Dynamic / Adaptive chassis control (DCC / ACC)

[REXman]

Wj that was a great read. Love your work.

[gtimal]

I have clocked up 1200K's in 10 days and 90% of it has been in the Comfort setting ,the other 10% has been in Sport mode with the DSG in sport mode as well .
I'm very pleased with ACC and when spring & summer comes around and the tractors stop dropping mud on the road I might be able to have the Sport mode selected 90% of the time .

Cheers

[WhiteJames]

There are a few additional observations I’ve made with the Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) on the Mark 6 GTI.


Weather Conditions:


DCC in Sport mode offers a good drive in dry conditions where the roadway offers maximum grip levels. DCC Sport mode keeps the GTI sitting flatter & harder, offering the maximum possible grip by pushing the tyre harder & faster into the tarmac with extra rebound/compression damping & preventing any additional positive camber roll of the tyres. When roadway conditions turn damp or wet, changing the DCC from Sport to Normal or Comfort mode offers additional chassis compliance & body roll that is helpful when grip levels deteriorate – helps the driver feel their way around the chassis of the Golf in low grip situations. Riding in Sport mode makes the GTI chassis less forgiving in damp conditions, with the threshold of grip to slip occurring in a slightly more abrupt manner, leaving less room for driver error. In dry conditions – harder damping of Sport is great. Wet or damp conditions favour a softer tune of Normal or Comfort offering a more forgiving nature to the chassis tune.


Driver Fatigue:


Another observation is that when running DCC in the harder Sport setting for several hours - sometimes the driver may prefer to relax a little at the steering wheel. The steering does firm up considerably. Changing the DCC setting from the harder Sport setting with firm steering resistance to Normal or Comfort mode, which offers lighter steering resistance, puts the driver at ease on longer trips. Being able to change the feel of the Golf from sport to a relaxed setting is a bonus – sort of like having the earlier MKV Golf GTI steering, only firmer for when you want Sporty driving; and Toyota Camry style light steering for relaxed carefree cruising.


Sydney - Metropolitan Driving:


The first drive in Sydney Metro area with the Mark 6 GTI + DCC was conducted this week. I was keen to take the Golf GTI onto Canterbury Road to compare how the GTI rode crap Sydney suburban roadways between Canterbury and Bankstown in comparison to my old MKV GTI with KW V3 aftermarket sports coil over suspension & H&R aftermarket sway bars. The speed limit on Canterbury Road is generally 60kph.


I’ve read articles stating that the damping rate is - speed - roadway – driving style - sensitive. I’d agree with this. The steering resistance appears to firm up as speed increases – which I knew. The DCC damper mode in Normal gives a nice blend of ride & control on the freeways & B-grade roadways at higher speeds as does a standard Mark 6 GTI without DCC optioned. Based on my last MKV KW V3 GTI ride, I was anticipating that DCC Normal mode on Canterbury Road would ride too firmly with far too many roadway imperfections transmitted through the chassis causing the cabin to bob up & down making my journey less comfortable.


Normal mode rode fantastically on Canterbury Road– so much so – DCC was put into Sport mode – which still provided an adequately comfortable ride at 40kph - 60kph. This was paradoxical to what I was expecting based on my old Mark 5 KW V3 GTI. Out on the tourist routes / highway / freeway with higher speed limits, DCC Sport mode offers something closer to the rebound & compression rates to the KW V3 on full soft settings.


In contrast, the KW V3 coil over suspension rode like an beatch on Canterbury Road – esp. the concrete sections near Bankstown (18” huff wheels didn’t help either). Frequent city drives on this roadway in the old MKV GTI had me opting to replace the KW V3 coil over suspension with the softer tuned HPA Motorsport KW Street Handling System (SHS) for the old MKV GTI just prior to selling it to make way for the new Mark 6 GTI (KW now offer KW Street Comfort Coilover for the MK6 Golf).


In terms of Dynamic Chassis Control being speed & roadway sensitive – DCC allows you use Sport setting at a variety of speeds, making the Mark 6 GTI with DCC a much more liveable & likeable motor vehicle for day to day use. The aftermarket coil over suspension was a fantastic drive out on the open roadways, but compromised low speed comfort for handling in the inner metro areas with a stiff legged and nuggetty ride. I’m liking this new Mark 6 GTI much more than the MKV GTI as it offers the best blend of both worlds in terms of sports handling & ride comfort in the one vehicle. The steering in Comfort or Normal is also better suited for the daily grind of peak hour traffic – the heavier Sport steering is the pick for the tourist routes – highway – mountain climbs - until the novelty of a sporty style of driving wears off or driver fatigue occurs.


Cheers
WJ

[Leagle]

Hey White James, ever thought about a professional career as a motoring journo?

[WhiteJames]

DCC is always put into sport mode for mountain climbs and is the default setting for the tight twisting routes. DCC provides a flatter ride, less understeer, and more direct - reactive - firmer - weightier - steering that requires less input from the driver when negotiating the roadway from tight bend to tight bend.

Many others say DCC in Sport setting is only good for a speed greater than 80kph in regards to steering weight & reactivity – I’d agree, but with the exception that DCC Sport is also default setting for the tight twisting bends, provided the roadway texture is reasonably good.

The steering resistance does increase in every mode as speed rises – this also includes Sport mode, but does not feel as pronounced a change as is the case with Comfort/Normal modes. All modes feel lighter at car park speeds – Comfort/Normal modes considerably lighter in weight & resistance than Sport mode at very low speed.

In city commuting, and referring to demo non-DCC equipped GTI riding on 17” rubber that I had for half a day test drive - the DCC GTI riding on 18” wheels very rarely feels underdamped when striking city irregularities. The demo non-DCC on the same routes had me wanting extra compression & rebound rate in the dampers on certain sections of roadway. The DCC version has the electronics adjusting the damping rate continuously to all but eliminate any feeling of inadequate damping rate. This ensures that the ride on DCC is always controlled and that the chassis sits flat and undisturbed, while at the same time, providing for a subtle ride. In other words: DCC is providing an improvement in handling and comfort at the same time – not an easy thing to achieve with conventional suspension set-ups.

The ride of the previous MKV GTI on similar roadways with aftermarket KW V3 coilover suspension on almost full soft & H&R sway bars was nuggetty and stiff legged at very low speeds offering a very brittle feeling on 18” huffs. There seemed to be no way to eliminate the old Mark 5 GTI of that brittle feeling. The sensation of a brittle ride is never the case with DCC on the new Mark 6 GTI, despite the Mark 6 DCC GTI also riding 18” wheels. This makes me very happy.

Cheers
WJ

[WhiteJames]

Just want to add this link re:

Magnatec -v- Dynamic Chassis Control.

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/f112...ide-46153.html

Magnatec is the choice for Ferrari, Audi and HSV.
Dynamic Chassis Control is the pick for Volkswagen, Opel.

Some useful links in this thread.

Cheers.
WJ

[Prodigy]

I've been wondering for a while whether i made the right choice in not ordering ACC in my R (I know it's too late now) but reading a lot of this makes me think i should of. Unfortunately neither of the cars i test drove had this option fitted and to be honest i thought the ride on the 19's was smoother and more compliant than my WRX with it's 18's and Whiteline lowered springs.

I guess as long as i don't drive one with ACC i won't know any different when my car arrives and hopefully will be happy with the standard ride.

I wonder how many other people with R's/Gti's on order decided against ticking the ACC option.

[simonm]

I wonder how many other people with R's/Gti's on order decided against ticking the ACC option.

The two main reasons I ordered ACC are partly because I like gadgets, but mostly because I wanted the comfort mode to optimise the Wife Acceptance Factor when seeking purchase approval.

Which is also one of the reasons I didn't order the 19s (harder ride, more expensive rubber over the life of the car, I like the silver headlights with the Rising Blue, and I once came back to my WRX after dinner out to find it up on bricks with no wheels - only had standard rims, was in a busy, well lit multi storey carpark, and it kind of ruined my night. Not really interested in any wheels that might be considered more attractive!)

[Cossor]

, and I once came back to my WRX after dinner out to find it up on bricks with no wheels - only had standard rims, was in a busy, well lit multi storey carpark, and it kind of ruined my night. Not really interested in any wheels that might be considered more attractive!)

So that's why VW have anti theft wheel bolts!

[Corey_R]

Which is also one of the reasons I didn't order the 19s (harder ride, more expensive rubber over the life of the car, I like the silver headlights with the Rising Blue

Yep I agree with all 3 of those points, plus to add to that, if you are actually serious about driving, the 19" rims will be slower around a track due to them being heavier and having less sidewall height and therefore offer worse handling. In fact, with the GTI, the std 17" wheels are faster around a track than the 18" Detroits, so the 19" Talladega's are only going to be even further in the wrong direction!