I'm going to probably be purchasing a rebuilt 07 coupe on the weekend, but the guy mentioned something ridiculous about the shocks..

He told me that they replaced the front 2 shocks, and that the replacement ones with sensors were like $1200, so they opted to put another set in that were cheaper and like half the price, but don't have these sensors. So the car throws a code. It seems to drive normally and everything.

Should I be concerned, or is this not a big deal? I'm planning on tracking this car as I get the money over the next year to sink all the parts I want into it, which means I'll probably be buying replacement shocks anyways.. but is this a sensor that isn't even part of the shocks, and even if I replace them I'll still have this problem?

I'm confused as to if this guy is just out to lunch making **** up or what.. any insight would be appreciated.

 

It sounds to me like maybe the car had the F55 suspension and they replaced the shocks with non- F55.........I do know for sure that there is a GREAT price on a set of Pfadt coilovers over on the C6 parts for sale right now!!

 

Sounds like it has mag ride control or the F55 package. Cost is not out of the ordinary for those shocks. If you are going to track and replace anyway you will be paying much more than that for shocks.....

Hope this helps

 

Yeah, man. I was planning on replacing them with Pfadt.

This works out well for me, I think. It's already dirt cheap because it's rebuilt. Now I'm going to go back to them (it's a dealership), and just pick away at them with this, knowing full well I was going to replace them anyway.. ha!

It's winter time, and the thing is rebuilt. There isn't exactly a huge market for that sort of thing at the moment, and I'm sure they know that. So, I think I'm in a good position

 

There is a plug-in device made that simulates the F55 shock so that the computer will think that everything is fine....this may be perfect for you...

 

with the rest of the guys. F55 magnetic ride suspension car with non-f55 standard shocks.

 

In my understanding, the code it throws makes the computer limit the speed to 80mph or less. You can get this fixed with fake sensors, and it sounds like they haven't done that, so keep that info to yourself and hammer them on how the car won't run properly until the shocks are fixed.

That said, consider getting the expensive OEM shocks rather than throwing out the magnetic suspension. That Delphi MSRC suspension is used on the race-record-breaking ZR1 and other top cars, but with tougher sway bars and other more track-oriented components (The magnetic-suspension is better at keeping the rubber planted on the road - it scans the road surface a thousand times a second and individually adjusts the damping on each wheel in realtime, hundreds of times a second, to maximize traction).
If you plan to track the car on flat tracks, then magnetic suspension doesn't offer much (because flat surfaces are not as challenging for suspension to manage) but if you have tracks with ups and downs, or bumpy corners where hard suspension might skitter, you should consider keeping and working with the magnetic suspension - because Delphi MSRC is a high-end option you have that your competition doesn't have - you can't mod a car to give it magnetic suspension, you can't even retro-fit it, realistically speaking, a car either had it built in at the factory, or it will never have it. And if nothing else, bragging rights for having state-of-the-art suspension

Disclaimer - I don't race. I'm suggesting this based on articles I've read about the Delphi MSRC system.

 

Hmm.. That is an interesting perspective. I am definitely planning on track racing here and there, but this car is going to spend 90% of it's life on the street. How comparable are the F55 OEM shocks as far as quality/traction of ride on flat surfaces to something like the pfadts?

 

The F55 shocks are $500+ each at a good discount

 

I think it's probably safe to assume that F55 shocks (comparing just the shocks) perform better than pfadts or anything else. But until 2009, they had a bad rep for track because in the base model corvettes, you could have EITHER a track performance package (Z51) OR magnetic shocks (F55). So everyone who was into track would get Z51, and F55 was seen as not for the track, because it didn't come with track-ready suspension, and so was not an advantageous option for the track. Hence it was (and is) a contentious topic how good F55 was for track.

But in 2009, the magnetic shocks were combined with race-oriented suspension components, and other things, and the result was the highest performing corvette ever built (ZR1). And the most expensive. (The mag-shocks are also used by Ferrari and others for some of their top cars).

Now, to keep the ZR1 exclusive, to date mag shocks are still not offered with track-oriented suspension on the base model corvettes, but much like the wide-body of the Z06 trickling down into the GS, I expect the combination of mag-shocks + track suspension components will eventually trickle down into a cheaper model. (My guess is 2012)

BUT - you plan to mod the car, so you can make something that approaches that exclusive combination by fitting track-oriented suspension components to a car that is capable of using F55 mag-shocks. It won't be as good as the highly engineered mating that the ZR1 sports, but it should be better than any mechanical shocks. But as I said, I don't race, I'm just extrapolating from my understanding of what I've read. And I have no doubt there will be people who claim what I say is correct, and those who claim the opposite. Z51 vs F55 is religious :-)

(More background crap: You might hear that the mag-ride in the ZR1 is different and better than the coupe mag-ride, but I'm pretty sure this is a trite "truth" that I'm comfortable dismissing as marketing BS. The claim is that the algorithms are different/better in the ZR1. This, I think is misleading. The parameters used by the algorithms are different (the ZR1 is a different weight, different tire elasticity, and so on - a LOT of those numbers are different), and while it might be technically true to say that giving the MagneRide system different numbers means it's now a "different algorithm", it would be more accurate to say it's the same algorithm crunching different numbers, and all those numbers do is give the algorithm what it needs to work for the car it is installed on.
The second sense in which it is tritely true is that the algorithm (which is a massively complex collection of algorithms really - think a phone book full of computer code), is the product of many many years development and engineering, and that development is ongoing. So your car - which is a 2007 model, will have the algorithm as of 2007, whereas a MSRC C5 would have it as of 2004, and the ZR1 would have it as of 2009. But... the differences across the years will be small cumulative tweaks and refinements. Not complete overhauls or revolutionary design changes. In a nutshell, marketers would like us to think that the ZR1 MSRC has some amazing special sauce, but it's the Delphi system, so the sauce is in the coupes too, they just lack the track suspension (which maybe you can provide). IMHO.)

 

If you're not aware, an advantage of F55 is that you have a selection switch on the centre armrest that tells your suspension whether you want it to maximise performance&traction, or to maximise ride-comfort. This option is argued by some to be largely marketing BS, but it's kind of a cool trick for a car that will spend most of its time on the road, but also needs to be a track beast
The difference is subtle though. (Actually, it's not subtle when it comes to the increase in traction, but it's subtle when it comes to the increase in comfort, hence the comfort option being mainly marketing. I didn't notice it initially because I though the switch was just making the suspension softer and I was trying to feel that, barking up the wrong tree because it's a lot more complex than that, the handling is... different.)

 

Some confusion here for sure. I have an '07 Base model with base suspension, I recently replaced my rear shocks with Bilsteins, they cost about $170 for 2 shocks, plus $80 labor to replace. Nothing about sensors. There are sensors in the wheels, which sense the air pressure. I apparently have a bad one in the front, because it occasionally displays a message that one of my front tires is flat, but does not "throw a code". A few minutes later and all is OK. I don't know the cost to fix it, but I bought a complete set of Grand Sport wheels on Ebay for $500, and swapped them from the original gumby style wheels because I liked the way they looked. This included the sensors.

Perhaps he has the F55 option, the magnetic shocks, and he decided to get the cheaper base level shocks. Not having driven a car with this suspension option I can't say how big a mistake this was, but I can say I am very unhappy with the Bilstein shocks, they are VERY non-compliant, so I am wishing for my stock shocks back or looking for some other option. Suggestions appreciated. Bilsteins worked wonders on my 1985 Fiero, so either they have gone downhill, or they assume all Corvetter owners love extremely firm shocks.

 

2 1/2 year old thread ..... IBTL