"need more power"-quick and dirty impact review Aircat

Not anymore! Plenty of power now. The reiview is not completely fair comparison of any other product, nor is it complete and concise. Just some initial findings.

The old guns were a IR231C (classic) and a IRSLTG-232 (thundergun). These did the job although far from optimally.

The job was installing new fresh 15/16ths fine thread CAT D4 track bolts. NEVER attempting to loosen them. Anyone familiar with tracks, knows that is a waste of time. You burn them off and start fresh. The particular run of track eats approximately 60 bolts per night.

The air supply setup is not optimal. It involves a very nice IR compressor, ~50ft of hard pipe and ~200ft of red 1/2" goodyear hose with about 4 quick connects in between. Very wet air with a constant mist of water escaping the exhaust.

A new Aircat 1600-TH arrived to retire these 2 guns. Quick description states:

Features and Benefits:

* "Super Clutch" new patented design with ball bearings between the hammers
* 1400 ft. lbs. loosening torque and 200-1400 working torque
* 7.9 lbs Lightweight composite body
* High performance Tuned Exhaust to minimize noise, dust and debris
* Ergonomically designed handle

All the power at half the noise! The superior mechanics and internal mechanisms of the AIRCAT® impact wrench includes high-quality bearing surfaces, air chambers and turbines. The patented exhaust muffler/filter technology reduces the level of noise while retaining more power and torque. A quiet, powerful tool ideal for shop or home applications.

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All I can say is wow! First impression everyone notes is the twisting torque while free speeding. Kind of like revving a car engine in neutral and seeing it rock. Significantly more twist, although this is neither a benefit or drawback, just an observation.

Once used, I note that it runs these bolts down amazingly fast with minimal hammering. Save a lot of time here. The composite handle does not get freezing cold. It also sounds much like a cordless impact. The SLTG and 231C scream like a banshee, and have that familiar F1 car sound we all have grown to love. This really doesn't have much noise at all, and saves my ears.

It is surprisingly well balanced and light. This is very important since installation of these bolts is over head/vertical, requiring standing on a ladder, holding the gun single handed out at full arms length. Even with the additional weight there is less fatigue since it requires less time.

It definitely has some serious torque as well. Within about 4 minutes it had sheared a brand new proto impact adapter.

I could see this used in many applications where a 1/2" IR-TImax works but hammers and struggles for a few seconds.

No clue on longevity, but suspect others will destroy the composite housing since they have a tendency to like to drop things from a height of 6-8ft

I'd like to see what it could do to a Honda crank bolt. It's pretty big looking though...

i heard you can get more power by taking the muffler packing out of the handle, at least on the older ones

Toolhorder said:

I'd like to see what it could do to a Honda crank bolt. It's pretty big looking though...

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Depending on the type of gun you use most often, it might be "kinda big", especially if you typically use a IR2115 or equivalent 3/8 impact most often and only occasionally step up to 1/2".

For me, most of my work is done with a 15lb IR2190TI, and only occasionally (few hours/day) use the smaller guns, I can't comment on size so much.

It is several inches longer than 1/2" guns, so I imagine underhood use may be limited, especially on RWD applications with a radiator in the way. Have no doubt it has the power to easily do honda bolts, but not sure what access looks like. 1 possible advantage is if extensions/swivels are required, the loss of impacting power may not be as noticeable. They can eat up significant power on lesser guns like the standby 231.

I realize there are holes in this review since any 3/4" impact should perform better than the majority of 1/2" impacts in general. Maybe more of the moral of the story is in considering the larger drivesize in general regardless of make/model. 15/16 would commonly be used with a 1/2" impact for most people, although 3/8 or 3/4 is also regularly available. Same goes for many other sizes since 1/2" sockets go up to about 1 11/16" and 3/4 drive goes down to about 9/16, leaving a large overlap to chose from. I would suspect that less hammering required could result in less fatigue for user and tool itself?

tonydanzah said:

i heard you can get more power by taking the muffler packing out of the handle, at least on the older ones

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I personally would never even consider this since it is already destroying tools, and the biggest benefit it has is the amazingly quiet operation. I think loud impacts sound cool, but after hearing how little noise this thing produced, my hearing almost instantly became better. One of those things you cannot fully appreciate until you witness it.

it will take a honda crank bolt off. atleast it did on 2 b series engines-- gsr and ls-- as well as a d series. i have the version w/ flames rated at 1100 iirc. i hardly use it though now i have a cordless impact. just on whatever the cordless wont work on which is not much.

as for longevity, mine was used daily for 4 years before i got my cordless.

In the last year I have probably sold over 50 Aircats both the 3/8 and 1/2. My most popular would be the 1200k. All my customers were impressed and in one shop everybody jumped on board with one after the first two were in the shop for a while. I have had a few that needed to be repaired for various reasons but with the amount I put out that would be expected. There two year warranty is great and hassle free so far. I am happy with them as an alternative to my Cornwell and IR. I listen to my customers and put what they want on the truck. Also you need to keep these like any air tools oiled. These are not like the old IR231 that you can run for 20 yrs without oil.

The Aircats are very strong guns. My partner has the TH and the TC, and they're both extremely strong. Another thing I like about them is how light they are. They feel like a 3/8" impact in terms of weight, and are generally pretty quiet.

If I wasn't an IR nuthugger, I'd own Aircat guns. They're good.

BTW, saying "it'll take a Honda crank bolt off" is a little too general. I can guarantee to you this gun won't take every Honda crank bolt off. I've ran into a couple of them that broke Snap-on breaker bars in half and needed a 1" impact gun to snap them loose.

Damian said:

BTW, saying "it'll take a Honda crank bolt off" is a little too general. I can guarantee to you this gun won't take every Honda crank bolt off.

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I don't want to use such specific generalities either, seems the honda crank bolt is like the mustang 5.0.....sets the standard.

I've ran into a couple of them that broke Snap-on breaker bars in half and needed a 1" impact gun to snap them loose.

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That really isn't so hard to do, quite a few broken SO ones.


Hence the reason I cannot give a full on comparison style review. All I can say is for many jobs typically using a struggling 1/2" impact (I envision pinion nuts, spindle nuts, saginaw pitman arm nuts, ect ect), this tool can shave some time off for the flat raters. Maybe save impact wear. Definitely saves wear and tear on the ears.


The impact may suffer an early death due to environment (high water content/no oil/high dirt content/drops-falls) unfortunately I will not be around for long term reliability testing.

Makes me almost want to test a 1/2" nitrocat with the dual clutches, but I still have to pay for my 2135timax before I could even think of testing one.

I go back and forth between the 1200K and 2135qTImax. I am more inclined to go the 2135 route because you can actually buy rebuild kits for them, replacing all the seals, vanes, and hammers for $90 or so or any other parts that fail. From my understanding you have to send the Nitrocat back to the factory and/or buy a new one if anything at all breaks on it. There was a guy on here who used one for about a year and said he noticed a large reduction in power after that year, and since you can't just rebuild it easily he was upset and kept his 2135.

The price isn't that big of a difference, you can buy a 1200K for around $180 and the 2135qtimax for $265 including shipping. You can buy 231 rebuild kits and they came out 20(?) years ago, so I hope that the 2135 kits will be around for a very long time.

diesel research said:

No clue on longevity, but suspect others will destroy the composite housing since they have a tendency to like to drop things from a height of 6-8ft

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Any update on the Aircat 1600 since this was first posted? Or anyone else have any feedback on the 1600 model or Aircat impact wrenches in general? I am currently considering purchasing a year old unit in very nice shape for around $125 to assist on a 1950's Farmall farm tractor restore. My MG725 isn't enough for some of the larger bolts. My other consideration is the IR2141, but they are a bit more expensive. Thoughts on the IR2141?