Cncwilly

what year was mag ride introduced to the Grand Sport? From what I’ve read it seems to be 2011 but I’m not sure. I looked at a 2010 yesterday and the guy tried telling me it had mag ride but yet it had no selector ***.

VetteVinnie

2011. It was not available in 2010 nor was it available on any of the Z51 base cars (what the Grand Sport replaced) prior to that.

EDIT: Side note, look at the photo of my interior posted above. That dial on the console between the gear shift and the cup holders is for the selective ride control. If it doesn't have that, it doesn't have mag ride.

Pettrix

The mechanic looked the car over today. Here is his report:

• No engine/trans/differential leaks
• One of the magnetic ride shocks is leaking, another has a very slight leak ($500 per shock plus labor to install)
• Some minor rock chips which is expected on a car with 26k miles
• He plugged in his scanner and got an EVAPORATIVE SYSTEM MONITOR - INC (not sure why this sensor is showing that)
• Tires need replacing. All 4 have 2016 date codes and rears are worn.
• Car ran and shifted good- test drove it for around 5 miles- got to operating temps
• AC works
• Interior was clean and not worn

So the car needs tires ($2k) and 2 mag ride shocks ($1k). That's $3k that the car needs to address the issues. We shall see if the dealer is willing to negotiate the price based on those issues.

Pettrix

Pettrix

jeffs64

Add 10% for Automatic Some of us can't push a clutch anymore "BB" bad back. I have a two seat roadster with a stick. fun to drive with no traffic but sucks in traffic especially going up hill.

jeffs64

Evap monitor always last to set READY. can take a few tanks of gas or One or Two GM Drive cycles. Will still pass smog with that it's the only monitor that's not ready allowed.

C6_Prodigy

It's normal for the mag shocks to weep a bit and get coated with fluid. They could be totally fine.

VetteVinnie

I shudder to think how many of those were changed out erroneously.

FAUEE

You need a new mechanic. Mag ride shocks are allowed to seep, it's normal. A Corvette specialist mechanic should know that.

2016 tires, eh, I'd say they priced that in already. Those tires are still good, but I could see wanting to replace them eventually. Tires aren't 2k for these anymore either. A nice set of Hankooks is closer to $1000 than $2000.

Ron Dittmer

In January 2010, I bought a 2003 Anniversary Edition Corvette which was the first year of Mag Ride. All four shocks had just enough seepage to attract a little dirt. I removed the tires to check the brakes and to clean the inside of the wheels. I also cleaned the shocks with kerosene, not only for appearance, but also to monitor the seepage. Time & driving, and shock performance during my ownership of 4 years detemined THE SHOCKS WERE FINE.

VetteVinnie

Well, they can be if you put ZR1 wheels on your car and buy the more expense Michelin Pilot Super Sport ZPs.

I have Hankook on my stock wheels, and while they were decent performers, I never took the car too far away (Texas has a whole lot of nothing out there). I prefer the peace of mind of the runflats, personally.

That's the same as my 2011. All of them have grime, but one of them does appear a little moist. I plan to clean them up and check that moisture with a magnet to determine if it's just the normal stuff. When I had the fluids serviced by a Corvette specialty shop back in 2022, they initially said the shocks were leaking and offered to sell me a set of Bilsteins. Once I mentioned they were Mag Ride, they changed that tune. I'll find out Friday with my own personal inspection. We had to call it quits Saturday afternoon before we got to bleeding the brakes, and my buddy with the shop travels during the week.

yeller z06

You wrote "sleep" I presume you meant "weep". If it were normal, wouldn't all four be weeping/leaking? I don't think shocks are designed to leak.

I doubt the dealer "priced in" the tires. They are all about maximizing profits. 8 years is kind of pushing the envelope on tire age.

Kudos to OP for the PPI.

FAUEE

My phone kept changing seep to sleep. But no, it doesn't have to occur on all 4. It can seep on one, two, for, or none. It doesn't affect their function and is one of those things that inexperienced mechanics are and will say "OH! That's a bad shock!" because oil leaks on regular shocks are indicative of a failure.

That car at 40k o would say they priced in that it needs tires in a year or two. They have it priced on the lower end, likely knowing it isn't a factory fresh, drive it for 5 years with no upkeep needed kinda car.

FAUEE

Honestly, with runflats only giving you like 50 miles, that wouldn't be my solution if I was worried about them failing in a place that's a whole lotta nothing. But I get that it's another layer of support.

I might try the Firestones next time. I've had no issues with the Hankooks, but I kind of like how the Firestones look more, lol. That they're available at Sam's (and possibly Costco) is another perk.

VetteVinnie

At the very least you can get it off the highway or not get stuck in a bad part of town without worrying about destroying your wheels.

I've ran Firestone/Bridgestone on my trucks for decades. I like their lifetime alignment program. My 2002 Silverado even though it's in the hands of my brother-in-law now still has its lifetime alignment intact. They've been aligning it for free for almost 20 years.

Pettrix

He's not a "Corvette specialist mechanic" but a very good mechanic. I went to college with him back in the 90's and he went on to work on all types of passenger vehicles and then heavy commercial fleet service vehicles. He said that mag ride shocks to go out and he has replaced quite a few in his career.

The Continental Extreme Contact Sport 2 are a better tire but even with the cheaper set of Hankooks it is still around $1,300 plus the cost to mount and balance, looking at around $1,500 OTD.

RocketRob

Pettrix, hopefully you can work the deal out to your satisfaction as, at least to my eyes, this is a very sharp looking GS with subtle yet tasteful highlights. Get some new shoes on that baby and join the club. Come on in, the water’s fine!

VetteVinnie

And I would wager that a high percentage of those didn't need replacement if he was not aware that some seepage is normal. If that seepage does not react to a magnet, then it's not the critical fluid that would prompt replacement of the part. Is he doing this testing?

For your reference:

FAUEE

While they can go out, if he's replaced "quite a few of them", he has ripped off a lot of people replacing shocks that are perfectly fine.