hello all, i was thinking about and wondering if anybody has taken out their selective ride control shocks and replaced them with a more standard shock. The ride control components are a littl pricey and I could install a set of very nice shocks for less money then reconditioning my current shocks and motors. guess my big question is, is this possible or is the shock tower only going to accept the ride control shocks? I am also wondering if they would be easily adaptable to work if need be. f anybody has taken out their selective ride component and replaced them with a more standard shock, let me know how you did it and how it workked out for you. Thanks!

 

My friend had a 91 and he just put regular shocks on because of price. he never had a problem with it. I'm pretty sure they fit right in cause he never told me anything about it being hard or having and trouble.

 

I would not pay for the things. In fact you can put in some Qa1's from jegs for less. Who really need the ride control anyway?

 

I deseagree.

Having the bilstein out for cheap stuff means it will become quiet impossible to sell the car afterward.

Who would buy a car that have been downgraded ?
This sounds suspect and means you are cheap guy not taking care of your car correctly.
Not good for sell....

 

I take it that your FX3 system is not working (i.e. SRC light is on). Have you determined why?

The Selective Ride Control System was developed by Corvette and first appeared on the '89 model. Bilstein worked with Corvette to modify an existing and similar Ferrari system to work on the C4. At the time FX3 was new technology and it did a very good job. Over the production years of the C4, the system was tweaked as was the different suspension options. In 96, FX3 was discontinued and the F45 Selective Real-Time Dampening system became the new version.

Going back to any mechanical problems you may have, Bilstein can rebuild your shocks fore less than the cost of new ones. In fact, Bilstein can re-valve your shocks for specific handling requirements. A number of years ago, a CF member worked with Bilstein to create a custom valving for autocross use. It's still available from Bilstein. Doug Rippie Motorsports developed a custom FX3 controller that uses removable PROM's to further fine-tune the system.

To answer your specific question about replacement shocks, any standard type shock for your year of C4 will install in place of the FX3 shocks with no problem. There is no difference in mounting. Just remember to tie the wire harness connectors so they won't get damaged. In the rear, if the wires are not tied down, they will fall down into the frame rail and will extremely difficult to fish out.

Personally, I believe you should figure out how to repair the FX3 system. It does work well and you can feel the difference in settings depending on how hard you drive the car. If you don't want to do it right now, get a set of KYB Gas-A-Just shocks from Summit Racing and use those while you work on getting any FX3 components repaired or replaced.

 

If you can't feel a difference on the different settings something is wrong with your system. Moraca valving is supposed to be an improvement over stock for spirited driving.

Here's a decent article


Short thread with FX3 codes on it.

Longer thread with info on using paperclip method pulling codes even fx3

 

You can still have bilsteins, and the adjustable shocks are better than bilsteins any way.

My point was that to me it is just a toy function. IMoO it is not worth the cost of fixing the system. Put in new shocks, better shocks and be happy.

 

The selective ride control is not working in my car, that is correct. I pretty much use the car for a cruiser and was not looking for a car with this option when I was buying but liked the rest of the car so it was just sort of a bonus it has it. My plan is to replace the shocks with a decent set for now and have all the pieces rebuilt and reinstall them in the future. Just put a decent amount of money into the car and was not looking to lay out the money just right now fix the system. I was just wondering if anybody had done this as I don't really want to have to modify the car for a different type of shock just to have to reverse it to re install these later. Thank you all for the info!

 

Make sure it's your shocks that are bad that's causing the SRC light to stay on and not the actuators. To pull the codes paperclip A to C and count the blinks then come back and search. She's a different animal with that SRC light is off. It's in default mode now "Sport only" and it's probably something like a broken gear on top of one of the shocks that you can fix yourself for 20 bucks. All the info you need is right here.

 

Ive replaced my FX3 Blistiens with different shocks. All is good. I just wrapped up the sensors on all four real good and tucked them away. My SRC light is always on but thats all right with me. No problems. I couldnt afford 200 per shock. I think I spent 250 for all four. I agree , it would hurt for resale but my car is so modded I ccouldnt get **** for it anyway.