[alexandre_baril]

Hi!


I suspect my front struts will need to be replaced, I have Magnetic Ride on my 2016 2SS. I am kinda surprised, I only have 32500 miles on the car, I was expecting more like 75k miles. I never track the car and did not abuse it.



Give it is really the strut that needs to be replaced, before I give the dealership a visit, is this normal guy? My bumper to bumper warranty expired 3 months ago and it is kinda frustrating as at that time I paid them to make a checkup of everything that could be changed before the warranty expired...


In any case, could I just replace MRC strut with non MRC strut? As I could repalce all 4 for the price of one. I don't use MRC and always use the same setting.


Thanks

[Alpha1BC]

What's making you think the strut needs to be replaced? It's not typical for struts to need to be replaced that soon, but it is usual for them to leak a little fluid as they get older if that's what your seeing. Fluid leaks that are light coatings of fluid and up to about 1/3 the length of the strut tube are considered normal and don't require any replacement. Side note, track use isn't that hard on the struts. The worst use-case for them is driving a lot on rough roads (think cobblestone or rough dirt roads that cause a lot of suspension inputs).

If you're not sure, try taking it to your dealer and see what they say. Sometimes they'll replace it even if it's just barely outside of warranty if something actually does need to be replaced.

And, to answer your original question, yes you can replace all MR dampers with passive dampers, but you'll want to get the resistor kit to plug into the connectors. Otherwise you'll fault the MR control module which will keep dash lights on and restrict functionality of other modules.

[alexandre_baril]

Originally Posted by Alpha1BC

What's making you think the strut needs to be replaced? It's not typical for struts to need to be replaced that soon, but it is usual for them to leak a little fluid as they get older if that's what your seeing. Fluid leaks that are light coatings of fluid and up to about 1/3 the length of the strut tube are considered normal and don't require any replacement. Side note, track use isn't that hard on the struts. The worst use-case for them is driving a lot on rough roads (think cobblestone or rough dirt roads that cause a lot of suspension inputs).

Thanks for the answer, when driving very slow (parking the car), it make rubbing or clunky sound in the front of the car. It happens most when I am turning the wheels and bumpy at the same time, or even when not turning if it is really bumpy. The sound is similar to the sound I had in my rear end diff before I flush fluids.


I am expecting an issue with shocks or maybe the sway bar that may need to be tightened.


I live in Quebec, most roads are rough unfortunately, but still, I was expecting more life, since I did not had this issue with any other car I had before.


I have an appointment scheduled next week, I like to have some info and some knowledge before going.

[Alpha1BC]

No problem! Symptoms you describe sounds like it could be the stabilizer bar end links coming loose. There's a TSB on the issue and a thread on it here. It's a pretty common issue for these vehicles, unfortunately.

If you have a way to lift the vehicle you can check this pretty easily. Lower nuts that attach to the bar can be checked without taking wheels off, but the uppers that attach to the strut will likely need the wheels to come off. Try tightening the nuts by hand, and if they turn easily that's the source of the clunk. Upper nut torque spec is 120 Nm (89 ft-lb), lower nut is 130 Nm (96 ft-lb) if you plan to re-tighten yourself.

[alexandre_baril]

Originally Posted by Alpha1BC

No problem! Symptoms you describe sounds like it could be the stabilizer bar end links coming loose. There's a TSB on the issue and a thread on it here. It's a pretty common issue for these vehicles, unfortunately.

If you have a way to lift the vehicle you can check this pretty easily. Lower nuts that attach to the bar can be checked without taking wheels off, but the uppers that attach to the strut will likely need the wheels to come off. Try tightening the nuts by hand, and if they turn easily that's the source of the clunk. Upper nut torque spec is 120 Nm (89 ft-lb), lower nut is 130 Nm (96 ft-lb) if you plan to re-tighten yourself.

Many thanks, I really hope it is just the sway bar. I am not equipped to do it myself, but I will note the torque spec to be sure they did it right.

[TRZ06]

Originally Posted by alexandre_baril

Many thanks, I really hope it is just the sway bar. I am not equipped to do it myself, but I will note the torque spec to be sure they did it right.

that is probably what it is. I have had the updated hardware and it still happens on mine after some miles. I am going in for my 15K oil change soon and will have them address it again for the 3rd time.

It is really the only issue I have had with mine (well I had the clicking sound when turning right from the drivers side left front wheel, but that was fixed and never came back after the first visit.)

I might eventually move over to the BMR links and hopefully that will take care of it permanently, but I haven't had time to do that yet.

[alexandre_baril]

Hi Guys, a bump on this thread, now my rear shocks are due to be replaced (38K miles). They leak fluid the full length of the strut tube.



I am not planning to replace with MRC dampers as I do not like them and they are expensive, so I am doing to replace all of them with passive dumper, ideally that are more like the "Track " MRC preset. Unfortunately my dealership does not really know how to bypass MRC, I know you guys told me I have to buy a resistance kit, where can I buy that? And what would you recommend me to put on my car, I want it stiff, not crazy stiff, but as stiff as Track preset.


By the way, what happens if you do not put a resistance kit? Id it just light on the dash or it will restrict performance of the car, like putting it in limp mode

[Msquared]

Just to be clear, you should not just replace one or a pair of MRC damper with passive dampers. You really need to replace all four. The MRC option changes damper rates on the fly all the time, in all settings - it is not just a steady-state stiffness setting like adjustable passive dampers. So if you only replace the rears, you'll have a fixed rate in back and as you drive, the MRC rates up front will change and you'll go from transient understeer to oversteer with no real warning or control.

If you want replacement dampers that are roughly as stiff as the MRC Track setting (which again, is variable during driving, but the overall feel is what you're looking for), then I think you're going to lay out some real cash for really good dampers. You're looking at Ohlins/MCS/JRI/Penske territory. I'm afraid that anything much cheaper will be a very serious downgrade in performance for you.

[Alpha1BC]

Ditto what Msquared said. Really should replace all 4 at once since you will get some weird/unfavorable results using MRC dampers on the front and passive on the rear. Also correct that getting a damper setup that stiff like that will be pretty expensive, likely even more expensive than just replacing the leaking dampers with OE parts. Plus, with OE parts you can keep your "track" damping setting all the time while still keeping the MR functionality intact for later if you change your mind or something.

If you still want to go that route an example of resistors can be found here: https://www.phastekperformance.com/a...6-401002-n.htm but google offers plenty of results. Not sure exactly what happens when you try to run without the dampers and resistors, but it's entirely possibly (and very likely I'd bet) that it won't let you turn traction control or stability control off in certain conditions and probably some sort of light on the dash, too.

IMO, you're better off just replacing with OE parts from both a cost and functionality perspective.

[alexandre_baril]

Thanks guy for your answers. Yes I was going to replace all 4 of them with passive dumper or change just the rear two with OEM damper.


I am going to call my dealership and ask for price and compare. This weekend I was thinking about that and I think I will replace the with OEM damper. It is not that often that I will replace them so maybe it does not worth the hassle. It will depend how much they charge of course.

[alexandre_baril]

Just called my dealership and it is 750$CAN per shock for the rear.



Any suggestion where I could buy OEM replacement part online that could be cheaper? I am aware of www.gmpartshouse.com, but if possible I would like a place located in Canada so I do not have additional fees like customs, etc.

[Alpha1BC]

Yeah, dealer sounds a bit overpriced. For reference, 84219920 should be the part number for the LH side, and 84219921 should be the number for the RH side.

I'm not too sure what retailers you'll have available in Canada, but I did find you can get these parts for about 400$CAN each on ebay.ca so that seems more reasonable? Not sure how rockauto.com works for Canada either, but they might be a good resource as well. Google is actually pretty good if you search for one of those part numbers. I'd think filtering for .ca websites might even be useful for that?

Once you have dampers, are you planning to install yourself or take it to a dealer/shop to have them installed?

[alexandre_baril]

Originally Posted by Alpha1BC

Yeah, dealer sounds a bit overpriced. For reference, 84219920 should be the part number for the LH side, and 84219921 should be the number for the RH side.

I'm not too sure what retailers you'll have available in Canada, but I did find you can get these parts for about 400$CAN each on ebay.ca so that seems more reasonable? Not sure how rockauto.com works for Canada either, but they might be a good resource as well. Google is actually pretty good if you search for one of those part numbers. I'd think filtering for .ca websites might even be useful for that?

Once you have dampers, are you planning to install yourself or take it to a dealer/shop to have them installed?

I will bring the part to a small shop to have them installed.



I found them online for 375$CAN each, the front are selling for 521$CAN. I am still considering buying the aFe magnetic ride delete kit and buying 4 new normal shock for 130$CAN each. The front are probably going to fail very soon too, so not sure what I will do yet. I have all the options at least.

[MatthewAMEL]

Originally Posted by alexandre_baril

I don't use MRC and always use the same setting.


Thanks

I think you will be sorely disappointed in the ride if you swap to non-MRC shocks.


While you may not change the settings on the MRC, that doesn't mean you aren't using them. The ride and benefit they provide are orders of magnitude better than a fixed shock.