Active Dampening System necessary?

[crispaul77]

Hello, I was wondering if this is really needed for a car that won't be used on the track or racing. There's so many options and I'm just wondering which ones are really worth getting. Thanks for your replies!

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[roadpilot]

Daily driving on city roads like grandma? No.

Spirited driving though mountains, canyons, curvy roads, and anything other than flat, straight roads? Perhaps to yes.

 

[Zengineer]

I've had it in one form or another on 3 vehicles from 3 different companies. The ability to select different modes for different situations, road conditions and how aggressive I'm driving is very worth it to me. The question I've never seen answered is what Magneride ride setting most resembles a non- Magneride PP car? Normal is nice on rough roads but a bit too loose for a brisk run on smooth winding roads.

 

[crispaul77]

Thanks for the replies so far. Doesn't the car come with different drive settings even if you don't get PP or magna ride?

 

[erocker]

Necessary? Really?

 

[agreywolfe]

Thanks for the replies so far. Doesn't the car come with different drive settings even if you don't get PP or magna ride?

yes and no, itll be for steering feel and throttle response, suspension will be "passive" and obviously no PP means no AVE so exhaust wont change either. As far as necessity goes? its a nice to have not a need to have, it 100% improves the ride vs the passive system, but by no means is it needed if you want to save some cash.

 

[Aramis76]

The answer is, and always will be, NO...

and that's because the question was "is it necessary"...

Sure it's cute to be able to stiffen up the suspension in some situations. But that's it.

You can tell i'm not a fan. Had it on my C7 corvette, played with it a few times but to me, not worth the money and also another future costly maintenance bill...

 

[cosmo73]

My .02
I’ve had it on my M4, M3, M550i, M240i, ZL1, Bullitt, Mach 1, Supra and Camaro SS. Played with each setting in all the cars and while some are better than others(I would say GM is the best, BMW the worst), I don’t feel for street driving it is all that great. If you are going to spend the money, then ditching any OEM suspension for the aftermarket is the way to go.

I don’t have it on my current S650 because I picked it up off the lot and the car handles just fine. If it had it I wouldn’t have cared.

 

[Zig]

Depends, do you enjoy potholes? Not saying it eliminates them completely or attempting to imply all road imperfections are made smooth but it does have it’s benefits. Although, without any active dampening (no shocks) it’s gonna be pretty rough no matter how you slice it. So yes, necessary, but magneride (real time magnetic computer controlled dampening) isn’t required but appreciated depending upon the application.

 

[Zig]

Daily driving on city roads like grandma? No.

Spirited driving though mountains, canyons, curvy roads, and anything other than flat, straight roads? Perhaps to yes.

 

[Radiant]

There's so many options and I'm just wondering which ones are really worth getting.

Performance Package, MagneRide, and Active Valve Exhaust are the big three as far as impacting driving experience. None of them are necessary, they're just options. That said, adaptive suspensions are a pleasant luxury on unpleasant roads.

 

[HWill]

IMO NO! it is only good for those that want an OK performance suspension and comfortable ride at the push of the button.

You can build a far better suspension without MR. But to make MR better it is very costly.

Adding potholes makes no sense LOL. If you added MR for potholes, then that is too funny.

If you do any spirited driving, I would still never recommend MR.

 

[Aramis76]

So yes, necessary, but magneride (real time magnetic computer controlled dampening) isn’t required but appreciated depending upon the application.

Just to clarify, the shocks are not magnetically driven, it's still oil doing the damping passively like a regular shock. Only difference is that the oil has metal particles in it that, when charged, resists flow. (over simplified but that's the general concept).
Yes the computer can adapt to road condition, but it won't help that quick or that well...

Just to make sure nobody is expecting true magnetic shocks (like that old Bose video) cuz that ain't it...

 

[roadpilot]

Thanks for the replies so far. Doesn't the car come with different drive settings even if you don't get PP or magna ride?

They don't affect suspension.

 

[Zig]

IMO NO! it is only good for those that want an OK performance suspension and comfortable ride at the push of the button.

You can build a far better suspension without MR. But to make MR better it is very costly.

Adding potholes makes no sense LOL. If you added MR for potholes, then that is too funny.

If you do any spirited driving, I would still never recommend MR.

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