Z51 or Magnetic Ride Control

[blankster]

Thinking of going for an 06 convertable. Anyone compare the Z51 to the magnetic ride control... What are the differences in performance/ride etc...

 

[tlong]

Page Mr. Cool for first hand experience. By the look on his face it's very good.

 

[Mr.Cool]

Of course the Z 51 option is more than just the suspension differences, it's a whole package designed for better performance on the track and street. I do not have direct experience with the Magnetic ride but the two people I know who have it say they cannnot tell much difference between the settings. Thats not to say it's a poor choice. However on a roadcourse recently we had two Z 51 and one Mag ride. Watching oil temps the Z51's were in the low 200's the guy with the mag ride became concerned when his temps began two creep above 240. There are some who have the Z51 and complain about the squealing brakes, the pads are a different composition from the standard brakes and are prone to noise. I have not had this problem but I did take the time to bed them properly.

With over 11,000 mile on this car going cross country I have nothing but good things to say about the package except for the slighty reduced wet traction. It's your hard earned money try them both out before you buy.

 

[1955 BelAir]

Get the Z-51 ... Much more bang for the buck!

 

[OLDGOAT]

There are some who have the Z51 and complain about the squealing brakes, the pads are a different composition from the standard brakes and are prone to noise. I have not had this problem but I did take the time to bed them properly.

What is the procedure you used to "bed" the brakes? It sounds like a worthwhile practice. thanks

BTW...seems to me that mag ride is a luxury type option and the whole "package" set up of Z51 is a performance drivers' option. If the mag ride fails what happens say, if power is interruped to one or more shocks leaving the car's suspension off balance?

goat

 

[Mr.Cool]

What is the procedure you used to "bed" the brakes? It sounds like a worthwhile practice. thanks

OG, I used the method described in these links for the pads and rotors.

http://www.baer.com/Support/TechTips.aspx?TechTipID=4
http://www.baer.com/Support/TechTips.aspx?TechTipID=5

 

[tlong]

I believe Mr. Halverson did a review on the mag ride system. It's reverse engineering of crashed alien spacecraft shocks.:ugh

Saw a thing on a car show about that stuff. It is unbelievable, and needs a fast computer to operate. Like anything else if it goes out I'm sure codes would fire all over the place like all the other monitored systems. I personnally would go with the time tested Z51 suspension upgrade and let the mag ride shake out for now.

I'm happily bouncing down the street with FE1 Bilsteins and love the way it handles. New is usually better but not always.

 

[Daniel M. Novak]

Don't forget that with the Z51 package you get different tires than on the normal C6. The Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires on the Z51 have great traction in the dry, but they are rather poor in wet conditions. If you look at the TireRack ratings of high performance tires, the Eagle Supercar tires have the lowest ranking for wet traction and hydroplaning out of 20 tires tested. On the other hand they rank near the top in dry traction. So, these are not all-around tires, but are instead a great tire for dry surfaces.
I chose not to go with the Z51 primarily because of the tires. I don't want to take any chances in the wet.

 

[OLDGOAT]

thanks for the info Daniel. I was concerned from the gm literature that the Z51 tires were not very good for wet conditions. I still want that option so may see if the dealer will swap the Z51 tires for a standard C6 set. I presume that this would work out OK realizing that the non Z51 tires might not be as good on dry conditions etc but would be better on wet . goat

 

[Daniel M. Novak]

I just missed the cut for Mil Yellow. My dealer has found me a Mil Yellow but it is a Z51. I am also trying to work out a swap on the tires. I really like the stiffer suspension and additional cooling on the Z51 but I don't want the Eagle Supercar tires.

 

[njmercer]

The dealer told me that the Z51 package was better on wet roads; now I'm reading just the opposite here. I was also very upset to find out that the tires on my 1-week old C6 are too large to fit through the car wash--I know most Corvette owners cringe at the thought of taking their car through a car wash but I live in a condo and have nowhere to wash it myself. I took my C5 through the car wash and never had a problem in the two years I owned it. I also have the squealing brake problems which I'm not happy about. Can anybody tell me if the standard C6 tires are the same size as those on the C5?

 

[Tuna]

The answer depends on what you want out of your car.

The Z51 will provide better handling all the time compared to a MagRide car. If you want to autocross some (Solo II), the Z51 is for you. As a daily driver, Z51 isn't all that bad but - see the comments above.

MagRide has 2 selectable settings. Tour and Performance - Even the performance setting is not as good as Z51 for maximum handling and track performance. If you don't autocross your Vette, MagRide may be the best way to go. Tour setting is really smoooooth and Perf stiffens things up nicely for those weekend drives on the twisty roads around the country.

I love my MagRide 03 Vert.