View Full Version : DRC opinion
Greetings from Colorado,
I have a DRC shock starting to get a little damp and will soon be an official leak I'm sure. After my mechanic priced a couple or front units for me at 750ish each I started to poke around the internet and of course was directed to Ebay. Once on eBay there were plenty to be found and at to good to be true pricing. My question is could these be NOS items from the pre recall days just lurking in the shadows waiting to be installed and commence immediate leaking or would someone have gone to the trouble to make knock offs for a car with only 1500 units built or lastly just a great price for an OEM shock. I am baffled at what a simple design the shocks are and yet can't seem to last more then 40-50,000 miles. Mine were done on recall at 37K and car is now at 80K. Granted time wise they lasted a good stretch but miles wise not so much. Anyway any advice or opinions (other then switch to coil overs) would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance for any insight,
Damon
mrdave
June 7th, 2018, 01:09
My opinion is that DRC is great when working properly but it's not worth fixing when it breaks. I'd go with quality coilovers or koni yellows with stock springs if budget is a concern.
Hi Dave, Thanks. I guess if I could find an RS that had coilovers to ride in and I liked the way it felt I would be more swayed but I really do like the way the car rides now so will pursue with the intention of keeping it DRC original. How's the S6 sale going Mister?
fbatwork
June 7th, 2018, 04:50
I’ve got a complete set that were replace on warranty and then I pulled them off 10k later not leaking around 68,000 miles. They have been taking up space in my garage for years... could use the room. I am in Calgary, shoot me a PM if you are interested in making an offer.
ben916
June 8th, 2018, 17:38
Greetings from Colorado,
I have a DRC shock starting to get a little damp and will soon be an official leak I'm sure. After my mechanic priced a couple or front units for me at 750ish each I started to poke around the internet and of course was directed to Ebay. Once on eBay there were plenty to be found and at to good to be true pricing. My question is could these be NOS items from the pre recall days just lurking in the shadows waiting to be installed and commence immediate leaking or would someone have gone to the trouble to make knock offs for a car with only 1500 units built or lastly just a great price for an OEM shock. I am baffled at what a simple design the shocks are and yet can't seem to last more then 40-50,000 miles. Mine were done on recall at 37K and car is now at 80K. Granted time wise they lasted a good stretch but miles wise not so much. Anyway any advice or opinions (other then switch to coil overs) would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance for any insight,
Damon
DKP,
If you aren't clued in on the inner workings/failings of the DRC, that might sway you towards a quality set of coilovers.
Failings - made by KYB, there is an internal washer/bushing that corrodes when contacting the DRC hydraulic fluid.
With budget in mind: upon replacing a DRC Shock, the system must be re-pressurized. Some say, do it yourself. But at 20Bar, I let the dealership do it for $550 (7 years ago) not including new shock(s).
And yet, there is the impending doom that this failure WILL occur again.
Buy once, cry once.
Purchasing a used set off of ebay is essentially breaking the cardinal rule akin to purchasing used speakers or a used Ford Raptor.
fbatwork's set might be a better choice, not that I receive anything in return.
When the DRC is working properly and sorted, it is really good!
When the DRC is starting to fail, its no Bueno.
DHall1 loves his 6 DRCs.
"Don't go cheap on me, Dodgson"
https://youtu.be/D4MUBQNbTYo
fbatwork
June 8th, 2018, 19:01
My son is heading South here in a couple of weeks and could likely haul them down depending on where you are in CO...
DHall1
June 8th, 2018, 21:35
They are all in the crapper.
No more DRC for me.
18556
I wasn't going to go cheap Dodgson. (nice movie clip selection ben916) The units on eBay were new in the box but i suspect they were pre recall zombie units wandering the planet looking for new places to leak. I don't want used ones I was just looking at other vendors that could offer a little monetary relief. So that being said the question becomes for all you coil over converts which set up is closest to stock in ride height and firmness. I don't want to ride in a brick scraping every speed bump. thanks DKP
lswing
June 8th, 2018, 23:58
Koni yellow sports, moderate ride. Not too stiff. Lots of threads on here. Use stocks springs, low perch on front and second up on the rear. Set and forget...although on recent work we found my rear strut mounts were toasted, easy fix.
Yep have been pursuing this mine of info that is resin.com and have decided to do exactly what you mention Iswing. Seems the prudent thing to do. Anyone know of a Bilstein application for the RS6. Had them on my Old Audi V8 and really enjoyed them.
DHall1
June 9th, 2018, 00:50
Go Koni's
KW V3 best ride control with excellent range of ride height.
I have never scraped anything
OK the court has spoken. Koni it shall be.
Hey Dhall1 is your car parked in front of Clinton reservoir between Leadville and Copper mountain?
DHall1
June 9th, 2018, 05:24
Hehe, yep
one of my favorite quick loops. That was one of my best road training routes. Minturn to Leadville then over to Copper and back to Vail. Years ago before traffic was such an issue. Now I stick to mtn bike routes or the Vail To Breck routes.
longer loops involve Aspen and Independence Pass. The wife will no longer ride with me on the Aspen loop. I guess the RS6 is too fast thru that narrow section south of Aspen.
DHall1
June 9th, 2018, 05:39
Dang it! I really wish I had all these RS6s back when we lived in Colorado.
Oh the trouble I would have gotten into.
My first RS6 was my purchase just before leaving Colorado. Cars get beat to hell in the winter up there so I never daily drove my nice cars. My projects were my daily beaters and the wife had her supercharged LX470.
rbialkin
June 28th, 2018, 15:21
Just a piece of advice for anyone looking to get ahold of decent coilovers. I tried to get PSS9’s and was told there were none in stock in the country. Bilstein factory had some issues and delivery estimate was 12-16 weeks. So....I did one better. Ordered KW V3’s. Ordered 3 weeks ago and they will be shipped to me sometime between 7/4 -7/20. My DRC setup has failed so I’m hardly driving the car because of the rough ride. Fortunately it’s not a daily driver.
Botom line is to plan ahead if your suspension needs attention. Quality parts appear to be in short supply.
Cmnair
June 28th, 2018, 22:37
I just jettisoned my DRC set from my garage .. had 40k miles on it. No idea if it was working properly.. came with the car in a box. Car had KW V1 coilovers when I bought it. Hated the floaty ride so switched to Koni Yellows and stock springs. Happy with it so far.
Dave what setup do you have on the Daytona right now?
DHall1
June 28th, 2018, 22:46
H&R street coilovers.
I just installed a full set of 034 front control arms and I'm very happy. About 45k on the coilovers and they are working just fine.