Sensors respond four times faster
Quicker response, smoother ride, less roll
Cadillac‘s Magnetic Ride Control suspension was recently upgraded to version 4.0, allowing even faster-acting damping changes, greater responsiveness, and better road isolation.
The Magnetic Ride Control suspension was first introduced on the Cadillac Seville STS way back in 2002, and GM is calling this 4.0 version the biggest change since that first one. Making its debut in the 2020 model-year Cadillac CT4-V and CT5-V, and now becoming optional in the 2021 CT5 Sport as well as the 2021 Cadillac Escalade, MagneRide 4.0 gets new wheel accelerometers, improved magnetic flux control, and a new measurement of inertia that allows for quicker body responses.
MagneRide 4.0 | Photo: Cadillac
Magnetic Ride Control uses electromagnets and a magnetorheological fluid inside the damper. Basically, the magnets do their thing, turned stronger or weaker by the computer, and the fluid gets thicker and thinner on demand. That changes the damping to make it stiffer in turns, but instantly soft if there is a bump or pothole.
The new accelerometers process road changes four times faster and the system now better relates what the body is doing to what the wheel is doing, Cadillac says. Temperature maps let engineers compensate for the fluid in the dampers heating up, as happens during hard driving or on rough roads, to keep the shocks consistent. Other changes allow for less body roll in transitions and a faster and smoother response to surface changes.
Magnetic Ride Control 4.0 once again comes standard on CT4-V and CT5-V for 2021, and is part of the new V Performance Package (that also adds a limited-slip rear differential) on CT5 Sport. On the 2021 Escalade, it’s offered as an option on Premium Luxury, standard on Sport and Platinum.
