Suspension upgrades for 74 manta.

[blackonblack89]

Hello.

I was wondering if they are any upgrades for the manta in the suspenion department. I am not very familer with these cars yet. I have looked through some websites and can't really find any or am not sure if part are intercangable.

I did find this site but I think they are for the later years manta (80's). Would these work or are they different?
Opel Manta Tuning - MantaWorld - For fans of the Opel Manta

also I looked on opelgtsource.com and they only have
GAS Stuts for the manta years.

The GT and kadett have koni's shocks. Would they work on the manta's?? If so is it a bolt on thing or would it require modifcation. And if they don't work is there any koni's available for the 70's manta (74 in my case).

My father had a 71-72 manta and he said he had koni shocks so I am not suer if there avaible still.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[namba209]

Give Gil or Dennis a call at OGTS and ask what they have available and what will work. Not all their stuff is in the on-line catalog.

[opelbits]

The Manta (Ascona/1900) is a pretty decent handler to begin with. I had the KYB GR2 shocks on mine and for the money, they were hard to beat. I also had sportwagon springs on the front. They were a little stiffer, but not crazy.

The person to talk to here is RallyBob. he probably knows more about the Manta chassis than even Opel.

[BQS4]

You can also try:
Lenk Tuning International and Dr. Manta

[Paul]

Welcome aboard! There really is a fair amount of info on handling to be found here.

Searching through this site you will find some info on lowering springs, fabricating an adjustable Panhard bar, discussion on modifying the mounting points of the rear trailing link to restore some of the lost trailing arm angle (lost when lowering the car) and other discussion about handling improvements.

I don't think new Koni's or Bilsteins are available, but if you can find used ones, they can be made as good as new because they are rebuildable. Also somewhere in this site you will find RallyBob's recommendations for Rancho RS9000 shocks, which are adjustable. You won't find a listing for Opel but he's posted part numbers from other make/models that fit and work great.

OGTS sells polyurethane bushings for the Manta.....

If you are willing to do some extensive reading on this site, you'll be surprised by some the suspension tricks that are discussed in detail. Keep in mind that any of the quick/short answers to your above questions (including my own answers) will lack sufficient detail to get the results you may want. But don't let this discourage you from digging deeper....

I don't mind answering your questions, discussing suspension modifications to my Manta or giving advice. However, some of the discussion my not make much sense (spelling Otto?) until you do a little back ground reading. For example, somewhere is a discussion about rear roll centers and how it relates to lowering the car and fabricating adjustable mounting points for the Panhard bar and how it affects handling.... not something I can explain...

The short answer to your question... how to improve the handling? Springs, shocks, sway bars, bushings, wheels and tires. The long answers????? they're just beginning

[RallyBob]

The real question is: How fast do you want to go?

Followed by: How much to you have to spend?

Direct correlation unfortunately...

[blackonblack89]

Originally Posted by Paul The short answer to your question... how to improve the handling? Springs, shocks, sway bars, bushngs, wheels and tires. The long answers????? they're just beginning

Thanks for the replies.



Yes I have been searching through the forum alittle bit. Lots of info.

I definalty know the suspenion short answers as the shocks, springs, and wheels tire upgrade will happen. Just trying to start researching info. The opel aftermarket is slimmer than my favorite car aftermarket which is slim. (Taurus SHO) which also make all the 70's technolgy unknown to me LOL. (aka Pan hard bar)

I will definalty search for this info. Which leads to my other questions.

Do you guys have like a wheels/tire thread?

If not..... what are the widest wheels u can get on the manta. I was thinking 16x8 (R) maybe would be the biggest u can go with out rubbing. Plus 16's are almost to big for the car itself.(astheticly speaking) LOL Wheel shopping already:nut:

ooo don't worry I will be searching alot after this:biggrin: I'm use to newb posts on the other forums

Thanks again

the money equation is always less than I dream but I ain't pinchin pennies.

[MantAscona]

Hi and welcome to the group. What part of NJ are you in? We have several members here in the tri state area and we even have our own group here on this site. Look under T.O.O in the Opel Clubs section or do a search.

I have a Manta with a fairly modified suspension and could offer some input for you. Perhaps we could have a local meet soon and you could see the mods for yourself.

Duane

[blackonblack89]

Originally Posted by MantAscona Hi and welcome to the group. What part of NJ are you in? We have several members here in the tri state area and we even have our own group here on this site. Look under T.O.O in the Opel Clubs section or do a search. I have a Manta with a fairly modified suspension and could offer some input for you. Perhaps we could have a local meet soon and you could see the mods for yourself. Duane

i am in burlington couty, nj. I am located about 10 minutes from philly.

[Paul]

Tires and Wheels

Always an issue here, It can be trying to find a wheels with a bolt pattern of 4 x 100 that doesn't have lots of offset, as for a FWD application. But they are available.

Several good looking rims have been purchased recently by some of the GT folks. Presently, I'm running
BBS wheels from a BMW 325. I'd guess that 15 inch wheels with the correct backspace/offset might give the best results when trying to find a compromise between large wheels and tire rub of a stock fender well. I found lowering the car makes tire rub more of an issue...

While aftermarket parts are rairly cataloged, they are still available. For example you can get custom springs made from Coil Spring Specialties -- individually calibrated coil springs for any suspension need.