bobs77vet

hi Bob here , I am C3 guy and i am thinking of adding a C5 to the stable but the problem is the roads suck around here and are full of pot holes. So all the c5s I drive are just miserable to drive due to the crappy roads. I have not road tested one of the C5s with the 3 settings for the selective ride control. Is the normal c5 like the middle setting? and is the tour setting alot more forgiving when you drive over crappy roads? thks bob

ALLEGRO

On my 2003 AE, the Tour setting for the MR system is really nice. Still very managable for cornering, but you don't feel everything you are running over. Switch to Sport and it is VERY firm, feeling even the smallest changes in the pavement.

65GGvert

The 2003 and 2004 with F55 magnetic selective ride control only have two settings, tour and sport. I can't tell a tremendous difference in normal driving, the bumps smooth out a little bit in tour, but not a lot. I don't know about the earlier F45 with three settings, I'm sure someone will help you with that.

bobs77vet

thks , i wonder why they swithed from 3 settings to 2? is one better then the other?

ALLEGRO

Two totally different systems, and with the MR Tour setting, I assume that there was no real need for three individual settings. JMHO

bobs77vet

this is kind of funny i want the one with the softest ride.....which would that be? my daily driver trip is 6 miles of potholes and crappy roads and never going over 45. i am just getting tired of driving my pontiac land boat although it does give a comfy living room ride.

El original

I have a 2003 with the f55 suspension system. Two settings, sport and touring. I drive with sport almost all the time even though my roads resemble yours to a pot hole. It is very stressful driving on these roads (if that is what they are?) Most times I almost prefer to polish the car on the drive. Touring setting, smoothens out most road surfaces nicely but a pot hole is a pot hole....bang, bang. Also the car handling feels sloppy and I notice body roll too. Tells you why Corvette has stiff suspension if you want the car to feel responsive. I really dont know if owning a Corvette in areas with these bad roads is worth the grief. I purcased a '04 Chevy SSr and may just stay with it as it is based on a GMC trailblazer chassis. At times a tank would be best!! Just my .02 cents. Good luck in your decision. Greetings, Rob

bobs77vet

you hit the nail on the head.....maybe i need to build a C3 convertible for the ride to work and add fuel injection and get one with really cold AC for the miserable summers. the C3s are not too bad over pot holes.

johnson-rod

I have the F45 system in my 98.

The 'tour' setting is actually kind of sloppy. The system just removes most of the shock dampening in "Tour". It's OK (not great) on bad roads up to 25-30mph. Above that it just pogos and wallows like an old Buick. At speed over rough roads 'sport' is a better setting.

Your choice of tire really makes more of a difference. The original equipment Goodyear runflats are very hard and make driving miserable in any setting. Switch to a softer runflat or non-runflat and you get a different car. Still C5's suck on poor pavement. They have very little suspension movement regardless of the shock. I would get a garage on the other side of the bad road and park it there. Use a Buick for the last few miles.

DeeGee

I also have the F45 on my 02. My regular driving is on narrow, winding country roads.

"Tour" is reasonably soft
"Sport" is just like "Tour"
"Perf" is just like "Sport"

J/K. I want to but I really can't tell any difference in handling between the 3 settings. It just seems a harsher ride on Sport/Perf.

I've run OEM tires, Michelin AS ZPs and Toyo Proxes non RFs.

SEAICE

I have an '04 with the F55 Magna-ride. On tour, the car leans more in turns (but still handles well, it’s definitely a Corvette, not a Buick) and it really only smoothes out the small road texture stuff. As stated johnson-rod, tire choice will make the biggest difference, particularly getting rid of the run-flats. However, even among the non-run flats, don't expect a particularly nice ride... Big expansion joints, potholes, etc. simply can't be smoothed-out much if you're running 30-45-series tires. All that said, I really like the F55 suspension. I drive normally with the traction control on "competition" and the suspension on "tour". At first, you may not think the difference between tour and sport is that noticeable, but after a long drive, you’ll find you’re much more relaxed in the tour mode than sport. Those little vibrations do register subliminally and like constant nagging, build up, tiring you out and putting you on edge.

killain

My 2003 50th. AE only has the two "touring and Sport" ****. But the roads everywhere suck. I've often wondered how we elect a president if he or she won't guarantee to improve all the roads, Everywhere. Here in the northeast I need to get the Vette done at least once a year and sometimes sooner. But on my 2003 the 'touring' selection is a nice smooth ride and the sport stiffens up the wheel s so the don't bounce as much and if you go heavy into a corner the sway bars aren't the only thing holding up that corner. I never used the F45 suspension so I don't know how that works.