Magnetic Ride Control Enhancement Announced
Chevrolet Performance announced a new magnetic ride control (MRC) calibration enhancement for the C7 Corvette at the SEMA show on October 30, 2017. The software update will be available from Chevrolet dealers for $350 and will require no hardware changes nor will the factory warranty be affected.
So, why would someone want to pay to upgrade the MRC performance of their C7? According to Jim Campbell, GM U.S. vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports:
"These new calibrations leverage the latest tuning strategies of the Corvette development team to offer increased performance, while improving ride quality. The result is a greater feeling of balance and more linear responses to driver inputs--changes you'll feel and appreciate immediately." During testing with a 2016 Z06, the new calibrations enabled more than a 1-second improvement in lap times around General Motors’ 2.9-mile Milford Road Course.
Additionally, new track records for a production car were set by Corvette Test Driver and Ride & Handling Engineer Jim Mero at Virginia International Raceway on the Full Course (3.27 miles) running it at 1:55:95 besting the previous record by 1.0s and running the Grand Course West (4.27 miles) configuration in a blistering 2:29:77 which was 1.5s faster than the previous record.
The new calibrations will be available by the end of November and the roster includes:
2014-16 Stingray with Z51 features new calibrations in Tour and Sport modes. 2016 Stingray (non-Z51) features new calibrations in Tour, Sport and Track modes. 2015-16 Z06 (non-Z07) features new calibrations in Tour, Sport and Track modes. 2015-16 Z06 with Z07 Performance Package features new calibrations in Tour, Sport and Track modes.
It is a little disappointing to see that the Grand Sport is not listed but calibrations for additional applications will be announced later. Let's hope (since I am one) that C7 Grand Sport owners will get this upgrade as well.
Here is a video from the NCM YouTube channel of the announcement at the SEMA show.
Sources:
National Corvette Museum http://www.corvettemuseum.org/magnetic-ride-performance-calibrations-enhance-performance-for-c7-corvette-owners/
