Why do some C5s have two settings Tour and Sport and other C5s have three settings Tour, Sport and Perf on the Ride Control switch? My 03 has the F55 option and the Ride Control switch only has the two settings. Just wondering what the difference is.

 

The three mode selector is for cars equipped with the F45 suspension option, which was produced from 97-02. Put simply (and from memory) it is a "traditional" shock that varies damping force by use of a mechanical valve. The damping bandwidth (for lack of a better term) is softest with Tour and then gets stiffer as vehicle speed increases (topping out at, I believe, 80mph). The Sport setting is stiffer than the stiffest setting in Tour, and once again gets stiffer as the car goes faster. The Performance mode "locks" the dampers in the stiffest setting possible and is about as stiff as the base damper for the car (if I remember correctly).

The two mode selector is for cars equipped with the F55 suspension option, which was produced from 03-04. It's a whole 'nother animal in that damping forces is regulated by (basically) a fluid that has magnetic particles in it. When this fluid is subjected to a magnetic field they (basically) make the shock stiffer. When combined with a computer algorithm, these shock can react at speeds up to 1000 times per second. The Tour setting emphasizes "body control" or basically, ride, to smooth out road imperfections. The Sport setting emphasizes "wheel control" or in short seeks to keep the tire planted as much as possible while give quick precise feedback. You'll notice the biggest difference between the two settings on rough roads or when pushing the car hard.

Hope that helps.

 

F45 Selective Real Time Damping, Electronic

F55 Magnetic Selective Ride Control

 

Awesome. Thanks all. I had been driving mine in the tour mode since I bought it last summer and a couple of weeks ago switched over to the sport mode to see if I could notice a difference. Bottom line, I like the way it feels and drives much better in sport mode.

 

Hold down your AH/TC button for 5 seconds and you can have Competitive Mode along with the Sport mode on your suspension...

But be safe...

 

Good post and thanks for the info.

 

I seldom use the touring mode except when the roads become almost impassible or when the GF switches it for a smoother ride. Should never have told her about the ride system,

 

The manual shows that this mode drops the traction control system. Do you know what else it does? Obviously it does much more than drop the traction control, because that is achieved by a simple push of the button. Any thoughts....

 

I have the three modes on my 97 and was also wondering this. Thanks to all for the replies and knowledge.

 

A little incorrect on the f45 suspension. I wish it was just a traditional shock! I would love to pay a traditional price for a new set! The f45 and f55 work in basically the same way. To put it simply, the f55 just does it a little faster.

 

Yes, I confused it with the C4's FX3. But it is a "traditional" shock in the basic way it functions as opposed to the more exotic damping mechanism of F55.

So to the OP F45 reads the road in real time, much like F55, but responds about five times slower and with less damping authority.

 

The C5 corvette has three electronic systems that aid stability. The first is ABS that can't be defeated, then traction control, and stability control (which is referred to as active handling). Both traction control and stability control can be defeated.

The traction control limits the "spin up" of the tire by either retarding spark, use of the rear brakes, or throttle, depending on how aggressively the system needs to act and the speed of the car.

The stability control system (active handling) limits excessive over or understeer by applying individual wheel brakes. How it knows whether you're understeering or oversteering is a bit complicated, but put simply the system knows how fast the car is going. It also knows how hard the car is turning (g), how quickly the car is rotating, and how hard the drivers wants the car to turn (steering wheel position). It uses all of those inputs (and more) to predict the car's path, and when the car's actual path diverges from the intended path the system gets to work.

Pressing the active handling button once disables traction control and the stability control system. Holding the button down until you see "Competition mode" on the DIC disables only traction control, but you still have the safety net of the stability control system. The advantage of disabling traction control when driving in a spirited fashion or on track is that "some" wheel spin is helpful to create oversteer. The stability control system is designed well enough to let the driver experience some under/oversteer without intervening.

 

And that is exactly what I was looking for. THANK YOU!!