Customer reviews, Arnott or Strutmasters

I replaced both of my back air struts with arnott ones, they feel like they are high quality went in quite easily after figuring out how to do it , also put in arnott shock absorbers in the back, ride hight is good and it's a good comfortable ride more stiff than soft.
Does arnott buy heir spring from Eibach spring company. ? Thanks
 
I had my 98 for about 3 months when I had problems with the air....I'm not a automotive engineer so to preclude any continuing air problems I converted to springs and struts with new shocks.....never looked back....I will say I enjoyed the air but wasn't going to worry about "something" going wrong at the wrong time....I'm very happy with the ride,very happy.....I used the Strutmasters set up.....As for resale I'm not worried one bit because I think most folks who are in the market for a Mark do not want to have a problem built into their car.....Also I'm Not going to sell my car any time soon.... My name is Bruce L. Hansen Senior Citizen and I don't suffer fools
 
I had my 98 for about 3 months when I had problems with the air....I'm not a automotive engineer so to preclude any continuing air problems I converted to springs and struts with new shocks.....never looked back....I will say I enjoyed the air but wasn't going to worry about "something" going wrong at the wrong time....I'm very happy with the ride,very happy.....I used the Strutmasters set up.....As for resale I'm not worried one bit because I think most folks who are in the market for a Mark do not want to have a problem built into their car.....Also I'm Not going to sell my car any time soon.... My name is Bruce L. Hansen Senior Citizen and I don't suffer fools
You experience with the conversion to springs was appreciated
 
Still trying to get my 98LSC converted. The air ride is nice, but frankly I consider it ill-conceived. Since most who could afford the car new would likely replace it in 5 years or less, longevity didn't seem to be considered. I has so many potential failure points, and when it goes, its undriveable... I never want to deal with it again.
 
Now that these are all pretty much 20 years old or more, the value on the used market is going to vary greatly-a low mileage in pristine condition would probably be more valuable with an air ride, one with higher mileage would not be as easy to sell unless it had springs-if you are going to use this car as a daily driver or even as a second car, I'd be more interested in it if it had springs, it would be more dependable. An air ride car that sits in the garage is still going to have issues over years of sitting I would think, air ride is really nice when it works and the car is pretty much a flowerpot if it is broken. My 96 has 132,000 miles and is very clean and pretty much defect-free, it is not used as a daily driver or even a second car anymore, hasn't been for at least 8-9 years. I've only put about 100 miles on it since the last inspection in March, but I did drive it this weekend and put about 70 worry free miles on it yesterday, with my fail-proof Strutmaster springs. I was a purist on this subject before I had issues with the two Marks I've owned over the past 16 years, I did the springs on this one about 2 years ago and really prefer it this way now, I don't have to concern myself with a system that could fail at any time (my first one did just that 125 miles from home, that was a bad return trip).
 
Now that these are all pretty much 20 years old or more, the value on the used market is going to vary greatly-a low mileage in pristine condition would probably be more valuable with an air ride, one with higher mileage would not be as easy to sell unless it had springs-if you are going to use this car as a daily driver or even as a second car, I'd be more interested in it if it had springs, it would be more dependable. An air ride car that sits in the garage is still going to have issues over years of sitting I would think, air ride is really nice when it works and the car is pretty much a flowerpot if it is broken. My 96 has 132,000 miles and is very clean and pretty much defect-free, it is not used as a daily driver or even a second car anymore, hasn't been for at least 8-9 years. I've only put about 100 miles on it since the last inspection in March, but I did drive it this weekend and put about 70 worry free miles on it yesterday, with my fail-proof Strutmaster springs. I was a purist on this subject before I had issues with the two Marks I've owned over the past 16 years, I did the springs on this one about 2 years ago and really prefer it this way now, I don't have to concern myself with a system that could fail at any time (my first one did just that 125 miles from home, that was a bad return trip).
 
Thank you for the thoughtful reply. My 96 also has 133,000 miles and since 2011 I have only driven it approximately 11,000. It has no rust with of color.). the usual parking dings but few. Its champain color(Ido not know the factory name of color). Its in my back yard even though I got a 2 car garage because I can't safely drive it in there for fear I can damage the underside parts. I broke a brake line backing it up. We intend to wash and wax it provided there is a another warmer day in Ohio. Then put the car cover over it for the winter. The battery will be stored inside my home. I want to give that air ride one last chance before buying springs.I want to remove and test the compressor as that may be burnt out along with one or more air bags or struts leaking. A new compressor and strut/air bag may restore the ride. It needs shocks too so there is another 150 depending . I hear t bird shocks will work if I adapt the mounting brackets. Can you fill me in on what to call them for buying purposes?If my last try to restore the air ride looks like a poor investment , I will go with arnott kit in the early spring. I too think a nice mark with the air ride working will have a selling advantage for more money over springs. I do intend to keep the car with the intention of buying a super nice mark for up to 5000. Then sell this one .Thanks again for the insight on air vs springs. Let me know the details of using t bird shocks
 
I replaced both of my back air struts with arnott ones, they feel like they are high quality went in quite easily after figuring out how to do it , also put in arnott shock absorbers in the back, ride hight is good and it's a good comfortable ride more stiff than soft.
Thanks Merry Christmas to you and yours
 
Thanks , I am supposing if I replace the 2 front air struts with arnot and rears with new shocks and a new compressor along with all new air lines the chances of failure will be small for the first 2-5 years. What do you see that can break after replacing what I just describes if anything else?
The rear air bag could spring a leak, By rebuilding the air ride, there is not anything to break except rear bags
 
From what I got from real MK VIII Pros, any aftermarket front air bag still retains the original inner shock, all that is replaced is the bag. So, the bag will be new, but the inner shock could still be 20 years old with more than 100k miles on it.
You know, after all these years of finger-f#*+ing around, we should have come up with a method of replacing this weakness, even if it involves an outside mount. Here we are 20 years since the NEWEST one is built and we cannot overcome this problem. There is room in the wheelwell, so lets take the jump. I volunteer my car (the 95).
 
Now that these are all pretty much 20 years old or more, the value on the used market is going to vary greatly-a low mileage in pristine condition would probably be more valuable with an air ride, one with higher mileage would not be as easy to sell unless it had springs-if you are going to use this car as a daily driver or even as a second car, I'd be more interested in it if it had springs, it would be more dependable. An air ride car that sits in the garage is still going to have issues over years of sitting I would think, air ride is really nice when it works and the car is pretty much a flowerpot if it is broken. My 96 has 132,000 miles and is very clean and pretty much defect-free, it is not used as a daily driver or even a second car anymore, hasn't been for at least 8-9 years. I've only put about 100 miles on it since the last inspection in March, but I did drive it this weekend and put about 70 worry free miles on it yesterday, with my fail-proof Strutmaster springs. I was a purist on this subject before I had issues with the two Marks I've owned over the past 16 years, I did the springs on this one about 2 years ago and really prefer it this way now, I don't have to concern myself with a system that could fail at any time (my first one did just that 125 miles from home, that was a bad return trip).
Re Read your post and agree springs are 100% reliable and I am a man who likes reliable items too. I reasoned putting all new air springs and air struts with a new no rebuilt compressor although not near as worry free as springs can give me a 5 years at 10,000 miles a year based when the marks were brand new they held up the first 50,000 miles., I guessed all new air ride parts had a better chance than replacing each part as it breaks . Like a New Mark would go 50,000 miles without air ride breaking down. Springs are fail safe and air rides will fail . Those buying them new never had to look at those problems. I'de like to hear from other guys or women too
 
I replaced both of my back air struts with arnott ones, they feel like they are high quality went in quite easily after figuring out how to do it , also put in arnott shock absorbers in the back, ride height is good and it's a good comfortable ride more stiff than soft.[/Thanks Mike, I have bought the arnott air springs and to save$ bought the 96 T bird rear shocks but can you tel me if the Mark 8's top mounts can be transfered over to the 96 t bird shocks. Anyone ????
 
I put in about a 1000€ in parts and work in order to get my air ride sorted out, but in the end I was still not happy with the reliability. So I went with full Arnott conversion. I now have a normal ride height, no noticeable difference in suspension hardness or travel (can still ignore most speedbumps) and due to the ride height being lowered, I also went from 18 to 23 mpgLPG at 80mph at sea level (might be a thing unique to my situation, as I could fit a fist in my front wheel well atop the tire with ease).
 
When it comes down to converting the mark 8's to spring ride which of the spring sellers do you think give the correct ride height and comfortable ride and driving pleasure, Arnott or Strutmasters? This will be a 4 wheel conversion. Money is no concern for this job as both are roughly the same prices.
I trust arnott because they have proved they are trust worthy. I had 799.00 of arnott parts unopened and shipped them back with very helpful arnott representative getting my 799 back in a mater of 2 days. No charge for return shipping too. Arnott is big time in air and conversion. They have a tech specialist who knows car talk.
 
I replaced both of my back air struts with arnott ones, they feel like they are high quality went in quite easily after figuring out how to do it , also put in arnott shock absorbers in the back, ride hight is good and it's a good comfortable ride more stiff than soft.
better late than never, I am planning to fix the mark 8 2022l
 

Members online

Back
Top