Yea off it rides like a Cadillac on it rides like a corvette. Huge change in dampening.

 

Thanks! I put about 150 miles on it prior to having the alignment done.

 

After about 500miles there are no signs that the CATS are having any issue. When the "S" button is pressed the ride gets stiffer as it should. I did not preform a reset of any kind after installation.

 

Why do you say / where does it say it should do that?

 

Looks awesome but one question. Whose garage is that? That's a great group of cars.

 

A quick search should answer both of your questions.

 

Would Photoshop be an acceptable answer here? I don't want to name drop as I am not a forum sponsor. I work in the performance industry and the cars in the background belong to customers. The STR is my personal car so I thought I would share the mod with you guys.

 

I thought these springs were out of stock?! Where did you get them? PM if you must. Thanks!

 

Looks tight (great!) - I wish it wasn't so hilly around here and I could do the same. But I'd make it about 2 blocks before I tore the front end off.

Well done!

I thought the "S" button was for "Sport" as opposed to "Summer"....but anyway I was unaware that depressing that button changed the CATS system in any way. I thought it was just a two stage damping system that automatically adjusted itself. So being a little curious I punched some search criteria into the Google machine and all I could find specifically on the CATS and manual activation was this:

http://www.modernracer.com/history/j...30history.html

About halfway down the article indicates that CATS is independently functional - no driver input changes the settings. Now I don't believe everything I read on the interwebs, so if that is not the case I'd be interested to see some more info?

Not trying to call anyone on the carpet here, just genuinely curious about how the system actually works.

 

I wrote summer because that's what Mercedes calls it, Years of owning benzs just slipped out! The benz guys rag you hard about using "sport" language LOL.

If you have new good shocks and firm springs there is no question the switch affects the dampening. I have nothing more quantitative then that but I challenge anyone to ride in my car while I cycle "sport" on and off and tell me it dose not affect dampening severely. To the point on a long trip my wife who knows next to nothing about cars or suspension (she is getting better being around race cars all the time) will comment "take it off race car mode your beating me to death"

 

Ya it can be a bit stiff at times.

 

PM Sent.

 

Nope. Please tell.

I found plenty confirming it does NOT do what you claim, however.

 

JagV8, You are correct.

I have gotten all information about regarding STRs' from this forum and it seems that it was inaccurate.

The link that The Chris X provided

http://www.modernracer.com/history/j...30history.html

"The package includes front sport seats (eight-way power adjustment for the driver), a sport steering wheel, a Computer Active Technology Suspension (CATS), larger front brake discs, 17-inch wheels and slight interior and exterior trim differences.
From a sport standpoint, the CATS system is the most important feature in the group. As on the XKR, the CATS optimizes ride and handling by using stiffer springs to increase roll stiffness and electronically controlled two-stage dampers. The dampers adjust automatically from "soft" to "firm," depending on road conditions and the dynamic state of the car. Unlike some other adaptive suspension systems, the driver cannot independently set the CATS to a sport mode."


I also found this after doing a quick Google search:

It features a Sport mode, allowing the driver to shift manually. Select this mode and the transmission will not shift above the highest gear selected, though it will shift up and down below this gear according to conditions. The transmission has two overdrive ratios. Sport mode stays in fifth unless the driver maintains a steady state for 30 seconds. But most of the time we preferred to simply leave it in Drive and let it do its thing, as it does it so well. It's a smart transmission: lift off the throttle for a corner and it senses the steering angle and holds it in gear. It also holds a gear on hills, eliminating hunting between gears."


I would however have to agree with this as there is a very noticable difference when the "Sport" button is pressed in my STR:

 

That's not right, sadly.

The J-gate chooses the highest gear allowed (subject to it being able to drop into that gear if relevant).

The accelerometers are what tell the car's modules what's happening and they then decide whether gear changes are appropriate or not.

Sport mode has nothing to do with either of those.

What Sport does do is documented and involves the Shift Strategy etc.