Hwyknight

Looking at buying my fist Corvette. I don't have C7 money so it will be a C6 GS or 427. What I would like to know is, does the selective suspension really make a difference? Without it, is the suspension like the tour or sport mode? For those of you that don't have it do you wish you did? One of the cars I'm looking at has very low profile tires and no SS, so I'm concerned that the ride may be too harsh. Opinions?

Patsgarage

I have driven both and the Mag ride does make a noticeable difference in ride comfort, but the cost/complexity of the system made me forgo it on my own car. A GS/427 will ride hard without it, but you are buying a sports car, not a Cadillac.

Hwyknight

Thanks for the quick response!

Is the system unreliable? I don't need an expensive maintenance nightmare.

Vette_DD

Had it in several of my C6s, but the most mileage I put on any one of them was about 37,000 miles in 4 years. Never had a problem with it.

Very little difference to me between the 2 modes unless I was on some rough roads.

LMB-Z

My suggestion is to go drive the car. Whats harsh to some may not be harsh to others. I don't have it, don't miss it, and don't want it. Good luck.

Patsgarage

Depends on who you ask. For the most part it does seem to be pretty reliable, but nothing lasts forever and replacement parts are big dollars.

NashvilleGrandSport

My 2013 GS does not have it, and I think the ride is very acceptable (especially compared to my previous Nissan 370Z).

tprice

I will be honest, my 08 base has it but I honestly can not tell much difference in it

I have even switched back and forth when on Moonshiner 28 which is not far from my house and never noticed much if any difference

That would not be a deal breaker for me on a Vette however when I was looking it was one thing I wanted

Now I understand it is more noticeable on the C7's than the C6's

icntdrv55

Had it on my '13 GS. The only way you'll notice a dramatic difference is if you're pushing the car hard on a road with less-than-perfect pavement or where you encounter undulations in the road surface at speed. Certainly will be worth your investment if you plan on hitting the track or auto-xing. At higher speeds, the body of the car feels much more "buttoned down" and under control when set to "Sport" vs "Tour". Many posters on CF have put over 100K miles on the system without failure, but it is a certainty that WHEN you need to replace, it will cost you more to do so. Whether you get your money and satisfaction out of the extra-cost option probably depends on how you drive the car.

99Z51

I had it in my 08 base. I do not have it in my 2010 GS although I am happy with the factory ride. However, if I had a chance, I would buy it again. It's not a night and day difference in ride, but I think it is cool to switch between Sport and Tour modes. Shocks can be expensive, but I never had any issues with my 08.

MarkB3

Great thread. I had an '05 coupe with mag ride. Until I got rid of the GY runcraps and put Hankook evo2 tires on it, I could not tell what position the ride selector was it. It seemed to make no difference. With the Hankook tires I could tell what mode I was in by how it took small bumps.

Now, with an '11 GS with new GY F1 supercar tires, I can tell right away what mode it's in, and BOTH modes are far stiffer than my '05 coupe even when the coupe was set to 'sport'.

Here's a practical example: I live on a mile long town road that looks like it's right out of some third world crap hole country. Frost heaved, broken pavement, tire ruts in the shattered pavement, potholes that look like the road was used for artillery practice, you name it. In the '05 coupe set on 'Tour', I would scrape the air dam 5 or 6 times in one mile on this road. With ride selection set to 'Sport', I'd scrape maybe 2 times.

In the GS, no matter the ride control setting, I don't scrape, but the ride is harsher.

On a recent trip to Florida, I was going pretty quick on I-84 and I-81, both crappy roads with lots of rough patches. By running with the mode selector in 'Sport', it eliminated most of the bounce from hitting a rough patch at 85 MPH. It keeps you glued to the road.

HOXXOH

The main difference between the F55 and any other offering, is shocks that automatically compensate and instantly correct for changing conditions or shocks that are preset for only one particular set of conditions.

The difference between Tour and Sport, is that the reaction time in Sport is twice as quick as Tour.