💥Installed KW V3 DDC ECU on RS3💥
.
So. Much. Better.
Installed is the KW DDC ECU w/WLAN. So, the standard V3 coilover kit with electronically controlled damping adjustments plus the phone app control by adding the optional WLAN module for a wifi connection. It’s been in over a month and so far I’m very happy with it. I’ve always liked KW coilovers and have used them on several of my MQB & MLB cars. It’s leaps and bounds more compliant over the stock set up as expected.
My comments are as viewed through the lens of the car as a daily driver, for hard street, weekend AutoX & road course. The spring rates are likely too soft for dedicated drag @ 346 lb/in (60N/mm) rear & progressive front. The rates that come standard on this kit are very close to the rates used in the KW HAS for the RS3 which is what this kit is replacing on mine. That said, it can still certainly be used on the strip with it set in Sport + for those not focused only on shaving tenths.
My main complaints on the stock mag ride dampers:
Comfort:
Too soft & useless for me other than as a winter mode for pothole duty. Ive used it 6 months out of the year since summer of 2017 for this purpose and the oscillation made me sad the entire time. I had no confidence pushing it hard in Comfort. Using Dynamic during this season is out of the question here even with 18”; the roads are that bad and frankly only marginally better by July.
Dynamic:
Over-damped. My tires would frequently skip and bounce when the mag ride goes to full stiff. Imo stiffer is always better but here it’s to a fault in too many situations. I’ve had about 500 mini heart attacks from that full stiff WHAM that results from a seemingly minor road surface imperfection or the wheels skipping sideways after multiple hits.
With the V3 kit it is now: One up & one down.
That’s it.
Every mode.
No oscillation in Comfort and no jarring impacts or skipping in Sport or Sport+. Comfort is about the same as stock with no undue travel. Sport brings it up stiffer but less so than the stock Dynamic mode. Sport + is as stiff as stock Dynamic but very compliant. You can actually feel the cracks in the pavement now but in a good way. Together with the upgraded rear sway/links and being able to lower it a 1/2” more than the springs it has become much more of the on rails experience I like in an AWD vehicle. Much more confidence inspiring during cornering at all speeds.
Because I’ve gotten old and lazy, I don’t want to fiddle around with adjustment knobs or cut open towers anymore. I knew the standard V3 would deliver the improvements I was looking for but DDC ECU function intrigued me. It turns out the 3 DDC modes of Comfort, Sport and Sport + are all very useable and are selected though an in cabin button: Comfort, Sport & Sport+ or through the app.
Comfort mode makes automatic speed and steering based adjustments via CAN inputs, Sport is 50/50 and Sport + is 100/100. The video shows the real time per axle adjustments via the app. It leads off with it in Comfort with the DDC ECU making the adjustments, I then switch it to Sport (50/50) then to Sport + (100/100) and finally a manual adjustment. I haven’t played around with the manual option too much but it looks interesting and you can save pre-set per axle choices with a max 30% offset.
I’ve been spending most of my time in Sport + and love every minute of it. Sport Mode is nice too and a good option for when you have “others” along for the ride who don’t understand stiff suspensions and complain. It smooths it out some for them and still retains compliance and some feel for you. I will probably only use Comfort for winter or extended highway driving but even that is much improved over Oem Comfort mode. I thinking I could even get away with Sport mode all winter but I’ll see how that goes.
Mechanically, so far it’s solid. No clunking, no bind, no squeaking under any conditions. I did replace the strut mounts, bearings and shock mounts with new OEM. My one complaint is about the WLAN and phone app. It’s kind of clunky and has a hard time connecting pretty often. I’d skip that unless it can be addressed by an app update.
My objective was to try something new and different as well as improve the handling/performance. I will even go as far as saying this upgrade has renewed my excitement for the car; it has definitely been much more fun to drive with this upgrade. Ill report back if that should that change and if there are any worthy developments. It’s always unnerving to try something new… which doesn’t always work out well. But it’s sure nice when it does. So that’s it for now.
Reply With Quote
JHM SC'ed / 08 Evolution X (full bolt on) / 05 M3 Dinan SC'ed / 05 LGT w/ Hybrid Turbo ......and many others!
Originally Posted by MXblau
Bookmarks