HSV Magnetic Ride Control - Good or Not??

[skip100]

To my knowledge MRC could not be disabled. We have a VE Senator and the ride quality in comfort mode is brilliant, MRC does a great job at smoothing out bumpy roads. But when sport mode is engaged the car rides much harder and everyone in the car can feel every bump.

This tallies with what the salesman who showed me over the Grange said - just one button and it's either in Comfort or Performance mode - no third option.

Greg.
p.s I've ordered a brand new V8 Caprice. I *loved* the Grange but unfortunately the coin came down on the "Be sensible" side, rather than the "I just want one" side. Bugger it.

[1HDT 05]

I have had my GTS since July 07 no issues with MRC, dont use the track mode much I find the standard setting firm enough, the car handles and brakes brilliantly.

In terms of whether it's worth it I would say maybe not on it's own but for the extra dough you get standard leather, 20 inch rims and rubber, and a more exclusive car.

When you have the R8 sitting next to the GTS at the showroom you know which one you want to buy.

[Ls1CorpCruiser]

My turn to throw 2c onto the pile...



The MRC is fantastic, I leave it on all the time... I find with the added weight of passengers and their luggage and pretty much non stop fwy driving the car remains flatter on the road, much less body roll, better brakig ability and definitely more tactile.

The fact that I have now done 88,000ks and still on the ORIGINAL Bridgestone tyres is also a credit to the MRC IMHO. The fronts are about 40% to go the rears just about ready for replacement.

As a comparative, my WK is averaging 70-80ks per set of tyres. At 410,000ks in 4 years thank god for some economy in the equation.

MRC

[skip100]

When I test drove the Grange, the fact that the car was so very stable led me to EXPECT that the ride would be very firm, but somehow it wasn't. Sort of like sitting on a block of granite cushioned by air - hard to describe. Large bumps were harsh, but I'm not concerned about the odd bump here and there. It's the average rough Sydney road which I was concerned about, and it was fine over that. (technically, perhaps what I'm saying is that it absorbed high frequency irregularities well?) I'm not experienced enough to know whether it was the MRC that was doing the trick or not.

Greg.

[CarlFST60L]

It would be good if there was a pro driver out there that could do some hot laps with it on and off and see what, if any, gains to the lap times there are...

[Wonky]

The fact that I have now done 88,000ks and still on the ORIGINAL Bridgestone tyres is also a credit to the MRC IMHO. The fronts are about 40% to go the rears just about ready for replacement.

Wow! That's incredible from such a big heavy car!! What pressures do you run? I assume you can't go too high and risk upsetting your passengers?

[GDB]

When I test drove the Grange, the fact that the car was so very stable led me to EXPECT that the ride would be very firm, but somehow it wasn't. Sort of like sitting on a block of granite cushioned by air - hard to describe. Large bumps were harsh, but I'm not concerned about the odd bump here and there. It's the average rough Sydney road which I was concerned about, and it was fine over that. (technically, perhaps what I'm saying is that it absorbed high frequency irregularities well?) I'm not experienced enough to know whether it was the MRC that was doing the trick or not.

Greg.

Yes that was my feeling/experience too when I test drove GTS; you can feel the bumps but it's all "smoothed out very nicely".

me: "Damn, I was expecting GTS to be a little on the harsh side, this is a very acceptable ride!"
salesguy: "Er.... you're on TRACK mode now..."
me: "......"

The NORMAL setting was even more comfortable. Can't imagine what the Grange would feel like; riding on clouds?

[Ls1CorpCruiser]

Wow! That's incredible from such a big heavy car!! What pressures do you run? I assume you can't go too high and risk upsetting your passengers?

38psi front and rear!!!

thank god for the tyre pressure monitoring system too...

it has saved me suffering under inflation a couple of times already

[the voice]

Interested in knowing what causes the noise in the rear of the gts. Mine also suffers this problem especially in track mode which I usually use. If you could edit the suspension tunes I would love to have a very soft setting for the occasional crappy road cos sometimes even the performance tune is too harsh. One thing I have noticed is over speed bumps at slow speed like 5kph and even on some roads at 60-100kph is the tendancy for the car to feel like a highly sprung ute with no load in the rear. the car's rear end practically launches into the air! This does not feel like the best suspension money can buy when this happens but in general the car makes me feel like a much better driver than I am.

[nickgts]

I have had my GTS since July 07 no issues with MRC, dont use the track mode much I find the standard setting firm enough, the car handles and brakes brilliantly.

In terms of whether it's worth it I would say maybe not on it's own but for the extra dough you get standard leather, 20 inch rims and rubber, and a more exclusive car.

When you have the R8 sitting next to the GTS at the showroom you know which one you want to buy.

i agree i test drove both and ended up going the gts the only thing is i could only lower it with the walky springs 15mm but it looks like its lower than that. but overall the interior and wheels set the car apart.

Interested in knowing what causes the noise in the rear of the gts. Mine also suffers this problem especially in track mode which I usually use. If you could edit the suspension tunes I would love to have a very soft setting for the occasional crappy road cos sometimes even the performance tune is too harsh. One thing I have noticed is over speed bumps at slow speed like 5kph and even on some roads at 60-100kph is the tendancy for the car to feel like a highly sprung ute with no load in the rear. the car's rear end practically launches into the air! This does not feel like the best suspension money can buy when this happens but in general the car makes me feel like a much better driver than I am.

once i lowered my gts it changed it dramatically

[VX255]

I have had a VE GTS since Sept 07 and have to say that the MRC seems to work as most have described (very noticable when you change between settings)

my previous car was a VYii clubbie with very low suspensions and adj konis set midway (most people felt that the ride was a bit harsh, but i was happy)

however after expressing my dissatisfaction regarding the suspension on the GTS with C4B he mentioned there were a few threads regarding GTS suspension (i dont normally go trolling through the forum, just a quick flip at few areas)

My comments on the GTS MRC Suspension are (and use it on soft setting

1. when going over speed bumps at low speed the shocks make a lot of noise and bumping of compressing and expanding again - like there is blocks still in the springs and there is no travel (I have looked but could not find the transport delivery spacers just to be sure)

2. hitting small potholes (low speed) feels so rough i have stopped a couple of times to check the tyre pressure or see if i had a flat and pressure has been OK 36psi -

3. sometimes it does seeem as if it wants to skip laterally across the road with the lightest of road deformities - (i call it - tram tracking)

4. not a big fan of the auto either - sport mode holds gears too long after gunning it and releasing the acellerator to cruise, (i used to have a rip shifter (loved it) and was usually 1,2 when had reached the speed limit slot into 4th)
also dont like pulling into garage putting into park, getting out, take foot off the brake and car lunges forward another 3 inches (powertorque say a tune would help this problem (and after a drive in Marks Calais, it definately feels a lot better) - BUT I am trying to be strong and resisting the urge to start mods on the GTS - Given I have previously paid for quite a bit of Walkinshaw performance setup - predelivery - only to change my mind and do further mods to VY clubbie (which is now gone to new hands)

Anyway these are my gripes with MRC (and the auto) which I have had to the dealer to look at - but no fix to problem as yet

VX255

[gmeup]

does anyone know much about the hsv spring in the gts ? how are the ve hsv/gst springs different to the the regular ve SS fe2 springs? are they tuned differently or perhaps a different brand?

[JohnW]

I rarely take mine out of sports mode as it rides so well in this setting. Heaps of people comment on how smooth the car is and how compfortable it is to be in. But it does crash over speed humps to a point you think something is hitting under the car. The trick is to just tap and release the brakes before you hit the speed bump. As long as you are going reasonably slow, it seems to reduce the crashing to a minimum.

On the auto box, I found the standard calibration not responsive enough in Normal mode, and as mentioned above, holding too long in sports. Also is very hard not to hit the limiter in first when trying to drive hard in manual mode.

I spent a heap of time re calibrating my settings especially in normal mode and the car is alot or responsive now without holding gears too long at part throttle and kicking back to easyly.

Also in manual mode, I set mine up to auto change from 1st to 2nd but only at red line and regardless of the throttle position. The rest of the gears need to be changed manually as it will still hit the limiter if you dont. I hated taking off at a corner then gunning it once around the corner only to already be in second. Now I just knock the stick across, take off and turn the corner at a sensible speed, and then giving it to it. Car launches like a rocket out of the corner with the first change taken care of and both hands on the wheel. Then with plenty of time to think and react, its manual changes from there on.

This might not suit everyone but I much prefer it like this.

[auzgts]

Jeffrey..tell your HSV dealer to pull their finger out. Other members on here have posted that there is a tech bulletin on exactly the problem you have described and a fix for the problem.

Do a search. This forum is your friend.

Clubbie

BTW welcome

Hi Guys,

Just came across this thread as I am now having that same clunk noise from my left rear. I have tried searching everywhere for a TSB on this but can't find anything. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

[Troutman]

Had a couple of test drives of the WM Caprice, and fortunately it seems smoother than the Fairlane - I could definitely live with it.

Greg.

The WM Caprice is fitted with FE1.5 semi-sports suspension which was criticised for firmness in a recent used car review by David Morley (discussion link). The now defunct Statesman was more biased towards ride comfort. No idea how the Grange compares as I haven't driven one.

Steering wheel shudder and suspension clunks (neither of which bother me much but I will fix eventually) are relatively common on VEs including my WM. The shudder has been a huge issue with the Pontiac G8 too. Interestingly, I found that during heavy towing the shudder completely disappeared. But I would feel very confident that it is unrelated to MRC.

Cheers.