Earlier this year, in collaboration with Troy Ladd of Hollywood Hot Rods, QA1 released a new series of performance shock absorber. This new series of shocks was designed to meet the needs of the street rod enthusiasts with a traditional, or vintage appearing product, while still maintaining the advantages of the modern high performance adjustable shock absorbers. This new design was intended to fill a void in this area of the marketplace. Hot rodders everywhere have long been searching for an adjustable shock that maintains a period correct appearance. These new QA1 Hollywood Hot Rod Series shocks do just that.

Now that this new series of shocks have been available to the buying public, we asked Dave Kass of QA1 just what type of response QA1 has seen from the consumers concerning this new series of shocks. This is what he had to say, “As with any new item in your product line, there is always a bit of speculation as to the projected sales and just how much inventory will be needed to meet the demand. Of course QA1 did extensive research and marketplace studies to better estimate what we could expect when the product was launched, but all of the numbers and analytics, in this particular case, proved to be incorrect. The Hollywood Hot Rod series was introduced at the 2014 SEMA show in mid November, within the first two weeks we had completely sold out of product, including the reserve inventory designed to meet any extra demand.”

After the initial launch, and greater than expected demand, QA1 has consistently been forced to increase inventory production every month to meet the demand. “Product awareness is one of the biggest hurdles any major manufacture faces when introducing a new product,” Kass reflected. “It normally takes anywhere from 10 months to a year before the consumer is knowledgeable about your product, but this new series has really taken off in a hurry, we are constantly manufacturing additional product to meet the demand.

The introduction of the Hollywood Hot Series shocks have been one of the most successful campaigns QA1 has experienced. After a short seven months on the market, the feedback from the end users have all been very positive, remarks like, “these shocks really made a difference,” and “one of the best changes I’ve ever made to my street rod,” speaks volumes to the quality, and performance of this new series of QA1 shocks.

With the overwhelming success of the new QA1 Hollywood Hot Rod Series performance shocks, we would be remiss if we neglected to look back at how this collaboration came about. During the SEMA show in November of 2014, Rod Authority sat down with both Troy Ladd, of Hollywood Hot Rods, and Dave Kass, with QA1 to ask them about this new line of shocks. Here are a few of the questions and answers from these interviews.

RA: What do these shock absorbers represent for Hollywood Hot Rods?

Ladd: This represents the perfect partnership of form and function. QA1 is well known as a leader in shock technology, and functionality, where we at Hollywood Hot Rods are known as a leader in design and form. In my opinion, this is a perfect fit.

RA: How did the timeline for QA1 develop for this new series?

Kass: We started talking with Troy at the Sema show in 2013. It took several months to finalize a program that worked for both parties, and a few more to complete the design and produce working prototypes. We are very excited to officially introduce the final product here at SEMA 2014 and have them available.

RA: Troy, what was your vision behind these shock absorbers?

Ladd: My vision was for a traditional or vintage looking shock with the functionality of a modern, adjustable racing shock. The problem historically has been that nothing fit these parameters, anyone building a street rod had to make a choice, do you sacrifice appearance over performance, or do you opt for performance over looks, this new series of shocks with the covered bell maintains a true vintage, or period correct appearance, while giving the user the ability to adjust the shock to any given dimension.

RA: What type of issue do these new shocks address?

Kass: These shocks are very unique because they encompass the traditional “period correctness” of a traditional hot rod shock, but with modern-day technology built in. Adjustable shocks as we know them today are commonly seen on musclecars and other late model vehicles. It’s hard to argue the fact that adjusting the valving within the shock absorber can have a significant impact on the overall ride characteristics.

This can be seen for a cruiser or in a performance driving situation. This technology however, has not been adapted to the earlier hot rods, simply because it looks too high-tech. I have heard this from many people, and I personally agree with them. When you build a street rod it’s a delicate balance of form and function. Take a ’32 Ford for example. Putting high-tech components on this vehicle, where they would be very visible, is taking away from the traditional, or vintage styling common to that era.

This new Hollywood Hot Rod Series is available as a smooth-bodied covered shock, or as a coil-over shock. Both versions of this shock feature a bright chrome finish, and a low-profile adjustable knob for quick easy valving adjustments. This adjustment knob is different however from what most people are accustomed to, as it is recessed into the body of the shock and is adjustable with a flat head screwdriver. This low-profile knob really lends itself to maintaining the period correct appearance, and this is what sets it apart from the other shocks on the open market.

RA: What does the future hold for QA1 and the Hot Rod culture?

Kass: This shock is really the first step in what could be a much larger series of offerings. There is no question that Troy Ladd is a creative individual, and even in our earliest conversations Troy had a number of great ideas and suggestions as to what we could do with both the shocks and other components.

At this point in time we don’t intend to let the cat out of the bag concerning any future developments, but we do encourage folks to let us know their ides and what they would like to see on their street rod.

For additional information on the QA1 Hollywood Hot Rod Series Shocks, visit QA1’s website at www.QA1.net or visit the Hollywood Hot Rod site at www.hollywoodhotrods.com.