Old Man in a C

A week or so ago I posted that one of my SRC shocks was leaking. I elected to forego replacing the $1000 OEM shock and disable the F55system.
The car has 40,000 miles on it and I assumed the other 3 shocks were still decent. Since I was abandoning the SRC, I thought it wise to replace all 4 shocks with the C6 ZO6 shocks. I'm glad I did. All 4 original shocks were shot... even though they looked okay. I could collapse them easily by hand, and they offered absolutely no dampening on the rebound.
Huge improvement in cornering and bumps. It's my wife's car and she's definitely not a "spirited driver", but she's amazed at the difference.
I've found a local shop with a Tech II programmer to reprogram the ECM? tomorrow.
These cars are sprung stiff enough that you can't test the shocks by pushing down on a corner like an old Buick. The tip -off for me was a slight "knock" when the suspension bottomed out on a parking lot speed bump.
BTW, I purchase all 4 shocks from PartsTaxi.com (CF vendor) for well under $300. I spent about 3 hours working in my garage with just a floor jack.

Russ

Old Man in a C

That's a good question, and I did consider it. I don't know.
On the top of the shock, in threaded end, there is a single drilled hole to receive a pin connector... no insulator around it. After the nut is put on, a connector locks onto it. I assume voltage is applied through here and the shock itself is the ground?
My thinking is that the applied voltage creates current through the fluid and increases it's viscosity... sport mode. Since it's not a variable adjustment, I further assumed that no voltage would be the default mode... touring mode, and the shock behaved like a normal shock with non-energized fluid. This would address a safety concern. But hey, I'm often wrong.
Russ

Aerovette

Magnetic Ride Control is a vehicle suspension control system that uses a revolutionary damper design to control wheel and body motion with innovative magneto-rheological fluid-based actuators. By controlling the current to an electromagnetic coil inside the piston of the damper, the fluid's consistency can be changed, resulting in real-time, continuous variable control of vehicle damping. As a result, drivers feel a greater sense of security, with smooth, well-controlled ride motions, and more precise and responsive handling, particularly on uneven surfaces and during challenging maneuvers.

The Magnetic Ride Control system helps maintain the maximum amount of tire patch in contact with the road. The system isolates and smoothes the action of each tire, resulting in less bouncing, vibration and noise. At all speeds, on all road surfaces and twisting variations, the system integrates with ABS and traction control to keep the vehicle balanced and poised.

Magnetic Ride Control is the fastest reacting suspension system in the world, responding in one millisecond. Using a simple combination of sensors, as well as steering wheel and braking inputs from the driver, the system's onboard computer reacts to wheel inputs by sending an electronic signal to coils in each damper, changing the damping fluid's flow properties. This fluid contains randomly dispersed iron particles that, in the presence of a magnetic field, align themselves into structures adopting a near-plastic state. This action regulates the damping properties of the monotube struts, capable of changing up to 1,000 times per second.

Engineers at GM Research & Development laboratories, and later with experts at Delphi Automotive Systems, explored ways to reduce or even eliminate the inherent restrictions of valve-based damping systems. The result is GM's revolutionary system that eliminates electro-mechanical valves entirely. It is the only system without electro-mechanical valves and small moving parts.

Magnetic Selective Ride Control debuted as standard equipment in the 50th anniversary Chevrolet Corvette for the 2003 model year. The selective ride control system features tour and sport suspension settings. The tour mode, with its extended range of damping capability, is so capable that it alone provides all the control an everyday driver needs. The sport mode provides an extra measure of feel and control for performance enthusiasts who want to take their cars on the track.

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kenc5

This may be cutting edge technology, but the damn things leak. My car has 15K miles and no hard driving. I'll never get these again. Too expensive to replace at 15K. They are crap.

coolcat

I've had the F55 option on my 05 and now my 08 C6.

Never had any problems with the F55 suspension including no leaking.
I purchased both my 05 and 08 brand new.

My 08 coupe now has 55,000 miles on it and still no leaking problems.



I would never own a Corvette without F55.
One of the best options ever for the Corvette.

killain

Well I know that the shocks don't cost $1000.00 apiece. I can get each one for $450.00 and the rears at $500.00. I personally never had a single problem with my F55 option. To me it adds a lot to the handling to the car. Porsche and BMW and MB use it in almost all their cars. But if you don't like , so be it !

silversvo

I took my car to the track and realized all my shocks were shot... I swapped in a set of bilstein shocks and the car drives and handles like a true vette... the F55 suspension is crap to me. my car is an 05 model with 15k on it.

billsee

I'm an engineer. Instantaneous adjustment of damping is a tremendous creation. I had F55 on 2006 coupe and loved its ride and handling over 2005 Z51. But didn't like the A6 (my first automatic) so traded it in at 9K miles for a 2007 stick/F55. Now have 63K miles and have had, and still have shock problems. Unlike conventional shocks the system software should be able to compensate for wear. Seems to me the only issue could be loss of gas pressure.

I replaced one rear shock, $1000 at dealer. GM said leakage is "normal" and would not honor 100K extended warranty. But the suspension is SERIOUSLY not right and now the other rear and one front are leaking. Dealer took pictures, waiting to see what GM says.

SEAICE

I have 108K highway miles on my F55 car. No leaks, no problems...

ALLEGRO

I'll keep an eye on mine.

RLYSLO

I have the selective ride control on my 2002. When I switch between the settings, I can notice the difference in ride quality, so it seems to me that they are still working fine.

Were you not able to notice a difference anymore when you changed the settings?

TraceZ

without being powered up, the magnetic shocks do not dampen.

That is exactly why they ship from the factory with stuffers packed in them.... to prevent the car from bouncing all over the place during shipping.

El original

I have a 50th anniversary with said F55 shocks.. no problems, my girlfriend says she would leave me if I replace them with some aftermarket shocks..lol. I love them and with these sh**** roads they are a must!! They are truly high tech and almost no moving parts, suprises me there are so many issues with them, I beat the h** out of them on every outing and probably wouldn't own a Vette without them. Rob

3GenVettes

The F55 system has a very low failure rate. I've never had a bit of trouble with it, but you will never please everybody no matter what the topic.

Bri03MSG

I had my F55 shocks replaced with the Johnny O'Connell Stage 1 Suspension package. My rear F55's were leaking and I was bottoming out and scraping on just about everything. My 2003 had 68,000 miles on it when I found out they were leaking. If you have the shocks replaced at a dealership you are looking at 800 dollars plus to replace each of them not including labor. I love the ride and handling of the Johnny O'Connell set up. It was 1000 dollars for all four shocks sway bars links and bushings. I have no regrets getting rid of the F55 love the way my car handles now.

killain

I have a 2003 with the F55 suspension. It's been perfect, but I needed a suspension Module installed last year of last spring. And four years ago I found that the 'Shock Stuffers had been left in with the yelloe tags sticking down. It works fine and more and more GM and other brands are adopting the electric controlled suspension. Damn near ever C6 Corvette I look at has the F55 option. Even Ferrari now has licensed the rights to use it on their vehicles. I'm sorry for your bad luck.

SEAICE

Not to mention it's stock on the ZR-1.

Now available on two different Ferrari models, the Audi R8 and TT, two Acuras a Range Rover and a variety of GM vehicles, I don't think there's any question that it's the suspension of the future.

05c6vette12

I have an 05 C6 and it rides like crap. There's no difference between tour and sport mode. Would it be easier to change all four shocks and disable the system?

silversvo

I disabled my f55 and put bilstein shocks. My car rides awesome now. Before, my car was very squirrelly on the road course and now it handles better. I have a brand new f55 bypass kit for sale if interested.

DSTURBD

I had the F55 suspension on my previous '99 and it was okay. There was definitely a difference between settings. In Tour, it floated down the highway like riding on a magic carpet, or a huge '60s Caddy land yacht. In the stiffest setting, it still wasn't really stiff enough for my taste, but worked well. I tend to like a really stiff suspension so I left it in that setting all of the time. I don't think I had any leakage in my shocks.

My present '99 has the Z51 package and I am much happier with it, but that's just personal preferences. Anyway, isn't a serious sports car supposed to have a little "buckboard" in the ride??

DSTURBD