I've searched and searched and I hate to post a question that has already been answered but I can't seem to find a resolution to this issue.

I just bought an 05 Vert. My first Vet. (woo hoo)

I am having the same issues identified in this thread.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...=903703&page=7

I've brought my car to two dealerships and they both say that the F55 is reading as functional in the diagnostic computer and that I shouldn't be able to feel a difference.

Has anyone found a testing procedure or definitive response to how it should feel?

If another thread has a resolution to this, I appolgize for the repeat post but I'm in trouble. My factory warranty expired last week. I brought the car in before the warranty expired and I am afraid to take possesion of the car before the issue is resolved.

The car rides like a tight sports car, which is fine, except that I have the F55 which is supposed to allow me to smooth out the ride.

Any and all help will be appreciated.

Best regards,

Michael

 

I have an 05 coupe with the F55 suspension option. I can definitely tell a difference between the two settings. What one needs to understand is that the settings change the stiffiness of the shocks, and does nothing to dampen the tire noise when it strikes a road imperfection. Many drivers hear the same tire slap when running over a road expansion joint or rough pavement, and think the F55 is not working. Concentrate on your buttocks, and forget about tire slap. Pick a section of road that may have some rough joints in it, and drive over this section in both settings. You'll hear the same noise, but you should feel a definite difference. Good luck.

 

I can barely -if at all tell the diff

however

the car rides and handles so well in either mode I don't gaf

if im pushing it I use 1 mode... for touring I use the other


it must be working correctly bcause it drives extremely well all the time

I can only wonder why anyone would pick anything else besides f55 for a stret car

If you want a race suspension, go get a custom set up, its better and cheaper

ferrari uses it for a reason, and thats reinforcement enuff for me

when ferrari changes to base or z51, I'll go there, not until then

 

The car does handle very well but I paid extra to have the comfy ride in tour mode and the stiff ride in sport mode. It concerns me that I can't tell the difference.

On long rides, it would be nice to have a softer ride. The system was advertised to provide this functionality.

Thanks,
Michael

 

Mike...Don't worry about it if the dealer tested the system and said it is working (if credible). The reason I say this is because it can be very difficult to feel the difference in the two settings. The system is always working, and the mode change makes a change in computer algorithms. You can switch back & forth from tour to sport on smooth roads and you may not feel any difference.

I have almost 50,000 miles on my 2005 F55. When I first got it, I couldn't feel a difference. So I took it back to the dealer and they hooked it up to a computer and tested it while I drove it. The service mechanic was "reading" the system while I drove it. The more aggressively I drove, the more damping that would be applied to the shocks. However, I still couldn't feel much of a difference because we were in a populated area and I was limited to slower speeds on smooth roads.

I found that the system really shines in sport mode when driving aggressively on roads with curves, bumps, dips, ruts, etc. The shocks stiffen quite a bit under these conditions, and it can definitely be felt SOTP. There are many isolated mountain roads where I live, and I can assure you that when driving crazy fast on these roads the shock fluid turns into peanut butter mode.

 

Thanks for the response. What you're describing is how the active suspension should how. However, you haven't mentioned any difference between tour mode and sport mode.

So, effectively you have a high performance auto-adjusting sport suspension but NOT a dual mode sport/tour suspension.

... or maybe I'm wrong.

I want to be confident that the system is working in two distinctly seperate modes before I accept it back. I am going to drive the car over rumble strips or highway reflectors as a test. That should give me a consistent bump patern to compare with.

Please please please keep the info coming. I would love to hear that somone had an issue and it was fixed.

 

What I was trying to explain (perhaps not so effectively) is that sport mode changes the algorithm to increase the damping rate in the shocks for a stiffer ride and better control of the vehicle compared to less damping in tour mode for a softer ride. You may not "feel" the difference in tour & sport unless you are driving aggressively on rougher roads with curves.

 

My concern is typical roads with pot holes and bumps. If I am driving for fun, I'll be in sport mode, but if I'm doing my daily commute, I'd prefer to be in tour mode and have a nice soft ride.

... don't say it... I know, I should have bought a Lincoln if I wanted a soft ride... but you the idea.

thanks again for the info and response.

 

Mike,

With my 06 A6 F55, there is a noticable difference (as long as I know what to look for).

Here's my perception of the difference (AintQik can back this up because I had him in the car when I switched to "tour" mode).

When driving quickly down an uneven, bumpy, or potholed road in Sport mode my car feels like it "hits" the bumps...

When driving the same road, and in the same manner in Tour mode, my car still "hits" the bumps, but has more travel after impact...

Meaning that when in Tour mode there is a "softer" rebound/bounce felt at the SOTP. When in Sport, it just hits (albeit a little harder), then you're back to a flat run (e.g. no soft bounce after impact).

BTW, when I turned "Tour" mode on, AintQik looked at me with a sick look on his face and said "Why the hell would anyone want to drive around with that on?"

That was priceless!

Hope this helps explain what it should "feel" like. Or at least what it "feels" like to me.

 

I'm sure my car isn't any different than anyone else's, but it's night and day difference on my car. Maybe I have a better feel/sense for it, but I can definitely tell.

 

You can tell the difference going over speed bumps. Run over some speed bumps a few times in both modes, you should feel a difference. I only go maybe 2-3mph over speed bumps and I can feel the difference.

 

I noticed that it is easier to SEE the difference than it is to FEEL the difference. In order to do this, you'll need a fairly consistent road that has some imperfections that doesn't have a lot of street lights. Also, it needs to be dark out.

Start out in tour mode and watch the motion of your headlight beams down the road a bit. Change over to sport and you should see more movement or jitter in the lights. Back to tour and the motion becomes more subdued again.

Basically, looking at the headlight pattern further down the road allows you to see an exaggerated version of the motion that your car is experiencing. I hope that this makes sense and, more importantly, that it helps.

-Rob

 

This is a great idea!

On "sharp" bumps I think you'll see more, faster movement (e.g. jitter) in the Sport suspension.

On larger, slower, softer bumps, you should see more, and slower vertical movemement in the Tour suspension, as it will have slower bounce with a softer rebound and likely more travel/amplitude in the vertical motion from these rolling bumps.

At least that's what I experience in mine.

Let us know how your tests turn out!

 

I think your expectations of Tour mode comfort may be a little high. The vette is a relatively stiffly sprung sports car with harsh run flat tires. Changing the shock rate does not change that. It's never going to fel like an Impala (thank Goodness!)

 

Thanks to all of you.

#1 The shocks themselves are working fine. Tested this with the Tech II at the dealership.

#2 I feel a very noticeable difference but not where I expected too. When I corner hard or go faster than I should over uneven ground I can DEFINTELY tell the difference. What I expected was a plusher general highway ride. I'm a relatively fat guy (I can still fit in the narrow seat). When I corner hard in the sport mode, I am comfortable with the ride. When I corner hard in tour mode, my body is uncomfortably pulled due to the body roll. I ride a motorcycle and the lean angle / body roll is very noticeable to me.

#3 I think my switch will stay the majority of it's life in Sport mode from now on.

#4 I think that I may have an intermittent switch. I didn't feel any of this before I brought it in for service.

Has anyone wired an indicator light into the control circuit wiring to give positive verification of voltage on the Sport or Tour wires? I would love to have an after market replacement "tombstone" that has a switch with indicator lights. The key would be a true indicator light showing continuity with the computer and not just a switch indicator light. If I remember correctly, the switch controls a constant 5vdc source which is directed at either the tour or sport legs of the switch.

Alternatively (and preferably) if someone has the ability to hack/modify the cars computer, I would love to have the heads up display or DIC have a mode indicator or at least have the car beep when the switch is thrown.

Thanks again everyone.

Funny side note (unrelated to the thread). According to the dealer ship, GM's supplier of door hinges just shipped all the Vet hinges with the wrong packaging. All lefts are labeled as rights and vice-versa. My driver side door hinge is wearing out and their body shop spent a while trying to figure out why the hinge wouldn't fit...

 

I HIGHLY recommend installing the Z51 Sways (or better) in your F55, as it basically eliminated my F55's body role at higher G's.

 

My next mod!