First Impressions: DSC Sport Suspension
01-19-2016, 08:17 PM
#1
Track Rat
Thread Starter
First Impressions: DSC Sport Suspension
I just read what I wrote below and let me start with an apology if it sounds like I’m a sales guy. I’m just really excited about this suspension and am in no way affiliated with DSC Sport or TPC other than being a happy customer. With that said...
If you’ve been reading the threads about FE7 conversion you might have seen that some of us have been chomping at the bit to try the DSC Sport suspension upgrade for the C7Z as an alternative to the FE7 (Z07) suspension. Yesterday I was fortunate to be one of the first C7Zs to get this installed on my car and I wanted to offer some initial impressions.
For background, my car is a 2015 FE6 (non-Z07) car. The DSC system replaces the factory suspension control module with a custom module and you can optionally also replace the factory MR shocks with the DSC/Tractiv units - I elected to go with both the shocks and controller. The factory drive mode selector in the center console still functions as before controlling steering/throttle/exhaust/AH/PTM, and the DSC control module has three suspension maps tied to Tour, Sport, and Track modes in the car that you can tailor individually through the software.
Since TPC is relatively close by I elected to bring my car up there and watch while they installed the system. I saw them taking lots of pictures and some video so I expect this will make it up on the web but the install was very straightforward. The shocks are held on with 4 bolts and you have peel back the driver front wheel well to replace the suspension control module. It was straight plug and play and I also bought a USB cable that we fished in to the driver compartment so we could update the config and data log from inside the car.
There are some good videos on youtube that explain the software but going in I had no idea how sophisticated the system was. I was expecting something that just measured and responded to shock movement but it reality it takes in to account G forces, brake pressure, rate of change in the throttle and even steering angle can be used to determine how the shock responds. It was great to spend a couple of hours with Daytona 24 and IMSA GT3 champion Mike Levitas going over the software and how to tune it. You can tell these guys are real enthusiasts and suspension geeks.
So what do I think so far? I haven’t been able to try and push the handling of the car given that it’s in the teens out and I don’t like to push the limits of this car on the street but based on their success with this system in the Viper and Porsches I have big expectations. However, I can offer some observations on ride, acceleration, and braking.
Ride
As you might have noticed from other threads I am very sensitive to ride quality. The FE6 suspension is about as far as I want to go towards a firm ride in a daily driver. It was ride quality that kept me from buying the Z07 package and it’s also kept me from looking at some of the other fixed shock options. The ride with the DSC system is at least as good as the factory FE6 setup and might be a tad more compliant comparing tour mode to tour mode. The really harsh bumps (potholes, expansion joints) feel no worse and it feels a bit softer in tour mode over the less harsh bumps.
Acceleration
When I was talking to Mike he went in to great lengths about how the system is designed to help put the power down whether you are coming out of the hole drag racing or out of the corner on a road course. He showed me how they looked at data like the rate of change in the throttle to control how the suspension responds to maximize grip. I hadn’t thought much about this but I will say that this is the most noticeable change to the way the car performs that I’ve observed so far. Even running on smaller than factory rear Winter tires and in temps in the teens the car puts the power down very well. I have areas of road where I always roll on the gas in second gear and spin the tires up a little. After the DSC suspension I can smack the gas and the car just hooks. It’s really impressive and is something that I think will benefit the 1/4 mile crowd as much as us road course folks.
Braking
A number of us have experienced issues with how much the car dives under braking and rolls over in the corners. I’ve done several hard braking attempts and there is almost no front end dive with the DSC system. It’s also a huge improvement. Of course the track on a warm day with sticky tires will be the real test.
I’ll continue to update this as I have more opportunities to push the car with this setup but so far it’s looking like a great upgrade for an already fantastic car.
Initial track impressions are here:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1591772059
If you’ve been reading the threads about FE7 conversion you might have seen that some of us have been chomping at the bit to try the DSC Sport suspension upgrade for the C7Z as an alternative to the FE7 (Z07) suspension. Yesterday I was fortunate to be one of the first C7Zs to get this installed on my car and I wanted to offer some initial impressions.
For background, my car is a 2015 FE6 (non-Z07) car. The DSC system replaces the factory suspension control module with a custom module and you can optionally also replace the factory MR shocks with the DSC/Tractiv units - I elected to go with both the shocks and controller. The factory drive mode selector in the center console still functions as before controlling steering/throttle/exhaust/AH/PTM, and the DSC control module has three suspension maps tied to Tour, Sport, and Track modes in the car that you can tailor individually through the software.
Since TPC is relatively close by I elected to bring my car up there and watch while they installed the system. I saw them taking lots of pictures and some video so I expect this will make it up on the web but the install was very straightforward. The shocks are held on with 4 bolts and you have peel back the driver front wheel well to replace the suspension control module. It was straight plug and play and I also bought a USB cable that we fished in to the driver compartment so we could update the config and data log from inside the car.
There are some good videos on youtube that explain the software but going in I had no idea how sophisticated the system was. I was expecting something that just measured and responded to shock movement but it reality it takes in to account G forces, brake pressure, rate of change in the throttle and even steering angle can be used to determine how the shock responds. It was great to spend a couple of hours with Daytona 24 and IMSA GT3 champion Mike Levitas going over the software and how to tune it. You can tell these guys are real enthusiasts and suspension geeks.
So what do I think so far? I haven’t been able to try and push the handling of the car given that it’s in the teens out and I don’t like to push the limits of this car on the street but based on their success with this system in the Viper and Porsches I have big expectations. However, I can offer some observations on ride, acceleration, and braking.
Ride
As you might have noticed from other threads I am very sensitive to ride quality. The FE6 suspension is about as far as I want to go towards a firm ride in a daily driver. It was ride quality that kept me from buying the Z07 package and it’s also kept me from looking at some of the other fixed shock options. The ride with the DSC system is at least as good as the factory FE6 setup and might be a tad more compliant comparing tour mode to tour mode. The really harsh bumps (potholes, expansion joints) feel no worse and it feels a bit softer in tour mode over the less harsh bumps.
Acceleration
When I was talking to Mike he went in to great lengths about how the system is designed to help put the power down whether you are coming out of the hole drag racing or out of the corner on a road course. He showed me how they looked at data like the rate of change in the throttle to control how the suspension responds to maximize grip. I hadn’t thought much about this but I will say that this is the most noticeable change to the way the car performs that I’ve observed so far. Even running on smaller than factory rear Winter tires and in temps in the teens the car puts the power down very well. I have areas of road where I always roll on the gas in second gear and spin the tires up a little. After the DSC suspension I can smack the gas and the car just hooks. It’s really impressive and is something that I think will benefit the 1/4 mile crowd as much as us road course folks.
Braking
A number of us have experienced issues with how much the car dives under braking and rolls over in the corners. I’ve done several hard braking attempts and there is almost no front end dive with the DSC system. It’s also a huge improvement. Of course the track on a warm day with sticky tires will be the real test.
I’ll continue to update this as I have more opportunities to push the car with this setup but so far it’s looking like a great upgrade for an already fantastic car.
Initial track impressions are here:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1591772059
Last edited by Poor-sha; 03-14-2016 at 07:41 PM. Reason: Added link to track impressions post
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Popular Reply
04-04-2016, 03:02 PM
Former Vendor
Brake rate of change table
Im sorry I have not chimed in earlier first let me introduce myself. This is Michael Levitas of DSCsport also TPCRacing. Many in the corvette GM world know me for my Porsche Racing in Grand Am IMSA and other series. I would like to clarify a few small points after briefing over this thread. Every ones input is spot on. The main table is shock calibration table all other tables are a percentage of the cal table. the Gtable is the base table or overview unless the conditions of the Gpatch are applicable see lower line below Gcircle
all tables have priority based on how their conditions are met.
the Brake table is a rate of change and is a condition applied to the cal table. There for in most cars you will see that I pull Ma when the brake pressure is over 50bar but its more than that its the rate of change so there may be no change to the cal table if you push the brake pressure slowly but if you go from 0-50bar in a short burst there will be a rapid offset and rapid decay this is to respond to the frequency of the tire so the tire does not trip up or set the ABS when you enter the brake zone (the car may seem to stay flat or have little pitch but the frequency is altered for the decay time)
also note: there are many other tables like the accel table that I apply the same strategy (ie the blower under rapid throttle is way different than under slow TPS movement). In the end you will find the Z06 incredibly tuneable actually way unbelievable. I have a Z06 myself and all the basemaps are based off me in the rain and dry the increased grip is scary good and the cool part is with our Gpatch strategy the ride is crazy nice . I have been driving my car to work almost every day its so good.
I actually love the magnetic shocks the down side is their lack of being able to stay consistent under temp change they hate getting hot. I love what can be done but we can do so much more with a typical shim stack and a proper piston and TracTive patented DDA valve. the quality is unmatched and performance is brilliant . I have been running the DSC / Tractive technology in my IMSA race car now for two years . I have been winning many or most races and I slay them in the rain.
I hope im of help please bare with me Im slow to get to the forums but really enjoy spreading the word on what we do here at DSCsport. Thanks you Katech for starting this thread and offering DSCsport
Please Id really like to share my chassis setup we have been plotting the toe and camber curve in the back of the car and man do I have this car working most of our customers are finding as much as 2 sec at VIR and i can tell you even on the street its wild the performance gain you have so much confidence never worrying how the back will come out under a full power burst.
01-20-2016, 09:11 AM
#5
Sounds like a winner!
Thanks for sharing your experience, looking forward to your updates as always.
Cheers!
Thanks for sharing your experience, looking forward to your updates as always.
Cheers!
01-20-2016, 07:34 PM
#8
Track Rat
Thread Starter
It's the same setup the Luke from Tire Rack posted that works on stock rims. I don't remember the sizes off hand but there is an entire thread on them.
01-20-2016, 07:58 PM
#9
Poorsha, I know I remember another thread on this but I'm quite dull when it comes to this. What exactly has changed besides the module on your car? Is this available through GM?
01-20-2016, 08:04 PM
#10
Drifting
Member Since: Feb 2015
Location: Syracuse-Central Square New York Winer of the all Corvette race WGI 8/23!
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Any spring, sway bar or bushing changes. Sounds more tunable than the GM setup. I'm sure we will get a detailed track report in due time.
01-20-2016, 08:23 PM
#11
Track Rat
Thread Starter
You can either just buy their controller that plugs in place of the factory suspension control module and use your OEM MR shocks or buy their controller along with their dynamic DSC shocks. I'm not a shock expert but Mike said that the OEM MR shocks are pretty compromised in their orifice design. I'm looking for max performance if it doesn't compromise ride so I went with their shocks and controller.
It's definitely more tunable than the GM setup. Mike sent me an updated tune today from his testing and I uploaded it this evening in about 5 minutes. In theory if we get a group of folks running this setup we could share tunes with one another based on different setups and tracks.
I can't wait to get this car back on track. Come on Spring!
01-21-2016, 01:04 PM
#14
Premium Supporting Vendor
Great news. We will be carrying this product.
Last edited by Katech_Zach; 01-21-2016 at 01:04 PM.
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01-24-2016, 12:18 AM
#17
Melting Slicks
This is one of the more interesting developments for the c7z and c7.
A few questions:
1. Will this system permit a swap to the FE7 shocks via software recalibration
2. Is the module able to be configured by the end user?
A few questions:
1. Will this system permit a swap to the FE7 shocks via software recalibration
2. Is the module able to be configured by the end user?
01-24-2016, 07:43 AM
#18
Track Rat
Thread Starter
Yes, the module is user configurable. Here's a pretty good youtube video on the tuning software.
01-24-2016, 12:58 PM
#19
Drifting
There will be a calibration for folks running factory shocks - that includes both the FE6 and FE7 shocks. So in theory you could replace your FE6 shocks with the FE7 shocks and use the DSC controller. However, if you're going to buy new shocks I would get the DSC shocks as the FE7 shock in particular have limited dynamic range.
Yes, the module is user configurable. Here's a pretty good youtube video on the tuning software.
Yes, the module is user configurable. Here's a pretty good youtube video on the tuning software.
01-24-2016, 01:22 PM
#20
Track Rat
Thread Starter
I'd drop TPC Racing a line and ask them. My gut says that it's not going to work as is because I imagine the bits on the CAN bus will be different. However, that doesn't mean something couldn't be developed if there was a market for it.