The "Selective Ride" on my '06 vert does not seem to be working. Granted, this is my first Vette, and certainly the first car I've had with this kind of feature, but I would have thought that you could tell the difference between "touring" and "sport".

The thing is, I am getting no faliure messages on the DIC about this. Yet if I were to hazard a guess, it seems like it's stuck in "sport" mode.

I read the sticky on this, but some fresh input would be appreciated. Also, is there something else I can check/reset/whatever to reinitialize the ride control?

Thanks...

 

There are a couple of good ways in which to test it. The easiest is to go over speed bumps at low speed in both modes. The car will slap the pavement in sport mode and in tour mode will feel "squishy" over the bump. The other way is to drive more aggressively steering from right to left, left to right. The car will have more body roll in tour mode. In sport mode it tightens all that up. There also is more front end rise in tour mode on acceleration.

 

 

Dumb question, but could you define "slapping the pavement" when going over speed bumps.

I have speed bumps on my street and the car goes right over them with no problem at 20-25mph. (I've been running it in "tour" mode pretty much all the time since I've had it, as I've not been in a position to do much "spirited" driving since I took delivery on the car.)

 

The tires seem to hit the pavement on the other side of the speed bump with a small sensation, or noise that almost feels like they have "slapped" the pavement. It's just a slightly harsh feeling due to the stiffness of the shocks. This is kind of a subjective feel, I can't think of another way to describe it, but it is definitely different or non existent in tour mode at the same speed. If you go fast over a speed bump the tires literally will slap the pavement. They will drop suddenly down upon the pavement from the upper height of the speed bump in a most unsettling way.

 

As has been indicated there are a couple of ways to test that it is working. adconti's post will provide you with an excellent starting point. The object behind the selective ride is to make it so that you almost won't notice.

There is no magic behind it. Sensors on the shocks take samples from the road surface at 1000 times per second. When it senses variation in the road surface it will adjust the bump and rebound settings of the shocks by varying the apparent viscosity of the fluid in the shocks. This is accomplished by magnetics. The fluid in the shock is called Magneto-rheological. This fluid has suspended iron particles that when excited by electricity to the magnets that are mounted on the shocks, re-align (change their orientation) and cause the compression of the fluid to become more difficult.

The two settings for the shocks cause different magnets to be energized which allow for a little more play of the shock travel in the tour setting over that of the sport setting. The sport setting is a more firm ride, the tour more compliant. You will feel the setting changes best of uneven pavement, expansion joints on the highway or during aggressive side to side movement of the steering wheel. The car will roll more side to side in tour mode than it will in sport mode. Taking a highway off ramp in sport the car will fell flatter and more "put down".

Now, with all of that said, it is possible that there could be something wrong with the control unit or the electrical connections. As a result the car will default to tour mode. Usually when this happens it will result in a code being set and a message to Service Selective Ride on the DIC. In some cases the BCM has been found to be at fault in the way that it processes the information from the MSRC system and it will not set a code, it simply will not apply the logic to the shocks to make them work. If the above tests do not yield a revelation for you on the operation of the system then you need to have it checked at a dealership.

 

Oh, and I was refering more to the smaller size speed bumps about 12 inches wide by 4-5 inches high. Those allow a slower test speed. I'm sure the larger speed bumps as found on roads will work too, but may not be quite as dramatic.

 

That's a good thing!

 

I can agree with that 100%. Mine never sees tour mode.

 

It sounds like Talon90 has experienced some of the same sensations I have.

While driving in the twisties I had the sport mode on. When the road got less twisty, and I wanted to relax, I changed to tour, and noticed that the expansion joint "thump" nearly disappeared.

That was my first experience with the F55 suspension, and boy was I impressed. There was a material change in ride and sensation.

 

Can you shift on the run, or do you need to stop and shift from Tour to sport?

 

On the run. Any time you want. The change is instant.

 

Is it possible the stops weren't removed out of the shocks?

 

I've heard this mentioned before. Does anyone know what to look for regarding these stops?

 

This was actually a big problem with the C5 2003 cars. When the MSRC shocks were new on the C5 the dealerships were not performing the PDI correctly. There was clear evidence in that you could see a bright yellow tag on a wire sticking out of the top of shock cover. The cover needed to be raised and the tag pulled to remove the shock stuffer block that was put in to keep the shocks from compressing under tiedown load during transit. The result was a Corvette that rode like a cement truck. I seriously doubt that this is the case with your car. There have been no reported incedents of the stuffers being left in on C6 cars that I have seen.

 

There were no stops on the C6's.

 

Trade it in for a Z51, problem solved.

 

if you want to go backwards in technology.

 

I have it, and the difference between Touring and Sport is subtle on most roads, but noticeable in curves. In my experience, it reduces body roll in the twisties, but doesn't make it any harsher. Firmer, but not harsh. So it's not something you will notice running down the interstate, but if you push it on a tight road, you will notice the difference. I, too, am impressed with the F55, as it seems to work as advertised.

 

I agree. In normal non-aggressive driving the difference is fairly subtle, but it becomes obvious in spirited canyon carving.