MagneRide Sport vs. Normal

[Vlad Soare]

Hi there,

I've always thought that a soft suspension equals comfort, while a hard one equals harshness. However, to my surprise, I've discovered that even on a rough road MagneRide feels more comfortable in Sport than in Normal.
Shouldn't it be the other way around?
I can feel that it's a bit softer in Normal, and that the car is a bit more "planted" in Sport, which of course is to be expected. But what I did not expect was to find it actually more comfortable in Sport. The roads around here are full of small bumps and cracks and manhole covers, which theoretically should make a softer suspension ideal, and yet I like it more in Sport.
How come?

What exactly generates the subjective feeling of "comfort"? I used to think it was the softness, but apparently there's more to it than that.

Thank you.

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[Trap]

I like the feel and handling of the sport mode better, but when cruising around with my wife she prefers the smoother ride of normal.

Part of why I like the feel of the sport mode is part of why I like the manual 6-speed, is that it makes me feel more connected with the road and the driving experience

 

[Vlad Soare]

Indeed, that's what I like, too. And I was prepared to trade a bit of comfort for it. But to my surprise I noticed that I wasn't actually trading anything, because it feels even more comfortable.
And I can't explain that.
I think it may have to do with the compress and rebound rates, and how they absorb some kinds of shocks better or worse than other kinds, but I'm out of my area of expertise here. Maybe someone with more knowledge in suspension matters can explain it.

 

[shogun32]

and yet I like it more in Sport.
How come?

without looking at the actual programming it's only a guess but I expect Sport is only changing rebound damping. If it is also changing high-speed compression (somewhat doubtful) it may be causing the tire casing to flex more and round off some of the impact force.

 

[TeeLew]

Shogun, you mention rebound damping a lot. There are many different ways to damp a suspension. It can be done well with many different compression/rebound combinations.

Similar to filtering on an audio system, some appreciate a more bass-heavy tuning and others treble. It's a product of both the music and listener.

 

[TeeLew]

With the DSC controller, you tune overall damping levels. The split is a product of the damper internals and the global comp/rebound bias in the software. You can't tune that bias during individual events.

 

[shogun32]

Shogun, you mention rebound damping a lot.

is that a problem? it's the easy direction to tune and relatively low and "fixed" velocity. In 'track' mode I expect there will be (more) adjustment in the slow-speed compression map.

 

[TeeLew]

is that a problem? it's the easy direction to tune and relatively low and "fixed" velocity. In 'track' mode I expect there will be (more) adjustment in the slow-speed compression map.

My problem with rebound is that if has such a big effect to both response & grip. A little bit can really help with response/chassis control, but often grip goes to hell in a hurry. My approach is not a particularly common one, so I always leave the caveat that there are many ways to skin this particular cat.

You tune Mag dampers in a significantly different way than passive dampers (at least with the DSC). It's not shifting the curve, but adjusting overall damping with respect to G-loads & driver inputs to provide balance/response while also letting things 'float' when not heavily loaded. I'll be honest, I only have a partial understanding of the whole process. There's damn little documentation about what happens in the background and how a change in 'X' influences damping forces in the moment.

Trying to tune Mag dampers without shock data is roughly equivalent to tuning a fuel map without engine data. It kinda sucks. At least if you're twisting knobs on a passive damper, you know what the hell you're changing.

 

[shogun32]

Trying to tune Mag dampers without shock data

don't you have a fistful of linear potentiometers on your tool bench that "fell off" the other car? Or can you really not get live position and velocity data streams off the CPU? There's gotta be some diagnostic data ports on some of those pins.

 

[Radiation Joe]

My problem with rebound is that if has such a big effect to both response & grip. A little bit can really help with response/chassis control, but often grip goes to hell in a hurry. My approach is not a particularly common one, so I always leave the caveat that there are many ways to skin this particular cat.

^^^This^^^
It's not surprising to hear people prefer sport mode to normal mode. When I ran adjustable dampers, I used to run more rebound on the street due to an improved ride and less rebound on the track because it was faster. That is not what you typically hear on this forum.
As another data point, many BMW drivers with electronic damping would track their cars in normal mode. I didn't use track mode, ever. Overdamped is slow.

 

[TeeLew]

don't you have a fistful of linear potentiometers on your tool bench that "fell off" the other car? Or can you really not get live position and velocity data streams off the CPU? There's gotta be some diagnostic data ports on some of those pins.

It's even more silly than that. The car has suspension position sensors on it stock which are taken into the Magneride system for part of the calculations. The DSC Controller, which replaces the stock Magneride controller, also has a logging function, but no memory on board. So, to log suspension data, you need to have a computer connected to the DSC (located in the trunk) all the time and presumably some sort of helper to push the buttons.

All they would have to do it put a little bit of logging space (a few mb would do) into the controller and use a readily available software package as a GUI, but I don't see that happening. Tuning something by feel alone when you really don't know exactly what variable produces which change has been a real treat. It feels a lot like mortar fire.

 

[shogun32]

also has a logging function, but no memory on board. So, to log suspension data, you need to have a computer connected to the DSC (located in the trunk)

For the $$$$$ DSC charges I'm amazed the device is that crippled. Anyone here a SME on Arduino and maybe also construct an in-line pin block to grab the input/outputs?

 

[TeeLew]

For the $$$$$ DSC charges I'm amazed the device is that crippled. Anyone here a SME on Arduino and maybe also construct an in-line pin block to grab the input/outputs?

The flip side is that it's a pretty complete product which has allowed me to do things which just couldn't be done with passive dampers. So I don't want to bag on them too badly, but it seems like the improvement path is obvious. And, since we have access to the CAN stream on the car, we should be able to pull *all* the car data to get a _really_ good view of what's going on.

 

[kz]

And, since we have access to the CAN stream on the car, we should be able to pull *all* the car data to get a _really_ good view of what's going on.

Can you expand on that ? You mean CAN stream off OBD port or CAN streat through the VDM module (which is connected through CAN bus - isn't it ? )
Reason I'm asking is I'm trying to get brake / steering wheel position off CAN for Racecapture and it doesn't seem like it's publicly available anywhere.

I strongly considered getting DSC but unless canned tunes it comes with are worth anything (what's your take on it ?), I'll have no clue what to do with it and most definitely don't have time for experiments in a manner you've described above (for which you also need to be consistent driver which I am not entirely certain I am).

 

[Dhruvchadha]

All -

I am searching for the right car out there and the pickings are slim to say the least, especially when I look for one with Magne Ride. My use case is very simple, I live in Dallas area, and this will be mostly a daily driver with some spirited on road driving in and around Rockies and Ozarks during the summer months. I do not have the mental acuity or fearlessness to be a track rider at all and the closes this car will come to a track is the parking lot of a track!.

Given this, I wanted to see
1. How important or advisable is it for me to get a car with Magne Ride and how and where does it help?
2. What is impact of MR wrt fast corners and hard acceleration at stop lights?
3. Would you consider MR to be essentially a track focused feature or something that makes it a more livable daily driver and benefits all around in terms of stability?
4. Would your recommendation for or against MR change if I were to go for a Convertible instead of FastBack?

Thanks in advance for all the knowledge and guidance you all share. I am self confessed newbie to Mustangs, but it's always been a "dream" car from early childhood.

Cheers!
DC

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