Active Dampers too stiff on FL5. Disabled with Damping Cancellation Kit

[elusiveaura]

Hurry up and test LOL For real though, thanks!

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[Preyforsurf]

I can't believe you guys like comfort mode. I find it crashy, it feels as if the suspension just gives way too easily until you run out of wheel travel and then suddenly stiffens up over the last 20% of travel. I much prefer sport as it feel like a static amount of damping, it's not suddenly deciding it needs to tighten up as the wheel takes up its travel.

 

[TheTopher]

Just for fun....I ordered an ADS control unit from a '21 Type R on ebay. $42. I'll see if plugs in and works

Ok, I plugged in the ADS control unit from a '21 Type R, getting an "adaptive damper system problem" message on startup, but I do have switchable drive modes. I won't know if it makes any change in stiffness until I pull the wheels off and plug everything back in. Tbh, I'm so happy with the dampers disabled just the error message makes it a no for me. Will report back when I have a chance.

 

[Kfo_cpa]

Just for fun....I ordered an ADS control unit from a '21 Type R on ebay. $42. I'll see if plugs in and works

I ordered a cheap one as well. 2019 ADS (I couldn’t find 20’ or 21’). The unit fit fine and I didn’t get any error codes. The only thing I couldn’t really tell the difference in suspension modes. It almost felt like the car was in stock comfort mode. I flipped to +R mode and it definitely wasn’t the firm mode that I’m used to. I couldn’t tell a difference between any mode, but I only drove for 15 mins so I’ll probably try it again.

The good news is that it fit, and if it hasn’t changed from 19’ to now I doubt Honda will change it anytime soon. It should gives us options for Type S or in a couple years on the mid cycle Type R refresh I’m sure they will update drive modes and we could flip to newer ADS unit.

Let me know if anyone else tries.

Another thing - the bracket on the 19’ unit is different than FL5. If you went this route you would have to get creative to bolt it in place.

 

[CTR]

Thank you for the updates! I think there is a pretty good chance that the ITS will use the same dampers and have an ADS module that can be swapped easily.

 

[TheTopher]

Here’s some driving footage / impressions on the disabled ADS.

 

[veew]

Here’s some driving footage / impressions on the disabled ADS.

Just joined the forum and came cross this post. Perfect mod if I feel the need to soften up the suspension further.

 

[Geezer]

I watched your vid last night. Interesting mod. I have no issue with the drive modes and drive around in sport generally. Roads are also bad here but I find the suspension comfortable enough.

 

[Vincent@27WON]

Do you plan to go full coils in the future?

 

[TheTopher]

Do you plan to go full coils in the future?

Not in the near future, been really happy with dampers in full soft, even on the stock 19" PS4S. I think it'll do well on track too. I'll look at swapping in an Integra Type S ADS module before coils.

 

[tezzasaurusrex]

I ordered a cheap one as well. 2019 ADS (I couldn’t find 20’ or 21’). The unit fit fine and I didn’t get any error codes. The only thing I couldn’t really tell the difference in suspension modes. It almost felt like the car was in stock comfort mode. I flipped to +R mode and it definitely wasn’t the firm mode that I’m used to. I couldn’t tell a difference between any mode, but I only drove for 15 mins so I’ll probably try it again.

The good news is that it fit, and if it hasn’t changed from 19’ to now I doubt Honda will change it anytime soon. It should gives us options for Type S or in a couple years on the mid cycle Type R refresh I’m sure they will update drive modes and we could flip to newer ADS unit.

Let me know if anyone else tries.

Another thing - the bracket on the 19’ unit is different than FL5. If you went this route you would have to get creative to bolt it in place.

Thanks for doing this - I was considering doing the same - trying an FK8 ADS module. I did noticed the bracketry is different so would need to make some modification there..
It would be good to hear your thoughts after a few weeks of testing. The main issue for me is the aggressive damping ramp up happening in all modes (comfort/sport/R+) under high G-load cornering - this is a particular issue on track, where the car will literally feel like the wheels are skipping over the track and you end up running wide on exit. On top of that my ass is leaving the seat from how severe the bounces are...
The stock suspension behaves perfectly fine on the street but on track it has room for improvement - I am quite surprised Honda let the car go out like that to be honest - I think its a serious issue...

 

[Icehawk]

The tuning is a bit bizarre, it's clear the compression damping is way too firm.

 

[Kfo_cpa]

Thanks for doing this - I was considering doing the same - trying an FK8 ADS module. I did noticed the bracketry is different so would need to make some modification there..
It would be good to hear your thoughts after a few weeks of testing. The main issue for me is the aggressive damping ramp up happening in all modes (comfort/sport/R+) under high G-load cornering - this is a particular issue on track, where the car will literally feel like the wheels are skipping over the track and you end up running wide on exit. On top of that my ass is leaving the seat from how severe the bounces are...
The stock suspension behaves perfectly fine on the street but on track it has room for improvement - I am quite surprised Honda let the car go out like that to be honest - I think its a serious issue...

I put my panel back on so I probably won’t try the FK8 unit again. I will say when I tested it before I didn’t really notice a difference. I flipped through different modes and I didn’t feel a change. It was nothing to write home about so I didn’t bother trying again. To your concern, I’m not sure how it would do on the track under hard cornering. I can ship it to you for free if you want to try it… I was more impressed with unplugging the ads completely- I notice a big change in driving from that - more comfort and not bouncy. I may go that route in near future. Just waiting to see if anyone tries Type S if that’s any good or compatible.

 

[tezzasaurusrex]

I put my panel back on so I probably won’t try the FK8 unit again. I will say when I tested it before I didn’t really notice a difference. I flipped through different modes and I didn’t feel a change. It was nothing to write home about so I didn’t bother trying again. To your concern, I’m not sure how it would do on the track under hard cornering. I can ship it to you for free if you want to try it… I was more impressed with unplugging the ads completely- I notice a big change in driving from that - more comfort and not bouncy. I may go that route in near future. Just waiting to see if anyone tries Type S if that’s any good or compatible.

Thanks for your kind offer - however I'm located in Australia so shipping might be on the more pricey side. Type S ADS would be a good one to try definitely!

 

[tezzasaurusrex]

Just thought I'd share a recent experience on track (Aus Time Attack) where the suspension damping goes full hard during hard cornering resulting in the car bouncing way off line...

I'm really keen to try and make something like a patch harness that can perhaps halve the current output going to the shocks (appears to be between 0A to 1.6A) which might lessen the bounce. The system is closing up that valve far too much under high load!