[FactoryMatt]

Originally Posted by GunMetalGrey

I guess the lack of responses just shows that nobody who is serious about the track was using mag ride anyways... ?

very nice. can you share spring rates and any setup notes w/ clickers or dynographs they provided? do they run helper or tender springs? do they run 2.5" ID springs? is the valving linear or digressive? how much droop is preserved? (i.e. are the dampers/stroke long enough?)

[GunMetalGrey]

Originally Posted by FactoryMatt

very nice. can you share spring rates and any setup notes w/ clickers or dynographs they provided? do they run helper or tender springs? do they run 2.5" ID springs? is the valving linear or digressive? how much droop is preserved? (i.e. are the dampers/stroke long enough?)

All I can say is I went with the GTS (middle) spring rate but with a helper spring in the rear which makes it kinda progressive rate...

The settings I ended up with after one adjustment and track session were...

Front
Compression set to max 14 out of 14 and rebound set to 12 out of 18

Rear
Compression set to 10 out of 14 and rebound set to 12 out of 18

[Slurpee]

Well this sells me. I was looking for some quantitative data that MCS was worth the price on upgrading mag ride. This will be my next offseason upgrade goal. I am hoping to get a 9L decklid wing before my next event in June.

[TRZ06]

I have MCS 2 way remotes on my GT4. I previously had an SS 1LE and as great as the MCS dampers are in terms of chassis control and damping quality.

Magnaride was still better if you have roads that are not in great condition. MCS is a passive system, so it can not adapt to road conditions.

In most "active" OEM systems, going coil-overs is always better, but when you are talking about Magnaride, it reacts so fast that I only think it would be an upgrade it you are tracking and even then I am not sure by how much.

One of the things I loved about my SS 1LE was that fact that the faster you drove it, the better it felt. 120MPH felt the same and just as stable as 60MPH. With passive dampers as the speeds increase, so to does the damping drama.

[Slurpee]

Originally Posted by TRZ06

I have MCS 2 way remotes on my GT4. I previously had an SS 1LE and as great as the MCS dampers are in terms of chassis control and damping quality.

Magnaride was still better if you have roads that are not in great condition. MCS is a passive system, so it can not adapt to road conditions.

In most "active" OEM systems, going coil-overs is always better, but when you are talking about Magnaride, it reacts so fast that I only think it would be an upgrade it you are tracking and even then I am not sure by how much.

One of the things I loved about my SS 1LE was that fact that the faster you drove it, the better it felt. 120MPH felt the same and just as stable as 60MPH. With passive dampers as the speeds increase, so to does the damping drama.

My biggest problem with mag ride on my ZL1 non 1LE is the insane body roll on the car. It's very uneasy taking high speed sweepers when the whole car feels like it is rolling. I've already done the rear cradle lockout.

[Checkmate1]

Spring rates matter. With the ZL1/1LE - It's just not the DSSV, it's the very stiff springs (1200lbs rear) coupled with no subframe bushings that makes a world of difference.

The ZL1 was designed to Glide.

The ZL1/1LE was designed to Transmit.

Keep in mind the DSSV has aluminum dampers shaving off 23 pounds overall.

It's all the small incremental changes that make the difference.

All this to say - from experience, the MCS 2 way cannot hold a candle to the DSSV (on track). That being said, it's important is that the OP is happy.

[Slurpee]

Originally Posted by Checkmate1

Spring rates matter. With the ZL1/1LE - It's just not the DSSV, it's the very stiff springs (1200lbs rear) coupled with no subframe bushings that makes a world of difference.

The ZL1 was designed to Glide.

The ZL1/1LE was designed to Transmit.

Keep in mind the DSSV has aluminum dampers shaving off 23 pounds overall.

It's all the small incremental changes that make the difference.

All this to say - from experience, the MCS 2 way cannot hold a candle to the DSSV (on track). That being said, it's important is that the OP is happy.

I have already added the cradle lockouts to address the subframe bushings. I don't really think that's where the body roll is coming from.

But you're saying the DSSV is better than the MCS 2 way? That's interesting because what I've seen on the forums is at the top performer of drivers, DSSV is marginally better than magride. Which is why if I am going to change my suspension I would go with coilovers instead of DSSV.

[TRZ06]

Originally Posted by Slurpee

My biggest problem with mag ride on my ZL1 non 1LE is the insane body roll on the car. It's very uneasy taking high speed sweepers when the whole car feels like it is rolling. I've already done the rear cradle lockout.

Your issue isn't the dampers, your issue is you are throwing around an almost 4,000 lb car.

There is no way to avoid body roll in something that heavy unless (like the ZLE) you throw super stiff springs on it and maybe stiffer roll bars. Weight is the enemy here.

Even if you go MCS, you will still need to increase the spring rates and the stiffer you go with spring rates, the more rebound damping you need to control that energy, which translates into poor ride quality.

That is one of the reasons I moved to the 718 GT4 from my SS 1LE. Sub 3,200lbs, mid-engine, and PDK make a HUGE difference. My corner speeds and g loading is quite a bit higher in the GT4 with a similar alignment settings.

SS 1LE on fresh tires on my local on/off ramps, I saw 1.25 G's max. GT4, 1.49 G's. I can also carry much more speed in the sweepers. Then you have the down force that starts to come into play above 120.

[DaveC113]

Originally Posted by TRZ06

Your issue isn't the dampers, your issue is you are throwing around an almost 4,000 lb car.

There is no way to avoid body roll in something that heavy unless (like the ZLE) you throw super stiff springs on it and maybe stiffer roll bars. Weight is the enemy here.

Even if you go MCS, you will still need to increase the spring rates and the stiffer you go with spring rates, the more rebound damping you need to control that energy, which translates into poor ride quality.

That is one of the reasons I moved to the 718 GT4 from my SS 1LE. Sub 3,200lbs, mid-engine, and PDK make a HUGE difference. My corner speeds and g loading is quite a bit higher in the GT4 with a similar alignment settings.

SS 1LE on fresh tires on my local on/off ramps, I saw 1.25 G's max. GT4, 1.49 G's. I can also carry much more speed in the sweepers. Then you have the down force that starts to come into play above 120.

It's a heavy car but that's a different issue that can't easily be addressed.

By far the largest difference in a magride vs MCS suspension is the spring rates. I'm running 4.5x oem rates up front and 2.5x out back. The car reacts much faster, it takes a set faster and when it hits a bump the cars recovers faster.

When the springs are that stiff the roll bars don't need to be as stiff, but the car's fairly soft anyways, so the Hotchkis front bar seems to work fine, it's slightly stiffer than oem. The ZLE rear bar is pretty close to the SS 1LE, but it's adjustable, and softer than the SLE bar in it's softest setting. I run both bars in the middle right now.

I'd like to get a GT4 before they go out of production or at least before the prices start to go up, but they seem to have similar potential on track vs the SLE with the Cayman being a bit faster at autoX. They are lighter and cost less in consumables, and seem to avoid depreciation.

The SLE can definitely be further optimized for handling vs stock, ZLE sized or even 18x12 square setup is possible with both upping the lateral grip potential significantly. I really like the OEM setup on track though, it's well balanced and fun to drive, the GY SC3 are great tires that are relatively affordable.

[Slurpee]

Originally Posted by TRZ06

Even if you go MCS, you will still need to increase the spring rates and the stiffer you go with spring rates, the more rebound damping you need to control that energy, which translates into poor ride quality.

I have no concern with ride quality at this point. Car is basically track only. I have ridden in a couple of cars with coilovers on the street and they never seemed that bad to me. I guess being young has its benefit

[Checkmate1]

Originally Posted by Slurpee

I have no concern with ride quality at this point. Car is basically track only. I have ridden in a couple of cars with coilovers on the street and they never seemed that bad to me. I guess being young has its benefit

OP - Per posts from others and my last one, Spring rates are where you will find your answer.

[TRZ06]

Originally Posted by DaveC113

It's a heavy car but that's a different issue that can't easily be addressed.

By far the largest difference in a magride vs MCS suspension is the spring rates. I'm running 4.5x oem rates up front and 2.5x out back. The car reacts much faster, it takes a set faster and when it hits a bump the cars recovers faster.

When the springs are that stiff the roll bars don't need to be as stiff, but the car's fairly soft anyways, so the Hotchkis front bar seems to work fine, it's slightly stiffer than oem. The ZLE rear bar is pretty close to the SS 1LE, but it's adjustable, and softer than the SLE bar in it's softest setting. I run both bars in the middle right now.

I'd like to get a GT4 before they go out of production or at least before the prices start to go up, but they seem to have similar potential on track vs the SLE with the Cayman being a bit faster at autoX. They are lighter and cost less in consumables, and seem to avoid depreciation.

The SLE can definitely be further optimized for handling vs stock, ZLE sized or even 18x12 square setup is possible with both upping the lateral grip potential significantly. I really like the OEM setup on track though, it's well balanced and fun to drive, the GY SC3 are great tires that are relatively affordable.

YEP!!

GM tuned the Magnaride on the SS 1L1 and ZL1 to take on a lot of the work. They used soft springs, stiff sway bars, and then let the magnetic dampers handle the platform/support of the car in the corners. It works very well actually.

I remember when I had mine , I could bottom out the front springs going over a sharp speed bump because the springs are so soft and when you are just crawling, the magnetic dampers aren't doing much.

They went the total opposite direction with the C8 Z06, they tuned it with stiff springs so it has a high frequency ride quality rather than letting the dampers do the work.

You are not missing much by not moving to the GT4 in stock form. I didn't like mine when stock. PASM sucks compared to Magnaride and they did a horrible job with the shock valving, too much compression and to little rebound. They are out of production BTW now, they are only making the GT4 RS and 4RS Spyder now.

Mine is only great now because I basically replaced most of the stock suspension and suspension components (san the control arms). Then I added APEX lightweight wheels and a Kline Exhaust. Wasn't the plan, but that is how it turned out, lol. I love it now, even more so than my SS 1LE, but stock for stock, I would take the 1LE.

[Slurpee]

MCS it is then.

[DaveC113]

Originally Posted by TRZ06

YEP!!

GM tuned the Magnaride on the SS 1L1 and ZL1 to take on a lot of the work. They used soft springs, stiff sway bars, and then let the magnetic dampers handle the platform/support of the car in the corners. It works very well actually.

I remember when I had mine , I could bottom out the front springs going over a sharp speed bump because the springs are so soft and when you are just crawling, the magnetic dampers aren't doing much.

They went the total opposite direction with the C8 Z06, they tuned it with stiff springs so it has a high frequency ride quality rather than letting the dampers do the work.

You are not missing much by not moving to the GT4 in stock form. I didn't like mine when stock. PASM sucks compared to Magnaride and they did a horrible job with the shock valving, too much compression and to little rebound. They are out of production BTW now, they are only making the GT4 RS and 4RS Spyder now.

Mine is only great now because I basically replaced most of the stock suspension and suspension components (san the control arms). Then I added APEX lightweight wheels and a Kline Exhaust. Wasn't the plan, but that is how it turned out, lol. I love it now, even more so than my SS 1LE, but stock for stock, I would take the 1LE.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with Cayman prices, I probably should prioritize other things and just keep the SLE. The other consideration is buying a 2nd small sports car like a GR86 or older Cayman/Boxster S for autox and keeping the SLE for track.

I was wondering about magride on the C8Z, interesting to hear it's not undersprung like the Camaros.

Originally Posted by Slurpee

MCS it is then.