Your right except from 07 and up, you did get the ventilated brakes with the F55 option. Ask me how i know.

 

 

On a Hertz I rented in Orlando I could not tell the difference but maybe it was broke or wore out. Car had 28K miles.

 

My last C6, a 2005, had the Z51 setup which I found very harsh on bad roads ... of which we have many.

I now have the F55 on my 2009, but I did add the Z51 sway bars to minimize body roll. My F55 rides a bit harder than the standard F55, but I still can feel the difference in modes. I leave it in Tour mode for most local driving, and go to Sport if the roads are smooth or if I drive aggressively. The modes are not dramatically different, especially in routine driving or on decent roads. There is a very obvious change in the suspension when the car is pushed or the roads are rough.

In past posts, I've seen the F55 Tour mode described as "Buick soft." I can only imagine that those posters have been driving over glass smooth roads because, even on Tour, the F55 is not a very soft ride.

 

OK, lets get something straight here...you are going to feel a difference between "Tour" and "Sport" under certain conditions like hard cornering or rough roads but it isn't just ride quality, like between a Caddie and a Vette. Drive a Z51 in hard corners and rough roads then drive a F55 on those same roads (in both Tour and Sport). THAT is where the biggest difference is.

 

Like a CTS-V and a Corvette?

 

I don't know about that. It is a subtle but useful difference in specific situations was my point.

 

Again, differences between tour and sport modes (you feel) can be very subtle depending upon the inputs to the system. In sport mode, to a greater extent wheel control algorithms are emphasized. I find it interesting that many MR suspension system engineer's argued against having any user control (i.e. no switch for tour/sport modes). Essentially, they felt it was unnecessary as the system could be configured to do it all without any user input. Maybe the engineer's knew something GM didn't. Obviously, GM felt giving the driver some input in system control had advantages. I figure more from a marketing perspective.

You seem reluctant to try the one thing (I know of) that most clearly demonstrates the difference between tour and sport mode. Be that as it may, everyone perceives things differently...it's possible you may never "feel" the difference between settings. Perhaps you're looking for something (in the system) that just isn't there. I don't know. I researched trying to modifying the F55 suspension to make it more 'competition oriented' for some time. I wish you all the best in your effort to have GM retro-mod the F55 suspension for you.

The system is frequently being improved. This is from one of the Delphi (now BWI Group) engineer's who developed the F55 suspension commenting on changes made with the 2008 model year:

"...I can’t go in to great detail about all of the changes, but at the risk of being too general, I would say that the overall body control strategy has been greatly “tweaked” with the goal of streamlining the calibrations so that the vehicle engineer may more effectively change the performance of the vehicle. Also, alternate strategies have been investigated (and maybe even used in production!) to augment and/or improve wheel control and vehicle stability. Our team of software, hardware and vehicle engineers is always working hard to raise the bar on vehicle performance. The same could be said of our customers at the vehicle level."



See below

From what I heard this isn't speculation. According to the engineer I know, before the C6 was released he had his team put Z51 sway bars on his F55 test car at Nurburgring. He said there was a measurable improvement with the Z51 sway bars. Despite GM knowing the Z51 were an improvement over the base sway bars with the F55 suspension, GM marketing execs prevailed...they did not (then) want the F55 seen as any sort of a performance suspension that could compete with the attributes of the Z51 option or even the Z06. Obviously, this mindset is changing as evidenced by the release of the ZR1 with its more competition oriented MR suspension.

 

To replace the shocks on the F-55 will cost a small for fortune to replace and have installed.

 

Maybe but find someone who has really had to replace them.

BTW, the Z51 tires wear out much faster but nobody talks about that cost of replacement. They are also much more prone to losing grip in cooler weather.

 

When I test drove an F55 car for the first time I had difficulty telling the difference between tour and sport modes, but I could tell, especially on rough or washboard roads. After having my F55 car for awhile it became much easier for me to sense the difference. It is subtle, especially driving straight down a smooth road, but there is a difference. The rougher the road surface and harder you are pushing the car the easier it is to tell the difference.

All that said, I think it would be nice if there was a bigger difference between the two settings. I'd like to know why GM decided on the settings as they are. It seems that they could have tuned it differently if they wanted to. Maybe there's a good (performance) reason that there isn't a greater difference or maybe it was cost or other considerations. Has anyone here ever seen an explanation?

 

I have heard of this about those Z-51 tires wearing out fast but then again alot of it is how the driver drives the car.

All of those Corvette tires are expensive that's why I make sure mine last a long time.

 

Ok......"How do you know?"
(Hint: I'm guessing you probably own one)

 

I'm far from an engineer or expert so I defer to others, however it is my understanding that magnetic ride control is either off or on and there isn't any area for degree of control. Magnets are either energized or they aren't. Is there really an algorithm that could be relaxed/tightened to change the ride?

 

It is very easy to leave the connector off the bottom of the switch when removing the center console. There are about 4 or 5 connectors that have to get put back on, and it's very easy to overlook it. If you can't feel the difference and your console has ever been removed, you might want to lift it up and make sure it is plugged in.

I agree, an indicator light of some sort would be helpful.

 

A greater amount of current supposedly creates more stiffness in the MR fluid. BTW, it is not on or off...even when it is in Tour mode you get the advantage of the MSRC...more so in the Sport mode.

 

It is my understanding that the viscosity level of the magnetic fluid is infinitely adjustable from basically liquid to almost completely solid based on the electronic field charge applied to the fluid(probably wrong term). I also believe that the the "refresh rate" (again, probably wrong term) can be speeded up or slowed down depending on road conditions and the Sport or Tour settings. You can electronically tune it if you had that snazzy laptop that they show the GM engineers using in the video.
Oh to get my hands on one of those bad boys

 

I believe you would be getting a DIC warning if it was not working or was disconnected.

 

I'm not getting any warnings since I haven't felt the difference after I got it back from dealership. Dealership tested it and said it is hooked up and working
Strange I felt it before taking in car and now no longer after getting car back.

 

I did have my console removed and took it back to dealership for them to check if it wasn't hooked up and they checked and said it is hooked up. They also electronically tested it and says it works. But meanwhile now I can't feel any difference.