Grant_Erd

Hi all,

I bought my first Corvette a few months ago and am loving it! The car has the mag ride option and has been updated by Jim Mero from the previous owner. The car has New Tour and New Track. It rides smoothly and the shocks seem to be working and adjusting to bumps in the road, but the car doesn't feel as stable as it should. It has a floaty feel, I'm not sure how to explain it. Anywas, if anyone else has had a similar experience or has an idea for a fix I'm all ears.

Thanks

MissileDoc

Your post makes it sound like you don't like the Jim Mero calibration and would prefer the stock calibration. Contact Jim and ask if he can restore the factory calibration.
jimmero.com

Grant_Erd

Maybe. I just wasn't sure if this was the way the car was supposed to behave with the update. I haven't driven any other Corvettes before.

VetteVinnie

It shouldn't feel floaty in Sport mode at all. Are you only talking about Tour mode? Tires also play a role. My ZR1 with Jim's calibration would feel floaty at high speeds on rough roads, but would be rock solid in Sport, with high-speeds being 100+ MPH.

cadyshac

Your tires are all in good condition? Proper inflation? Good alignment?
I still have the stock calibration and "floaty" is the farthest thing from the way my mag ride suspension feels.

Spaceme1117

What tires are on it and how old? My bet is it's the tires.

jrose7004

I'm wondering if your tires have too much air in them?

cyclesailor955

30 psi in all 4 tires is recommended.
I have the Jim Mero upgrade on our 2011 GS,the Touring mode is much improved.
Sport mode now is the Super Sport mode which is much improved handling for spirited driving and on the track.With this upgrade the corner feels more planted and stable in the corners.
Money well spent !!

Grant_Erd

Tires are Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+. Fronts were made in 2020, rears 2019. Pressure is 30 all around. Plenty of tread left. The car is not lowered, and I'm pretty sure it never was. I've read that can mess with the calibration of some ride height sensors. The car did get an alignment before being sold to me, could that have been done wrong?

It doesn't feel like the tires are slipping, I would know what that feels like. To give an example when going over a dip in the road the rear of the car will move up and down way more than I think it should and there is also a side-to-side wobbling feeling sometimes too. When going over small bumps and taking turns the car stays very flat and makes it clear that the shocks are working as intended. There's no lights on the dash. I haven't had the chance to look under the car to look at the shocks and see if they're leaking. I've read about the "weeping" and how the shocks should last the life of the car, but I just can't help but think that something is off somewhere.

I appreciate all your replies.

Grant_Erd

I had a friend drive the car yesterday, and he's an avid track driver and has had many sports cars of all types. He noticed the car's behavior and suggested I get it looked at. He has a 370z at the moment with factory suspension and we took that for a spin and the suspension felt sooo much better in that car than the Corvette. All the same roads. Very interesting.

Grant_Erd

The car feels floaty in both settings. New Tour is very soft and comfortable but unsettles the car at higher speeds. New Track is stiff but can still do the up and down too much like I mentioned before. It's almost like the suspension tuning is set up for a car that doesn't have a 4 inch ground clearance.

Thinking out loud now, that might be the problem... Lol

rockinSeat

Fwiw, until I got used to the sensations from the mag ride shocks, it made me think it felt floaty or something like that. It was on rough bumpy highways at 60 mph or so.

Jim Mero

Hello Grant,

I am perplexed at your observations. What vehicle speeds are you referring to when you feel the car is underdamped?

Magnetic Ride has the ability to increase damping as the speed of the car increases which is in your calibrations in both modes.

Ride and handling is very subjective. I do have customers who expect an amount of damping way more that the normal distribution of customers. I have several clients who do not track the car, but love Super Sport in the tour mode and Track in the sport mode.

In Tour mode, even though we significantly shift damping at vehicle speed, it is a multiplier form the base damping, and I can understand if you are like my clients who desire more damping as mentioned above, you would also desire more damping at higher speeds.

I am puzzled at your Track observation as the track calibration has about 500% more damping than tour.

Please leave me a message at jim@jimmero.com and I will try to help figure out what is going on.

Thanks, Jim

lilcuda

Not how my GS feels at all. I have Jim’s New Tour/Super Sport calibration. My car is actually still very firm, but the impacts from bumps are more subtle.

I wonder if the F55 option was accidentally turned off. I recommend getting a Tech II or a VX Nano and make sure it is enabled.

Grant_Erd

Does it throw you out of your seat when hitting a bump? My bottom literally gets airborne from time to time. Lol

Grant_Erd

Maybe, but when I switch between modes on the switch, there is a very noticeable difference between the two modes. That wouldn't happen if something wasn't turned on right?

lilcuda

True. I guess I missed that part where you said you can feel the difference between the two.

Grant_Erd

My car might be perfectly normal and I might be expecting something different. I live in South Carolina and the roads here are awful. On a smooth highway, the car is a dream to drive, but on a bumpy neighborhood road going about 25-30 the car is pretty jarring. I hope I'm just over thinking it.

C6VetteLover

In regards to your comment earlier about feeling off- not the floaty part. Have a competent shop check the steering, could have a tie rod end starting to go. Should have been caught during the alignment but I've seen shops that couldn't align a hot wheels car let alone a performance sports car. Granted these are Ferraris but they do drive different than something like a 370z or such.

gsflyer2011

It is very simple, only one responders mentioned, alignment. There are different ways to align a vette. Factory settings, less aggressive settings for the ones who worry more about the tire wear and cost and more aggressive settings than factory. I am in the last group, I don't care about tires, after all it is a Corvette, mine with new tour and new super sport with aggressive camber drives like it is on rails. You do not know what kind if a alignment previous owner put on, that could be the culprit. Get your suspension checked and if it is not factory or more aggressive alignment get it corrected. I never felt floaty, but than I do not go over 160 MPH, especially not on bad roads. .