Cliffp

Maxpowers

Welcome. MSRC makes a huge difference in suspension compliance on and off the track. Without MSRC there is no change in suspension settings despite what mode you're in. Having said that, a lot of guys (and gals) on the forum find the non Z51 ride very comfortable for DD..

Rebel Yell

Welcome to the forum Cliff. There are actually two versions of the non-Z-51 (base car as they are called). GM offers magnetic ride as an extra cost option on the base car, and the Z51 car. Myself I bought my '16 Stingray without the mag ride, and found the ride very comfortable. Remember, it is a sports car, and the ride is a little stiff to begin with. But, nothing that is uncomfortable, and extremely comfortable on smooth roads. I thought the ride was excellent without the mag ride. With the mag ride you have 3 different settings. touring, sport, track. They are as they say, softest setting, stiffer, stiffest. The discussions about the need for the mag ride on a base car differ as much as a conversation about chrome or black wheels. Some say it is a must, others like me say mag ride isn't really needed on the base car. Like most all things it's a matter of choice. I suggest if possible you test drive both. That's the only real way that you can make an educated decision.

BTW, I've ridden in the Shelby's, and GT 350's. Those things are stiff. The non mag ride base Corvette rides like a Caddy when compared to the Mustangs.

eseibel67

Ride comfort in non-Z51 convertible is very compliant. Not sure, but it might be even better with magnetic shocks.

badboy01

i have a 2016 base corvette and i find the ride to be great. now i have heard the new 2019 base corvette has a rough ride ,that is because the tires are now bigger than the 2016 base corvette . the tires on the 2016 corvette are 18 and 19 inch tires which give you a nice ride. but the 2019 base corvette have the 19 and 20 inch tires ,which will give you a rough ride. in that fact if you buy a 2019 base corvette i would order the mrc unit to give you a better ride .

Skid Row Joe

Mine's a bought new 2017 non-Z51 convertible with MSRC. I specifically bought it equipped this way. The ride is harsh on the softest setting; Touring. I have not paid Chevrolet the $350.00 they want to reprogram the pre-2018 MSRC to the softer settings.

Silver C7

Skid Row Joe

What you can do is order out a convertible as mine is equipped, then add beefy Z51 anti sway bars front and rear. This'll set you back about $450.00 parts and labor at the Chevy dealer, and is an easy install.

.The base engine Stingrays have no rear sway bar, and a measly front one.

..Supersonic427, a member here has ordered his last 3 C7 convertibles exactly as outlined above - then having the Z51, anti sway bars installed right after buying them new.




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Corgidog1

I have a 15 on Z convertible without MRC as it was not offered in 15 w/o the Z51 pkg. I could not imagine a better ride-have no worries if you want a caddy type ride in a non Z51.

RKCRLR

My $0.02. The ride on a base (non Z51) with MSRC set to touring is about the same as a base without MSRC. The main advantage of MSRC on a base car is to be able to stiffen it up for more spirited driving.
The ride of a Z51 with MSRC set to touring is close to the ride of a base (non-Z51). One of the advantages of getting MSRC on a Z51 is it includes springs that have spring rates similar to a base car thus giving a similar ride to a base car when the MSRC is set to touring. A Z51 without MSRC has stiffer springs (and shocks) than base providing a firmer ride.

iclick

Actually, the base front bar is only 2mm smaller in diameter. I had a 3LT 2015 base and after thorough research I replaced only the rear bar. It tightened the suspension up by reducing body roll as expected and did not produce any oversteer. Going that route adds some stiffness in the rear and none in the front, the rear being only a bit more "tossy" in corners with irregular surfaces. I did not find the original base suspension to be overly soft or what little body roll it had to be a problem in a street application. After all, even a base car handles better than 99% of the cars on the road. Track applications are a different thing altogether, of course.

To comment on the OP's original question after owning that car and my current GS for two years each, if I had the choice between a Z51 and 2LT I would go with the 2LT and add a rear sway bar. The Z51 adds some cooling benefits that probably have little effect on the street, 3 qts more oil supply, lower gearing, and larger brakes and softer pads that will produce copious amounts of dust--to name a few things--none of which are really needed in street-only use, IMO. The base car will ride better and get better mileage, if either are important to you. That said, I have no desire to get rid of my GS, which has all of the above plus even more performance-oriented stuff, which I confess is somewhat of a philosophical contradiction. I got rid of the 2015 car mostly because I was weary of the A8 tranny. I became tired of being shiftless and enduring A8 TC and other issues--and, no, the manual paddles were not a good substitute for a clutch and stick for my driving tastes.

Cliffp

Patman

Mine is a non Z51, but without MSRC as well and I find the ride to be very comfortable, but it's not floaty either. Part of that reason is because I have adjusted the suspension to sit 1" lower (each corner on these cars has a ride height adjustment)

In fact, my Corvette rides nicer than my wife's BMW 328i and it definitely rides nicer than my lowered Honda Civic (which sits about 1.5" lower than stock with Tein lowering springs)

If possible, see if you could take out two different non Z51 cars, one with MSRC and one without and see which one is more to your liking.

4thC4at60

I've put more than 700,000 miles on Corvettes over the last 30 years without mag ride. I've owned one car with it - a CTS-V Cadillac - it's okay, but I can certainly live without it.... I'm 77 and have more than 80,000 miles on my C7 I find the comfort level just fine....

papillion

Mag ride is for those easily convinced that money buys happiness. 60K on our base suspension C6 suggested we'd be just as happy with a base suspension C7. The C6 was right. The C7 is a killer ride. In a good way. We took the unspent Z51/mag ride money and bought a set of HRE P40s upgraded to 19/20 Z51 wheel and tire specs. Looks are not deceiving. It is a tasty ride. And way fun-nur than a sack of black cats on Halloween.

SMT1004

Skid Row Joe

Unless you're street racing, you'll never know what you're missing, in how MSRC improves your ride. For just putting around town or the highway? You'll NEVER need it. Trust me.

z edge

I have a Z51 without MSRC and find that in TOUR mode the car is fine most of the time, there are some bad roads here i just try and avoid if possible. The C7 is much easier to live with than compared to the C6.

Take yourself a test drive and find out is probably the best advice.

JerryU

Yep, your statement I put in bold is my understand from reading a number of posts.

I had a Z51 without MRC and I'd call it stiff. About what I had in my C6 Z51, The larger front sway bar, the one in the rear the base car does not have and the 45 mm shocks versus the base cars 36 mm are the key. Most reports say the base car ride if fine.

My experience with my Grand Sport is interesting and matches with Tadge (the Corvette Chief Engineer) said about ride stiffness in 2014 when MRC was not available for the base suspension.. When I got my 2017 GS even set at Touring it was a stiff ride, not much less stiff than my prior Z51 without MRC. I drove for a year mostly in Touring. When I got the software upgrade I now drive in Sport Mode for the nannie and throttle tip in. IMO the ride is about the same as when I drove in Touring before the software upgrade. Mine for me but still what I would call stiff.

Track Mode is very stiff and useful when making fast turns as I do occasionally around the fountain at the end of my street! Fun to hit well over 1 "g" in a transient at the apex!

Jfkingd

I recently bought a new 2019 base stingray with mag ride (ordered it).

To me, tour setting is quite mushy in the rear, front feels ok. Sport setting is “the one” (unless you’re just droning down the interstate and expansion joints are beating you up — then you use tour).

Honestly the different settings feel a lot like you’re just messing with tire pressures. Except tour, which is mushy/rear & only good for straight lining or 100% comfort keeping the wife happy.

Although I don’t race any more (used to), if you’re even thinking about going around any corners “fast”, get the mag ride so you can firm up the rear. Base model with/without mag ride is a DD/street car only. If you’re ever going to find yourself even near a track or street racing, you need to “option up” on the suspension.

FWIW I’m happy with the mag ride and I’m glad I got it for my street car.

Take care.