DSC Sport/APR Suspension Controller Tuning

[yakboyslim]

I might try:

1. Install OEM module
2. Start the car and cycle driving modes. This will get comfort mode back.
3. Remove the DCC module from the CAN Gateway list
4. Swap to DSC
5. Start the car

Maybe the CAN gateway will never bother to check communication with the DCC? I don't have a lot of confidence, because I imagine failing to communicate, and not having a module to talk to get handled the same. But worth a try.

 

[Cuzoe]

@yakboyslim I wasn't suggesting I don't believe comfort is the only one one not working... on top of that you and @CrayonAssassin have proven it. It only bothers me because I've flashed 100+ variations of the driving profile dataset (granted all on 3Q0, which might be the relevant). I got the point that I would flash before work, find something was not as I intended, edit the dataset during break then flash before driving home for lunch, and then make another edit and flash before heading home at the end of the day. Unfortunately no one has posted a 5Q0 dataset over on the MQB-FPA wiki. Otherwise I could have a quick look through it and see if it does something different when it comes to requests, although the couple discussions suggest it's mostly similar to the 3Q0.

If I ever get one of these controllers I could easily remove DCC from the individual page for testing. Hmmmm... in hindsight the first time I edited my dataset to use the slider (sends values 1-15 instead of 1-3) I had a similar issue. I found DCC was stuck firm, although it didn't really make sense because values 1-3 (of 15) should all be soft. I would have expected that I wouldn't be able to get out of the soft settings but that was not the case.

The problem was that I was still running DCC module firmware and dataset (Version B) that only accepted values 1-3. I needed to flash my DCC module firmware and dataset to Version C which accepts values from 1-15. At the time I flashed back to a dataset without the slider. Once I got my hands on Version C firmware/dataset for the DCC module I flashed those and re-flashed the slider enabled driving profile dataset and everything was happy.

So... that was all with a 3Q0 gateway/factory DCC module, and showed similar behavior to what you are seeing with the DSC. Further suggests the issue is on the DSC side, as suspected.

 

[yakboyslim]

Yeah, I'm scared the pushback from DSC will be "well it goes into whatever mode the car sends" but somehow the car isn't sending certain modes BECAUSE the DSC isn't communicating.

 

[euroslvt]

I'm writing a program right now that will take your spring rate and sway bar rates as a input and give you a good "baseline" tune. What are the rates for the EMD springs (even just the % above stock will help)? If you get me those I can send you a "preview" tune from my program. See if you like it.

Also, what gateway version do you have? Do you have an OBDeleven, or willing to log with DSC?

I have VCDS, if logging doesn’t require driving the car I’m happy to help, if it does, it’ll have to wait till spring.

 

[yakboyslim]

I have VCDS, if logging doesn’t require driving the car I’m happy to help, if it does, it’ll have to wait till spring.

No need to drive the car for it, just need to have the car on (not even engine running). I'm sure things are slightly different with VCDS, but OBDeleven instructions might be close enough.

1. Figure out what version gateway you have (should start with 5Q0 or 3Q0). This should be in the module info somewhere.
2. Then go into the gateway module and look at live data.
3. The live data parameter we want says something to the effect of "damping mode"
4. While watching this data you can cycle through different driving modes using the button or the radio.

Driving mode selected	What you should get	What you will get if DSC and Gateway aren't getting along.
Comfort	1	2
Normal	2	2
Sport/Race	3	3
Individual	1, 2 or 3	2

 

[euroslvt]

No need to drive the car for it, just need to have the car on (not even engine running). I'm sure things are slightly different with VCDS, but OBDeleven instructions might be close enough.

I’ll log this weekend and report back.

 

[euroslvt]

No need to drive the car for it, just need to have the car on (not even engine running). I'm sure things are slightly different with VCDS, but OBDeleven instructions might be close enough.

Not sure what I did wrong, but I cannot find what you are looking for with VCDS.
Gateway is 3Q0907530AA
Search damping and this is what I see;
IDE07428-IDE04447 Status: driving profile selection for damping adjustment-Function status N/A
IDE07428-IDE06260 Status: driving profile selection for damping adjustment-ID number N/A
IDE07428-MAS01156 Status: driving profile selection for damping adjustment-Communication status N/A
IDE07428-MAS01447 Status: driving profile selection for damping adjustment-Act.val. N/A

Same as everyone, the DSC DCC module will no longer communicate with VCDS.

 

[yakboyslim]

So the live data you are looking for is in the gateway module.

We need to log what the gateway is requesting. For OBDeleven that means going to the Gateway module => Love Data => search for damper. Again not sure exactly what that looks like in VCDS.

The DSC module has no capability to talk on the CAN bus, it only listens, so you can't see any of the data inside it unfortunately.

 

[yakboyslim]

Or wait, was that live data in the Gateway? I guess maybe the car does need to be on?

 

[euroslvt]

Or wait, was that live data in the Gateway? I guess maybe the car does need to be on?

Live through Gateway, I’ll give it at shot while running.

 

[Klrider44]

So I have a 2015 GTI the DSC controller paired with VWR springs and bilstein B6 DCC shocks and struts. There is a lot going on in this thread and I don’t really understand most of it. It’s seems like we have concluded that the comfort mode doesn’t actually work (it’s just normal mode), is this true. Also is there there anyway I can log things to find out once and for all of the bilstein B6’ dampers actually respond to compression changes?

The only thing I have modified to this point is the shock calibration settings and the default rate sensitivity. I’m not happy with how the car rides at the moment. It feels bouncy and harsh, very flat in the turns but doesn’t absorb road imperfections well at all.

I will be modifying the velocity settings at some point to try to get things to my liking. If anyone can point me in the right direction that would be great. Thanks all

 

[yakboyslim]

So I have a 2015 GTI the DSC controller paired with VWR springs and bilstein B6 DCC shocks and struts. There is a lot going on in this thread and I don’t really understand most of it. It’s seems like we have concluded that the comfort mode doesn’t actually work (it’s just normal mode), is this true. Also is there there anyway I can log things to find out once and for all of the bilstein B6’ dampers actually respond to compression changes?

The only thing I have modified to this point is the shock calibration settings and the default rate sensitivity. I’m not happy with how the car rides at the moment. It feels bouncy and harsh, very flat in the turns but doesn’t absorb road imperfections well at all.

I will be modifying the velocity settings at some point to try to get things to my liking. If anyone can point me in the right direction that would be great. Thanks all

You would probably have a 5Q0 Gateway version, which so far we are 2 out of 2 for people logging and showing that comfort mode is not being requested when a DSC controller is installed, so you likely do not have comfort. Do you have a OBDeleven or VCDS? If so you can log and see for yourself, or we could look at it using the DSC software.

I put together two tools that I think make tuning a lot easier:
https://github.com/yakboyslim/YakTUNE/releases/
https://github.com/yakboyslim/YakLOG/releases/

The YakLOG one is an absolute must use if you want to try to modify the velocity tables in my mind. It's a program you can use after the fact on saved logs from DSC to produce histogram plots and make everything exportable to datazap.me. If you got things setup to use that I would be happy to help walk you through how I would tune the velocity tables. Also, we could tell pretty quickly how the B6 are actually working. I would not be surprised if the velocity tables are making the ride so harsh.

The YakTUNE one is preference. It's a program to basically tune using some more intuitive parameters, rather than making changes to the G table, shock cal, and velocity tables (which all could effect each other). If you were interested in using it I'd be happy to walk you through converting your current tune into it, and then tuning from there. It still uses DSC to write the file to the controller, it just makes a DSC tune file in an easier way.

 

[scrllock]

So I have a 2015 GTI the DSC controller paired with VWR springs and bilstein B6 DCC shocks and struts. There is a lot going on in this thread and I don’t really understand most of it. It’s seems like we have concluded that the comfort mode doesn’t actually work (it’s just normal mode), is this true. Also is there there anyway I can log things to find out once and for all of the bilstein B6’ dampers actually respond to compression changes?

The only thing I have modified to this point is the shock calibration settings and the default rate sensitivity. I’m not happy with how the car rides at the moment. It feels bouncy and harsh, very flat in the turns but doesn’t absorb road imperfections well at all.

I will be modifying the velocity settings at some point to try to get things to my liking. If anyone can point me in the right direction that would be great. Thanks all

You should contact DSC about it. They've been fairly dismissive of gateway bugs but it's pretty clear they did minimal testing on different cars.

 

[Klrider44]

You would probably have a 5Q0 Gateway version, which so far we are 2 out of 2 for people logging and showing that comfort mode is not being requested when a DSC controller is installed, so you likely do not have comfort. Do you have a OBDeleven or VCDS? If so you can log and see for yourself, or we could look at it using the DSC software.

I put together two tools that I think make tuning a lot easier:
https://github.com/yakboyslim/YakTUNE/releases/
https://github.com/yakboyslim/YakLOG/releases/

The YakLOG one is an absolute must use if you want to try to modify the velocity tables in my mind. It's a program you can use after the fact on saved logs from DSC to produce histogram plots and make everything exportable to datazap.me. If you got things setup to use that I would be happy to help walk you through how I would tune the velocity tables. Also, we could tell pretty quickly how the B6 are actually working. I would not be surprised if the velocity tables are making the ride so harsh.

The YakTUNE one is preference. It's a program to basically tune using some more intuitive parameters, rather than making changes to the G table, shock cal, and velocity tables (which all could effect each other). If you were interested in using it I'd be happy to walk you through converting your current tune into it, and then tuning from there. It still uses DSC to write the file to the controller, it just makes a DSC tune file in an easier way.

I do have VCDS so I can log with either to test for comfort mode. I would love to use the program to help with tuning because as of right now I’m thinking of reverting back to the stock controller because I didn’t mind the B6’s with the stock controller but I picked up the DSC controller in an effort to get more out of my setup. So I’m definitely willing to try some tuning before I give up.

 

[Klrider44]

You should contact DSC about it. They've been fairly dismissive of gateway bugs but it's pretty clear they did minimal testing on different cars.

If I find out that comfort mode is indeed not working, I will contact them.