I am experiencing a very harsh ride

I am experiencing a very harsh ride, is the car likely to be in track driving mode and can I alter it?  Today is the second day of ownership and tonight I have slight lower back ache, it could be nothing to do with the car, but still a bit worrying.

Is the TRC and VRC anything to do with the ride, none of these were showing in the meter display.  If I press the right hand button in the pic, the “TRC OFF” indicator appears in the meter display, if I then press the left hand button, the “TRC” disappears and the meter shows a car, wiggling lines and OFF (presumably this is the VSC OFF), can someone please explain this all to me?

Other than showing VSC OFF and TRC OFF on page 42 of the user guide, I can’t find anything in the User Guide about this!

Anyone know what the 2 lower buttons in the pic do, please?

Check tyre pressure as sometimes dealer forget to deflate to appropriate pressure. 

*Heated seats those bottom buttons.

The others are to do with controlling wheelspin and traction. I don't believe they affect ride. 

Is yours a standard car or does it have coilovers? If the latter, the ride will definitely be firmer than standard. Also, if you're running 18inch wheels as opposed to 17s the extra wheel diameter will make a significant difference.

9 minutes ago, corradovr6 said:

The others are to do with controlling wheelspin and traction. I don't believe they affect ride. 

Is yours a standard car or does it have coilovers? If the latter, the ride will definitely be firmer than standard. Also, if you're running 18inch wheels as opposed to 17s the extra wheel diameter will make a significant difference.

My mistake, should have put this in the GR86 sub!

MY CAR IS A GR86 NOT A GT, SORRY CHAPS.

The system is not allowing me to edit my original post now either.

Traction control will not alter ride. Unless you end up in a ditch.

The lower buttons are for the seat heaters.

I found my 86 quite comfortable, until I put coilovers on it..

17 hours ago, olddriver said:

I am experiencing a very harsh ride, is the car likely to be in track driving mode and can I alter it?  Today is the second day of ownership and tonight I have slight lower back ache, it could be nothing to do with the car, but still a bit worrying.

Is the TRC and VRC anything to do with the ride, none of these were showing in the meter display.  If I press the right hand button in the pic, the “TRC OFF” indicator appears in the meter display, if I then press the left hand button, the “TRC” disappears and the meter shows a car, wiggling lines and OFF (presumably this is the VSC OFF), can someone please explain this all to me?

Other than showing VSC OFF and TRC OFF on page 42 of the user guide, I can’t find anything in the User Guide about this!

Anyone know what the 2 lower buttons in the pic do, please?

 

I find the suspension firm, but not harsh, so could be as others have mentioned, worth checking your tyre pressures, as sometimes these tend to be overinflated on delivery.

The Track mode and TRC off have nothing to do with the suspension, there is no suspension adjustment.  Button on the left turns off the TRC and the right button is track mode which shows VSC as being off, however my understanding is that in track mode there is still some TRC and VSC present.  To switch off all driving aids you can press both buttons together until TRC and VSC is shown as off on the dash.  The manual says that the engine needs to be off, however mine allows me to do this with the engine on.

@FROSTYBALLS is it possible to move this thread to the GR86 section please, thanks!!

On 9/12/2023 at 7:36 PM, olddriver said:

Today is the second day of ownership and tonight I have slight lower back ache, it could be nothing to do with the car, but still a bit worrying.

The suspension is completely analogue. There is no adaptive damping, so they are not affected by any settings. From what I can tell, the cars come delivered with 2.4 bar in the tyres, which is fairly high but not extreme. You can let some air out as you can quite safely have about 2 bar and be fine. But don't expect a transformation.  

Now, it is a sports car. That means it does have stiffer suspension and the low profile tyres adds further to that. It will soften slightly over time but not significantly. Make sure you sit comfortably and fully relaxed, without having to hold the weight of your legs or feet. Try slightly different positions. Small changes can make a big difference.  I hope your back gets better and you find a way where the smiles outweigh any discomfort.  

The problem with a lot of 'sports' suspensions is they only work at higher speeds; I've heard a lot of anecdotes from e.g. GR Yaris owners that the car has annoyingly harsh suspension at urban speeds, yet if they're hooning it on some rough country lane, the suspension somehow gets smoother and filters out a lot of the roughness!

Even with my Mk4, I've found it soaks up road imperfections better at speed; There's also this weird inbetween speed, above very low speed but below low speed, so maybe 10-15mph? where it sometimes feels like it's fitted with scaffolding poles instead of shocks  

On 9/12/2023 at 7:36 PM, olddriver said:

I am experiencing a very harsh ride, is the car likely to be in track driving mode and can I alter it?  Today is the second day of ownership and tonight I have slight lower back ache, it could be nothing to do with the car, but still a bit worrying.

How are you getting on with the car? Have you got used to the suspension and found a good seating position?

33 minutes ago, APS said:

How are you getting on with the car? Have you got used to the suspension and found a good seating position?

Yes getting used to it now thanks.  Previously I had two test drives in GT86’s and they must have directed me along relatively smooth roads, and consequently the ride in the GR86 over uneven roads was a bit of a shock.  Additionally my original post was written shortly after driving on the A47 near Great Yarmouth, which even the driver of a big Vauxhall taxi complained about!  The backache was nothing to do with the car and the seat is very comfortable.

The only problem that I have had is in a traffic jam, as it doesn’t like being driven at 800 revs in first gear as it hunts, but it was ok yesterday when I held back to create a gap so that then I was able to do 1000+ revs.  That’s not going to happen very often as I usually time my driving to avoid that situation.

Holding back for half a second just to let a gap build seems like a small thing but it makes so much difference! I wish more drivers would do it - It would stop traffic jams getting so severe!!

Me and a Ford Fiesta managed to cruise through a massive traffic jam on the M25 on the way home; Neither of us stopped once before we turned off a junction, while everyone else was constantly stop-starting, because we were both managing the gap in front of us.

I wanted to high-five my fellow long-roller but alas we were a few cars apart and in different lanes  

That's good to hear. The suspension is really quite firm, but since the chassis is so rigid I find it is a real pleasure to drive. I hope you've started to enjoy it more on some smooth(ish) and bendy roads 😉   

Agreed with the start-stop driving. The throttle mapping at low revs is far from ideal. Makes me miss my older cars with an old fashioned mechanical throttle cables. No lag or other hocus hocus going on!

2 minutes ago, Cyker said:

olding back for half a second just to let a gap build seems like a small thing but it makes so much difference! I wish more drivers would do it - It would stop traffic jams getting so severe!!

Yeah, I don't know why it's such an alien thing to people. It just makes sense to smooth out the ripple effect that runs through queues. Lorries are usually your friend as it's a PIIA for them to constantly stop and start.

They are my favourite thing to follow - The radar cruise gets a better fix on them, and you can leave quite a big gap because most people don't want to be behind one so you don't get so many last-second-divers cutting in  

It's weird though - In the past they almost all exclusively did 56mph, but I've noticed lately there are 3 distinct speeds now; Ones that do the original 56mph are still the majority, but now there are quite a few that do 50mph, and also ones that seemingly have no speed limiter  

1 hour ago, APS said:

That's good to hear. The suspension is really quite firm, but since the chassis is so rigid I find it is a real pleasure to drive. I hope you've started to enjoy it more on some smooth(ish) and bendy roads 😉   

Agreed with the start-stop driving. The throttle mapping at low revs is far from ideal. Makes me miss my older cars with an old fashioned mechanical throttle cables. No lag or other hocus hocus going on!

The weather hasn’t really been conducive to drive for pleasure and Easter doesn’t look good, so very much looking for an improvement in the weather before I can really enjoy the car.  However I do enjoy putting my foot down on bends and roundabouts when I can.

I hate driving behind lorries, vans or even big SUVs, as I like  to look at several vehicles ahead.