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H&R OE Sport springs w/ DCC

RabbitTwo

Go Kart Champion
Location
Ontario, Canada
Car(s)
2019 GTI Rabbit
Hi, all!

First post here and I’d like to share some feedback on my setup. After hours of researching all of the threads I could find, looking at everything from springs to coilovers, I decided on H&R OE Sport springs for my 2019 GTI Rabbit w/ DCC.

My goal with this car is OEM-plus; An enjoyable daily driver that could see an occasional lapping day. I love the DCC adjustability from Comfort to Sport, and wanted to retain this feature.

Shoutout to @Hammersticks for your info. If it were not for you, I would not have known to order the Audi TT rear spring pads. I also ordered completely new hardware for everything else and everything came together flawlessly; No noises, no issues whatsoever.

I also just installed Neuspeed RSe10 wheels 18 x 8.5 and could not be happier with their fitment. I have some Michelin Pilot 235/40/18s on order which should tie in everything beautifully.

In terms of ride quality, as a long-time enthusiast who has driven many different cars over the years, I am most impressed with how this particular H&R spring rate comes together with the DCC dampers. Comfort mode is a little soft in rebound so the car has slightly more bounce than with factory springs but Normal mode feels nicely settled for everyday driving, and Sport mode is improved over stock in my observations.

From the factory, the car felt slightly over-dampened and under-sprung in Sport mode, whereas it now feels like the slightly stiffer spring rates with H&R OE Sport matches very well to the DCC dampers in Sport mode. The car feels very planted, with very little body roll, and does not seem to get upset over compressions and uneven roads. I am truly impressed.

This car is a DSG and still, the Audi TT rear spring pads are a must to avoid reverse rake. The car sits about dead even and the travel and functionality of the suspension is excellent for a car on lowering springs only.

I hope this helps some of you with offering some more feedback on the H&R OE Sport springs!
 

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RabbitTwo

Go Kart Champion
Location
Ontario, Canada
Car(s)
2019 GTI Rabbit
Hello again,

I wanted to add in to the thread here after researching more about DCC recalibration that there is, in fact, a way to do this.

In researching this topic throughout different GLI, GTI, and Golf R forums, it is often debated whether a DCC recalibration after lowering is possible and/or necessary.

After reading reviews of improved ride quality with lowered DCC cars, I am going to give it a try. It makes sense to me that recalibrating the dampers may allow them to better-adapt to the new ride height & spring rates.

There is only one way to find out. I will report back after we do the recalibration. I have the car booked in for service next Friday, June 4th and will look at it then while we have a hoist available.

After the DCC adaptation, I will pay particularly close attention to the Comfort setting, as it currently has considerably more bounce than with factory springs. If the DCC recalibration helps settle this down, with expected compliance in Normal and Sport modes, that will be a clear indicator to me that the adaptation has worked.

Stay tuned!
 

Cuzoe

Autocross Champion
Location
Los Angeles
It can be done with VCDS or OBDEleven, should take less than 5 minutes. You just need all four wheels off the ground, hanging freely. That part takes the longest if you don't have a lift.
 

Cuzoe

Autocross Champion
Location
Los Angeles
Vehicle on jacks (all four wheels hanging), module 14 Damping Electronics... Security Access 20103... basic settings and run the calibration. It will only run if the level sensors are in the proper range (they should be when the suspension is hanging/extended). You can check each sensor (front left, front right and rear left) in measuring blocks for a value that says calibration available (or something like that). It will say possible or not possible. All three need to say possible or else the basic settings won't run.

If security access code 20103 doesn't work try whatever VCDS or OBDEleven recommends, but 20103 worked for myself and others.

The calibration takes all of 10 seconds once you press Go. Putting the car on jacks is the longest part by far. With a lift I would think it can be done, from pulling up to rolling out in under half an hour.
 

snobrdrdan

former GTI owner
Vehicle on jacks (all four wheels hanging), module 14 Damping Electronics... Security Access 20103... basic settings and run the calibration. It will only run if the level sensors are in the proper range (they should be when the suspension is hanging/extended). You can check each sensor (front left, front right and rear left) in measuring blocks for a value that says calibration available (or something like that). It will say possible or not possible. All three need to say possible or else the basic settings won't run.

If security access code 20103 doesn't work try whatever VCDS or OBDEleven recommends, but 20103 worked for myself and others.

The calibration takes all of 10 seconds once you press Go. Putting the car on jacks is the longest part by far. With a lift I would think it can be done, from pulling up to rolling out in under half an hour.
So it calibrates it with the suspension drooping?

You would think it'd be the opposite...with it loaded
 

Cuzoe

Autocross Champion
Location
Los Angeles
It seems strange... there is a long-ish thread on Vortex where it was discussed, along with the need and method to perform the calibration. The "consensus" is that the DCC module needs to know full extension (which it gets during the calibration) and then it must be saving a "loaded" value the next time (or few times) the system is powered up.

The module likely has a maximum compressed value saved (which has a physical limitation) and it just needs to know the other two values, loaded and extended in order to best perform. A lowered vehicle gives the module values that suggest the suspension is under compression all the time. In theory, this would cause it to keep the dampers "pre-stiffened" or at least on the stiff side of their range for each DCC mode. Depending on what a person is looking for that may not be a problem at all. But it would mean you're not getting the full benefit of DCC in any mode, though I would assume most noticeable in comfort.
 

RabbitTwo

Go Kart Champion
Location
Ontario, Canada
Car(s)
2019 GTI Rabbit
I am actually going to to be doing the DCC calibration through ODIS (VW’s OEM diagnostic software). I have a local VW dealer that knows how to do it and is only charging me half an hour in labour. I will report back on the results.

The more I think about all of the different models that DCC is offered in, the more it makes sense from a manufacturer standpoint that the control module and dampers would have this adjustability in the software.

I would be interested in knowing whether the GLI, Golf R, GTI / Clubsport / TCR, all have the same DCC dampers, simply with different factory calibrations in the module.
 

Cuzoe

Autocross Champion
Location
Los Angeles
I have not looked up the part numbers for the TCR/Clubsport but the R/GTI have the same part numbers IIRC. For the golf variants the difference in weight seems to be accounted for using springs. Even for the same model there are different springs depending on engine, transmission and suspension package.

That might make a calibration that much more important since the various models sit at slightly different heights.

Half an hour at the dealer using a lift sounds right to me. It takes me about 45 minutes and that's with having to seesaw the car up on to jack stands. Nice that they aren't charging a full hour as well.
 

RabbitTwo

Go Kart Champion
Location
Ontario, Canada
Car(s)
2019 GTI Rabbit
So, after 3 weeks of letting the springs settle, the DCC calibration is now done and the difference in suspension feel is immediate!

As described above, I had a local VW dealer use ODIS (their OEM software) to reset the DCC basic settings.

The tech simply put the car on a hoist, let the wheels hang, went into the suspension module, and reset it within minutes. No trouble codes, no issues whatsoever.

I took the car for a quick spin and switched Drive Modes to confirm the changes, and there was an immediate difference just pulling out of the parking lot. I spent the next couple hours testing things from highway cruising in Comfort, to backroads in Sport, to running around town in Normal; All are improved with less bounce and more refinement.

In having recently ridden in 991.2 and 992 Porsche 911s, they represent to me - among other things - the gold standard in adaptive suspension cars; Firm but compliant. While the GTI is not quite as refined, it is remarkably sophisticated for this price point. To feel the factory-like compliance return to the GTI after today’s DCC recalibration, I am thrilled by how capable the DCC system is.

Having been in many different cars over the years, and owning other lowered cars, I will say that I could not be more impressed with how these H&R OE Sport springs, Audi TT rear spring pads, and the DCC recalibration have come together for the perfect street suspension in my books. It simply feels OEM-plus.

The only piece left in the tires / wheels / suspension equation is a H&R 24mm rear sway bar which should compliment the setup perfectly. A fresh set of 235/40/18 Pilots will be installed Monday along with an alignment. Looking forward to some stickier rubber and more great roads!
 

Cuzoe

Autocross Champion
Location
Los Angeles
Great to hear a report on a back to back comparison. A lot of the reports are from folks that happily drove their DCC equipped cars for significant time after lowering, prior to finding out about DCC calibration. An overall stiffer ride is what lots are looking for and lowering A DCC car without a recalibration definitely provides that, haha. But it does so at the expense of overall system function.

I only know about the calibration because I retrofitted DCC and the system would not work (at all) without doing the calibration.
 

RabbitTwo

Go Kart Champion
Location
Ontario, Canada
Car(s)
2019 GTI Rabbit
Great to hear a report on a back to back comparison. A lot of the reports are from folks that happily drove their DCC equipped cars for significant time after lowering, prior to finding out about DCC calibration. An overall stiffer ride is what lots are looking for and lowering A DCC car without a recalibration definitely provides that, haha. But it does so at the expense of overall system function.

I only know about the calibration because I retrofitted DCC and the system would not work (at all) without doing the calibration.
Definitely a must-do for any lowered DCC car!
 
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