Aldan Shock Absorber Any Good?

PhoenixGTS

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Dimitrios I am half way through my install (fronts are done) so I can make some comments, but cannot give a comprehensive evaluation. Got my Aldans via Sea Roe who mentioned he thought the middle of the adjustment would be stock height. The shocks are beautiful. They are made for exposed street rod applications and in all bare aluminum are really atractive (springs are gloss black). Construction seems fine and adjustable spring perches have worked fine. The damping adjustment knobs are knurled, placed well and have clear numbered settings (top rebound knob is reachable with car jacked up but tire/wheel still on). Bushings on front (rear has fork on bottom and heim end on top) are correct size. Shocks are slightly shorter than stockers which means they actually fit a bit better. Intersting news is that although I still have the front of the car on jack stands, all indications (including lifting car off jack stand by way of jacking up tire) show that when adjusted all the way low the height is going to be right around stock height with 300 pound springs up front. This is an issue if you want to lower the car. I will be putting the rears on hopefully this weekend and will soon be able to report as to final height (but probably not until later in the month of July).
 

thebigsnake

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Anything's gotta be better than original ACR shocks. They leak all the oil out after a short time. Both types of shock do this.
I guess they're meant for only one racing season.
 

CANTDRIVE55

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Hi,

I have had Aldans on my ACR for about 2 months now. The ride height was adjusted about .5" lower than stock ACR. The initial rear setting has been too soft on the rebound (set at maximum softness @ start) and I'll try about 1/2 full to see how this feels. I'm still evaluating...
 

Cop Magnet

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Mike, I bet you'll find the car settles in a little once you have everything installed and drive it a little while. Whenever I change suspension, I get another alignment a few months down the road also. Thanks for the update, I'll look for your real-world impressions once you are up and running.
 
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Dimitrios

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so are they actually functional or are they just for show? how many guys actaully use em for racing at high speeds? is the car stable at speeds over 100mph or does it feel like its all over the place with these shocks?
 

CANTDRIVE55

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Dimitrios,

I have run these on the track with Hoosiers @ high speed with good control although as I mentioned, the rear feels too soft and I'll be adjusting/evaluating this.
 

PhoenixGTS

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I have had Aldans on my ACR for about 2 months now. The ride height was adjusted about .5" lower than stock ACR.
Where are your spring perches set in relation to the available threads? All the way to bottom? Or up a bit? I will report on my height when I get the car on the ground and drive it, but it will be awhile.
 

2MANYTOYS

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so are they actually functional or are they just for show? how many guys actaully use em for racing at high speeds? is the car stable at speeds over 100mph or does it feel like its all over the place with these shocks?


I have them on my car and used them to drag with. They seem to work very well. No problems at 150+
 

02ViperTodd

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I've had only good points for them, however, 1 front shock did blow out in a few miles. Alden has GREAT support for problems!! I've tracked my car a few times and the shocks are GREAT. Only problem is, you have to jack the car up to make adjustments. You can't reach your hand in and dial in the loads..

When I say "blew out" It litterally blew the adjusting knob out of the side of the shock..but they did replace with no questions..
 

02ViperTodd

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I forgot to mention this..You HAVE to have a spanner wrench to adjust the ride height...Don't start f@@king with it until you understand it..I did and added 3 hours to the installation!! Guess I'm a *******..but noone else knew either..we're all *********...
 
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Dimitrios

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D, lower cars in the city have more bumps and bruises on them. keep THAT in mind too.

im gonna have a 1/2 " shaved off my front bumper. that piece on the bottom on the gen II bumpers is soooooo annoying
 

Schulmann

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Hi,

I have had Aldans on my ACR for about 2 months now. The ride height was adjusted about .5" lower than stock ACR. The initial rear setting has been too soft on the rebound (set at maximum softness @ start) and I'll try about 1/2 full to see how this feels. I'm still evaluating...

Same issue here.
Front shocks are 100% perfect. Rear have some issues.

Actually there is maybe 2-3 problems in my case.
Rear shocks are too soft (compression valve is not enough restritive) and shocks doesn't have enough travel (Travel is 1-2 inch sorter than my old ACR shocks). In addition the rear spring rate was not enough, it needs to be at least 600-700. I just sent them back for a service to Aldan. The manager was highly willing to get a fix for me.

Wait maybe a couple of weeks before you order the shocks, so Aldan figures out how to improve the rear shocks.
 

AviP

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D, lower cars in the city have more bumps and bruises on them. keep THAT in mind too.

im gonna have a 1/2 " shaved off my front bumper. that piece on the bottom on the gen II bumpers is soooooo annoying
That "annoying" piece actually prevents much more annoying scratches. And I'm sure it's also part of the air dam at high speeds. If you lower the car, the underflow aerodynamics might not be affected by shaving that lip.
 

Jack B

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I have run them on the front for three summers with no issues. They have settled about 3/4" and need to be adjusted.
 

Schulmann

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JackB, what shocks do you have on the rear ?

Spring rate? compression valve? rebound valve? shock travel?
 

PhoenixGTS

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I am getting these soon , have they figured out the rear issue?
I can tell you that the rears sent to me are the appropriate length (just slightly shorter than the stock Konis) and have heim ends at the top with two little spacers for each side to center the heim in the stock mounting box. Aldan tells me that they were having top bushing failures on the rear and the heim ends were the solution. So if that is the "issue" you mean it looks like it has been addressed.
 

Schulmann

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Issue => ride height + travel + stiffness

PhoenixGTS what is your rear shock setup ?
 

PhoenixGTS

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Issue => ride height + travel + stiffness

PhoenixGTS what is your rear shock setup ?
I went with soft 500 pound springs, but it is not back together so I have not driven it and chosen my rebound setting. I am getting the mounting forks powder coated and it looks like they will not be done today so not going together this weekend - but given it is going to be 115F all weekend no loss!
 

Schulmann

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PhonixGTS, be carefull with the 500lb springs.
I blow up my rear Aldan shocks on them ...
Maybe they were defective.
I should have a news from Aldan this week.
 

Schulmann

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I got my Aldan shock back from California.
The service is good at Aldan they rebuilt my rear shocks.

I got stiffer compression valve, 650lb springs, thicker oil.

Impressions after 1000mi:
- Viper still rides lower
- There is still too much rebound
- No more bottoming but it is close
- The shock's travel is not enough
- Compression valve is not enough stiff
- Confort is much better than with my 1100lb ACR springs
 

PhoenixGTS

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PhonixGTS, be carefull with the 500lb springs.
I blow up my rear Aldan shocks on them ...

I got stiffer compression valve, 650lb springs, thicker oil.
I would think a stiffer spring would be harder on the shocks. I have test driven mine so far but under 5 miles of driving total. I really like the smoother ride and am excited to tweak the damping settings. My facia is back from the body shop so my car should be done this weekend and I will be able to dial in the Aldans and give a report.
 

JZ 97 SS 1500

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I ordered a set of front and rears last week. I hope to get them here soon. Right now the car hooks like crap at the dragstrip and wheel hop *****, so I'm hoping this will fix my problem some.
 
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