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

[Motpeds]

Installed my ITS module yesterday! Have to do more driving today but first impressions were real nice; floats over some of the smaller bumps in the road (as comfort mode should) but you still feel some of the bigger bumps. By no means does this turn the car into a luxury ride. You still feel that you’re in a performance oriented car forsure.

I’m on swift springs on 18” 265/35s.

Will report back on how the other modes feel after I get more seat time in.

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[S4one]

Installed my ITS module yesterday! Have to do more driving today but first impressions were real nice; floats over some of the smaller bumps in the road (as comfort mode should) but you still feel some of the bigger bumps. By no means does this turn the car into a luxury ride. You still feel that you’re in a performance oriented car forsure.

I’m on swift springs on 18” 265/35s.

Will report back on how the other modes feel after I get more seat time in.

Sweet, what psi are you running on the 18"?

 

[Motpeds]

Sweet, what psi are you running on the 18"?

Good question. I wanna say it was around 32 ish last I checked. Any recommendations for this tire?

 

[S4one]

Good question. I wanna say it was around 32 ish last I checked. Any recommendations for this tire?

No idea, I'm running 31psi

 

[Bonito]

Installed my ITS module yesterday! Have to do more driving today but first impressions were real nice; floats over some of the smaller bumps in the road (as comfort mode should) but you still feel some of the bigger bumps. By no means does this turn the car into a luxury ride. You still feel that you’re in a performance oriented car forsure.

I’m on swift springs on 18” 265/35s.

Will report back on how the other modes feel after I get more seat time in.

I've heard a few people mention that the Swift springs are actually a stiffer ride than the OEM springs. Has this been your experience as well?

 

[Motpeds]

100%. Ride quality - from a comfort perspective - definitely got worse after installing the springs. When it comes to track performance, I’m sure these springs help out quite a bit.

I would say that with 18s, swift springs, & ITS ads module, the car feels pretty close to what it did when fully stock. Without the springs and just module and 18s, it would be much more comfortable than stock.

 

[nvtive_b]

Finally made this switch! ITS ADS suspension module. Did a lot of driving this weekend to get a good review for you guys as an intermediate car enthusiast.

To start, I believe the FL5 from factory comes pretty over dampened. I could never drive in +R and add a set of lowering springs to the car made it even worse. Way too bouncy where I would be literally flying out of the seat. I only use two modes. Comfort and individual when I want to drive hard (suspension still in comfort setting). This car is my daily and doesn’t see track use but does get occasionally spirited driving that test the suspension. The ITS module is way more compliant and predictable in every mode. A noticeable difference when changed between settings. Comfort is comfortable. +R is stiff and handles amazing while still being okay at everyday roads. Pair all of this with some individual settings that fine tune how you like to drive and the car is now a blast to drive. Don’t expect the car to be a rolls Royce BUT with lowering springs it is still a good daily driver now compared to before imo while still having it be a weapon around the corners. I’m also on 265/35/18 wheel setup. Easiest $200 ever spent!

 

[davilla413]

@nvtive_b couldn't agree more. The ITS ADS is fantastic - much more compliant in real world driving. I just installed mine (only took 5 min). Happy to report in comfort it is far more compliant on the streets of our nation's capital. Sport is firm and R+ is firmer still - but less covered wagon-like. To me it felt like R+ was a tad firmer than the old sport setting.

I'd go so far as to say this is a must do mod - unless you're regularly tracking your car. Even then, the ITS ADS is probably fine. It's just more liveable. You also can't beat the price - I paid $232 shipped from MyAcuraParts.com.

FWIW, I am running 265/35 18 Continental ExtremeContact DWS06s at about 34 PSI.

 

[modern_sports_car]

Quick question: I don’t at all mind the stiffness of suspension. I’ve done the active damper cancellation by unplugging it and the turn-in and general responsiveness was significantly diminished—the car felt ‘limp.’

I like the general stiffness. The only real issue I have with the OEM FL5 suspension is the absurd pogo stick bounciness during hard cornering on anything but a billiard ball-smooth road. And I am not spending $3500 on coilovers. I’ve assumed the car is overly-dampened and that new dampers—e.g., Konis—may reduce/fix the issue but don’t want to spend the money and have them installed only to find out I was wrong. In a perfect world, I could keep the ADS and the car simply wouldn’t bounce but I’ll live with losing ADS if necessary.

tl;dr Does the ITS ADS eliminate the ‘bounce’?

 

[RP2000R]

It helps with the bounce I wouldn’t say it eliminates it completely.

 

[VLJ]

Sorry to resurrect what may be a dead thread, but I have two questions about the ITS ADS module.

The first question is for Topher, and also for anyone else who's made the swap to the ITS module...

Topher, are you still using and recommending the ITS module? I've noticed that even despite the occasional appearance to the contrary, you are, in fact, human. As such, here and there you've done the exact same thing we've all done whenever we've bought something new, i.e., initially you were totally in love with it, then you developed some misgivings about it, then you modded it and initially loved the mod, then you developed misgivings about that initial mod, so you tried a different mod and initially loved that one even more, but then...etc. Ever and anon.

So, after a bit more time with your ITS module, would you say you're now set on it? Of course, it's never going to be the absolute best solution for track work, or for every specific usage case, but as an affordable, one-size-fits-all OEM-type solution for street use, including aggressive canyon driving, would this be the one...as in, the final one?

My other question is probably stupid, but I'll ask it anyway...

Even though it's an OEM Honda (Acura) part, does swapping modules invalidate the factory warranty? I wouldn't think so, but, man, as difficult as manufacturers can be regarding warranty claims I don't want to assume anything here.

 

[CTR]

I love my ITS module in my daily driver FL5! Note that I'm on factory wheels.

If you're already planning on downsizing to 18" wheels you may want to consider sticking with the FL5 module. In my opinion, the car will be too soft if you go to a 35/40 series sidewall with the ITS ADS.

I think they would have a hard time fighting a warranty claim as it takes 10 minutes to swap back to the factory module before heading to the dealer. I've always been of the assumption that swapping to a softer module would be easier on the components compared to the jarring nature of the FL5 ADS module.

 

[VLJ]

I will definitely be sticking with the stock wheels. I am not looking to turn this Type R into a never-ending money pit of a project car. I want to leave everything as stock as possible. I'll probably unhook the fake-noise module, maybe I'll do Topher's trick of ditching the native Navigation system in order to help the car work better with Apple Car Play, and that's about it. I won't be doing the Active Exhaust Valve fuse trick, or any exhaust mods. I simply don't care about any of that. I also love the stock wheels, and I'm not obsessed with lowering the car or lightening it further. It's perfectly fine to me, as is. The things that aren't broken, I won't try to fix.

A lot of people sure seem to feel that the stock CTR ADS module is borderline "broken," however, insofar as it supposedly renders one if not two of its modes completely unusable on the street, and even the Comfort mode is still too bouncy for some folks.

Since you're saying that swapping the module back to stock would obviate any warranty concerns, I assume this means that there is no way for the dealer to detect that any swaps were ever made, as they often are able to do with reflashed engine ECUs?

 

[CTR]

Since you're saying that swapping the module back to stock would obviate any warranty concerns, I assume this means that there is no way for the dealer to detect that any swaps were ever made, as they often are able to do with reflashed engine ECUs?

I can't say for certain but I highly doubt they track secondary modules. Even if they could I can't see them digging that far into the history for any variances.

I don't see how anything in the suspension system would fail faster by going to a softer suspension setup. If this is the one mod you end up doing it's probably the best you can do for improved enjoyment with minimal risk. Multiple journalists have stated that after speaking with engineers the dampers are identical between the ITS and FL5.

 

[VLJ]

I've heard some reports that the rear springs may differ between the two, but only marginally, if that. Otherwise, yes, the suspension front and rear is the same, so switching modules should transform each car into the other, in terms of ride quality and basic handling. Can't imagine a more comprehensive, factory R&D-certified suspension fix than the module swap, and it's so cheap and easy.

I'm tempted to buy the module right now, even though I don't pick up my new Type R until tomorrow. I've only driven the Type R once, and it was just a quick little test drive that told me nothing. I think that I'd want to be able to use the R+ mode, and from most accounts I've read I won't be able to do so with the CTR module. I also don't like the sound of the car being too bouncy even in Comfort mode.

Then again, once I drive the thing for a decent bit I may find that I'm completely fine with the CTR module. I suspect that I won't be able to resist trying the ITS version, but we'll see.

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