With Koni struts and stock springs, how is the ride quality compared to DRC ? More user opinions the better. Thanks to all for any help. Be safe.
With Koni struts and stock springs, how is the ride quality compared to DRC ? More user opinions the better. Thanks to all for any help. Be safe.
Thanks so much just what I was looking for.Originally Posted by mrdave
DRC is better - period. Don't let haters tell you otherwise. Those that hate were handed the short end of the straw and only hate because it caused them financial strain. I have yet to hear anyone feel it didn't perform well when it was working properly. I have the OEM DRC on the one ride here and it's great. Nice balance of soft and hard when required. It's a great idea from a performance perspective, but fell short from a quality and/or workmanship perspective for many - which is the reason for the frequent distaste we see to this day.
'02 S6 Avant Silver - Pokey | Carbon Black/Ebony RS6 w/ stuff - darn quick | '03 Daytona Grey/Ebony RS6 w/ more stuff - quicker yet | '91 NSX CDN issue with 6spd & BBSC - quicker yet and then some | '87 Buick GNX OEM clone w/ lots of stuff - quickest hands down
^^ Same. I'm still on stock DRC and it's perfect. I don't plan on replacing it if/until it breaks.
I'm running the Koni's, stock springs, and Hotchkis sway bars. Big improvement over the DRC in my experience. I have the Koni's set at the halfway point for hardness. I wish I went with a lower setting. The ride is STIFF. But they do loosen up a bit and the ride is a bit smoother after a few months. I have 255/25 (TYPO-it's 35)/19's on RS4 wheels. I have had to have the front wheels rebent recently (at a wheel shop) due to small bends. Having a 35 series tire and this stiff set up is a wheel destroyer. Even in a city with decent roads and no bad weather eating them up (Los Angeles).
I went on a canyon run with an Audi club last weekend. It was through a pretty tight and twisty canyon route. A bunch of S3's and S4's were carving it up pretty easy. I was struggling with the stock ride height and heaviness of the car to keep up in the tight stuff. I felt like I was going to burn up my new Michelin Super Sports in one day. All that extra power wasn't too helpful when it got pretty tight and technical.
Last edited by midwest1275; November 11th, 2016 at 17:46.
Any reason why you can't run 35s. 25s I think are pretty thin. How much air pressure do you run ? I'm getting a set of MTM Bi Motos 19s and plan to run 35s. Right now I'm on stock 18s. I'll put the 19s on and see if I like them, if not they'll be for sale.
ooooops my bad that was a typo. i'm running 255/35/19's
DRC is great when it is fully functional. I went through hell with it for about 3 years before replacing it with KW V3. It handles better with my current setup then it ever did with the DRC. The DRC gives a more cushy ride for general driving but can tight up nicely when pushed, but it's not as good as a real sports setup. It's a compromise, a good one, but not a sports suspension.
The KW's with Hotchkiss sways is rock solid and hands great. If I wanted cushy I'd get another A8L......
I refuse to believe that any stock original DRC system in any remaining RS6 is at 100% factory spec. I know people who also have R6s with low milage who claim it's perfect but when I pushed on their trunks the rear bounces like a pickup truck! Not all drivers notice the slow loss of proper function. I'd have to see it to believe it.
Mike
'18 BMW M5, '19 Porsche Boxster GTS
(prior '94 325is, '97 M3, '00 A6 4.2,'03 RS6,'08 A4 Cab,'13 A8L,'15 Q7,'16 BMW M2,
How much air pressure ?
Perhaps a bit over simplistic, but surely presumptuous........ Shortly after purchasing the car in 2011, I noticed the dreaded clunking noise and wetness (leaking) around several DRC fittings. Car was checked into the local Audi dealership for over 5 weeks awaiting repair. ....Nothing short of a complete and utter fuck'n Gong Show.............Once the required equipment for servicing was received by the dealer, they didn't have a DRC trained tech, then parts were on back order indefinitely etc, etc, etc. Maybe it's different now, but at the time, it had nutt'n to do with money and everything to do with Audi's lack of infrastructure, priority, protocol and training to service the DRC.
I don't "hate" the DRC per-say, but found a solution of value & simplicity to get a daily driver back on the road. ...Yup, I'm impatient---and would rather drive the sumbitch than wait and hope to have it restored to oem "correctness."
Last edited by 4.2Crew; November 11th, 2016 at 22:45.
2003 RS6 l SE Exhaust l Koni Yellow Sports w/stock springs l Lowered 1"F 1.25"R l EPL Tuned l 19 x 9.5 VMR V713 & 265 PSS's l 50% window tint l Protective film on entire hood, bumper and front quarter panels l
This thread is TRIGGERING ME!
Exactly 4.2Crew, After THE FIRST attempt at fixing it (just replacing accumulators and re-pressurizing rear shock) FAILED (I told them the manual said to replace the FRIGGIN SHOCKS since the internals are ruined with the fluid is gone) I simply asked if they would put the shocks from the S6 in the car. They ARE COMPATIBLE and with the stock springs the car would have been just FINE. That was at 32,000 miles. No, they had to redo the DRC repair and EXPERIMENT WITH MY CAR while the rest on RS6.Com said it was just my car! HA! I was the DUMB ass using his $85,000 car as his only car and daily drive for work/play/travel while many were babying their car in the 'queen spot' in the garage.
They would not put the S6 shocks in since Audi said they had to put the car to stock! WTF is that BS. At the time the only aftermarket setup was the Ohlin set which was about $8000 if I recall. I offered to BUY the S6 shocks as long as they paid for the LABOR. But NO. I think it was under $1000 for the parts! I also had offered to pay for four new RS6 shocks and they could buy the second set of accumulators and pay for the labor. An once I proved that I was correct (knowing the procedure required replacing all parts together) they could reimburse me for the shocks. They were completely unprepared for this failure. It took members of online communities to push for the recall and Audi did just that. With mark 2 DRC. That was free and with a 12k miles/12 month warrantee and of course mine failed at 13 months.....Finally at 109,000 miles I fixed it myself with the KW V3s for $2395 plus the EXTRA for the nice new Hotchkiss Roll bars ($421). I have 32000 miles on them now same point my DRC failed LOL. We shall see.
The OEM correction FAILED> Mark 2 in the RS4 FAILED, as predicted by ME!. Only an idiot would buy an RS7 or TTRS with DRC. My opinion!
The proper fix for what is a pretty good system when it works is 1. pressure transducer to measure resting pressure each time the car is started, then you would have a CEL come on at the first loss of pressure, and perhaps the system could be fixed without replacing every part; 2. Avoid DIELECTRIC materials (that caused the leaks); 3. Make sure all the 'RS6' factory certified technicians were not late the first day of class and thus missed the DRC lecture day! D'ooh. And if Audi thinks is the best thing since sliced suspension parts then warrantee the DRC for LIFE of the first owner....1,000,000 miles.....put their money where their chief engineer's mouth is!
End RANT!
Loving my repaired RS6.......fast as new.....nice tight aftermarket suspension! HA!
Mike
'18 BMW M5, '19 Porsche Boxster GTS
(prior '94 325is, '97 M3, '00 A6 4.2,'03 RS6,'08 A4 Cab,'13 A8L,'15 Q7,'16 BMW M2,
I have no issues with the stock DRC setup. My setup went bad once, and again a second time after replacements all around. I just had bad luck.
Replaced with the KW v3 mainly because I wanted to change the ride height to be slightly lower stance, and less rake towards the front.
Audi ended up reimbursing me about 80% of the purchase because of the DRC recall.
My move away from DCR was purely for cosmetic reasons and DRC lines still there if I ever choose to go back. Just put a plug at the end of the lines.
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