Mantapart Sport Struts

[Craig99SE2]

Does anyone have any experience with these?

I am almost ready to drop my car, but I want all the parts in hand first. I am looking at strut options and here is the playing field:

Monroe Sens-A-Trac - too soft
KYB GR-2 - borderline for performance (too soft) and no rears!
Bilstein (c/o Mantapart) - too much $$$ (need the moola for the turbo)
Bilstein Coilovers (c/o Mantapart) - too much $$$
Custom Koni inserts (like mfuller) - too much $$$
Mantapart Sport Struts - ???
Custom Cartridge - ???

So, first of all, the Mantaparts Sport Struts fit my price range, but no one seems to know anything about them! Does anyone have them? Know anyone that has them?

Next option is taking generic Koni or Bilstein cartridges and fitting onto my mounts. Anyone have experience with this?

[Watch4MyBu]

you should contact www.truechoice.com

[Craig99SE2]

Originally posted by Watch4MyBu
you should contact www.truechoice.com

OK ... Do you have experience with them? Just curious why you recommend them ...

[Watch4MyBu]

talk to mfuller about them..he has done a lot of business with them. I talked to them a while back and they were very helpful but didn't have the cash at the time to purchease what I wanted.

[Craig99SE2]

I sent them an e-mail, but since they use the Koni struts and Koni has nothing for our cars, it's gonna cost an arm and a leg for a custom setup. Like I said above, I won't spend more than around $500 on a set of struts. I'm trying to make 300HP, not a rally car! ;)

I just want the suspension to be able to SAFELY handle the power and I don't feel the stock can do that! Especially with the body roll I have ... YIKES!

[shawn2ktats]

id like to know more about the cartridges to

[Watch4MyBu]

mfuller can help you more. He is on these boards. I would pm him.

[Craig99SE2]

Originally posted by Watch4MyBu
mfuller can help you more. He is on these boards. I would pm him.

I've already talked to him, but he has spent over $1000 getting his custom ones made. That is why I mentioned his struts in my original list and put too much $$$. I asked him about Mantapart and he said they have good products but custom service and shipping time sucks. But he did not have any specific experience with their struts.

What I really want to do is use the Mantapart struts, but I want to make sure they are valved higher than stock, Sens-A-Trac's and KYB GR-2's ...

I was probing to see if anyone has them or has talked to Mantapart about them since I can't get a response (yet). I'm going to try calling them today.

[Craig99SE2]

WOW! They answered the phone!!!

Anyway, he said they made the strut because no one else does! They make them in-house (ie. NOT KYB, Bilstein, etc.). They are valved higher than stock and are specifically designed for lowered cars. Not recommended for stock height because the rod length is shorter. He said they are not designed for competition but are a definite improvement over stock (and Sens-A-Tracs) but yet they maintain daily driveability.

So ... it looks like I have a Winner! :D

After the car is dropped, I'll let y'all know what I think of their struts.

[Watch4MyBu]

Well good luck getting them anytime soon. I really hope you have a good experience with them. Who knows maybe they have changed

[Craig99SE2]

Originally posted by Watch4MyBu
Well good luck getting them anytime soon. I really hope you have a good experience with them. Who knows maybe they have changed

:crossing fingers:

Well, after talking to him, it sounds like most of the work is done in-house which would explain the lead times. Since I'm not in a big hurry, that suits me just fine. Also, he said they stock parts based on supply. So, if enough people show interest in their products and sales are up, they tend to stock those parts so they can be shipped immediately. But if they sell maybe one a month, it isn't worth stocking ... they just have the machinist make them per-order.