My gen 3 coilover install

[dester243]

Well, I hit a couple snags installing the suspension but this is my thoughts about the suspension on the gen 3 viper so far (haven't touched suspension on any other vipers yet)

1) front lower shock bolt. If they put it in from the back forward from the factory, you won't have to pull the sway bar end link from the front LCA

2) rear fork to shock design seems silly. Is there a special tool for this? My "special tool" was some big flipping pliers.... It scratched the heck out of the rear shock bodies. So to me reusing the stock suspension won't be an option if I want to go back to stock. (1 of the shocks was leaking anyways.)

3) the way the top bushing housing is attached to the shock is new to me also. You have to compress the spring, 22mm wrench then insert a "tool" (mine was a long 3/8 extension) and twist the top off. I don't know. Seems like it was over designed here but I assume the way it is made is for maximium weight savings.


Overall a very simple suspension setup with a couple things that could have made installation easier but isn't.


Had some issues but getting it ironed out now. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. Had to leave the car unfinished on the lift due to some unforeseen circumstances and now awaiting some parts.




And some random pictures

My main reason for new suspension. Since I got the car, it felt SUPER DUPER squirrely over bumps/in high speed sweepers. I figured the shocks were blown/bad. Guess I was right. The right rear shock was leaking. (Yes, I scratched the hell out of the shock bodies)

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Factory front coilover 9 pounds 10 ounches

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Aftermarket vipair coilover. 7 pounds 6 ounces I think

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I didn't weigh the rears. The stock and aftermarkets feel very similar in weigh when I held them.

 

[Allan]

..............Check the rear toe links for wear.
My car was getting squirrely under highspeed heavy braking.
The rear outer tie rod ends were loose ugly style.

I replaced them and added the toe link support kit from Snake Oyl.
Car handles killer now. Feels so much more planted in the corners, and no more scary braking.

I am still on the stock shocks. -53000 miles of balls to the wall driving.

 

[Mamba52]

Go figure stock Viper shocks leak. Some people will never believe you!!!!!.

 

[viper04]

Go figure stock Viper shocks leak. Some people will never believe you!!!!!.

I believe you, don't ask why... I have seen your post on this.

 

[dester243]

Allan. I have checked and rechecked the suspension for anything loose multiple timed but never really thought that shocks could be bad on a low mileage vehicle. After talking to a local viper tech he said hes seen some go bad so I looked there.

Round 2 of finishing up the install is today

 

[MoparMap]

I don't think mine were blown, but I think they were awfully tired when I replaced them at 53k. Car seemed pretty bouncy over bumps and dips in the road and didn't want to settle very well. Ended up going with the MCS singles and things smoothed out quite a bit. Looked at the old shocks and they didn't seem too bad, no obvious damage I could tell, but certainly a different feel with the new ones. Just wiped all the old dirt and crud off the ones and they still look pretty good. Got to love powdercoating and annodizing.

 

[Paul Hawker]

dester243

You can do a forum search on your new Aldans. May give you some installation and set-up tips, as well as the experiences others have had with those shocks on their Vipers.

 

[dester243]

Moparmap. I finished the install today. Ride is much better than my blown shock setup. May need to play with dampening but I really enjoy driving more already. Before it felt like it wanted to wash out every bump in the road. Now it feels planted.

Paul. Thanks on the tip. I will search to see what comes up.

I am surprised it pretty much took zero adjustmentd on the alignment rack. Neg 1.0 camber all around. .2 caster split and perfect total toe. Rr toe xould have been tweaked a lil but it didnt need it.

Need to play with ride height some more as the rear 20inch drs rubbed a little on big dips in the road and the car settled.

 

[viper04]

Moparmap. I finished the install today. Ride is much better than my blown shock setup. May need to play with dampening but I really enjoy driving more already. Before it felt like it wanted to wash out every bump in the road. Now it feels planted.

Paul. Thanks on the tip. I will search to see what comes up.

I am surprised it pretty much took zero adjustmentd on the alignment rack. Neg 1.0 camber all around. .2 caster split and perfect total toe. Rr toe xould have been tweaked a lil but it didnt need it.

Need to play with ride height some more as the rear 20inch drs rubbed a little on big dips in the road and the car settled.

Thanks for posting. I'm in the market for some coilover. Do you have a pic of the car ride height and stances.

 

[dester243]

This is the only picture I took. Car is very dirty and needs a good bath.

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[XSTAR_007]

Looks good! I'd ditch the visors though for a cleaner look. My Black Vert got her coilovers on 2 weeks ago, must be in the water

 

[dester243]

Hm. I never even thought about ditching the visors. I rarely use them and it seems to get in the way of closing the vert top from time to time when someone rides with and bends them up.

 

[XSTAR_007]

Weight reduction as well

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[dester243]

Awesome. Learn something new everyday

 

[TowDawg]

Yep. Yanking the visors was one of the first things I did. I never used them and they looked stupid sticking up above the windshield with the top down.

 

[Paul Hawker]

A little tip for Vert owners. When driving slowly, on a hot day, you can flip your visors beyond verticle. This forms a scoop that will direct cooling air down into your lap and feet.

When you get going a little faster, the wind will automagically flip them back into the wind deflector position.

Coupe owners also benefit from removing the visors. They do not function well in blocking the sun and removing them makes the interior feel much more spacious. It takes only a minute, and you can screw them right back in if you want them back.

This does not apply to the new visors in the Gen V's which seem to work much better.

 

[viper04]

This is the only picture I took. Car is very dirty and needs a good bath.

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Looks good, nice stances. How is the ride over all? thanks

 

[dester243]

Paul. I didnt find a good thread on setting the coikovers up after typing aldan in the search string

And as far as the ride goes.... I had blown shocks before but with the new setup I have only driven about 20 miles with it. I will say thr car is a lot more predictable. I feel safe with it. I dont feel excessive bouncyness. You can tell the spring rates is higher than factory but its not bouncy. I need more time to evaluate but I like it. Moparmap and I go on some cruises together. Not sure if he wants to switch cars for a quick cruise to see how he compares them to the mcs singles as far as ride quality?

 

[pdub]

[ Moparmap and I go on some cruises together. Not sure if he wants to switch cars for a quick cruise to see how he compares them to the mcs singles as far as ride quality?[/QUOTE]

I'd be interested to find out about that comparison!

 

[MoparMap]

Maybe we can do some ridealongs before or after for some comparison. I've been messing with my settings trying to figure out which way I like it more. I'd almost swear the car took bumps better with a stiffer setting, but I was also out of the car for 3 weeks after my little off-road fun, so I have to readjust my feel. Had them around 1/3 of full stiff when I first put them on (I think 6/8 clicks front/back out of a possible 18). Now running at 3/4. May try moving back up to see if I notice the difference.

 

[dester243]

I have seen the same thing on other coilovers. They ride softer with stiffer dampening.

 

[viper04]

[ Moparmap and I go on some cruises together. Not sure if he wants to switch cars for a quick cruise to see how he compares them to the mcs singles as far as ride quality?

I'd be interested to find out about that comparison![/QUOTE]

That would be great!!!

 

[XSTAR_007]

MopartMap...let me know what you settle on as I'm also running the MCS singles. Recommedation from Mark was 7/8 clicks in front 8/9 clicks in rear I belive. Told my shop to set them there, but I have no way of knowing if they followed this unless I go mess with it I guess. I'm not complaining where they are, but if there is room for improvement yet...I want to know

 

[MoparMap]

That's what Mark told me as well and where I started. I figured it wasn't hard to try softer to see if it rode any different. I can reach my arm over the top of the tires if I jack the car up to change settings, so I don't have to take any wheels off. May try cranking them up again tonight to compare back to back.

 

[MoparMap]

MopartMap...let me know what you settle on as I'm also running the MCS singles. Recommedation from Mark was 7/8 clicks in front 8/9 clicks in rear I belive. Told my shop to set them there, but I have no way of knowing if they followed this unless I go mess with it I guess. I'm not complaining where they are, but if there is room for improvement yet...I want to know

From my experience so far, that does seem to be a pretty good setting. Going down to 3/4 made for a pretty harsh ride over sharp bumps, though bigger heaves and dips may have been a little less bouncy. Back up at 6/7 now and the little bumps like bridge joints nearly disappear. Larger dips and such seem to have a little more bounce to them, but still feels controlled. May try going up and down 1 to 2 clicks from where I'm at just to see the difference. My guess is that the higher damping helps to counteract the stiffer springs some, so higher settings are more controlled and you don't get the harsh hit of the stiff spring so much.

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

True enough, your shock needs to control the spring so adequate dampening is a must to prevent rolling bouncing. To stiff though will be harsh, but what you are looking for is not so much that it feels "bouncy" over large rolling bumps, but does it just go through a "cycle" up and down once or is it actually bouncing multiple times?

From my experience so far, that does seem to be a pretty good setting. Going down to 3/4 made for a pretty harsh ride over sharp bumps, though bigger heaves and dips may have been a little less bouncy. Back up at 6/7 now and the little bumps like bridge joints nearly disappear. Larger dips and such seem to have a little more bounce to them, but still feels controlled. May try going up and down 1 to 2 clicks from where I'm at just to see the difference. My guess is that the higher damping helps to counteract the stiffer springs some, so higher settings are more controlled and you don't get the harsh hit of the stiff spring so much.

 

[MoparMap]

It's pretty close to just the one cycle, maybe 1.5 by feel (sort of, I know you can't really have the half cycle since the car will come back down on its own weight). I'll have to try to pay more attention next time. There are one or two spots on the way to work where there are bigger dips that I've noticed.

 

[MoparMap]

Well, with the drive fresh in my memory from this morning it's actually not really that bad at all. Settles pretty quick, not nearly what I had in my mind yesterday afternoon. I think some of it might just be the way the road is. I think it's two dips one after the other, so it seems more like an oscillation than it really is.