This person took one for the team and bought these $99 baseplates. I found it interesting enough to buy it even though other trucks utilize two springs like Trampa and Seismic
Baseplate
First off is the fit in the first two photos below. Using my Caliber II trucks, you can see it does not seat correctly. The second photo shows all the trapped air in the bushing for the pivoting nose.
Nothing expresses an infuriation at the fact there are grooves inside this bushing. These are not necessary and gave me so many problems trying to get my calibers to fit on the first go. Because trapped air cannot escape, the hanger never seats correctly to have the kingpin bolt about the center of the hole of the hanger. I compared this to the Calibers, and the bushing seat is loose, but at least the air can escape.
Springs
You get a shiny spring and a flat gray spring already installed on the base plate. The plus is the ends of that dull spring is grounded to seat the spring flat while the shiny one does not. The finish of the dull gray one is raw meaning it is the finish after it was formed.
Kingpin Bolt
Two photos are showing the difference in threaded sections between the two baseplates. It has a black oxide finish.
Parts Making The Compressible Bushing
My commentary My whole take on this is very middle of the road. While it is an excellent product, I got issues with the kingpin bolt and the bushing cup for the pivoting nose. I paid for Chinese quality, and it is okay. This whole baseplate was made using a CNC machine. The holes for attaching the baseplate to the deck are threaded taking care of the issue of locking nuts. The swing arm of this baseplate is held firmly in place with a compressible bushing by tightening the screws on the end.
Looking at the pivot cup bushing, I say it Is somewhat executed okay. The bushing seats correctly in the cup of the baseplate while tolerances are fine, but the trapped air is unable to escape when installing the hanger onto the baseplate. I had to cut a groove into the bushing with a knife to allow air to escape and push a nail through the end to make a hole for air to escape in the cup. The bushing should be looser to deal with the trapped air. I had to cut my bushing to figure out why. I like how it sits close to the pivoting nose for a no gap fit when I compared it to my old caliber bushings. I’m not worried about damaging my bushing as I can always make new ones.
The springs are fine. I like to believe the quality is high, but hard to tell if that dull gray spring uses a grade specific to springs. I will have to give a benefit of a doubt. My worry is I will have to figure out how to protect it from rusting, and the rubber seat for the spring will need replacement after some time of use. I will have to file the edge of that spring to smooth it out.
The kingpin bolt is a different level where the QA/QC has gone out the door. I had to show two photos of the threaded section. It is mildly infuriating because there is no attention to detail here at using consistent threaded sections. The relief section for these bolts is different. The head of the bolt does not have standard markings denoting gade. It only has a JS mark I believe it is either low or medium carbon steel. I do not have a way to test hardness. I am going to change these bolts to the usual Grade 8 with the zinc chromate finish.
Rating I am rating this on a scale of 0 to 4. Not some five-star system. Each star is 25%. If it is one star, that rating is between 0% and 25%. The second star is 25% to 50% and so forth with the 3rd and 4th star. If a score is precisely 50%, it is a borderline issue. I have to take into account how it affects the specific part. I try to be unbiased in this review from a logical perspective without emotions ruing the final score. I judge the product on its merits, quality, and attention to detail in a closed view on the bases of what I expect to be a baseline regarding the material condition of each manufactured part.
The concept, design, and quality of components are the highlights of this product, but there are few issues regarding the spring and the bushing for the pivoting nose. QA/QC is a fail because of no consistency in the kingpin bolt. Buying this product is purely 50/50. Buy it if it is worth your value to fix these minor issues. I’m not giving this Buy rating off the bat. The overall score mathematically comes out to 62.5%. I dinged it to 50% for that QA/QC. The total score is biased because it is hard to judge the quality of material from different parts of the globe without a specs sheet. I have more worries about the kingpin bolt snapping if it hasn’t been sufficiently hardened and tempered.
Concept and Design: 4/4 Quality of Chosen Components: 3/4 QA/QC: 1/4 Worth a buy: 2/4
Overall: 2/4
Part 2 comes when I can ride it.