The complications of getting the right bushings in my Ace's so they turn good, along with the shitty squeaky pivot cups and dead sound, I went out and bought some Indy standard 149's. I kept thinking I was going to hate going back to them and hardly be able to turn, but I was wrong.
After I set it all up I put in Bones mediums, with the stock top washer as my bottom washer, and then used the Bones top washer they include. Trucks didn't turn AT ALL and I was like fuck...I hope I didn't just waste my money. So I took out the bottom washer while still using the Bones top and it was fine. Yeah, the turn is slightly more sluggish and not as sharp as Ace, but it wasn't enough to make me want to put my Ace's back on.
I always thought Ace's grinded better and smoother, but today I realized Indy's grind way smoother and longer. I wasn't slipping back and forth on the truck, I was locking right into grinds perfectly near the wheel. Ace's design is supposed to make that happen with their whole "rocker" but I realized it didn't really make it THAT much easier to notice a difference.
Also, aesthetically, I looked at a bunch of different sets of Ace's at the shop and the quality control seems to not be very good. Lots of gouges in the metal on the hanger, rough warped looking edges outside the yoke, and the pivot cups were sloppy as hell. Several sets looked like this, and it was probably the culprit for mine sounding dead, even running them stock. Indy's had a bunch of white-ish casting marks all over them but everything was solid and smooth. I know this shit probably doesn't matter to anyone but I pay attention to detail, even though I'm going to grind it down.
So yeah...I'm back on basic ass Indy's and I think I'm staying. Only thing I regret is I bought 99 duro Formula Fours instead of 101's and they're too grippy for my liking.