KW Suspension

[aloha_from_bradley]

I'm learning that lowering a car with DCC is a PITA. There aren't many options to keep the electronic dampers, and of those options I'm reading lots of bad things.

Bilstein Damptronic B16 - Overly stiff and apparently easy to end up riding on the front bump stops?

KW DDC - Finding many that have had issues with spring binding. Revised springs since launch. Can anyone verify this? Has anyone had any luck with this kit?

KW V1 - V3 - Worth it? Any good? I'm seeing mixed reviews.

I'm nervous to delete my DCC. For those that have done it, did you regret it?

 

[krs]

It’s the internet. You’ll find what you’re looking for if you look hard enough.

I want to keep my DCC, but go with a better setup for autocross. Seems I can only find a handful of negative things on the B16’s, compared to how many are sold? Probably more than we’ll ever know.

You browse the big forums for the platform, you’ll find the big vocal opinions for or against.

I know, doesn’t answer your question, but you’ll either have to take a leap of faith to figure it out yourself, or ditch the DCC and take a leap of faith to figure it out yourself.

 

[Malttv5]

I deleted my DCC and went the coil-over and haven't regretted ,pretty easy to make adjustments on dampening . I did regret putting Vogland lowering springs on .
Cheers

 

[Dog Dad Wagon]

I would start with something like H&R OE Sports for lowering on stock DCC dampers. Not too intense. That or the official VW driver gear lowering springs.

Ive heard DCC Dampers fare far better with minor drops than the non-DCC stock dampers. Go too low though and you’ll kill the dampers and lose the performance/comfort

 

[aloha_from_bradley]

I would start with something like H&R OE Sports for lowering on stock DCC dampers. Not too intense. That or the official VW driver gear lowering springs.

Ive heard DCC Dampers fare far better with minor drops than the non-DCC stock dampers. Go too low though and you’ll kill the dampers and lose the performance/comfort

My DCC struts are currently lowered on Eibach springs. The ride is just okay. The rears aren’t low enough and the fronts are almost too low.

KW had major issues with their DDC kit. Apparently revised springs have fixed this, but I can’t find any information.

Looking for feedback from those who have installed KW / deleted DCC specifically. The idea would be to have the best of both worlds by going with a DCC coilover setup, but all I can find is bad information on the aftermarket offerings.

Not taking a “leap of faith” on a product that has nothing but bad reviews online. Someone somewhere must have had some luck with these kits. Why would they still be for sale otherwise?

 

[Dog Dad Wagon]

Yeah I haven’t heard great things about the aftermarket DCC coils either.

 

[Al_in_Philly]

Bilstein B6's for the DCC are really nice if you want great handling but at the stock ride height. I put a set on my R and am loving them, especially when going through switchbacks--they really transform the car. But I should note that they went on in addition to an 034 rear anti-sway bar, i-sweep subframe brace, and Black Forest control arms. They are stiffer than the stock DCC struts/shocks but the ride isn't at all objectionable, especially in Comfort mode; plus, they take hard impacts, like potholes, way better than the stock struts/shocks.

 

[gboticus]

I've been using my KW V3 setup for 4 or so years, first in my GTI and now on my R. When tuned correctly it's a really good balance, not too stiff and very glued to the road. Thrashing it at the race track 6-10 times a year and they're still going strong. You can however, tune them poorly and it will make your ride miserable.

The DCC cancellers are just a one time nuisance and wouldn't worry about it much. Though, DCC enabled coil overs I've never read a very positive review of them, maybe because they're so expensive not many people buy them.

 

[aloha_from_bradley]

I've been using my KW V3 setup for 4 or so years, first in my GTI and now on my R. When tuned correctly it's a really good balance, not too stiff and very glued to the road. Thrashing it at the race track 6-10 times a year and they're still going strong. You can however, tune them poorly and it will make your ride miserable.

The DCC cancellers are just a one time nuisance and wouldn't worry about it much. Though, DCC enabled coil overs I've never read a very positive review of them, maybe because they're so expensive not many people buy them.

My heart tells me that a good set of coilovers that are peoperly tuned will transform the car, and I doubt I’d miss the DCC.

My brain tells me “you are shutting off a part of the car…. It won’t work like it’s supposed to!”

I have some deciding to do. Any legitimate suspension setup prob won’t include electronic dampers. Not saying it can’t be done on some cars, just doesn’t seem like a feasible option on the R other than stock.

I don’t plan to track the car, but 2 or 3 way clubsports are so good it’s stupid. I was just hoping there were some that have had a good enough experience with a set of DDC coilovers to recommend them. So far, I haven’t found a single person with positive feedback here or anywhere else.

 

[RingTool]

My heart tells me that a good set of coilovers that are peoperly tuned will transform the car, and I doubt I’d miss the DCC.

My brain tells me “you are shutting off a part of the car…. It won’t work like it’s supposed to!”

I have some deciding to do. Any legitimate suspension setup prob won’t include electronic dampers. Not saying it can’t be done on some cars, just doesn’t seem like a feasible option on the R other than stock.

I don’t plan to track the car, but 2 or 3 way clubsports are so good it’s stupid. I was just hoping there were some that have had a good enough experience with a set of DDC coilovers to recommend them. So far, I haven’t found a single person with positive feedback here or anywhere else.

you might of read old info from when KW released there DCC back in 2014, just FYI V1,V2,V3,DDC all use the same springs since the issue was fixed #1046 F & #8030 R.

I've used Bilstein B16 Damptronics and yes you need to trim bumpstops to retain factory bump travel F & R they were not bad.

I had KW 2way Clubsports my favorite set but sold them and ordered a custom set of KW Competition 3A EXR for not much more than a set of 3way Clubsports.


You can get from KW the upper/lower adapters to run 70mm linear springs up front on OEM top mounts or get KW camber plates and run 60mm linear

 

[krs]

I had a few people pipe up in the track/autocross forum that run the DCC Bilstein setup, and they like them.

Or are you just wanting the KW’s potentially?

 

[aloha_from_bradley]

you might of read old info from when KW released there DCC back in 2014, just FYI V1,V2,V3,DDC all use the same springs since the issue was fixed #1046 F & #8030 R.

I've used Bilstein B16 Damptronics and yes you need to trim bumpstops to retain factory bump travel F & R they were not bad.

I had KW 2way Clubsports my favorite set but sold them and ordered a custom set of KW Competition 3A EXR for not much more than a set of 3way Clubsports.


You can get from KW the upper/lower adapters to run 70mm linear springs up front on OEM top mounts or get KW camber plates and run 60mm linear

View attachment 231934View attachment 231935

Are the springs on the V1 vs. V2/V3 the same? For some reason I thought the V1s had progressive while the V2/V3 had linear, the V3 also having helper springs? I could be wrong.

Thanks for the info. I wasn't aware of the adapters but will keep this in mind. The threads I was reading about the issues with the KW DDC setup were from 2017, but there were several people who all had the same problem. I can't imagine a company like KW would allow this to continue happening, but maybe the damage had already been done?

I'm wondering if a clubsport setup is appropriate for the street? Is it overkill? They cost more, but I'm sure it's worth it.

 

[aloha_from_bradley]

I had a few people pipe up in the track/autocross forum that run the DCC Bilstein setup, and they like them.

Or are you just wanting the KW’s potentially?

I'm not partial to KW, but just thought they were the best. It's the main reason they peaked my interest when researching and finding negative information on the DDC kits. As much as I've heard about KW as a brand and considering they were chosen for various special projects for companies like Porsche, I was shocked when I found out many were disappointed with some kits.

I'm open to what suits my needs the best. My main goals are to lower the car a bit more than my current lowering springs, mainly to level out the car a bit better while maintaining a decent overall ride. I'm not a huge fan of forward rake. If I'm able to keep the DCC, great. That's a bonus. If I end up deleting the DCC, I just want to make sure the ride is worth it.

Edit - What you do you think about KW V1s? I don't see myself using the damping adjustments.

 

[RingTool]

Are the springs on the V1 vs. V2/V3 the same? For some reason I thought the V1s had progressive while the V2/V3 had linear, the V3 also having helper springs? I could be wrong.

Thanks for the info. I wasn't aware of the adapters but will keep this in mind. The threads I was reading about the issues with the KW DDC setup were from 2017, but there were several people who all had the same problem. I can't imagine a company like KW would allow this to continue happening, but maybe the damage had already been done?

I'm wondering if a clubsport setup is appropriate for the street? Is it overkill? They cost more, but I'm sure it's worth it.

KW orders there springs from Eibach or
VDF FedernVogtland raw and powder coat them in house, I believe what happened was they had a mislabeled batch.

All variants except the street comfort and clubsports had the same springs for the R.

I love my Clubsports for daily use I steped into a set of Competitions

 

[aloha_from_bradley]

KW orders there springs from Eibach or
VDF FedernVogtland raw and powder coat them in house, I believe what happened was they had a mislabeled batch.

All variants except the street comfort and clubsports had the same springs for the R.

I love my Clubsports for daily use I steped into a set of Competitions

So V1s would be a good choice for a street only driven car?

I figure KW has prob figured out the best settings for the dampers.