guy and they give me the stability I need, they turn fine and they don't freeze. Also, they don't really need to break in although I do ride them a little loose for the first day or two before I tighten them down to where I keep them.

[close]

140 pound/5'7 dude - i ride the 96duro thunder bushings.  i have the IKP ones that came with the purple bushings that were TOO squishy.

Thankfully I am a long, long way from anywhere freezing here in Australia, but as per what everyone said about those clear purple bushings being so very soft, they were so soft and squishy for me too, but then giving them time, they do firm up a lot, really very much like any other 90 duro bushing after a while and I have them in both setups I have the inverted baseplates on right now, with them working well.

They did feel so stupidly loose at first, so I get why people did change them out fast, but maybe for colder weather (not freezing) they might be a good set of bushings to swap in, once they are worn in well enough, for the in between months in some places.

[Rick Trapasso]

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Pals I have a bit of truck madness right now.

I ride the Thunder 148 team hollows (cast hollow base and hollow hanger). I have those set up with an Indy cylinder 90 duro bottom bushing and Indy 92 conical top. So far I like it, but the turning can feel a bit limited sometimes and I wanna change the bottom bushing. Which of these Thunder bushings would give me a more stable ride but also a bit more turn as the Indy cylinder bushing?

90? 94? 95? And how long should I cruise around with the Thunder bushings until they firm up and I can maybe make the kingpin nut a bit tighter if needed? I think the general consensus on Thunder bushings is, that you don't tighten them too soon.

[close]

I'd say you should just sand/cut the Indy bushings down to match the stock thunder bushing height and you would probably have what you need.

Maybe use a thin flat top washer if you still want more turn.

I can't attest to the thunder aftermarket bushings, never went down that hole. But I've tried every Indy bushings duro

[close]

Thanks for the answer mate. But I already cut the Indy bushings to the Thunder specs. I've now tested all three bushing options that I have laying around. Right now, Indy 92 top bushing cut down and Thunder 94 conical bottom bushing. I think someone mentioned that those Thunder bushings firm up after a while?

May I ask what bushings are you running in your Thunders?

Stock bushings, Ran them as loose as possible until they firmed up.

Took about 3-4 hours of skating in moderate temperatures to be completely broken in.

With a notable different after an hour or two.

[fulfillthedream]

Gonna order these when the T2 drops;

[Too Frank To Fred]

Gonna order these when the T2 drops;

Good luck finding those. And are you sure they will be the same size? (I have some 88 Supercush stashed away somewhere)

[Xen]

Pals I have a bit of truck madness right now.

I ride the Thunder 148 team hollows (cast hollow base and hollow hanger). I have those set up with an Indy cylinder 90 duro bottom bushing and Indy 92 conical top. So far I like it, but the turning can feel a bit limited sometimes and I wanna change the bottom bushing. Which of these Thunder bushings would give me a more stable ride but also a bit more turn as the Indy cylinder bushing?

90? 94? 95? And how long should I cruise around with the Thunder bushings until they firm up and I can maybe make the kingpin nut a bit tighter if needed? I think the general consensus on Thunder bushings is, that you don't tighten them too soon.

Recently back on Thunders to fux with some WB shenagigans and slapped in some Bones hards with the bones washer on the bottom (just a hair shy of stock with stock washer before compression); feels great.

The thunder 94s didn't provide anything over stock imo. I've not tried the 95s (the navy ones) but the 97s are def nice once broken in and the black 100s are hard af. What sort of right are you trying to achieve? Tight? Medium loose but staable? How much do you weigh?

[back smith]

Been going back and forth with Tracker Axis and Thunders and not convinced the Axis turns any better anymore. It's basically the same. Height and wheelbase make more of a difference than the pivot angle I guess. And with the 55-56mm wheels that I ride, not going to be sliding on the baseplate much with any trucks.

Overall both trucks are great. In my opinion they are the best turning ones, and I have tried many. Thunder has a better team, wider availability and product range, better prices even. Trackers don't squeak.

[fulfillthedream]

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Gonna order these when the T2 drops;

[close]

Good luck finding those. And are you sure they will be the same size? (I have some 88 Supercush stashed away somewhere)

oh dang! i wonder if they'll make a T2 aftermarket bushing. I love the 96a blue ones

[BeachChicken]

T2 lower looks to be a proprietary shape and height, which isn't wonderful. Hopefully their bushings have improved in quality as well as even the new DLX 94 aftermarkets blow out on me and friends. A tester told me their T2 bushings were absurdly soft and they had to have 2-3 threads showing and their Indys are normally looser than mine are, which are blues with nut flush.

[Xen]

T2 lower looks to be a proprietary shape and height, which isn't wonderful. Hopefully their bushings have improved in quality as well as even the new DLX 94 aftermarkets blow out on me and friends. A tester told me their T2 bushings were absurdly soft and they had to have 2-3 threads showing and their Indys are normally looser than mine are, which are blues with nut flush.

As if the stocks weren't bad enough, we're now going to get the new 'soft' duro thane [ikp] with yet another unique height?
Hopefully they listen to early riders/current ikp owners and provide some aftter market duros at launch...but I doubt we will, probably have to wait post initial launch for those and anything hollow or IKP.

[ambiguousclarity]

Pals I have a bit of truck madness right now.

I ride the Thunder 148 team hollows (cast hollow base and hollow hanger). I have those set up with an Indy cylinder 90 duro bottom bushing and Indy 92 conical top. So far I like it, but the turning can feel a bit limited sometimes and I wanna change the bottom bushing. Which of these Thunder bushings would give me a more stable ride but also a bit more turn as the Indy cylinder bushing?

90? 94? 95? And how long should I cruise around with the Thunder bushings until they firm up and I can maybe make the kingpin nut a bit tighter if needed? I think the general consensus on Thunder bushings is, that you don't tighten them too soon.

When I was using thunder trucks, I carried multiple duros of after-market bushings and mixed and matched duros. Softer bottom and harder top. The combo depended on the temperature outside. I tried other bushings, but found this worked well enough for me. It's worth mentioning that I only changed the combo if things were feeling out after warming up. I didn't change the combo often enough for it to be a hassle.

[BeachChicken]

Expand Quote

T2 lower looks to be a proprietary shape and height, which isn't wonderful. Hopefully their bushings have improved in quality as well as even the new DLX 94 aftermarkets blow out on me and friends. A tester told me their T2 bushings were absurdly soft and they had to have 2-3 threads showing and their Indys are normally looser than mine are, which are blues with nut flush.

[close]

As if the stocks weren't bad enough, we're now going to get the new 'soft' duro thane [ikp] with yet another unique height?
Hopefully they listen to early riders/current ikp owners and provide some aftter market duros at launch...but I doubt we will, probably have to wait post initial launch for those and anything hollow or IKP.

Yah this same tester has IKP Thunder on his normal setup and he had to tighten the purples so much he put the KP into the deck. I think he now just uses Bones Standards. Shop employee who knows surprisingly little about gear, but works for an industry distro as well and got a pair of T2 during a trade show. He said the bushings were not quite as soft as the new ones but still insanely soft. Before Thunder he skated stock Indys with a thread showing but he skates really big shit. He is a bit fried but said there is only one model truck at launch and the catalog has no aftermarket bushings in it. So fried he prefers the way the normal Thunder kingpin drags on smiths and feebles and he's doing them down legit rails.

[Rick Trapasso]

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T2 lower looks to be a proprietary shape and height, which isn't wonderful. Hopefully their bushings have improved in quality as well as even the new DLX 94 aftermarkets blow out on me and friends. A tester told me their T2 bushings were absurdly soft and they had to have 2-3 threads showing and their Indys are normally looser than mine are, which are blues with nut flush.

[close]

As if the stocks weren't bad enough, we're now going to get the new 'soft' duro thane [ikp] with yet another unique height?
Hopefully they listen to early riders/current ikp owners and provide some aftter market duros at launch...but I doubt we will, probably have to wait post initial launch for those and anything hollow or IKP.

[close]

Yah this same tester has IKP Thunder on his normal setup and he had to tighten the purples so much he put the KP into the deck. I think he now just uses Bones Standards. Shop employee who knows surprisingly little about gear, but works for an industry distro as well and got a pair of T2 during a trade show. He said the bushings were not quite as soft as the new ones but still insanely soft. Before Thunder he skated stock Indys with a thread showing but he skates really big shit. He is a bit fried but said there is only one model truck at launch and the catalog has no aftermarket bushings in it. So fried he prefers the way the normal Thunder kingpin drags on smiths and feebles and he's doing them down legit rails.

That's awesome man haha.

[flamincheney]

Just had a hollow IKP break on me today. Is there anywhere to get a replacement- do the Slappy ones fit?

Lots of life in the trucks. Shoulda gotten regular KP though. Shit rattles loose and now my first busted KP in like a decade.

[Mbrimson88]

Just had a hollow IKP break on me today. Is there anywhere to get a replacement- do the Slappy ones fit?

Lots of life in the trucks. Shoulda gotten regular KP though. Shit rattles loose and now my first busted KP in like a decade.

I have had this happen and DLX / local shop / distributor will replace or refund for you, so contact or go back to where you got them, or refer to the DLX warranty page online.


https://www.dlxsf.com/warranty/


* To add, some other inverted kingpins do fit, but not the Indy / Krux variety when I checked, as they have a very short threaded part, which doesn't fit down into the Thunder baseplate in the same way they fit into the Indy baseplate.  You will need a longer thread inverted kingpin similar to the Thunder / Grindking or other ones.  I saw the post about Slappy having inverted kingpins, but am yet to check to see how long they are in the thread area, although they do say they will fit any inverted truck on the market.

[Mbrimson88]

.

The differences in inverted kingpins from a recent post:

[flamincheney]

Many thanks! 

I reached out to DLX on their warranty page. Sucks cause I mostly dig these trucks coming from Indy.

Swapped to a set up with the Koston V8 ventures much prefer the Thunders.

[Xen]

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Just had a hollow IKP break on me today. Is there anywhere to get a replacement- do the Slappy ones fit?

Lots of life in the trucks. Shoulda gotten regular KP though. Shit rattles loose and now my first busted KP in like a decade.

[close]

I have had this happen and DLX / local shop / distributor will replace or refund for you, so contact or go back to where you got them, or refer to the DLX warranty page online.


https://www.dlxsf.com/warranty/


* To add, some other inverted kingpins do fit, but not the Indy / Krux variety when I checked, as they have a very short threaded part, which doesn't fit down into the Thunder baseplate in the same way they fit into the Indy baseplate.  You will need a longer thread inverted kingpin similar to the Thunder / Grindking or other ones.  I saw the post about Slappy having inverted kingpins, but am yet to check to see how long they are in the thread area, although they do say they will fit any inverted truck on the market.

Slappy IKP are both 'short' threaded (older/launch version) and 'longer' threaded (newer version, not the new new that hasn't launched but that might be shorter  due  to how low it is), like the indy krux. Royals have the most threads of any IKP and are not  compatible / vice  versa.

[Mbrimson88]

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Just had a hollow IKP break on me today. Is there anywhere to get a replacement- do the Slappy ones fit?

Lots of life in the trucks. Shoulda gotten regular KP though. Shit rattles loose and now my first busted KP in like a decade.

[close]

I have had this happen and DLX / local shop / distributor will replace or refund for you, so contact or go back to where you got them, or refer to the DLX warranty page online.


https://www.dlxsf.com/warranty/


* To add, some other inverted kingpins do fit, but not the Indy / Krux variety when I checked, as they have a very short threaded part, which doesn't fit down into the Thunder baseplate in the same way they fit into the Indy baseplate.  You will need a longer thread inverted kingpin similar to the Thunder / Grindking or other ones.  I saw the post about Slappy having inverted kingpins, but am yet to check to see how long they are in the thread area, although they do say they will fit any inverted truck on the market.

[close]

Slappy IKP are both 'short' threaded (older/launch version) and 'longer' threaded (newer version, not the new new that hasn't launched but that might be shorter  due  to how low it is), like the indy krux. Royals have the most threads of any IKP and are not  compatible / vice  versa.

Thanks!

I don't know where half the inverted kingpins I have came from over the years - some like the Grind king have that round the top, so that is pretty easy to see, or others like the full Krux dome head I took off a set of Krux trucks, but there are a lot of random ones I had no idea where they came from, some in sets but most as singles.

It will be interesting to see if Thunder do release a kingpin on its own, or how the new Slappy kingpins come out, but at least I have it covered here for now anyway.

Sucks for other people who break kingpins and really have no spare options to use with them, although at least the hangers can be subbed back onto a normal baseplate, which I did for one person in the mean time.