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Note there is a parallel thread discussing the DSC Controller in the C7 Z06 Forum. It provides a great deal of additional information, comments and buyers critiques. Here's the link: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ervations.html
I have a DSC Sport magnetic shock controller on my 17 C7Z. In my opinion it is the best modification available for cars with magnetic shocks including Z51 and GS cars.
It's game changing and truly transforms the cars performance. I have a hard time putting into words just how transformational the DSC Sport Controller is in EVERY driving situation. The handling gains during aggressive street driving and on the track are shocking. Hugh improvement over the OEM controller. Just truly amazing.
I was out in the country yesterday testing/playing on fun roads with the various modes and observed something "new" I found very interesting/useful just cruising down the highway. Traveling to the fun roads took about 1.5 hours each way on the highway. While cruising I killed the boredom by playing with ALL the shock setting modes.
I was astonished at how comfortable/compliant the ride was while cruising the highway in RACE/PTM WET mode. It was GREATLY better than non-PTM TOURING or non-PTM WEATHER settings. Amazingly good at smoothing out everything including small bumps and expansion joints.
I was surprised enough at the ride that I called DSC Sport from the car on my way home to discuss. They were at first surprised at my observation but then said it makes perfect sense. They said their calibrations in RACE/PTM WET are softer than other OEM settings which results in a much better highway ride. They had just never considered trying that setting on the highway.
Bottom line, my "new" go to setting for going up and down a highway is RACE/PTM WET. Very, very comfortable. Not good for aggressive performance driving but game changing for boring highway cruising.
Just wanted to share my observations. C7 owners with magnetic shocks owe it to them selves to get one of the controllers. It truly provides game changing performance improvements. Not "slight" improvements you "think" you can feel but HUGH, real world performance improvements.
FWIW, I'm not affiliated with DSC Sport but am a very satisfied customer.
I posted this in the Z06 forum as well, but it applies to all C7 MRC's.
This post is a summary of information from DSC and others - yet focused for those wanting to adjust/tune for steady state conditions rather than track type tuning. I am not connected with DSC in any way, except that I did purchase a C7 controller.
Despite the extensive track testing and handling performance improvements of the DSC sport controller with serious driving, a very common comment is how the DSC controller provides a ‘better ride’ – which almost always means a bit softer. For me, I must admit there are days when I don’t want to be able to count the pebbles on the road with my butt when driving the C7.
The recent GM MRC update does offer a cushier Tour setting, but you are stuck with what GM provides.
The DSC controller also adds good tuning options for those ‘relaxed steady state’ driving days. Yet, when the situation calls for it, the controller will instantly change to performance values. The G Table is one of the tables that provides this ability for tuning which feeds those values to the damper calibration table. But tuning for a compliant ride risks the effect of ‘float’, so the steady state parameters do need some attention.
The G table tells the damper calibration table how much current to provide to the dampers. (along with the other tables). However, this table has a ‘comfort zone’. The comfort zone parameters OVERRIDE the percent values in the G force table and enable very low damping (ie ‘comfort’) in steady state conditions.
The zone (ie when to ignore the vales in the G Table) is defined by the G Comfort parameters The Default rate parameter is the value provided to the damper calibration table when comfort zone is ‘active’ and is typically 1 to 10 – which is much lower than the values in the G table.
You will exit the ‘comfort zone’ when:
The actual G force of the car exceeds the ‘G rate max’ value you set (ie 35 = 0.35G)
The G force rate of the car (ie sudden changes in direction, accel or brake) exceeds the value in the sensitivity parameter. (G force rate can be exceeded with small but quick events such as brief and sudden turns.)
A common complaint about the plush tour mode in the DSC V2 calibration file is ‘float’, and particularly with the rear dampers. The values in the low end of the damper calibration curve (up to about 20%) are key to getting just enough damping to avoid excessive ‘float’.
This chart is an excerpt of the damper calibration curve I am trying. Note the slightly increased values for the rear dampers aimed at the rear end ‘float;.
I am trying out several versions of settings and will report back when I have had a chance to observe how the settings behave. The objective I am pursuing is to find that compliant ride in the Tour setting without excessive ‘float’.
The differences between the OEM settings (Tour, Sport, or Track) are pretty dramatic to me. I can't see needing any additional settings.
I may well not be understanding your description very well.
Agree, OEM settings in Tour, Sport and Track are very different. My observation even in Tour you aren't provided a very comfortable/compliant ride. You still feel the small bumps, expansion joints and imperfections through the chassis, steering wheel, etc.
With the DSC Sport controller in the setting I detail you don't feel these. You are provided a much more comfortable ride. Makes a big difference and gets old when putting in a lot of miles on a long haul. Makes the car ride more like an S class Mercedes.
I truly realize what the C7 was designed a world class sports car and not an S class and you want to have this chassis/suspension feedback available when using the car as designed during aggressive driving and track usage. However, it's real nice being able to enjoy a comfortable ride when not being used as designed, such as boring highway miles....
Agree, OEM settings in Tour, Sport and Track are very different. My observation even in Tour you aren't provided a very comfortable/compliant ride. You still feel the small bumps, expansion joints and imperfections through the chassis, steering wheel, etc.
With the DSC Sport controller in the setting I detail you don't feel these. You are provided a much more comfortable ride. Makes a big difference and gets old when putting in a lot of miles on a long haul. Makes the car ride more like an S class Mercedes.
I truly realize what the C7 was designed a world class sports car and not an S class and you want to have this chassis/suspension feedback available when using the car as designed during aggressive driving and track usage. However, it's real nice being able to enjoy a comfortable ride when not being used as designed, such as boring highway miles....
If that's the case, that might make it very desirable. Thanks for the elaboration.
How much is this device? What's it cost? How hard is the install and does it mess with the warranty?
The controller costs $1,290. Nice part is it's a "black box" and as such is not a consumable component. I bet you could recoup 75% of the controller cost by reselling when selling the car. Just need to put the OEM box back in.
Amazing bang for the buck. There are a number of threads on the Z06 forum where others also discuss the benefits realized. Just do a Search on "DSC". Good stuff.
It took me 20 minutes to install. Simple plug and play. You unplug the OEM controller located behind the left front fender liner. Access is gained by removing the 4 screws securing the fender liner/splash guard. You don't even need to remove the wheel or jack the car up.
I can't imagine it would affect warranty as all it does it control the shocks. If you were to have a shock issue you could pop the OEM controller back in, however, nobody would even know it's in there...
Based on your settings you are saying that the ride is better than regular TOUR mode when you go to TRACK WET, is that right?
Originally Posted by rikhek
Agree, OEM settings in Tour, Sport and Track are very different. My observation even in Tour you aren't provided a very comfortable/compliant ride. You still feel the small bumps, expansion joints and imperfections through the chassis, steering wheel, etc.
With the DSC Sport controller in the setting I detail you don't feel these. You are provided a much more comfortable ride. Makes a big difference and gets old when putting in a lot of miles on a long haul. Makes the car ride more like an S class Mercedes.
I truly realize what the C7 was designed a world class sports car and not an S class and you want to have this chassis/suspension feedback available when using the car as designed during aggressive driving and track usage. However, it's real nice being able to enjoy a comfortable ride when not being used as designed, such as boring highway miles....
I have a DSC Sport magnetic shock controller on my 17 C7Z. In my opinion it is the best modification available for cars with magnetic shocks including Z51 and GS cars.
It's game changing and truly transforms the cars performance. I have a hard time putting into words just how transformational the DSC Sport Controller is in EVERY driving situation. The handling gains during aggressive street driving and on the track are shocking. Hugh improvement over the OEM controller. Just truly amazing.
I was out in the country yesterday testing/playing on fun roads with the various modes and observed something "new" I found very interesting/useful just cruising down the highway. Traveling to the fun roads took about 1.5 hours each way on the highway. While cruising I killed the boredom by playing with ALL the shock setting modes.
I was astonished at how comfortable/compliant the ride was while cruising the highway in RACE/PTM WET mode. It was GREATLY better than non-PTM TOURING or non-PTM WEATHER settings. Amazingly good at smoothing out everything including small bumps and expansion joints.
I was surprised enough at the ride that I called DSC Sport from the car on my way home to discuss. They were at first surprised at my observation but then said it makes perfect sense. They said their calibrations in RACE/PTM WET are softer than other OEM settings which results in a much better highway ride. They had just never considered trying that setting on the highway.
Bottom line, my "new" go to setting for going up and down a highway is RACE/PTM WET. Very, very comfortable. Not good for aggressive performance driving but game changing for boring highway cruising.
Just wanted to share my observations. C7 owners with magnetic shocks owe it to them selves to get one of the controllers. It truly provides game changing performance improvements. Not "slight" improvements you "think" you can feel but HUGH, real world performance improvements.
FWIW, I'm not affiliated with DSC Sport but am a very satisfied customer.
Rick
How do you know they are real world performance improvements? Unless there are published numbers, it's still seat of the pants and feel.
How do you know they are real world performance improvements? Unless there are published numbers, it's still seat of the pants and feel.
A good number of quantitative results from people who have been tracking their cars with the controllers are available in the C7 Z06 forum. An entire post search of "DSC" will provide lots of good information and actual results. I've not had my car on the track since getting the controller due to it being winter.
Sort of apples and oranges but I race a 997.2 911T nationwide in the PCA series. We installed the DSC controller on the race car prior to the first race of this years season at Sebring. First session off the truck with no suspension tuning I realized just over 2 seconds. By the end of our first test day I saw over 3 seconds.
Also, I was racing with a broken leg (i.e., tibia and fibula) I experienced in a motocross incident. I didn't think I'd be able to race due to Sebring being as rough and bumpy as it is. I was still on crutches with an air cast but didn't want to miss the first race so we showed up. I was amazed at how the controller tamed the bumps and roughness of Sebring. It made it feel like a repave since my prior race the year before. I had no issues running for 6 days other than getting in and out of the car.
I realize I probably sound like I'm exaggerating but that is not the case. The controller is game changing. The improvement realized from the controller on my C7Z is better than on the race car.
I bought the controller for performance improvements. The more comfortable ride when racking up highway miles in PTM WET is an added bonus I stumbled upon.....
Of course, they could, but they're also all about keeping costs down.
Given the OP's track experience, he's got my attention. Sebring is one of the nastiest, roughest tracks anywhere, and if it can actually tame that, it must be making better use of the MSRC technology than the box GM gave us.
Agree, OEM settings in Tour, Sport and Track are very different. My observation even in Tour you aren't provided a very comfortable/compliant ride. You still feel the small bumps, expansion joints and imperfections through the chassis, steering wheel, etc.
With the DSC Sport controller in the setting I detail you don't feel these. You are provided a much more comfortable ride. Makes a big difference and gets old when putting in a lot of miles on a long haul. Makes the car ride more like an S class Mercedes.
I truly realize what the C7 was designed a world class sports car and not an S class and you want to have this chassis/suspension feedback available when using the car as designed during aggressive driving and track usage. However, it's real nice beinle to enjoy a comfortable ride when not being used as designed, such as boring highway miles....
I have a 2015 Z51 manual trans with Mag Ride and have found that for long mileage highway cruising, selecting Weather mode gives a smother ride than on Tour. For those wanting a smoother ride this could be your solution. I have noticed a softer ride even in town with the Weather mode. I think though that the engine tune is changed resulting in slightly less throttle response.
According to both the owner's manual and to my butt test, the MSRC mode setting is the same in Weather, Economy, and Tour. Sport and Track are the only other settings.
01-03-2017, 11:43 AM
DSC Sport Magnetic Shock controller observations
