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

[Kfo_cpa]

@urbo73 I’m looking forward to your review! I tend to agree with @CTR - it might feel too soft. It’s going to feel like the best daily driver ever at first, but then you might get too comfy and want that edgy crazy type R back. Lol keep us posted.

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[urbo73]

@urbo73 I’m looking forward to your review! I tend to agree with @CTR - it might feel too soft. It’s going to feel like the best daily driver ever at first, but then you might get too comfy and want that edgy crazy type R back. Lol keep us posted.

Will do - I meant the difference between a 265/35 and a 265/30 tire in terms of comfort is very minimal. Will the ITS ADS in COMFORT be too soft? Dunno, but then you can go to SPORT. I will test and report back. I test drove the actual ITS in all modes, and to me (I posted about it), they seem 2 steps up in terms of comfort from the CTR. Someone told me the rear springs are different on the ITS from the CTR.

 

[Kfo_cpa]

Got ya. Good comment on the 30 vs 35 sidewalls.

The biggest thing with me is ITS comfort mode is great, but sometimes I want more dampening when taking fast on/off ramps and when I switched to Sport it kind of has a mildly weird bounce to it. Let me say it is NOT the exact same as stock comfort which is supposed to be the comparable mode. Stock comfort is superior to ITS Sport in my opinion.

 

[CTR]

My hope is that +R will feel like Sport mode and Comfort will be a little softer with the ADS swap. I doubt that I will use the new Sport mode very often.

I noticed a pretty significant difference going from 30 to 35 sidewall on the rural roads I drive frequently. So much that I canceled my backorder for the ADS the first time since I was happy with how comfortable the car was in all modes. I didn’t like the handling in terms of turn-in though. Also the +45 wheels threw up a lot more sand and rocks than the stock wheels.

 

[urbo73]

OK, installed it and drove on some crappy backroads full of bumps, potholes, etc. Initial impressions from a 30min drive is that it's a better ADS module than the OEM CTR in all modes.

First of all +R is usable, even on the crappy roads I drove on. The CTR ADS module makes +R dampening awful, bouncy, and crazy harsh. The ITS ADS module in +R works very nicely and doesn't bop you in and out of your seat or make the car skip around over bumps so crazy much. So that's a huge benefit alone. Then I went to COMFORT mode, and yeah, it's softer. I can't quantify by how much, but it's just nicer to be perfectly honest. When in COMFORT, I expect a bit of comfort! CTR in COMFORT is nice and sporty, but it's not exactly comfortable, and the car will still skip around over bumps...ITS ADS in COMFORT keeps the tires more stuck to the ground, and it's a LOT better than disabling the CTR ADS module (per this thread), in which case the car is severely under dampened and all over the place.

SPORT I tried a bit more briefly in this run, and it was as expected - in the middle somewhere.

I will drive it more today, on different roads, highways, on/off ramps, higher speeds, etc., and see how that goes. But overall, I really think this is the better module to get IMHO.

 

[Hkc]

My hope is that +R will feel like Sport mode and Comfort will be a little softer with the ADS swap. I doubt that I will use the new Sport mode very often.

I noticed a pretty significant difference going from 30 to 35 sidewall on the rural roads I drive frequently. So much that I canceled my backorder for the ADS the first time since I was happy with how comfortable the car was in all modes. I didn’t like the handling in terms of turn-in though. Also the +45 wheels threw up a lot more sand and rocks than the stock wheels.

I also have noticed that with my 18 in 35 sidewall tires the turn in is negatively affected. Still handles great but that “lightness” at turn in is gone and I’m seriously considering going back to stock, installing the its ads, and selling the 18s.

 

[urbo73]

I also have noticed that with my 18 in 35 sidewall tires the turn in is negatively affected. Still handles great but that “lightness” at turn in is gone and I’m seriously considering going back to stock, installing the its ads, and selling the 18s.

I got 265/35R19 tires not really for the minimal comfort over the 265/30R19s, but because they protect the 19" rims from getting bent/damaged. An added benefit is that they fill the wheel wells 12.5mm" all around, and the car looks like it was lowered 12.5mm. As far as the turn in, it's a small thing and a tradeoff I'm fine with making to get the other benefits. I love the OEM wheels, and don't want to change ET to +45 and affect the suspension geometry more and get more debris thrown from the tires on my car.

 

[Rhorn]

Anybody noticing any changes with the steering?

@Kfo_cpa mentioned that he noticed a change when he first did the swap:
https://www.civicxi.com/forum/threa...th-damping-cancellation-kit.51831/post-866364

Wondering if maybe that was just a fluke since none of you guys mentioned any differences with steering.

 

[Kfo_cpa]

@Rhorn the steering was a minor thing I was nit picking. Felt about 9/10 as good so just minor/subjective thought I had.

 

[sashimi]

I received my used FK8 damper module today that I purchased for $40. Swap was very easy, 4 phillips screws, and the circuit board swaps right over. I plan to do long term testing of going back and forth between stock and the fk8's. Initial impressions are pretty good! Soaks up bumps and potholes noticeably better overall. Difference will be even more apparent when I go back to the FL5's stock module.

 

[CTR]

I received my used FK8 damper module today that I purchased for $40. Swap was very easy, 4 phillips screws, and the circuit board swaps right over. I plan to do long term testing of going back and forth between stock and the fk8's. Initial impressions are pretty good! Soaks up bumps and potholes noticeably better overall. Difference will be even more apparent when I go back to the FL5's stock module.

I was under the impression that you can't use the FK8 unit since it throws error codes. Can you confirm if yours is throwing any codes?

 

[sashimi]

I was under the impression that you can't use the FK8 unit since it throws error codes. Can you confirm if yours is throwing any codes?

I did a fair amount of driving today, all modes worked fine with no codes thrown so far. Will keep you guys updated as the testing progresses.

 

[urbo73]

Drove it some more, highway, higher speeds, faster corners, etc. Two things stood out:

1. COMFORT - As I was saying in my prior post, it really is just better - smoother, soaks up the bumps better, and not "too soft" at all. This is how I would expect a comfort mode to behave like. Less skipping around like COMFORT on the CTR module = more grip.

2. +R - I found I can drive it all day in +R now TBH. I drove it for almost 2 hours today in +R, and it feels just perfect for an aggressive, tight dampening. On the CTR it was unusable really.

3. SPORT - I need to spend more time in this mode. I found it neither here nor there. I would either choose COMFORT or +R. SPORT seemed meh.

I plan to report back as I drive it more this week, but I think I will stick with this. For $200 this IMHO is the best mod one can do to their FL5 to get the dampers working properly. The character of the car is not lost. The soul is not lost either. It's just better. I'm still not sure what and why Honda did with the OEM FL5 ADS unit programming. I wish they would have a flash to overwrite it to what this ITS is doing.

 

[TypeRD]

I theorize that Honda developed the FL5’s ADS for Japanese roads and tracks first, despite that it’s a global car. Whereas the ITS’s ADS was developed for NA only…with our terrible streets and roads more closely considered.

 

[urbo73]

I theorize that Honda developed the FL5’s ADS for Japanese roads and tracks first, despite that it’s a global car. Whereas the ITS’s ADS was developed for NA only…with our terrible streets and roads more closely considered.

Yeah, that's the most plausible theory - it was very much a passion project bordering the fanatic. I still wonder how they got that Nurburgring lap time using a stock suspension in +R that skips like mad and is not something one would use on a track like that. At Suzuka it's fine, but not at the Ring. I know they modified the car, but no talk about suspension. Could be though.

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