Skyhook

[philgarner]

As far as I know all UK GranSports had skyhook. That said I could never tell the difference in ride, it always felt terrible, hence changing for coilovers.

I have the old setup, they do have wires coming out the top. Even if you do get an error, I'd just rig up a resistor across each connector as suggested. I don't really see how you can break anything!

 

[TimR]

As far as I know all UK GranSports had skyhook. That said I could never tell the difference in ride, it always felt terrible, hence changing for coilovers.

I have the old setup, they do have wires coming out the top. Even if you do get an error, I'd just rig up a resistor across each connector as suggested. I don't really see how you can break anything!

Yes...this has been suggested. Certainly it makes sense only to finalise the install with a software configuration once you know everything is as it should be with the new struts in place.. I wasnt sure whether I could hand off the car to a suspension specialist; that they wouldnt be on the blower saying the car was throwing codes and they couldnt complete...!! Most warn of MSP faults ( in the case of a Maserati ) Another reason to delay any potential SD2/3 endeavours until the final stage as I see it. Not that this would prevent the car being set-up and road tested...
Did you do the work yourself ? Wondering if I need spring compressors to get the struts out..?

 

[jasst]

Yes...this has been suggested. Certainly it makes sense only to finalise the install with a software configuration once you know everything is as it should be with the new struts in place.. I wasnt sure whether I could hand off the car to a suspension specialist; that they wouldnt be on the blower saying the car was throwing codes and they couldnt complete...!! Most warn of MSP faults ( in the case of a Maserati ) Another reason to delay any potential SD2/3 endeavours until the final stage as I see it. Not that this would prevent the car being set-up and road tested...
Did you do the work yourself ? Wondering if I need spring compressors to get the struts out..?

You won't need spring compressors to get the struts out, only to dismantle them once out, but you won't be doing that as you are replacing the whole unit.

 

[philgarner]

I got a local place that does setup for fast road and track Honda stuff to do it. Took 2 of them most of a day. They did a first pass on alignment, told me to drive it a bit and bring it back the next week to finalise the ride height and check alignment. All fine.

My plan was in the event of any error codes to take it to autoshield to turn off but was never necessary.

I have just been on a long trip to Scotland and have started reading about setting the compression and rebound on them. If think it is still too stiff for the road, I'm going to try and soften the rebound first and see how that goes.

 

[TimR]

Centre Gravity, as an example, will book a day to do set-up. It typically means everything checked ( corner weighting, ride height, trail, camber, toe-in, toe-out, tracking, comp&rebnd setting etc) starting from the premise that everything is potentially affected by the install...and ending by tuning it to the drivers intended preference/use. The advantage is that these people know how to do it.
Maybe Im being obsessive but it makes sense to me. Take your Ohlins trackside and an experienced tech knows the equipment already- Ohlins are a known quantity. Doesnt matter which bike it's fitted to.
The reason I would invest in a professional suspension tune is precisely because they should already have an understanding of the base line of the equipment & so then, the car ahead of set-up. This enables them to achieve the drivers goal more quickly and easily...
Not for everyone perhaps....What I do know is good vs bad tuning can be quite subtle in adjustment terms, whilst the result quite marked...

That said, perhaps it's foolhardy to take encouragement from the fact that you can bolt-on/bolt-off the struts, and then drive the thing down the road ! Im imagining all sorts of potential problems...!

 

[cheshiremaserati]

Centre Gravity, as an example, will book a day to do set-up. It typically means everything checked ( corner weighting, ride height, trail, camber, toe-in, toe-out, tracking, comp&rebnd setting etc) starting from the premise that everything is potentially affected by the install...and ending by tuning it to the drivers intended preference/use. The advantage is that these people know how to do it.
Maybe Im being obsessive but it makes sense to me. Take your Ohlins trackside and an experienced tech knows the equipment already- Ohlins are a known quantity. Doesnt matter which bike it's fitted to.
The reason I would invest in a professional suspension tune is precisely because they should already have an understanding of the base line of the equipment & so then, the car ahead of set-up. This enables them to achieve the drivers goal more quickly and easily...
Not for everyone perhaps....What I do know is good vs bad tuning can be quite subtle in adjustment terms, whilst the result quite marked...

That said, perhaps it's foolhardy to take encouragement from the fact that you can bolt-on/bolt-off the struts, and then drive the thing down the road ! Im imagining all sorts of potential problems...!

Chris Franklin and Pete at Center Gravity are very thorough and good. I had my Porsche Turbo set up by them - full day. Transformed the car with very noticeable before/after improvements (setup for fast road use). They have a lot of experience with Ohlins, KWV coilovers etc. Not sure about SD diagnostics though. Best way to find out if they csn help is to raise an enquiry via their website. They only do chassis tuning and setups, so they do very specialised work and will advise accordingly.

 

[TimR]

I wish I could say set up is complete - aside the beginnings of a very recent rear tie rod upgrade going bad already, I guess it is...
Centre Gravity have worked their magic and I can report that the set up has made serious improvements to the car. It is now on rails..!
I was persuaded by all the arguments as the process progressed, and have ended up with a car that looks spot on too....
Grimaldi's Engineering have switched off Skyhook as per the KW installation sheet too. Even though they've never tried it before, they agreed to have a butchers and happily, it was as easy as I insisted it would be...!

Its been a slog- now Im there, its time to put it away again. Next year Rodney !

 

[babel 101]

McGrath Maserati have flat out refused to switch off the Skyhook function in the car, as described by the installation process included with KW V3 coil over fitment...
To be fair, they dont know what it involves ( SD2 connection and a couple clicks ) and having never done it before, they are just saying "No- too many unknowns. Could be dangerous..who knows? Find a specialist..."...
My issue is I require a Maserati specialist, or at least, Maserati specialist equipment, to effect the deactivation of dynamic damping so that the car can be used with standard coil overs...! I thought that was McGrath but apparently not ! I also thought strut replacement something the workshop did routinely but again, apparently they are squeamish to do this either... I am disappointed but also "stumped" at this juncture if the work cannot be completed by a Maserati specialist...My instruction manual descibes the use of Systema Diagnosti specifically....

Im in East Anglia...will probably end up changing out the struts myself but I will still need to sort the electronics...
Can anyone make any recommendations where I might turn to have this work done...? As the car will probably end up on the back of a trailer, the closer to me, the better...!

Thanks

Hi Tim

think that the mechanics of maserati know or interpret what the SD2 machine or the machine diagnoses. Only that ... if you ask for something different they don't know

 

[TimR]

When I was doing testing to figure out my sports mode issue I unplugged the suspension ECU and it did turn on the skyhook error light on the dash. The shock absorbers default into the hard setting

Hi ,

On M138's removing / unplugging the Suspension ECU will not illuminated the warning light , if I recall its because of the option of not having skyhook with the dash warning lights remaining standard.

Try it and see !!

I had the Skyhook warning light with the dampers removed...
I disconnected the skyhook ECU in the boot and the warning was gone...!
Activating/deactivating the Skyhhok appeared to be so simple that I pursued the KW installation guide and changed the software setting using SD2...but it might not be absolutely necessary. I think this is right, that it has to do with the "Option" of Skyhook that Maserati offered on the 4200

I have just been on a long trip to Scotland and have started reading about setting the compression and rebound on them. If think it is still too stiff for the road, I'm going to try and soften the rebound first and see how that goes.

Phil- if the struts were set up as per the KW spec sheet, I imagine you will find it very harsh for road work....
On mine, "bumpstop" and rebound settings have been opened by alot...
One thing to note is that KW damping adjusters tend to lose the positive "click" if they are left to their own devices ( something I learned from the guys @ Centre Gravity ) - meaning it is worth opening and closing the rebound clickers a couple times a year to maintain this feature. Note, it is actually impossible to see the rebound clickers in the rear. Maybe being inside the car body, the positive "click" will not be adversely affected because it has improved environment protection there but bear in mind, if you cant count their position via clicks, you'll struggle to set them accurately. Its a bit of a pain to access them to do this but probably worthwhile IMO...
"Bumpstop" ( 2 way comp valve settings) arent measured by clicks ( although they do click) but rather by 1/4 turns...so these arent an issue in the same way....
Im surpised you have lived with the car on KW spec sheet settings for this long TBH !

 

[TimR]

With regards the idea of wiring a resistor across the open connectors after the dampers are removed - KW basically said “ if it was that easy, we’d have done it” whilst confirming they do not provide a cancel kit for the application.
I was checking this idea out with a contact who builds wiring looms for race bikes, and he warned me that the resistors can become very hot and cause issues. I can confirm that he is speaking from experience. Can you imagine a small fire beside the fuel tank and directly beneath the vapour canister...? Didn’t fancy this solution in the end...
YMMV..?

 

[Navcorr]

KW basically said “ if it was that easy, we’d have done it” whilst confirming they do not provide a cancel kit for the application.

Hmmm. They certainly used to and they provide a cancelling kit for other Maserati and other manufacturers. Not that you need it in any case.
Sorry to read of the tie-rod issue too. Will be interesting to hear what Larini have to say given they just distribute. Not that that should make any difference.
Can't say I've read of any issues previously. Hopefully, just bad luck and will get sorted soon.