Review: ProTek 1:10 and 1:8 Scale Shock Stand

The Right Tool for a Messy Job

One thing I really don’t like to do when it comes to maintenance on my cars is rebuilding shocks. It’s messy, I typically get the used shock oil on everything and, well, it’s messy (yes I know I already said that). I do have to admit, though, that I don’t have a proper shock building station to make the whole process a little easier, so I decided it was time to step into the 21st Century and pick one up. That’s when I saw ProTek‘s Shock Stand; a compact unit that has a few more frills than just some holes to hold your shocks.

What’s In The Box
The package contains several molded pieces that you will need to assemble to complete your stand. There a pair of sides, an upper and lower deck, a front-facing plate with a magnetic strip and a lower drawer that is separated into two compartments.

Performance
I have a wide selection of shocks in my garage; 1:10 racing truck, crawler shocks, 1:8 buggy, touring cars – you name it, I’m sure I have it. This gave me a chance to test fit, so to speak, quite a few different dampers to see how the ProTek Shock Stand actually works.

Before using it, however, I needed to assemble it. That took all of about 3 minutes, from ripping open the bag to press-fitting all the pieces together. No glue or tape is required to assemble and the final product is very sturdy.

The upper deck has 4 holes in it that are 16mm wide, tapering down to 15mm. Every 1:10 shock I tried fit down in the holes as long as I had the threaded collars attached; RC10 B6 shocks, SCX10 II shocks, TC7 shocks – even the Blackfoot shocks from a recent article fit great. I test fit my1:8 RC8B3 shocks and, while they didn’t fit down in the holes, they did sit right on top quite nicely. Also molded into the upper deck are 6, 4mm slots. These allow you to either set additional shocks on the top deck or hang them upside-down to help drain the used oil. It works really good, however if you do decide to hang the shocks to drain the oil, I suggest removing the lower compartment prior to doing so. I found that if I opened the drawer a bit (instead of removing it), the oil can drip down onto the paper towel you have the shock stand sitting on. You did put a paper towel down, didn’t you?

The lower deck also has 4 holes in it, starting at 14mm and tapering down to 12mm. These are used to hold your shock caps (upside-down) during builds (or rebuilds). These worked as intended and kept every cap securely in place.

Below the lower deck is probably my favorite part of the stand, the magnetic ‘board’. It faces out, like a board, and has a large magnetic strip attached to hold the small metal shock parts like e-clips, washers or screws. The board has a small angled lip on the bottom to catch bigger parts like the actual shock shafts. The magnet is just strong enough to hold the parts to it, making it easy to remove them without any drama.

Finally, there’s the lower parts drawer that features a pair of 43x48mm compartments. You can use these to hold spare o-rings, collars, pre-load clips, pistons or any other small shock parts you need to keep organized. It slides in and out for easy access but, as I mentioned earlier, it can get oil in it if you hang the shocks upside-down off the upper deck.

Conclusion
The ProTek Shock Stand works great for both 1:10 and 1:8 scale shocks. It really helps keep things organized when you’re rebuilding your shocks and it’s small size allows easy transport to and from the track. It can even be dis-assembled and thrown into a small sandwich Zip-Loc bag for maximum space saving. It’s a fantastic deal for only $10 and should definitely be a part of every racer’s arsenal!

Features – 9.5
Fit and Finish – 9.5
Value – 9
Price – 10

Connect
AMain Hobbies, www.amainhobbies.com
ProTek RC, www.protek.com

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