TOVetteFan

When the F55 is switched from Touring to Sport, is there supposed to be an indicator anywhere on the dash showing that change? I know when you change the stability control to performance/track mode, it comes up on the dash, don't remember that the F55 does the same, but have someone swearing it did, and now doesn't... Trying to answer a question for a client

Thanks in advance

Guinzu

my 08 has no indicator. Sometimes I think "damn this is harsh" and switch it back to touring and it smooths out on rough roads

1Hotrodz

Yup, there is no indicator light. I have an '08 also. Just this morning I was driving and said to myself man this road is rough and sure enough I had left the switch in sport mode. switched it to touring and everything smoothed out. Nice!

TOVetteFan

That is how I recalled it as well, but I have a client swearing that it had an indicator. I suspect he is thinking of the stability control...

Appreciate the confirmation.

bobeast

No. no indicator on my '09. Also no indicator on my butt. I swear I feel absolutely no difference between Tour and Sport.

StKnoWhere

On a quiet straight road with no one around, try gently moving the wheel left and right like NASCAR guys do to warm their tires with it on and off. You may be able to observe a difference in how level the car stays in sport mode.

bobeast

I've heard that called the placebo method. i.e. If I want it to work bad enough or if the difference is subtle enough, I'm happy to convince myself it's working.

Then I hear others say things like I had a really rough ride till I hit the switch, and then it smoothed right out.
my self-delusion then goes a way.

Seems it should be a lot more obvious, particularly on bumpy roads.

Zoxxo

F55 is an active system that responds to events. Changing the setting changes how it responds to events. No events = no noticeable change. If you don't give it something to respond TO - something that will clearly allow you to tell the difference - then you won't feel a difference.

After decades of passive adjustable shocks where you can tell you changed things just backing it out of the driveway, we have come to think of that as how any multiple-setting shocks work. But that's not how F55 works.

The more you "test" sport mode the more you can tell it's working. Just changing the settings as you cruise down the velvet-paved interstate will not give you any feedback - there's nothing happening that's of interest to the system



Z//

bobeast

Alas the roads around here are anything but velvet-paved. I would consider the potholes and dips as events that I would expect to feel a difference on.

Understood that there would be no difference on a smooth and straight road, but no difference whatsoever on bumpy roads? Really?

Zoxxo

Well, I don't presume to know the details of the F55 programming so I can't do much more than guess that the car's response to a dip or a bump would be the same with both settings. It could be that the car figures out when you are "having fun" and adjusts things accordingly for responsiveness over longer stretches of road than just a dip or pothole. My Z06 certainly adjusts things when you are "having fun".

Ultimately, my point was that people's expectations for adjustable shocks aren't serving them well when trying to read/analyze F55. The two-position system was never going to offer a choice between "Roll-Royce" and "Baja 1000" on a base Corvette. So even sport mode is going to be a fairly modest change. I know it was on my wife's car (before we performed the F55-ectomy.)

Then again, it just could be that yours is broken or disconnected.

Z//

bobeast

Well, either way, I appreciate the insight (now that I've thoroughly hijacked the OP's thread)

ncvette_1FUNRIDE

The F55 shocks have minute magnetic particles in the shock fluid. What the switch does is change the electro-magnetic current in the shocks so the viscosity of the fluid inside the shocks changes based on your ride mode selection. (Think of comparing cold oil to really hot oil.)

This will change how the shocks respond to the changing road conditions. I think the computer analyzes the conditions hundreds (if not thousands) of times per second.

They smoother the road the less likely you will feel any difference between sport and touring.

And yes, I have the F55 (magnetic selective ride) shock.

bobeast

Do you notice any difference on rough roads without turning the wheel?

ncvette_1FUNRIDE

If the road is very bumpy, yes. Mostly notice the difference if there is a big dip in the road like when you are crossing a main road from an intersecting side street.

Actually, where I live the roads are not bad so I don't notice any difference in most of my driving.

I keep it in "Sport" mode almost all of the time.

Bruce0293

I have a 2011 with mag ride and there is definite change in ride character. Where you can 'feel' the effect is on ruff pavement.