Yep, agree. Hit whatever hard enough and you hit the bump stop! Much higher load than any shock can deliver. On my Street Rod, the rear TCI Tubbed Frame is C'd so the 9" Ford axle has some room to move up! But I have it lowered so much, on a big bump the axle was hitting the frame. I added a small rubber bump stop. Less of a shock but cut down on the amount it could move before hitting. Bottom Line, don't hit big bumps!

 

Clearly, with the stiffer suspension settings, the more the road surface bumps translate into jarring bumps in the car. And I think that is happening even though the suspension does not bottom out. In fact its less likely to bottom out with the stiffer settings. Bumps are more like "impulse" impacts (a lot of energy transmitted to the car in short time), that result in limited travel of the suspension, due to the stiffening of the MSRC shocks, which actually limits suspension travel but allow more of the impact to be absorbed by the wheels and also more to be transmitted to the car body. I would say this does contribute to the wear and tear on the car, even though running with the suspension set to track is not considered abuse (no such statement appears in the manual). It can be set to track in mymode and Z-mode and there are no cautions about doing so and it defaults to track in Track Driver Mode. I do not set it to track because I do not like the ride to be that stiff. Occasionally, if the suspension is set to Tour, I do perceive a touch more bounce (suspension travel) than I like, but I mostly run in Tour. I find the Sport setting reduces the bounce without being too harsh and I sometimes use that setting.

 

^^^
Yep, even around here with no frost created potholes, ride set in Track rattles your teeth so no doubt causes more load on parts etc. But the issue raised is that Track setting causing wheels to break.

Tadge knows the loads they put the wheels thru SAE etc,Tests. When he says that Track settings don't create wheel breaks, he knows. The max load a MRC can cause is no doubt less than the wheel spec allowable loads and what a bump stop can cause.

Several Test Machines are used for the various, load, fatigue etc wheel tests.



Thought this was an interesting video. Reminded me of the issue with our welding society standards. Like some others they are "self-certified." Meaning you can say it meets our societies standard but don't have to prove it. Now bodies like State Highway Departments for bridges make the manufacturer send certified test results each year for products sold to fabricators making bridges. If it is not on their "approved list" it can't be used. Folks like the American Bureau of Ships and LLoyds, who insures ships, require an annual test of materials used to weld ships AND the tests must be witnessed by their authorized inspector. I have argued we should do the same for welding wire but that has never been approved. So Harbor Freight etc that sells welding wire made in China, that states on the package meets American Welding Society (AWS) ER70S-6 specification, may or may not!

 

My Z mode is full kill on everything but suspension and engine/trans aggression one notch down from max and I always drive in manual. I've used Tour + Drive literally a handful of times. Track mode is stiff, sure but it's not nearly as stiff as a lot of cars out there. My old MSRC GT350 in street felt every bit stiff as Track mode in my Corvette.

 

Underrated part of a non Z51 car is I can drive track 90% with it not effecting my suspension! I know magride is great for most people but for me I prefer non passive dappers. I like the car to be consistant. Especially using it as a daily I hardly have "sporty" driving settings, it normally nailing one random corner hard to catch a light or something.

So for non Z owners track mode can be always. I tend to use Z mode though with steering in the middle setting track everything else. Gotta make sure those valves in the exhuast are open lol.

 

I love track mode except for it trying to keep RPM over 2000 no matter how light my foot is on the gas pedal. My BMW's 'M' mode which is the equivalent of track mode still respected my right foot hints. When driven aggresively it would keep rpm up else it would revert to a more sedate rpm profile. Honestly we need a mode that is in between sport and track. Like extra sport. Or, allow finer control of the transmission/engine settings in the custom/Z mode.

 

Agree. But we do have the "driver influenced gear selection" aka "performance shift" aka "performance transmission". Even in tour mode that will detect aggressive driving, based on acceleration, braking, and lateral and longitudinal loading - and then it will change the shift points up and down, delay upshifting. It works in all engine/shift modes, but its more aggressive in Sport or Track. Its described in the Owner's Manual. I don't know how well liked that feature is. When it does kick in, I usually find it annoying. It cannot be disabled.

 

A c7 in track mode is nothing like a c8 in track mode. In the c8, changing modes actually changes things and you’ll notice them, the c7 is mostly the same in all modes IMO. I personally do not like track mode for normal driving, it feels very aggressive and I don’t like how high it keeps the engine revved. I wish there was an easier way to turn off V4 other than manual mode and track mode. Kinda lame!

 

If driving in track mode is bad for wheels, Id hate to see what they say about those of us on MCS suspension with 4x the stock spring rate and stiffer sways! I have had no issue what so ever and stock track mode compared to what I have now feels like Im floating down the road.

 

I would agree. The difference, if any, I sense between Tour and Sport is not appreciable. On the other hand, the jump from Tour or Sport to Track feels, and for the reason you cite, significant. I drive in Z, with Track for engine/transmission, and Sport for all else. I've found that when the car wants to run over 2K when it doesn't need to, I can just paddle up a gear, and it will hold. Problem (such as it is...) solved.

 

Tour Mode=Nice ride and keep my car as tight as new as long as possible
Sport Mode=Compromise between Tour and Track Mode
Track Mode=See how fast I can turn my beauty into a rattle trap!

 

Yep, what I do as well. BUT I don't find my E-Ray, like my 2020 C8 in Z-Mode Power/Trans set to Track is shifting or holding any higher speed than I did my two C7 standard shifts. I drive mostly in our rural area and back roads the 25 miles to town. Very seldom on an Interstate for the C7 so 7th gear was useless. Never found a reason to use 6th so was driving all the time max 5th gear. The C8 does the same in Z-Mode, seldom past 5th gear occasionally 6th BUT never in 7th or 8th. Who needs an OD ratio of 0.33:1 ratio. Yep perhaps on a flat Interstate OR if your GM trying to eke out the last mpg in the EPA Test where you lug the engine keeping max revs very low.

Yep I occasionally pull the paddle if behind a slow truck, etc to shift to 6th or 7th. The only other mode I use is MY Mode and will pull the downshift paddle when making turns. BUT with Z-Mode no need as just apply the brakes aggressively and it downshifts one or two gears in the blink of an eye, rev matching each.

 

My car goes into V4 while in Z mode. Are you saying yours stays in V8? Only way for me to stay in V8 is manual mode.

 

Yep in Z-Mode POWER/TRANS SET TO TRACK It can't go into V4!
No reason to set Z-Mode other that as described as you can use MY Mode if you don't want Power/Trans in Track. That is the basic difference between the two. MY Mode have no choice for Power/Trans it is whatever you set MY Mode to.

Here are the only two Drive Mode's I use and settings:
Z-Mode:
Power/Trans: Track
Brake Boost: Track
NPP Exhaust: Track
Ride: Sport
Steering: Sport

MY Mode:
Set to Sport so:
Power/Trans: Sport
Steering: Sport
Brake Boost: Track
NPP Exhaust: Track.

So feels the same re Ride, Brake Boost, NPP (Sound), Brake Boost & Steering
But in MY Mode it uses all 8 gears and goes into V4

 

Z-mode is customizable, and so it will depend on the setting in Z-mode. The setting that matters, the only setting, is the engine/shift setting. In Z-mode, if engine/shift is setting is Track, then the car will not go into V4 mode, even if the shift mode is Automatic. And yes, you can also avoid V4 by using Manual shift mode, and that will be the case regardless of the engine/shift setting. So, two ways:

1. Use Manual shift mode.
2. Set the engine/shift parameter to Track. (which can be done in Z mode. In all other modes, it goes to a default value which you can look up in the manual, or read on the respective display. In MyMode it defaults to Tour can cannot be changed in that mode.)

 

Lots of misinformation:

1) Cracking or bending a forged rim due to suspension mode? Nope, won’t happen.
2) C7 cast rims being damaged on the road…Yup, happened to me and there’s a class action lawsuit. I have two letters from GM, one for my 2016, one for my 2019. Not C8 though.
3) Track mode stressing the motor by holding gears? That’s when you paddle shift.
4) Want the best of all worlds? As already stated, My Mode.

EDIT: My bad, I’m quoting Z06. I have no idea if StingRay rims are forged.

 

Thank you!

 

Why do you say My Mode is the "best of all words"? My Mode does not even allow you to adjust the engine/shift setting - it defaults to Tour. Whether or not setting that to Tour is the "best of all worlds" is a matter of opinion isn't it? I use the Tour Driver Mode frequently, but if I want to adjust the settings I use Z-mode. It is my opinion that Z-mode is the "best of all worlds" because it allows the driver to set all of the parameters to whatever they prefer. But, its opinion.

 

Yup

 

Spring Mountain instructors advised track mode was for track only. If you hit a pothole you could cause $15-20K damage easily