Aldan Shock Absorber Any Good?

[JZ 97 SS 1500]

Mine arrived yesterday....what do you guys have them set at for the drag strip and street driving?? I got 550/650 spring rates.

I have heard 3 on the front, and 5 on the rears. Sound right??

 

[Schulmann]

Doesn't make much difference ....

 

[CANTDRIVE55]

Hi Schulmann,

I have to agree...I'm "underwhelmed" with the Aldans I have on my ACR. The spring rates are way off for both street and track in my estimation. They are much too soft. The valve adjustments don't seem to have much effect.

 

[patagoniaman]

I didn't get any good results, they've lost the gas charge twice in less than a year, funny thing is they've sent me just one repair kit! I would nor recommend them.

 

[Schulmann]

Mr Patagonia,

Likely we are driving on the same type of pavement and the Aldan shocks don't have the strength require ....

 

[Dimitrios]

i personally heard they sucked from a reliable source so i kept away from them...i went with eibachs and my stock konis and the car handles like a dream..alot better than stock

 

[PhoenixGTS]

The spring rates are way off for both street and track in my estimation. They are much too soft. The valve adjustments don't seem to have much effect.

I don't understand the spring rate comment. You get to PICK your own rates when you buy Aldans, so you could have simply asked for stiffer springs. Or if you guessed wrong, changed to stiffer springs. I agree the adjustments do not make a huge amount of difference. It is too hot to drive the Viper and have fun still here in the desert, but during my little bit of testing I like my Aldans so far. They allowed me to set my own height (I went a bit higher than the Eibachs), correct my lower driver's rear corner, pick my own spring rate (I went softer than the Eibachs), adjust damping while on the car, and install different springs without a spring compressor. As long as they don't break, in the world of Viper parts $1,100 for all those benefits is a great bargain. The car rides so much better now (smoother ride than my SRT-8 Jeep) and where the Eibachs would bounced and allow tires to disconnect from the ground, my softer set-up on the Aldans does a much better job for me.

 

[Bill B]

What adjuster wrench did you guys use on the Aldans?
Thanks.

 

[Jack B]

It is a hook type spanner. I bought a set at Northern Tool.

 

[PhoenixGTS]

I have the spanner that Aldan sells. It has a hinge so it fits both the larger main spring perch ring and the smaller locking ring. It has a nice rubber cover ont he handle and was pretty comfortable to use. Funny story. I called Aldan and rather than pay to have a wrench shipped out I asked if they had any dealers in the Phoenix area that would have the wrench so I could go get it. They gave me the number of a local "hot rod" shop. I called and I thought I accidentally called the set of "Deliverance" for a second but the guy said he had the wrench. I was amazed when he said he would have to look on the 'puter to see what it cost. Made me chuckle but you have to remember that Aldans were originally designed for the old school hot rod crowd.