1. What aftermarket shocks perform most like the Tour position of the original magnetic ride control, of Tour/Sport switched, shocks?

2. If these are installed along with a "Shock Absorber Simulator Set with F55 Magnetic Selective Ride Control", does this sacrafice anything other than the Sport-Track option?

3. Is there more than 1 mfg of a "Shock Absorber Simulator Set" and if so which is the best and most relieable?

4. What is involved in reverting to the original magnetic ride control and shocks at a later point in time?

 

Kind of lost here, since you want shocks as soft as the F55 in tour mode.

If such is the case, and the shocks are still fine, then leave them in play. If one is bad and needs to be replaced, should be able to find a used replacement from a set that someone pulled off the car instead.


As for the F55 system, it can be programmed out of the car instead of having to add a reisistor Simulator Set instead.

 

So few people really understand how the F55 system works. Yet it's almost comical when those without the full knowledge try to explain or describe the functions.

Answers to the OP.
1. None. No other shock has the capability of changing it's attributes while driving.
2. Yes. See answer #1
3. Yes. Opinions are still opinions and the jury will never agree.
4. Simply reverse the procedure. The time and expense will be less if you leave everything in place except the shocks themselves.

Unless the cost of repair exceeds both the cost of traditional shocks with the changeover and your financial budget, just fix what's broken on your otherwise fine suspension system.

 

Not sure if this helps, but I have a 2007 Base C6, I ordered the Zo6 shocks and z51 sways from cultrag.

The difference is tremendous!

Steering response is better, body lean is greatly reduced, and the ride is very nice and stable

 

Problem is that I need to replace all 4 and this gets expensive in a hurry!

If the F55 system is "programmed out" can it be "programmed back in" at some point in the future (after re-installing orig shocks, of course)? I'm asking this only in case I'm not happy with the replacements, or I sell the car and the new owner wants to restore it back to orig. status.

 

Also what device is required to do this de-programming, and who would tend to have it -- Corvette dealers, GM dealers, or many tire shops, etc., and what should this process cost?

 

How to program out the F55 module from the BCM/Car.


http://www.billswebspace.com/F55Disable.pdf


If the new owner wants to reinstall F55 shocks, then all he has to do is install the New F55 shocks and plug the connectors back into them, plug the F55 module back in, the car will pick it up the F55 module on the GM lan bus, and will program it back into the BCM without the needed of the Tech II.

And yes, you will need to print out the instructions and take them to the dealer, since without the instructions, the dealer is going to tell you that they can not program out the F55 option on the car. Worst yet, they get really pissy when you ask them to hand you the Tech II to so you can show them how to do is instead (same goes for remarrying a new oem radio to the car as well, since this seems to be well out of the skills of some of the dealers too, even through they have the Tech II tool on site).

And the down side, dealer will charge you around $125 to use the tech II tool for a few mins of work. So on that note, see if someone else around you have a tech II tool that will charge you a lot less than the dealer for a the few mins worth of re-programming it going to take with the tool instead.

 

Thanks for the info, Dano! 1 followup question:
The instructions say to use the Tech 2 to Delete the F45 Function since the F55 was never added to the Tech 2 menu. In the Screen Capture of Step4, where you select the year, the options only go up to 2003. Does the process work for a 2006 C6 if you select model year 2003, or are later years selectable on another screen?

 

Lets get back to basics for a minute. when you said you needed to replace all 4, did you mean all 4 MRC shocks are bad? If so, how did you determine they were bad?

 

While in for service a while back, the tech mentioned that the front ones were leaking. Then a few weeks ago, while it was on the rack again, I noticed some fluid also coming out of the rear units (although not as much as the front ones). Also, going over a mild speed breaker (Very Slowly), the front seems to bottom out. Finally it recently passed the 100k mark.

I suspect that the rear ones might last a bit longer, but will no doubt need to be replaced before too long anyway. I also assume that if I do go to non-MRC, I would have to change all 4.

BTW, does anyone rebuild these MRC shocks, and if so what does this cost and how long do they typically last after a rebuild?

 

Take a clean paper towel and get as much fluid as you can in the smallest area possible. Then check it with a magnet. If you get nothing, the shocks are good. If the magnet sticks, the fluid came from the shock.
Not that it matters much, but the later ~2011's + had a early failure rate. I have an '08 F55 car with 127K showing and bone dry shocks. However, I do my own maintenance, so there's no one else with an opportunity to squirt oil on them.

As far as rebuild, I haven't heard of that possibility yet. Going to non-MRC is an all or nothing proposition.

 

Several site vendors sell "simulators" for the c6 (and I have not seen anything in regards to reliability issues). If you ever wanted to go back to magnetic chocks youd just disconnect the plugs and plug in the mag shocks

koni fsd shocks will help deaden hard hits and potholes due to the blowoff design or "frequency sensitive dampening"

these are 600 to 800 bucks for a set

alternatively if you have money to burn, you could spend several thousand for motorsport shocks which have other options and can be set up for comfort


The cheapest route would likely be a set of Factory FE1 shocks (very soft touring shocks) from the forum vendor Cultrag Performance, along with a set of plug in simulators

 

Thanks for the reply, el es tu.

Per the linked info in Dano's post above, de-programming is the only option for replacing C6 F55 shocks with non-mrc shocks. Also, per info on Ecklers site re their simulators, one must cut a wire as part of installing them, which makes me wonder about the process of reverting back to the originals at a later date.

I'm really surprised that there have been no responses from anyone who has actually changed a C6 with F55 shocks to non-mrc shocks. I understand that this is common with cadillac ?SLX? vehicles, which were the 1st to get the mrc system.

How do the koni fsd shocks compare to bilstein sport or HD shocks?

Are the "Factory FE1 shocks (very soft touring shocks)" somewhat comparable to my Original F55 mrc shocks in Touring Mode? I'd really like to stay as close to my orig ride as possible, but don't want to spend $2K+ to do this, if possible.

 

the FSD shocks are going to feel softer than the bilstein lineup

the FE1 shocks are the factory "soft ride" option

 

Are any special tools or equipment, (such as the tech II), required to install F55 mrc shocks, or can they be replaced by anyone who replaces regular shocks and does suspension work?
I understand that it is difficult to replace plugs without replacing the plug wires. Is there any similar problem with the connectors, etc. when replacing the F55 mrc shocks, or are the new shocks all that is needed?

 

Sorry, I somehow missed your post previously.

Did your 2007 have F55 Shocks and Magnetic Ride Control before the switch? If so, what is the diff, between this and your current setup? Do the Z06 shocks plug into the F55 MRC harness, etc. or what did you do about this?

Also, what was the advantage of mixing the Z06 and Z51 components?

 

Other than being careful to avoid breaking the connector on the top of the shock and disconnecting the wire, changing MRC shocks is no different than conventional shocks.

Did you do the wipe test yet?

 

Bilstein HD shocks will give you a nice comfortable ride, I replaced my Z51 shocks with them and am satisfied with the ride comfort.

 

The Z06, Z51, Bilstein sport and Koni FSD shocks are going to ride a lot stiffer/firmer then your F55 shocks in cruse mode.

Again, the whole reason for the F55 shock is that you can run it in the softer cruse mode, then kick it over to sport to firm them up when needed instead.

As for once the F55 is tuned out with a tech II tool and module disconnected, then you can run the non MRC shock (which will not use the MRC electrical connectors). If down the line you or other want to go back to the MRC shocks, then when they are installed, the connectors are plugged into them, the F55 module plugged back in, and the BCM will auto detect the system and parts so no programming needed to go back to MRC shocks. Hence the deprogramming is only needed to program the F55 module out of the system to be with so you don't get codes since the BCM sees and remembers it in play to begin with (programming is so the BCM forgets it was in play instead).

 

Here's a quick down and dirty explanation of how the MRC system works.

The shock itself is filled with a fluid that contain iron particles in suspension. There is an electromagnetic coil in the shock, that when activated by different voltages, will cause the fluid to change viscosity related to the voltage supplied.

There is also a rheostat type sensor attached to the frame at each corner with an arm attached to the lower suspension arm.

There is a switch on the console that lets the driver choose either one of the two algorithms available in the F55 module.

The F55 computer module connects to all 4 shocks, all 4 sensors, and ties into the steering and brake portion of the BCM.

When the car encounters a movement of any individual suspension arm, the change in voltage is sent to the F55 module and the algorithm chosen, checks with the BCM and the other 3 sensors and sends the appropriate voltage to that shock to increase or decrease the fluid viscosity as required to compensate for the wheel movement.

The primary difference between the Tour and Sport modes, is the time used to create the voltage. You could compare it to having a tire with a puncture and a leak, to a tire with a blowout. The end result is basically the same, but the time is different. Because each shock functions independently and each change the fluid viscosity as needed, there is no direct relationship to the softness or firmness of the "ride" of the car that can be compared to conventional hydraulic shocks.

Conventional hydraulic shocks work on the principle of passing a non-compressible fluid though a specific size orifice. The rate of flow cannot be changed while driving, nor do they adjust to fit the particular suspension movement, nor can they compensate for all the other functions happening in real time on the rest of the car.

The bottom line, is that it's not simply soft or firm. Basic hydraulic shocks are like a rotary dial landline, when compared to the F55 system, which is like a Samsung Galaxy S6.

OK, so maybe it wasn't such a quick explanation, but it's because F55 is a complex system.