DCC Opinions?

[drummingcraig]

So my 2016 SE DSG (non-PP) met its fate last week when I was rear-ended at a stoplight. No injuries, but $12,000 on the initial estimate and Progressive said “no thanks”. So I am now shopping for a replacement. My goal is to definitely get one with the PP if its another ‘16, but I have seen 1-2 with the DCC.

My questions are:

1. For those who owned/have owned a MK7 or 7.5 with the DCC does it make a noticeable difference and/or would you get it again?
2. Are there any maintenance issues with the DCC that are common and/or pricey?

I know that with my car there were times where I was cruising and kinda wished the ride was a little less firm, and always kind of wondered if the DCC comfort setting would address that.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

[sandmangti]

Love DCC.
As stated it gives you options.
Sport does tighten car for curvy roads. 70,000 and lowered 1 inch, still going. Replacement. Costs more than a base car. $300-$400 each front. Not sure rear but similar to slightly lower. Many will say a waste of money. Most DCC guys will say to get it. Sounds like you want it.

 

[spankye]

I had a 2016 SE and currently own a 2016 S. Both cars had/have PP but the SE had DCC. I really liked it as well. I could put it in Comfort and cruise the interstate, or really stiffen it up in Sport mode. I was lowered on VWR springs with it and never had an issue in 65K miles. Replacement cost was always in the back of my head though.

Now that I am without DCC, I have to say that I really don't mind the stock set up. Feels a little stiffer than Normal mode on DCC. For what it's worth I spent 80% of the time in Comfort mode and only used Sport on the twisties and roads were smooth enough.

 

[shovelhd]

I have a 2018 Autobahn and run the settings in Custom most of the time. Most things are set to Sport except for the transmission and suspension, which are set to Normal. It's a nice compromise between driveability and comfort. On longer highway trips when I'm going into areas with rough roads (Boston, NYC, etc.) I set it to full Comfort.

It's one of those things that if you like it and appreciate it, you'll want it forever. A lot of people delete it, especially those that lower the car and want coilovers for adjustability for the track/autocross.

You'll still want a RSB upgrade.

 

[SLC4EVER]

Very happy with it. I won't buy another without it now that I've had it. I change modes daily depending on road conditions and driving mood.
Makes me smile going from feeling/hearing every little ripple in the road to smooth and quiet at the touch of a button.

If you plan on lowering your car, keep in mind it may require a re-calibration. Same goes for the ACC if it has it as well.

 

[sterkrazzy]

I love having DCC. I don't switch it off race very often, but when you do come across a terrible road it's so awesome being able to switch it over to comfort mode.

 

[riceburner]

i had an se without DCC once; it was OK but ride quality wasn't actually that nice - got rid of it at ~30k miles
Got a 60k mile DCC and LOWERED car, and rides soo much better than the other one, in comfort mode. its totally worth it if you can find one. Sport mode obviously a little stiffer but not at all unbearable, and handles better.

 

[The Fed]

Comfort mode so worth it if ride quality is important to you. You won't be disappointed. Tires also make a huge difference, and you cannot overfill them. Don't go over 39 PSI cold, and take into consideration what the temperature will be when you are driving. If it's going to be 70 but it's only 50 in my garage I'll set them to 37 cold, and so on, since tires gain or lose a pound for every 10 degrees of air temperature. They'll gain pressure when they warm up, so if you set them to 39 instead in this scenario your ride will be poor.

If it's going to Buy quality tires, like Continental ECS or Michelin PS4S. I have the latter. You might need all-seasons in JAX, because ultra-Hipo tires shouldn't be used under 40degrees. So you might want one of those brands premium AS tires. To me, Sport mode is too extreme, and I believe I saw a test where Comfort mode outperformed Sport mode on the track. I rarely take mine off Comfort for the DCC and steering, everything else is set to Sport. Check how much new struts are, and if you look at cars with 50,000 miles I would take that into consideration.

 

[Wastegate13]

To me comfort seems under damped, I rarely use it except for at low speeds over speed bumps or occasionally on the highway . Normal feels like normal, how you expect the car to behave. Race feels tight but too much for all but the best roads. It’s a nice little feature but it’s largely a bandaid without a way to dynamically change spring rate along with it. I feel like the shocks and springs are designed to work together in normal mode and both the other modes suffer because of it. I don’t like the idea of removing a feature that a car came with so unless I decide to spend the money for the Bilstein DCC kit I’ll likely stay stock. Didn’t have a choice with my 18 as DCC was standard but unless I planned to stay 100% stock I wouldn’t ignore a car that didn’t have it.

 

[seanmcd1]

Comfort is nice when the road is rough. I say avoid it if you are into buying coil-overs and the like though. If you're not going to touch your suspension with mods - go for it - worth it. I'm between 40-45K miles, no maintenance so far for DCC. All I expect to do is pay a bit more than normal when I replace them down the road.

 

[NopeR]

Dcc is great right out of the box. Modifying it is rather costly as much lowering springs are not compatible. The ones that are are at a premium (mss for example) and are about the cost of a cheaper adjustable coilovers set.

Personally, I don't like wheel to fender gap, so I got an mss track set that I'll be installing in the spring. I'll post up how it goes in keeping the dcc struts.

 

[The Butcher]

I have DCC on my GLI. After having a slammed GTI set to fully stiff as my last car, comfort mode is AMAZING.

Chicago doesn't have the nicest roads, so on main roads I set it to comfort. On highways and nicer roads I set it to a custom profile where the diff, steering, throttle and suspension are set to sport and the Soundaktor is turned off.

As for reliability, the car has 2500 miles, so my opinion on that is pointless.

If you're not planning on slamming the car, get it, you won't regret it.

 

[Golfs everyday]

I usually have my Golf-R set to Comfort setting until I find a nice open road and switch to Race. It is very nice.

 

[3rdOne]

I really enjoy my DCC. I agree with the others, if you aren't planning on modding the suspension DCC is great, get it. I haven't modded mine so take it for what it's worth, but I haven't read too many positives with a highly modded suspension

 

[imthanick_a]

It is noticeable and makes a difference but, repeating what others have said, if you plan on lowering don't get it. It really narrowed down my choices too and if I could do it all again I would have gotten a car without DCC. I had to compromise and missed out on getting a white GTI, the color I wanted, because there were non in the region with DCC and the other options I wanted.