allred

Can I get some advice/opinions from owners with either the F45 Select Real Time Damping option or the F55 Magnetic Selective Ride Control option.

Basically are either of these options worth having.

Is the F55 a big improvement over the F45?

Is it worth having either of them, or are they just something else to go wrong?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

KidCid

I have the F55 and love it. I think it makes a big difference on longer rides. It definitely keeps the noise from the passengers seat down.

steve8

My 04 has the msrc and I like it. Some people complain about it being too soft on tour, but that's where I keep mine most of the time. Switch to sport and it's a noticeable difference. It is pricey though.

Spiralgrey03

Have MSCR on my 03. It is great. I switch to "Sport" for auto-X and mountain roads and “Touring” for road trips and around town.

VinnieR

I like the mag ride on my '03 AE vert so well that we ordered it as an option on my wife's 2007 Cadillac SRX. The Caddy isn't driver adjustable, but the computer setting on the shocks is just about perfect. Smooth ride but great cornering control and reaction to road conditions like potholes, pavement swells, and the like. Worth every penny of the $1600 list price of the option.

JiVe

Another expensive thing to go wrong

VinnieR

We had a forum topic on the subject of mag ride reliability a few months ago. Not one person on the forum reported even a single failure or repair on the system.

Of course, if you want reliability above everything else, may I suggest a Toyota Corolla or similar. Not much to go wrong there.

BanditDude

F45, on the other hand, isn't liked quite as well. Its adjustments are more subtle, it noticed at all. I would never pay more for it, and will definitely remove it at some point.

Both systems' shocks are VERY expensive to replace.

powellrb

Have the F55 on my '03 Anniversary Vert and freakin' love it!! No problems with it - just flip the switch from the "wife" position to the "wild man" position and GO!

B/R,
RP

dooscoop32

I ordered my car and even though the F55 option was pricy, I decided to include it on the car. I love it. It is the best-riding Corvette I have ever been in when it is in the "Tour" mode and feels like a totally different car when switched to "Sport" mode. What's really amazing is that the shocks can adjust to road conditions at the rate of 1000 times per second!!
I have never had any regrets over buying this option and I highly recommend it.

allred

Well, certainly getting glowing reviews of the F55 Magnetic Selective Ride control on the 2003s and 2004s.

Not many comments on the F45 Selective Real Time Damping available for the earlier models.

mikexxxx

I liked the f55 option so much in my 03 coupe at 13k I ripped it out and replaced it with an 04 Z06 suspension, shocks-sway bars-springs. If you like a corvette to handle like an old Elderado with bad shocks then by all means keep the F55 with the FE1 suspension but I bought a sports car and with that comes certain expectations about its handling. In my experience and opinion the F45 & F55 is a flawed system.

65GGvert

Ask anybody who had an Eldorado with bad shocks if it rode like a C5. Buy a go-kart if you want a rough ride. My suggestion is go drive one with F55 and see if it meets your needs. Different drivers have different expectations based on their driving needs/abilities. Some people just have nothing nice to say about other peoples cars if they're not just like theirs.

nonsuchpro

F55 is a great ride as your daily driver and your fun car. Selectable on the fly and works really well.

I recommend it

LV Vette

I completely disagree. It came on my car as I bought it used and love it. The F45 has three settings as opposed to the two the F55 has. Touring, Sport and Performance. I can definitely feel a difference and use the touring for around town and drag racing and use the Performance if I try auto crossing. I do agree they are very expensive to replace, so when they need to be replaced, I will go to regular type shocks. Don’t know which ones yet.

JMHO,

Clayton from Las Vegas

superjet701k

i have the f45 and like it the roads around here are crap potholes, patches, and frost heaves. if i was to lower my vette it would be totaled in a week , so i need all that cushy, in soft she floats on the highway so i switch it to touring and it tightens right up. ill bet the f55 is even better

DeeGee

I have active handling and selective real time damping (tour, sport perf) with the F45s.

I can honestly say I can't see any differnce between any of the settings. Its really subtle.

Oh and I've driven my Vert in Vegas on the freeways, through the Sierra Nevadas and around the back roads of England.

I certainly wouldn't pay for the option (although I guess I did in when I bought the car).

Bracketman

I love the F45, wouldnt want the car any other way. I live up in bumpy jumpy junk-road Alberta, and the F45 is fantastic, and the changes are easily felt. If the road gets annoying with bumps, put it on touring and it the bumps go down significantly.

I usually never use "Sport" however, I put it on Touring or Performance.

VET IT B

I ordered mine with F45 option and love it. Some on here don't like it and usually say that they can not tell the difference in the three settings. If that is the case, they need to have it checked for problem because there is something wronge with it. New shock replacement is said to be expensive but what on our cars isn't?

It gives you the option of three(F45) and two(F55) settings on the stifness of the suspenshion. When working you can feel the difference in handeling and road to wheel feel. Mark

Bill Baird

I have the F45 option on my 2002 convertible. I can tell the difference between the three settings. I wouldn't go so far as to say that the various settings make the car a whole different car, but they are useful.

Around town, I'll typically have it on the "Tour" setting when I'm on surface streets, and on the "Sport" setting if I'm on the interstate.

If I'm on a longer interstate trip, I'll typically have it in the "Sport" setting if I'm alone, or in the "Tour" setting if I'm with my girlfriend.

I will occasionally put it into the "Performance" setting, which is nice on very smooth roads, but I don't seem to find a lot of very smooth roads around here.

I auto-crossed my old Corvette, but I haven't done that with this one yet. When I do auto-cross this car, I will use the "Performance" setting.

I've never been in a car with the F55 suspension, so I can't compare the two.

I'm not too worried about the replacement cost. I've not had any trouble with the system, but if I do I would just fix it, like with any other system on these things.