...Does the Sport/Touring switch do in a C6? I honestly can tell no difference in ride or handling of the vehicle. I just leave it in SPORT and 'guess' it is doing something. There is no indicater which is selected 'ON".

Joe

 

The magnetic ride shocks contain metal particles in the fluid that react to an electro-magnetic charge from the system to change the viscous property of the fluid that in turn affects the damping capability of the shock. This allows the system to dynamically adjust for more or less damping based on the "readings" of the road as the shock reacts to the surface imperfections. Tour should result in a softer more compliant ride and sport a firmer ride to handle a more spirited driving style. Yours is the most common complaint that switching between the two is imperceptible for more that just the most experienced butt riding in the drivers seat. Jim Mero, one of the Chevy engineers that designed the system for the C6 has developed new programming, for only the 2009-2013 models, that can be purchased and installed and makes the system much more compliant and usable. Truly works wonders, as my low-back can attest. Do a forum search on his name if your are interested.

Hope this helps.

GD

 

Imagine that, an "Engineering change" by the engineer who engineered the system in the first place, pocketing cash on the side for improved Engineering on his own Engineering!!! This is VERY interesting. Does anyone besides me see any conflict of interest?

 

Jim Mero did address that question quite some time ago and if I remember correctly it had to do with the "rush" to implement into production and not allowing the time to really pour into the R&D for the settings. This was at the time of pending GM bankruptcy & government bailout, so you cannot measure the issue by today's standards. Once he retired, he was able to perform his own work to improve on the system and the result is a very cost-effective solution providing a fix that he couldn't perform under the GM system that was in place at the time. Fortunately, most cars roll off the assembly line with absolutely no imperfections nowadays.

Hope this clarifies a misunderstanding of his intentions.

GD

 

As an aside, would I be better off to dump the mag ride and go something a little bit (sic) better? I already have Z06 swaybars. Car is not lowered. (Damned speed bumps around here are miniature mountains!)I don't race or autocross, but I live in the mountains, and driving is so much fun on these mountain roads. I wouldn't mind a wee bit (again--sic) stiffer suspension.

And if the answer is yes, what suggestions might you folk offer? I have read about coil overs. Is that viable? Doable with the mag ride?

Thanks in advance!

Joe

 

You can and will probably benefit from the conversion. You have to either have the MRC programmed for a software delete or there is a an external connector you can purchase that performs a hardware delete by connecting into the receptacle at each corner of the suspension. You would then need to do research for the best shocks that would provide the ride you want. So yes, it can be done is the simple answer.

Coil overs may work well for you, but you would want to also delete the front & rear composite leaf springs so that you do not conflict with too much spring in the suspension. I am sure others that have successfully done this option will chime in.

Good luck and keep us informed as to your " suspension project".

GD

 

I believe Jim worked on the C7 system for GM, not the C6 system. His programming upgrades are only for the C6 MRC.

Jim Mero, the 15 year Corvette Ride and Handling Vehicle Dynamics Engineer who developed the wildly successful Magnetic Ride Control (MRC) upgrade calibrations for all 2014 to 2018 C7 Corvettes has now developed new MRC calibrations for 2009 to 2013 C6 Corvettes.

 

I am sure people more knowledgeable than me will give you better information, maybe help me understand better also.

I am enamoured with the MRC system. I am surprised when anyone is less than pleased, let alone dislikes MRC.

There have been cases where the dealer didn't remove the shipping blocks from the shocks. This would result in no detectable difference in the ride between Tour and Sport.

I could definitely tell the difference in mine. Neither was particularly well optimized but they were better than conventional shocks and springs in my experience.

Since Jim reprogrammed my car, significant difference by the way, I have been researching the system. I have a base C6 with MRC. A search of part numbers revealed my car has the same shocks as a Z06 with MRC.

Also, the base C6 with MRC has the same front and rear springs as the 2012/13 Z06 with MRC.

The front bar on my car was 25.4 mm with a wall thickness of 4 mm. The front bar on a 2012/13 Z06 with MRC is 33.3 mm diameter with a 5 mm wall thickness. I couldn't find the part number for that so I got a 33 mm front bar for a ZR1 and poly bushings.

The rear bar on my car was 17.2 mm mm with a wall thickness of 2.5 mm. Basically a cocktail straw. LOL The rear bar on a 2012/13 Z06 with MRC is 31 mm diameter with a 4.7 mm wall thickness. I got a RideTech adjustable Musclebar. It is 25.4 mm in diameter with 4 mm wall thickness and is adjustable from 400 lbs to 775 lbs and comes with poly bushings.

I also upped the tire sizes to 265 front and 345 rear.

Perhaps someone can help me understand how a conventional shock and coilover spring could be better than dampers that have multiple sensors and inputs to dynamically determine the state of the vehicle and suspension in real time and update the dampers for both compression and rebound 1,000 times a second and can adjust each damper independently.

Why would you change to conventional hardware instead of upgrading the programming or using something like a DSC system?

 

This was answered in another post by the OP. He has a 2006 so he cannot apply the upgrade.

GD

 

Thank you @gdmoore01

It seems that people with the later C6 version change to coil overs. I would like to understand why that is a good choice.

I'm not being antagonistic. I am an engineer. One of the things I enjoy enjoy about my car is learning about and understanding the functionality of the systems, especially Corvettes in general and my car in specific.

Presently my car has Jim Mero's upgrade for a base C6 with the Super option on the Sport setting. He has other programming for a Z06 with a track mode option and a Tour 2 and Track mode for a C6 with ZR1 suspension.

Thanks!

 

Whenever my credibility and/or integrity is questioned, I am compelled to reply.

In the 2000’s the technology of Magnetic Ride was relatively new. We were just cutting our teeth. Over 14 years, the flow of information lead us to continually revise philosophies and tuning strategies.

The final strip down and buildup of how we addressed damping was reflected during the development 2019 ZR1. This strategy was such an improvement, I retuned every 2019 Corvette model for production. 24 calibrations total.

The enhancements were so significant, that I convinced Service Parts Organization to make the 2019 calibrations available to anyone who owned a C7 back to 2014. So, I guess your statement above can also be applied to GM for providing a significant improvement at a relatively low cost to C7 customers. Also, there was 0 interest in doing anything for C6.

Summing it up, I can assure you in 2008 when I tuned many of these packages, I did not think I will purposely develop substandard calibrations so 11 years later I can retire, provide improvements based on my 2019 philosophy, and pocket the cash.

Thank you, Jim

 

OK, case closed......

 

Too bad some work around can't be developed for us 2006/07 owners. ALAS! Like our absolutely worthless paddle shifting, not much hope.

Jim, thanks for the work you did on the later MRC systems!

Joe