lflouie
Member
- First Name
- jeff
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2024
- Threads
- 2
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- 27
- Reaction score
- 38
- Location
- Knoxville, TN
- Vehicle(s)
- Audi S4, Audi A4
- Thread starter
- #1
Recently installed a DSC unit on my stock 2025 CTR a few days ago and couldn't be more pleased. Thought I'd share my INITIAL experience with an "off the shelf" programmed DSC controller on a stock unmodified CTR suspension used in the REAL WORLD.
Bottomline: Works great as a plug and play drop-in on stock suspension CTR FL5.
Journey:
Nearly purchased a first release Acura Integra Type S (2024) but felt the car lacked the "edginess" and overall handling I sought, it leaned more towards a sport sedan characteristic than an aggressive and nimble handling backroads rocket (hatchback). I was seeking a weekend car to fulfill what my Focus RS had done so well....uncompromising handling and grip with a solid chassis and good power delivery.
I was willing to buy my first ever high performance FWD car based on the reviews and feedback, but the ITS fell short on my priorities list for handling and aggressiveness, so in Dec 2025 I bought my new CTR and commenced with assessing its capabilities and limitations. Right off the bat there were so many things to love about it...incredible grip, no roll/flat cornering, exceptionally flexible power delivery, factory drive modes that actually provided meaningful differences and were customizable, near perfect seats, a very good shifter (not perfect, but exceptional), wonderful steering weighting, ....and more. There were a few annoyances including: a ridiculously small fuel tank capacity (12 gal), no spare tire, uninspiring exhaust sound, and a suspension that while competent was almost only useable in COMFORT setting for anything else but a glass smooth road/track surface. So like the Focus RS, it had multiple suspension settings but only one that was practical for non-race use. My conclusion was the CTR was the right car for me, but it slightly missed the mark on the suspension based on my priorities and use.
I had installed 2 DSC modules, first one on a 2007 911 Turbo (6spd) with the early version of OEM "adaptive suspension:, and the second on the Focus RS. Ibought the 911 in 2017 and was transformed by the DSC module, which had been around for at least 5 yrs at that time. The module had been thoroughly adapted and tuned for the car, so I did not need to customize the programming. the module took away the roughness of the OEM system, and provided an amazing amount of drivability, grip and civility when bolted in. The only additional tweaking that was required was adding a slightly stiffer rear sway bar to aid turn-in and low speed tight cornering control.
The Focus RS experience was different. The RS was known for its stiff and harsh suspension, especially in the "sport" setting.....normal setting was marginally better but punishing and ill balanced for most driving situations except aggressive situations. Since the Focus RS was a new suspension design, and the early 2016 car was unproven, it took a series of evaluations to identify what was needed and to find the right parts to change to improve the car. The DSC module was not available until the following year, so my series of changes included lowering springs (Mountune), larger rear sway bar, second generation (softer damped) rear oem shocks, aggressive alignment (camber), and different wheel offsets made the "Normal" setting a very usable, but firm, suspension setup. When the DSC module came out I was one of the early version users. It didn't have the benefit of several yrs of development and software optimization to be effective as a "drop-in" solution. I tried it without programming it and was disappointed with the results...excessive push and poor roll control. I never tried to "tune" it but others did and after a while the module earned acclaim from many owners.
When DSC started delivering the CTR/ITS module in Dec, I had mixed feelings based on my prior experience, especially on a newly released suspension model for a relative new platform. I decided to try it on my CTR and here is what I discovered.
Background:
* Car: 2025 CTR with 1030 miles on stock wheels, tires, suspension and alignment.
* Type of driving/use: primarily a weekend car with emphasis on high levels of street performance on twisty backroads/mountain roads (frequently on the Tail of the Dragon).
* Environment: car will never see a race track but will be driven on a range of road types and conditions.
* Owner: many yrs of owning a range of high performance cars from Europe, Japan, and USA...most recent cars including: Focus RS (modified suspension), 911 Turbo (modified suspension), Audi S4 (modified suspension), Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio, S2000 (modified suspension), and Subaru STI (2) (highly modified suspensions).
* Suspension experience: ranging from full custom coil-overs and off the shelf coil-overs, lowering springs, chassis bracing, U/L control arms, swaybars, bushings/inserts), and previous DSC controllers (911 Turbo and Focus RS).
Before starting the installation/evaluation, I drove the car 900 mi for break-in, but during break-in I cornered the car aggressively to let the suspension, bushings and tires fully break-in. I have owned many different Michelin tires of all varieties, and the rule of thumb is it takes 700 to 1500 miles to break-in the side walls on these tires before they truly lose their sidewall harshness. ...the same is usually true for suspension bushings, thus trying to evaluate a suspension before 1000 miles is difficult.
Observations/results:
Initial impression driving out of driveway was:
* In Comfort setting the car felt overly bouncy over undulations in the pavement at low speeds (< 35mph).
* The steering felt less urgent (turn-in) around town
* The ride was improved (softened) significantly reducing road imperfections from imposing to subtle, and taking the "harsh edge" off of large irregularities.
* A more lackadaisical overall suspension feel....not sloppy, just less taut...more comfortable. Clearly a significant change, great improvement for a daily or general commuting.
* Steering felt a half step off (slower) than the aggressive stock setup in Comfort setting....also felt lighter.
* In Sport setting the understated "nervousness" feeling of the stock Comfort setting returned...sort of in the background.
* Steering tightened somewhat, and quickened.
* Reaction to road condition irregularities was still good...but slightly stiffer.
* Overall an improvement in responsiveness with a mild tradeoff on ride quality.
Extended driving impressions: mix of backroads, highway... mostly 50mph or higher, aggressive and mild driving mix
Note: as the speeds increased the car's suspension became noticeably more responsive in all settings, low speed initial impressions faded into an overall improvement in driving and handling, even Comfort setting became a mix of better ride quality and very good handling......but hints of turn-in roll remains, more on this later.
Test setup: Car was in Individual mode, only adjusted Engine, Steering and Suspension settings, individually.
A) Initial settings: Engine: +R, Steering: comfort, Suspension: comfort.
* Good ride quality, although it felt soft and exhibited roll at turn-in under hard cornering situations at elevated speeds. Good for general driving, great on the hwy.
B) Settings: same but suspension in sport setting
* Slightly stiffer ride, (similar to stock Comfort), cornering improved but still had a slight turn-in roll vs stock setting.
C) Steering and suspension in sport
* Sport steering seemed to help improve roll stiffness, grip increased
D) Settings: Engine +R, Steering: +R, Suspension: sport
* The +R steering change appeared to further reduce turn-in roll and the car felt notably more nimble, but it was a very viable and competent handling change.
E) Settings; all +R
* This setup provided a very capable aggressive setup for driving backroads at substantial speeds...a nice blend of performance, handling, and overall feel.
* Note: this setup is aggressive and compromised for highway driving under 75 mph.
Whether actually true or not, my seat of the pants impressions are that the DSC module provides an expanded use of the CTR modes for almost any street situation, including a sporty daily driver all the way to aggressive street handling....when used right out of the box on a stock CTR FL5.
I have found my preferred setup to be as follows: Hwy and general daily driving - Comfort Mode, performance street driving either Sport Mode or Individual Mode (Eng +R, Steering Sport, Suspension Sport), and for aggressive street driving either +R or Individual Mode (Eng +R, Steering +R, Suspension Sport).
I plan on tweaking these setups by adding a 22mm Whiteline rear sway bar to provide just a bit of additional turn-in roll control and overall cornering grip.
Enjoy your DSC!
Bottomline: Works great as a plug and play drop-in on stock suspension CTR FL5.
Journey:
Nearly purchased a first release Acura Integra Type S (2024) but felt the car lacked the "edginess" and overall handling I sought, it leaned more towards a sport sedan characteristic than an aggressive and nimble handling backroads rocket (hatchback). I was seeking a weekend car to fulfill what my Focus RS had done so well....uncompromising handling and grip with a solid chassis and good power delivery.
I was willing to buy my first ever high performance FWD car based on the reviews and feedback, but the ITS fell short on my priorities list for handling and aggressiveness, so in Dec 2025 I bought my new CTR and commenced with assessing its capabilities and limitations. Right off the bat there were so many things to love about it...incredible grip, no roll/flat cornering, exceptionally flexible power delivery, factory drive modes that actually provided meaningful differences and were customizable, near perfect seats, a very good shifter (not perfect, but exceptional), wonderful steering weighting, ....and more. There were a few annoyances including: a ridiculously small fuel tank capacity (12 gal), no spare tire, uninspiring exhaust sound, and a suspension that while competent was almost only useable in COMFORT setting for anything else but a glass smooth road/track surface. So like the Focus RS, it had multiple suspension settings but only one that was practical for non-race use. My conclusion was the CTR was the right car for me, but it slightly missed the mark on the suspension based on my priorities and use.
I had installed 2 DSC modules, first one on a 2007 911 Turbo (6spd) with the early version of OEM "adaptive suspension:, and the second on the Focus RS. Ibought the 911 in 2017 and was transformed by the DSC module, which had been around for at least 5 yrs at that time. The module had been thoroughly adapted and tuned for the car, so I did not need to customize the programming. the module took away the roughness of the OEM system, and provided an amazing amount of drivability, grip and civility when bolted in. The only additional tweaking that was required was adding a slightly stiffer rear sway bar to aid turn-in and low speed tight cornering control.
The Focus RS experience was different. The RS was known for its stiff and harsh suspension, especially in the "sport" setting.....normal setting was marginally better but punishing and ill balanced for most driving situations except aggressive situations. Since the Focus RS was a new suspension design, and the early 2016 car was unproven, it took a series of evaluations to identify what was needed and to find the right parts to change to improve the car. The DSC module was not available until the following year, so my series of changes included lowering springs (Mountune), larger rear sway bar, second generation (softer damped) rear oem shocks, aggressive alignment (camber), and different wheel offsets made the "Normal" setting a very usable, but firm, suspension setup. When the DSC module came out I was one of the early version users. It didn't have the benefit of several yrs of development and software optimization to be effective as a "drop-in" solution. I tried it without programming it and was disappointed with the results...excessive push and poor roll control. I never tried to "tune" it but others did and after a while the module earned acclaim from many owners.
When DSC started delivering the CTR/ITS module in Dec, I had mixed feelings based on my prior experience, especially on a newly released suspension model for a relative new platform. I decided to try it on my CTR and here is what I discovered.
Background:
* Car: 2025 CTR with 1030 miles on stock wheels, tires, suspension and alignment.
* Type of driving/use: primarily a weekend car with emphasis on high levels of street performance on twisty backroads/mountain roads (frequently on the Tail of the Dragon).
* Environment: car will never see a race track but will be driven on a range of road types and conditions.
* Owner: many yrs of owning a range of high performance cars from Europe, Japan, and USA...most recent cars including: Focus RS (modified suspension), 911 Turbo (modified suspension), Audi S4 (modified suspension), Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio, S2000 (modified suspension), and Subaru STI (2) (highly modified suspensions).
* Suspension experience: ranging from full custom coil-overs and off the shelf coil-overs, lowering springs, chassis bracing, U/L control arms, swaybars, bushings/inserts), and previous DSC controllers (911 Turbo and Focus RS).
Before starting the installation/evaluation, I drove the car 900 mi for break-in, but during break-in I cornered the car aggressively to let the suspension, bushings and tires fully break-in. I have owned many different Michelin tires of all varieties, and the rule of thumb is it takes 700 to 1500 miles to break-in the side walls on these tires before they truly lose their sidewall harshness. ...the same is usually true for suspension bushings, thus trying to evaluate a suspension before 1000 miles is difficult.
Observations/results:
Initial impression driving out of driveway was:
* In Comfort setting the car felt overly bouncy over undulations in the pavement at low speeds (< 35mph).
* The steering felt less urgent (turn-in) around town
* The ride was improved (softened) significantly reducing road imperfections from imposing to subtle, and taking the "harsh edge" off of large irregularities.
* A more lackadaisical overall suspension feel....not sloppy, just less taut...more comfortable. Clearly a significant change, great improvement for a daily or general commuting.
* Steering felt a half step off (slower) than the aggressive stock setup in Comfort setting....also felt lighter.
* In Sport setting the understated "nervousness" feeling of the stock Comfort setting returned...sort of in the background.
* Steering tightened somewhat, and quickened.
* Reaction to road condition irregularities was still good...but slightly stiffer.
* Overall an improvement in responsiveness with a mild tradeoff on ride quality.
Extended driving impressions: mix of backroads, highway... mostly 50mph or higher, aggressive and mild driving mix
Note: as the speeds increased the car's suspension became noticeably more responsive in all settings, low speed initial impressions faded into an overall improvement in driving and handling, even Comfort setting became a mix of better ride quality and very good handling......but hints of turn-in roll remains, more on this later.
Test setup: Car was in Individual mode, only adjusted Engine, Steering and Suspension settings, individually.
A) Initial settings: Engine: +R, Steering: comfort, Suspension: comfort.
* Good ride quality, although it felt soft and exhibited roll at turn-in under hard cornering situations at elevated speeds. Good for general driving, great on the hwy.
B) Settings: same but suspension in sport setting
* Slightly stiffer ride, (similar to stock Comfort), cornering improved but still had a slight turn-in roll vs stock setting.
C) Steering and suspension in sport
* Sport steering seemed to help improve roll stiffness, grip increased
D) Settings: Engine +R, Steering: +R, Suspension: sport
* The +R steering change appeared to further reduce turn-in roll and the car felt notably more nimble, but it was a very viable and competent handling change.
E) Settings; all +R
* This setup provided a very capable aggressive setup for driving backroads at substantial speeds...a nice blend of performance, handling, and overall feel.
* Note: this setup is aggressive and compromised for highway driving under 75 mph.
Whether actually true or not, my seat of the pants impressions are that the DSC module provides an expanded use of the CTR modes for almost any street situation, including a sporty daily driver all the way to aggressive street handling....when used right out of the box on a stock CTR FL5.
I have found my preferred setup to be as follows: Hwy and general daily driving - Comfort Mode, performance street driving either Sport Mode or Individual Mode (Eng +R, Steering Sport, Suspension Sport), and for aggressive street driving either +R or Individual Mode (Eng +R, Steering +R, Suspension Sport).
I plan on tweaking these setups by adding a 22mm Whiteline rear sway bar to provide just a bit of additional turn-in roll control and overall cornering grip.
Enjoy your DSC!
Sponsored
Last edited:
. I love the gray and the blue RS!
