The distinction
matters for
synchronization. One-way coordinate
light speed depends on how distant
clocks are synchronized;
a conventional alteration changes the displayed transformation
law while leaving two-way timing
observations unchanged. It would therefore be incorrect to regard every
coefficient in an unspecified coordinate
formula as a separately measurable physical
fact. Testable content comes from the transformation together with the protocol and dynamical behavior of the systems implementing the coordinates.
Thus the answer is qualified: transformations
as passive mathematical changes are not
experiments, while Lorentzian relations among specified measuring procedures have substantial empirical consequences. Separating these roles avoids both treating coordinate convention
as a measured
force and declaring the entire relativistic structure immune to
evidence.