B9- RS5- Looking to Upgrade Suspension

[JohnEnglish]

The RS3, TT, and R8 use MagneRide dampers that they license from Aptiv (formally Delphi Automotive).

[Dan99]

...So, while I'd love to think there'll be a fix, I'm not going to hold my breath. That leaves us with coil overs as the real option in my mind. I'd love to get more feedback and input - dialog going - about the options. Maybe this will lead to another thread. But to me, there are some interesting options to start with:

KW v3 - I had these after Bilstein B16 on the B8.5 and the car gained a lot of cabin noise and harshness but that could have been a few other things I did at the same time too.
KW v4 (Probably close to the '23 Comp suspension) - Intriguing but outrageously expensive. I'd consider pulling the trigger but it's very, very hard at their price without knowing I'd like them first.
ABT (v3) - I'd love to know if/how this differs from the KW v3. The consensus with the HAS kits is that ABT is subtly softer. One of the guys at Nemesis put them on and loves them.
Bilstein B16 Damptronic - I had these on my B8.5 S4 and hated them. Very poor rebound damping on the rear. Some say it may tie into the MMI? Not sure, but that would be nice.
Bilstein EVO lineup - I can't tell if there's anything there for us or not but they look pretty cool. They have lots of options.
H&R - I've seen a few people use the HAS/springs, but no one has talked about the coilovers. They're also the most affordable of the group from what I can see.

The above isn't complete by any means if folks don't want to hold their breath on someone to improve DRC, I think it would be interesting to focus on this.

I was interested in Bilstein after hearing it supported DRC, but I could not find anything for the RS5 Sportback, only the Coupe. I sent an email asking for clarification and they advised that they only support the Coupe at this time, and have no immediate plans for the Sportback.

[JohnEnglish]

I was interested in Bilstein after hearing it supported DRC, but I could not find anything for the RS5 Sportback, only the Coupe. I sent an email asking for clarification and they advised that they only support the Coupe at this time, and have no immediate plans for the Sportback.

Apparently the Bilstein dampers for the S5 with adaptive suspension will work with the RS5 because the control modules and connectors are the same. However, you will lose the DRC's passive "anti-roll" functionality.

Tangentially related to the topic, but I always thought that Audi missed a big opportunity when they had their own forum here with the social media intern (Vincenzo I think). I think they should have engaged the community like BMW does on other forums where they grant access for interviews to engineers and product managers or give presentations on technologies or design philosophies. They give a lot of behind the scenes access to show how new products are developed and manufactured and how various technologies work.

[Smac770]

Still studying stuff, don't see anything yet to adjust my opinion of what DRC accomplishes. While the physics is easy-ish, figuring out what the actual physics is between the sparse information that's actually given is less so.

But, interesting read about the original uptake of DRC by Audi. Turns out it's a Yamaha invention:
https://global.yamaha-motor.com/jp/s...ews_E_2003.pdf

As to the Gen2 variable damping modification, a page by the apparent motor vendor: https://clr.es/blog/en/variable-susp...ystem-rs-audi/
Whoever did the translation, "English words, not always English sentences".

The adaptive dampers in the A/S models are Sachs CDC. So completely different vendor.

You can't call a damper a spring and vice versa, springs resist displacement and apply force to restore rest position, dampers resist movement and apply force to restore rest velocity.

Interesting video because it talks about the benefit of the damping curve shape that just happens to be exactly what DRC accomplishes: https://youtu.be/_RcBOsObN8c


As to the stock components, the front dampers are the same for the coupe, avant, and sportback. The rear dampers are different for the coupe, avant, and sportback. I assume tuned to account for the different rear axle weight between the three bodies. Though I wouldn't think the avant and sportback would really be that different. Bilstein doesn't make anything for the RS5 sportback, but what about the RS4 avant?

[djmika]

Guys - People are going to do what they're going to do but I'm here to tell you that the B16 kit stunk out loud on my B8.5 S4.

Here's the timeline for that car:

1. Stock - Felt good. Sachs dampers I believe. No complaints just wanted a sportier look, as many of us do.

2. B16 Coil-overs: Very poor rebound damping in the rear of the car. It became unsettled over sweeping bumps and no setting or installation review changed anything. It just didn't work well. To put it into perspective, as flawed as DRC is, B16 was quite a bit worse. And I think that both suffer in the rear of the car more than the front.

3. 034 springs, Factory shocks: Felt great again but somehow 034 missed the mark on ride height. The rear of the car sat high. Too high to look past. 034 did nothing to support me and I actually still have the springs in my attic, 2 cars later.

4. KWv3 - I was able to adjust to the point where damping was good, but I was always contending with other factors as well. Unfortunately, I also did a few mods/inserts from 034 at the same time. Bottom line, one of or a combination of the mods increased road noise and ride harshness by a more than I could live with. I tried walking a balance by adjusting the KWs but not surprisingly, it didn't work. This was my final straw and I sold that care for a C7.5 S6 with air ride which had the best overall suspension and ride of any car I've owned.

Fast forward to the RS5...

I like it better than the S6 in most ways. The S6 was just too "executive sedan" for me, and I wanted something smaller and sportier.

Now, like others, the DRC is the one glaring flaw with this car. I'm considering giving KW (or ABT) coil-overs another shot. I have the ABT HAS now, and I can live with mild increase in harshness compared to stock. Of note, I had MSS HAS on it and that setup added more harshness than this one. In looking at the ABT HAS kit and the coil-over kits, it looks on the surface, to have similar bushings, etc. If coil-overs end up being similar in road noise and harshness but sightly stiffer (based on settings), I'd probably go for it. Not sure which of the three kits, KW v3, v4 or ABT, that's a discussion I think could be interesting as more and more folks go that route, plus the people buying the 2023 Comp pkg. which we're thinking has something resembling the v4.

[Dan99]

Still studying stuff, don't see anything yet to adjust my opinion of what DRC accomplishes.

I feel differently about this. This is what I think I learned so far on this thread:

Collectively, this thread and others have been incorrectly blaming Audi's Dynamic Ride Control (DRC) for the harshness of the RS5 suspension. It's actually the optional Sport Suspension that makes things harsh. DRC has very little effect on ride quality. According to Audi (and Yamaha who invented DRC), it's primary purpose is to counter-act body lean during acceleration, braking and cornering.

To quote Yamaha, " The two DRC valves positioned in the central units at the “X” function to add supplementary damping force in the form of appropriate amounts of hydraulic fluid sent to the respective shock absorbers in accordance with the difference in the speed of their damping stroke. This added damping force serves to provide improved control of the rolling and pitching of the vehicle that occurs during cornering, etc.

To quote Audi's SSP 431, "The task of the system is to reduce body roll and pitch, which typically occur under acceleration/braking and when cornering."

DRC is similar to the hydraulic anti-roll mechanisms used in some Mercedes and BMWs, but different in the scope of its implementation. Audi's version addresses diagonal interactions between the front and rear wheels, instead of acting horizontally across the front or rear axle, like a traditional anti-roll bar.

The standard shocks in an RS5, and those with the optional Sport Suspension, appear to be the source of the harshness. They, not DRC, provide the primary compression and rebound characteristics of the suspension. The standard shocks have one firmness setting and the Sport Suspension has three.

The shock valving in the standard suspension is the same as the middle setting in the Sport Suspension. (So, if you prefer the standard RS5 suspension over one with the Sport Suspension, just put your Sport Suspension in Auto and you will have essentially the same suspension.)

In addition to this middle setting, the Sport Suspension provides one setting softer than the standard suspension (Comfort), and one that is more firm (Dynamic). The mode that most people complain about is Dynamic with the optional Sport Suspension. Since Drive Select does not change anything in DRC, but it does change the valves in the shocks, this illustrates that the shocks control firmness, not DRC. But wait, there's more.

If anything, DRC helps to buffer the harshness of the valving in each shock absorber. The typical shock absorber on most cars is self-contained. Everything it needs to compress and rebound is within that unit. When compressed, only the valves in a typical shock absorber control the compression and rebound rates.

However, the shock absorber on a DRC-equipped car is not self-contained. Its cross-corner link to another shock absorber is essentially a pressure relief valve. Low speed compression (e.g., during acceleration, braking, and cornering) creates a pressure imbalance between a shock absorber and the one at the opposite corner of the chassis. As a result, some of that initial compression pressure is dissipated by sending hydraulic fluid to the opposite shock (like a relief valve) instead of only going through the valves in the shock.

The pressure equalization is quick, but not instantaneous. You have one shock in a compression mode (high pressure in the bottom chamber) and the opposite shock in a rebound mode (low pressure in the bottom chamber). As hydraulic fluid moves from the high to low pressure areas, the resistance in the first shock increases gradually until pressures are equal in both shocks.

Once the pressure is equalized, DRC prevents additional body roll and the gas chamber in the central valve provides a cushion for any equal and simultaneous deflections at opposite corners of the car (rare), but equalized pressure is only momentary when the car is in motion. Slight changes to the road surface, steering adjustments in a corner, acceleration and braking all affect the pressure balance between corners in the DRC, so the pressures are equalizing cross-corner on a nearly continuous basis.

I am not going to argue that the stock shocks are good. My only point so far is that the purpose of DRC is to control body roll, not ride quality. Ride quality is a function of spring rates, valves in the shocks, mechanical sway/anti-roll bars, tire pressures and profiles. The only thing the driver has immediate control over is Drive Select (Comfort/Auto/Dynamic), and those settings change the valves in the shocks without changing any DRC components.

For those interested in upgrading the suspension, I am not aware of any non-stock shock absorber options that retain the anti-roll capabilities of DRC. All of the aftermarket options (that I know of) disable DRC. However, aftermarket options may offer better compression and rebound behavior, perhaps adjustability, and coilovers will also allow different spring rates and ride heights. But, you will lose the anti-roll capabilities of DRC. You can compensate somewhat by going to stiffer traditional anti-roll bars, but it won't replace the functionality of DRC and they will make the ride more harsh. So, pick your poison.

There has been some advocacy in this thread and others for shocks that are continuously adaptable, and shocks like these are found on a number of standard and high performance cars. As you know, Audi offers different suspensions across its model lines, and the S models tend to use variable rate adaptive dampers. So, if you want an adaptive damper in a 4 or 5 series Audi, the easiest way is to purchase an S model. But, your ride height will be about one inch higher and you will have springs that are 15% softer than the RS model, according to Audi.

But, if you want the enhanced anti-roll capabilities provided by DRC, it's only available as a performance option in RS models. So, Audi must think it adds more than it subtracts given that adaptive dampers are already implemented on the B9/9.5 platform, and they easily could have used them on the RS5.

Regarding the Competition package, which gets rid of DRC in favor of coilovers, it removes the additional weight of the DRC system to help with cornering, but it also adds stiffer sway bars which will make the ride more firm. You gain the ability to adjust the height of the suspension, but you lose a convenient way to adjust the ride quality - you have to remove wheels to make adjustments. So, there's a tradeoff between weight loss, adjust-ability, convenience, and performance. Decide what is most important to you.

DRC is essentially the same mechanism in the RS4/5/6/7. This is what DRC does (pay attention to the colored arrows):

https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/...trol-drc-49673

and, this is how it's done (see p.34):

https://www.ianhenshall.com/C6_RS6_Study_Guide.pdf

and, this is what the shocks do (see pp.35-36):

https://www.ianhenshall.com/C6_RS6_Study_Guide.pdf

As you read SSP 431, be aware that DRC in the RS6 is essentially the same as DRC in the RS5, so this SSP describes both of those systems. Also, the RS4/5 and the RS6/7 use different labels for Drive Select modes. The RS4/5 uses Comfort/Auto/Dynamic and the RS6/7 in SSP 431 uses Comfort/Dynamic/Sport. So, SSP 431 can be a little confusing if you think that "Dynamic" means the same thing in both models.

[zero_one]

Resurrecting this 9 months later...

Has there been any real solution to this from the aftermarket or otherwise? After living this for 1 year we are ready to get rid of it only because of the ride quality. We also have an SQ7 and drive our S and RS cars "appropriately" you would assume the the RS5 would be the first set of keys to be grabbed. But not even close. While it "handles" better, the ride is generally so poor in that my wife and I fight for the SQ7, even with its weight/body roll (non-sport suspension but IE tuned and supersprint muffler delete adds to the allure). The RS5 was definitely a special car for us, but it has been such a disappointment.

[Dan99]

Resurrecting this 9 months later...

Has there been any real solution to this from the aftermarket or otherwise? After living this for 1 year we are ready to get rid of it only because of the ride quality. We also have an SQ7 and drive our S and RS cars "appropriately" you would assume the the RS5 would be the first set of keys to be grabbed. But not even close. While it "handles" better, the ride is generally so poor in that my wife and I fight for the SQ7, even with its weight/body roll (non-sport suspension but IE tuned and supersprint muffler delete adds to the allure). The RS5 was definitely a special car for us, but it has been such a disappointment.

Nothing new on the RS5 standard and sport suspensions. The newish Competition model is different, but I doubt it will ride more like an SQ7.

[Mops@Nemesis]

@jklee85 Just installed the ABT coilover. Said he's extremely pleased. He'll be posting up some detail for everyone soon.

[wwhan]

@jklee85 Just installed the ABT coilover. Said he's extremely pleased. He'll be posting up some detail for everyone soon.

Did "@jklee85" remove an OEM RS5 DRC suspension spring/shocks and install the ABT coilovers?

[Mops@Nemesis]

Did "@jklee85" remove an OEM RS5 DRC suspension spring/shocks and install the ABT coilovers?

That is correct. We provided the DRC cancel kit as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[zero_one]

Interested in hearing their impressions. Do you have a link to the parts?

In dynamic it rides like my lowered MKII GTI with blown strut tops and in comfort it rides like a cadillac sedan de ville from the 80's.

[Dr. Jekyll]

Also interested in hearing his impressions since I'm considering switching from the ABT HAS to the ABT coilovers or KWV3s (basically the same thing).

I'm starting to get a slight knock from the rear suspension area, which I'm beginning to suspect is a DRC accumulator failure. No leaks that I can see but it appears that the DRC accumulators are the weak point on the B9s. Of course, I'm 2 months out of warranty. I actually like the DRC (with the ABT HAS) but I'm not sure I want to spend $2k+ trying to fix DRC when I could use the money on a more reliable coilover setup.

[Mops@Nemesis]

Interested in hearing their impressions. Do you have a link to the parts?

In dynamic it rides like my lowered MKII GTI with blown strut tops and in comfort it rides like a cadillac sedan de ville from the 80's.

Yep, Jay said he'll be posting up a thread with detail soon. He's specifically very pleased with the ride quality, and it was his greatest concern. We also have these on the Nemesis RS5.

https://abt-america.com/fileadmin/pr...T_Audi_RS5.pdf

I can certainly provide if anyone decides to move forward. We're an authorized dealer for ABT.

[wwhan]

Yep, Jay said he'll be posting up a thread with detail soon. He's specifically very pleased with the ride quality, and it was his greatest concern. We also have these on the Nemesis RS5.

https://abt-america.com/fileadmin/pr...T_Audi_RS5.pdf

I can certainly provide if anyone decides to move forward. We're an authorized dealer for ABT.

Did he add the ABT sway bars?

[Mops@Nemesis]

Did he add the ABT sway bars?

He did not add the bars. But we have the ABT bars on our RS5 and RS6. Happy to answer any questions.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lensch09]

I'm actually really happy with ABT HAS, 034 rear sway bar, and 034 front and rear sway bar end links (stock front bar). These cars aren't as bad as the old quattros. But, they're still pretty front biased - Never really saw the point of adding a front bar on these cars but to each their own.

-DL

[djmika]

Zero-One, I could not agree with you more! We have a Q7. It rides like a Q should, softish but appropriately damped and comfortable. Dare I say, more composed than the RS5.

I have two additional vehicles. A 2020 GMC 2500 AT4 HD with Fox 2.0 reservoir shocks and a 2020 Jeep Wrangler JLU Rubicon, lifted 2.5" with Fox 2.5s. The 9000 lb. heavy duty pickup and the rudimentary but lovable bucket of bolts that is the Jeep are both better damped than the RS5. Sad, to say the least.

I've been all over this since I bought the RS5. I don't think anyone is going to offer a fix for this issue that involves maintaining the OE suspension. I've tried MSS HAS (horrible) and now have ABT HAS. People who say ABT HAS helps are right. The problem with the B9 is primarily with the rear of the car. The ABT HAS rear springs are progressive and the top range of travel is soft. The issue with the rear dampers is very poor/lacking low-speed damping. So poor that over the right (or wrong) surfaces, the car feels as if the springs aren't damped at all. The soft top of the ABT HAS range gives the dampers a bit more of a fighting chance and I think that for people who daily-drive their RS, it's better. But there's a cost. The ABT HAS is too soft and the car doesn't handle the way an RS should during more spirited driving. Interestingly, I think one of the things that confuses people is that the high-speed damping is reasonably decent so at times, the suspension doesn't feel half bad.

Adding the three modes into the mix complicates things even more. Comfort is objectively soft. The comparison to an 80's Caddie is apt. This is poor low-speed damping on full display. Auto is the most balanced of the three modes and seems to be good enough to satisfy some, probably especially those who may push the car less hard. And this is where my car lives 95% of the time. But pushed, the car will still lose composure relatively easily. A lot of people say that Dynamic mode is extremely harsh. I disagree. I think that what's happening here is the top range of travel is still poorly damped. Combined with stiffer high-speed characteristics and the car bounces somewhat violently within that range causing the "bobbling" effect people talk about. If the bounce wasn't there, I think Dynamic would be pretty darn good.

I for one, don't think this is a DRC problem. I think that system works well. Put the car in Dynamic and take a corner hard and the car stays shockingly flat. There is something way off about the dampers. I don't know if it's something that can be electronically controlled or not. My guess is no. Regardless, there seems to be no clear difference in part numbers between B9 and B9.5 except people with B9.5s say they're better. There are tuners who work with OE factory suspension through tuning but they won't touch the B9 RS5. Maybe there's a reason.

So, I think the solution is to delete the OE system. And I think there are currently five coil-over options worth considering:

1. KW v3
2. KW v4
3. Bilstein (Outgoing B16 or brand new and unobtanium Evo T1)
4. ABT HAS
5. Ohlins Road & Track

As others have mentioned, ABT are made by KW and closely related to v3. I for one, would LOVE to know what ABT is doing differently. I think it almost certainly has to do with spring rates but NOBODY can tell me for sure. A reasonable explanation may push me to buying ABT.

If I go for KW, I think I'd go v4. The thing that stops me is that they're brutally expensive and it's a big leap of faith. But the ability to individually control low and high speed along with rebound damping makes me think I could tune things enough to be happy.

I had the Billstein EVO T1 on order for months and eventually cancelled after a couple delays. I remain curious about EVO but there is so little info out there that I'm nervous about being a guineapig.

I've been close with Ohlins too. BUT, and to their credit, they publish their spring rates and they're roughly twice that of the OE RS5. I don't care what anyone says about great dampers, double is too big a change for me without at least being able to ride in a car with the suspension first.

[Dan99]

Also interested in hearing his impressions since I'm considering switching from the ABT HAS to the ABT coilovers or KWV3s (basically the same thing).

I'm starting to get a slight knock from the rear suspension area, which I'm beginning to suspect is a DRC accumulator failure. No leaks that I can see but it appears that the DRC accumulators are the weak point on the B9s. Of course, I'm 2 months out of warranty. I actually like the DRC (with the ABT HAS) but I'm not sure I want to spend $2k+ trying to fix DRC when I could use the money on a more reliable coilover setup.

I also have a 2019 RS5 and I like DRC. I use Auto on the street, Dynamic on the track and in other aggressive situations, and Comfort with a carload of people or on really rough roads.

Last year at this time, as weather got cold, my suspension started to knock on bumps. I took it to the dealer, nothing was leaking, and I did nothing. Magically, when the weather started to warm up in the Spring the knocking went away. Now that weather is cold again, the suspension has become more harsh. This time, however, I just changed my Individual suspension setting from Auto to Comfort and it doesn't knock.

Someone else shared that they had the dealer change the DRC hydraulic fluid and it restored the stock behavior. I never tried this so I'm not sure if it works or not, but try Comfort for cold weather months, if you have not done so already, and consider changing the DRC hydraulic fluid. Both of these options are a lot easier and less expensive than a new suspension, and they preserve the DRC functionality.

[Dr. Jekyll]

I also have a 2019 RS5 and I like DRC. I use Auto on the street, Dynamic on the track and in other aggressive situations, and Comfort with a carload of people or on really rough roads.

Last year at this time, as weather got cold, my suspension started to knock on bumps. I took it to the dealer, nothing was leaking, and I did nothing. Magically, when the weather started to warm up in the Spring the knocking went away. Now that weather is cold again, the suspension has become more harsh. This time, however, I just changed my Individual suspension setting from Auto to Comfort and it doesn't knock.

Someone else shared that they had the dealer change the DRC hydraulic fluid and it restored the stock behavior. I never tried this so I'm not sure if it works or not, but try Comfort for cold weather months, if you have not done so already, and consider changing the DRC hydraulic fluid. Both of these options are a lot easier and less expensive than a new suspension, and they preserve the DRC functionality.

Interesting. Thanks for the info! I've found that the knocking is noticeable in Comfort (my primary mode... I'm soft), but in Auto the knocking is basically gone. In Dynamic it doesn't knock at all. I've recently moved from Florida to Rhode Island, so this is the first sustained cold the car has seen in a while and the roads here are awful. So it may be a combination of the bad roads and cold coupled with degraded DRC fluid that's causing me to notice the knocking now. I may take your advice and try the DRC fluid refresh to see if that helps or fixes the knocking.

That said, I've read that the DRC fluid refresh can cost upwards of $650. So it would suck to replace the fluid, only to have to pay to replace the fluid again if I indeed need to change the accumulators. I suppose I could also leave the car in Auto for the next few months and see if the knocking improves in the spring when things begin to warm up (as yours did). If the knocking becomes noticeable in Auto or doesn't improve with warmer weather, maybe then I start throwing money it.

[hawc]

This thread is relevant to my interests. I've got a '21 B9.5 Audi RS 5.

So bumpy.

I keep it in AUTO most of the time. Seems to be the best compromise of everything, but every now and then I still find myself saying out loud, "Damn Audi, why you so bumpy?!"

Stiffer than anything else I've ever driven.

But I still love it.

[wwhan]

This thread is relevant to my interests. I've got a '21 B9.5 Audi RS 5.

So bumpy.

I keep it in AUTO most of the time. Seems to be the best compromise of everything, but every now and then I still find myself saying out loud, "Damn Audi, why you so bumpy?!"

Stiffer than anything else I've ever driven.

But I still love it.

What pressure are tires inflated to? The door sticker is only for full load.

I changed the wheels to 19x8.5, ET20 and tires to 245/40/19 Michelin AS3+, that helped somewhat. Tire presure at 35 psi rear, 39 psi front.

The 30 series tires don't have enough sidewall to handle our potholes.

[zero_one]

What pressure are tires inflated to? The door sticker is only for full load.

I changed the wheels to 19x8.5, ET20 and tires to 245/40/19 Michelin AS3+, that helped somewhat. Tire presure at 35 psi rear, 39 psi front.

The 30 series tires don't have enough sidewall to handle our potholes.

Going down to 19s and getting the 034 springs was going to be my next move. I'm just not convinced that I have to spend ~$4K and disable the DRC to solve this. I'm closer to just trading it in for a 911.

[Dr. Jekyll]

As others have mentioned, ABT are made by KW and closely related to v3. I for one, would LOVE to know what ABT is doing differently. I think it almost certainly has to do with spring rates but NOBODY can tell me for sure. A reasonable explanation may push me to buying ABT.

I recently came across a Facebook post from KW about the ABT RS4/RS5 Coilovers. It said "The ABT Sportsline's suspension upgrade is based on the KW V3 coilover system with bespoke compression and rebound settings to ABT specifications." Here's the post.

So it looks like the difference between the ABT coilovers and KWV3 is a custom damping valve tune. No mention of spring rate changes. Likely, ABT went with a "softer" tune, aimed at comfort, while the KWV3 is more performance oriented. That said, the KWV3 reviews I've seen say they are as stiff, but more controlled/comfortable as compared to the standard (fixed) RS5 suspension, which is about equal to the DRC Auto setting. These reviews were with KW's recommended starting rebound/compressions settings, so the KWs theoretically could be adjusted further. However, this gives a reference point for the ABT's, with their custom tune, which are likely even more comfortable.

One thing I noticed, KW has a limited lifetime warranty while ABT has a 2 year warranty for their suspension. So if you plan to keep the suspension/car for a while, KW would be the better choice from a warranty standpoint.

As far as the KWV4s, they are in fact the suspension on the RS5 Comp (KW markets that as a "retrofit"). While they certainly seem like overkill for the street, their high/low speed compression damping would be super helpful for fine tuning the balance between comfort and performance. For example, in the TheStraightPipes review of the RS5 Comp, they had decreased high speed compression for a more comfortable ride, while keeping the low speed compression settings in place for quicker turn-in response.