I sent an e-mail to Delphi concerning the Magnasteer system for the Corvette. This is it:

Dear Sir/Ma'am,

I have a technical question concerning the OEM magnasteer systems on the 2005-2007 and 2008 Corvettes. I have been looking into upgrading the steering rack of my 2007 Corvette to the OEM 2008 Corvette steering rack. After performing some research the question has come about whether the magnasteer on the 2008 rack is the same as the magnasteer on the 2005-2007 rack. I am looking into doing a straight forward swap but a question has been raised concerning the programming for the "Variable Effort Steering (VES)". Will the programming of my 2007 "VES" control the 2008 rack with favorable results? In other words, is there any physical difference between the magnasteer systems or are they identical parts for all years 2005-2008? I greatly appreciate your time on this matter as it is a forum question and several people are looking into this upgrade.

Sincerely,
Jeff

Hopefully they will respond and settle the question of whether re-programming is neccessary. I doubt it is, but that is my $.02 and I will probably be eating those words later.

 

Good move

 

Good letter....hopefully you will get a response and then we will know what to do!

Thanks!

 

Hope they don't take a long time to answer this question.

I am all over this mod if the reprogramming is not to much of a PIA.


Ross

 

Speaking from a business liability standpoint, I'd be VERY surprised if they sent back any good info about mixing and matching around parts on your car that they havent thoroughly engineered and tested to work together, even if it were true that it would work fine, but g'luck! Id swap out my rack in a minute if it was really all we needed to do!

 

Yeah, I have been waiting and still no response.... If I don't hear from them by Monday then I will try the e-mail thing one last time. I encourage others to try to contact them as well as it will likely improve the chances of getting a response.

I am not sure if this has already been brought up but I did notice one thing from the Delphi website. I notice that there are only two variations of the Magnasteer. They have produced a Magnasteer and a Magnasteer II thus far. If there is anyother way of finding out whether or not the '05-'07 models have the Magnasteer II then I am assuming that it would be a safe bet that the original programming will still work with the '08 rack. Here is a phone number that is given with the magnasteer II info sheet 1(248) 813-2000. The info sheet mentions that the programming is upgradable, and, FYI, the Magnasteer II info sheet has a copyright date of 2005 printed on it. https://delphi.com/shared/pdf/ppd/ch...agnasteer2.pdf

 

Yes the 05 and up use the Mag-II

 

Someone needs to step up

I have offered a great price on it plus free shipping to the 1st one who wants to try it. I've done all I can.

 

While at Carlisle this past Aug. I visited the GM booth & spoke w/ a GM engineer from Bowling green. He indicated it would be difficult & not cost effective as not only does the rack need to be changed & software upgraded there were also changes to the valving in the active handling unit so also that would need to be changed. He also mentioned something about different hydraulic lines too. So unfortunately NFG.

John

 

Do you have them in stock? Can you provide a couple pictures so that others can compare it to their pre '08 racks? Mainly, the wiring harness for the magnasteer and the location of the hydraulic lines.

It sounds like those items are more or less related to the steering effort.... I, personally, would be more interested in the fact that the new rack has roller bearings vs. bushings (i.e. better feed back). $580 for an almost 2008 like steering system seems cost effective. If I understand correctly, the 2008 has less steering effort which I already feel the 2007 was too light to begin with.

 

Bump

 

The roller bearings would probably make a majority of the difference, however poly bushings to replace the rubber 05-07 bushings would probably get you 80% of the way there.

 

Gene,

As you know, I've made a number of mods to my '07 Z06, but most have been "creature comfort" mods like new seats, console, nav mods, etc. This steering mod certainly sounds interesting and you've made a good offer for the steering rack. I'm thinking about trying out this rack, but I'd like to know what else is involved in making my '07 steer like an '08. A reply from Bowling Green to the above letter would certainly be helpful. A set of '08 Service Manuals would also be helpful. Do you have an idea when those might be available?

Thanks for taking an interest.

Ray

 

the steering has a similar feeling whether at cruising speed or slow, unlike the 05-07. the main difference I feel is the consistency and is very smooth. at no time is it too light, but it is more responsive with improved feedback.

 

Ray,

From what it looks like in the thread you just need the rack and a reprogram. I have a hard time thinking this won't work right out of the box. The 08 service manuals won't be available until spring.

I am looking for a candidate to step up to the plate and order it, lol. You seem like the guy Ray

Gene.

 

Yeah, Ray - Go for it - I'd like to know how it goes!

 

okay Im sick of this, PM me with whatever price you were going to give the guinea pig and lets see if we can get the ball rolling on this

 

You 'da MAN

 

Looking forward to hearing about the results. I suspect the new steering rack, even without the reprogram, will make a big difference in feel. Keep us posted.

-dj

 

still waiting to here from gene