I just purchased a 2000 convertible which has the Selective Real Time Damping three position switch in the console. However, I cannot tell a difference in ride on the three settings. The option code list is hard to read, but I do not see the F45 code anywhere on it. How can I visually check the car to make sure it came with it.

My option code list does show FE1 which is the base suspension, does a car with F45 have FE1 listed as well or did I get duped?


A side question, can a car be optioned with both Z51 and F45?

Thank you
Dustin Winkle
dwinkle@cableone.net

 

Yes, shows both.

 

I've also got the F45 ride control and I can tell you that there is a slight difference between tour and the performance setting but not that much to really notice. My old twin turbo stealth had electronic ride control and the difference in that car between sport and tour was much more obvious. I think the system in our cars was designed for the occasional weekend autocrosser who doesn't want to be beat up on a daily basis by the firmer Z51 setup. I'd personally rather have the Z51 package and be done with it. And by the way you won't see a vette with both Z51 and F45 as they use different shocks etc.

 

I've got the Z51 on mine and I don't find it beats me up at all. Having said that, I'm 44 and not some 23-year-old spring chicken.

 

I have F-45 suspension and just looked at my build sheet. It shows FE1 Base Suspension and F-45 Dampening. And you won't feel any difference on a good road. At least not much. It's real time dampening. In other words it has to see some bad roads and the different settings will deal with the bad road with harder and harder suspension depending on the setting you have it on. There was a post awhile back that had a link to an article on just how it works. But it came down to what I said above. I love my F-45 it gives me a great ride for long trips and is great for autocrosses too. I even bought a spare set of shocks in case mine go south. If you take a wheel off you'll see that each shock has an electrical connection to it. I hope that helps. I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I do.

 

Thanks for all the help. It does have the F45 shocks!

 

The F45 and the F55 on the '03 and '04 for that matter really is the shocks. Both are based on the base suspension. Both use the same spring rates and the same diameter sway bars as the FE1 car. As you can see from the information below copied out of the sticky at the top of C5 Gen- http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...7&forum_id=103

- the FE1, F45 and F55 are all similar except for shocks...

Swaybars
23mm, front; 19.1mm, rear --- FE1/Base --- Source
25.4mm, front; 21.7mm, rear --- FE3/Z51 97-99 --- Source
28.6mm, front; 23.6mm, rear --- FE3/Z51 00-04 --- Source
30.0mm, front; 23.6mm, rear --- FE4/Z06 --- Source
31.75mm, front; 25.4mm, rear --- Hotchkis --- Source
38.4mm, front; 27.5mm, rear --- GM T1 --- Source
Spring Rates
439.66 lb/in, front; 576.70 lb/in, rear (manual trans); 588.12 lb/in, rear (auto trans) --- FE-1/Base --- Source
440 lb/in, front; 577 lb/in, rear --- FE-1/Base --- Source
457 lb/in, front; 577 lb/in, rear --- MSRC --- Source
525 lb/in, front --- FE-3/Z51 --- Source
660 lb/in, front --- FE-3/Z51 --- Source
327 lb/in, rear --- FE-3/Z51 --- Source
633 lb/in, rear --- FE-3/Z51 --- Source
634 lb/in, rear --- FE-3/Z51 --- Source
525.31 lb/in, front; 633.80 lb/in, rear (manual trans); 645.22 lb/in, rear (auto trans) --- FE-3/Z51 --- Source
525 lb/in, front; 634 lb/in, rear --- FE-3/Z51 --- Source
620 lb/in, rear --- FE-4/Z06 --- Source
650 lb/in, front; 680 lb/in, rear --- FE-4/Z06 --- Source
525 lb/in, front; 714 lb/in, rear --- FE-4/Z06 --- Source
650 lb/in, front; 800 lb/in, rear --- T1 --- Source
1,000 lb/in, front; 680 lb/in, rear --- Danny Popp's setup --- Source
77 N/mm --- FE1 & F45 front suspension spring rate --- SAE SP-1282
1.15 Hz --- FE1 & F45 front suspension ride frequency --- SAE SP-1282
103 N/mm --- FE1 & F45 rear suspension spring rate --- SAE SP-1282
1.36 Hz --- FE1 & F45 rear suspension ride frequency --- SAE SP-1282
1.18 --- FE1 & F45 Ride frequency ratio --- SAE SP-1282
93 N/mm --- FE3 front suspension spring rate --- SAE SP-1282
1.20 Hz --- FE3 front suspension ride frequency --- SAE SP-1282
113 N/mm --- FE3 rear suspension spring rate --- SAE SP-1282
1.45 Hz --- FE3 rear suspension ride frequency --- SAE SP-1282
1.21 --- FE3 Ride frequency ratio --- SAE SP-1282


The F45 changes the valving on a real time basis, making the oil that is in the shock pass through a smaller orifice, depending on how the switch is set.

The F55 really does the same thing, except that the liquid in the shock has particles that are effected by electromagnetic pulses - when the pulse charges - it lines the particles up and makes the shock feel firmer. The attraction to the F55 is that it makes changes almost instantaeously - where the F45 is more of a mechanical system, depending on switch position.

Remember too that a shock is really a rebound dampener. It basically keeps the wheels from bouncing up and down when a bump is encountered. It will control lean somewhat, but most of that is controlled by the springs and anti-sway bars. So if you seek better handling, changing the sway bars and springs will have a bigger effect than stiffer shocks.

Here's an interesting article that explains this whole process in greater detail and in a more articulate manner than I'm capable of providing....

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/....php?qstId=503

 

Two days ago I was on a small neighborhood road in a bad area (don't ask), and every bump, dip and road join was extremely jarring. When I finally got to some good road, I thought to myself, "Wow, what a horrible street". Then, I noticed my F45 was set to Performance.

Like was posted above, it DOES work, but unless you're hauling butt down the freeway over dips, or on a bad road like I was, the difference you feel won't be drastic.

Personally, I'd never own a Vette again without it.