DSC Sport Magneride suspension controller review

[kz]

I've been considering getting a DSC Sport controller for Magneride for a quite while, I finally got the chance to use a borrowed one for a bit and now own one so though I'd write something for those that might be interested in it.

For disclosure - I am not a suspension setup expert by any means, I know some of the basics and that's all.

DSC Sport (for those than don't know) is an aftermarket module that fully replaces stock VDM (Vehicle Dynamics Module) on Magneride equipped cars - it's fully plug and play (you unbolt and disconnect stock unit and replace it with the DSC one, takes about 5 minutes) - they're available for GT / Ecoboosts (even though their website doesn't state so) / GT350 and GT500 (as well as Porsches, VW/Audis, Nissan GTR and probably few more cars).

They do come with preloaded maps for all three driving modes as well as with the software that offers tunability of the dampers.

Few things to note - on GT/Ecoboosts, drive modes are tied to suspension modes - so if you like Normal mode throttle mapping, you're forced to use "Normal" (soft) suspension mode and there is no way around in a stock car (GT350s have all these separated - you can change suspension map independently as far as I know) - this always was in my opinion a limitation on GT/Ecoboost cars. DSC allows you to load any calibration under Normal / Sport / Track mode, so you can tie suspension mode of your liking with throttle mapping of your liking without tuning the PCM/BCM (wherever throttle mapping sits) - this module doesn't really make any permanent changes to the car (if anyone is concerned about warranty).

Now, what I described above is only a minor tunability convenience - what it really allows you to do is tune the way shocks will behave they way you want using their software. Starting with pure damping force calibration in absolute value of the current going to the shock (which by default is linear but you can make it whatever you want in discrete steps (so no curve like equations but doubt anyone would need it), then go to G map (lateral / longitudinal acceleration 2-dimensional map), acceleration (different amount of damping based on % throttle as well as set of settings for launch), speed (car speed dependent damping), braking and finally shock velocity - which to my understanding (again - not an expert) is waaaaay beyond what traditional - even triple adjustable dampers - offer.

I had a chance to drive the car using DSC Sport and custom made maps created by @TeeLew - who was kind enough to make them available to me - during the event over July4th weekend. I can tell you that this has completely transformed the way car handled - responsiveness and how quickly car transferred load during transitions (slaloms / turns) was much much improved over stock controller with Magneride Handling Pack (which likely is a Performance Pack 2) calibration.
It also was very apparently better at putting power down at corner exit.

DSC Controller with appropriate maps is probably single largest handling upgrade that someone that wants better handling (autocross, road course especially) can do to a Magneride car (aside from obvious things like tires).

Now the question I've had is whether the DSC maps that the controller comes with are better than stock Ford maps - I'd say that they are, especially in Sport / Track mode, where they used more damping then. Comfort (Normal mode one) seems a little underdamped to me but I haven't spend much time driving on it.

Hope this is helpful, I'll add more when I spend more time using the controller.

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[TeeLew]

I have a quiet Sunday morning to myself, so I thought I might chime in.

I have the Magneride dampers on my car and have tried to use the DSC controller to better optimize the car for autocross/track duty. Over the last year or so, I've tried various mappings in an attempt to educate myself on the controller and produce a better handling car. It's worth mentioning that I have spent quite a bit of time working with passive dampers on other cars & already have a philosophical path. The idea is to adapt that approach to a package which is more customizable & able to compartmentalize different portions of the corner.

There are a lot of tuning tools available on the DSC for track use, but fewer for general ride comfort. Because of this, I find I have to turn up base damping. If you run the base damping similar to stock, then freeway road undulations can set off excessive body motion. The stock controller can see this happening & quickly ramp in damping for a moment. The DSC doesn't have this ability, so the higher level of base damping makes the car feel more like it has passive dampers in this respect & the freeway ride just isn't as good. It's not objectionable (or at least I don't *think* it is), but the car feels like it has stiffer dampers. I've tried to keep steering feedback due to bumps to a minimum.

The main input to the DSC for adjusting damping levels is the car's lateral & longitudinal acceleration. At low acceleration levels, the dampers act passive. Once we start introducing real cornering or drive accelerations, though, we can ramp in the damping necessary to control body motion and balance handling tendencies in ways which are just not possible with passive dampers.

My handling goals begin with stable braking and turn-in phase. I never want to be concerned with the rear of the car on turn-in. If I ever find myself driving with my finger tips, I know the car lacks rear stability. This stability allows you to drive while firmly gripping the wheel and with the confidence to turn into the corner on a higher line & aggressively. Both of these things will reduce understeer later in the corner because we'll be asking less of the front of the car at corner exit. Stability and understeer are often used synonymously, but I don't agree with this. I separate the two.

Once the car is turned into the corner, I start shifting the balance to bias for more front grip. We're dealing with a nose heavy street car which asks a lot of the front tires, so the ability shift the balance for different phases of the corner is very powerful. Basically, I've tried to reduce understeer in the same portion of the corner that we normally find it, at brake release and when attempting to roll to throttle.

When going to throttle, it's a bit of a dance. You want enough rear control to reduce understeer & the rate of squat, but not so much as to eliminate the compliance necessary for good forward traction. I think I've come up with a solution which puts power to the ground, but does so in a manner which still allows the car to turn while on-throttle.

After all the tuning on my car, I was curious how someone else would respond. I'm certainly not the world's premier test driver, so getting kz to give me an independent read was a good opportunity. Anyone on Magneride shocks & struts is going to be in a similar spring range, there's only so many combos available. He's on the Ford motorsports spring package, so that's in the same basic range as my Vogtland front / custom rear. We didn't find the difference in front end weight to be that significant, although I'm sure an optimized GT map would be a little different than one for an Eco just because of the different inherent weight bias & what's necessary to hook up significantly more power.

In the end, I think I've come to a reasonably good DSC starting point. There's always going to room to improve, but I do think the Magneride dampers are good enough to compete with, and potentially outperform, passive dampers in a similar price range.

 

[Egparson202]

KZ & TeeLew -Thanks for the substantial time and attention invested in assembling and sharing this information.

All - I value the experiences and informed opinions available on this forum. This seems like an attractive alternative to the traditional springs/shocks/sway bars/coilovers dance we’ve done for years. As a new member of the community, I’d love to learn for your experience.

Background:
I’m preparing my ‘19 GT350 for use as a dual purpose track car. The intent is to keep it streetable, legal, reliable and low maintenance so it can be driven to/from track days/HPDE’s. Not trailered. It won’t see much everyday/local use. When at the track, the same car should be safe, fun, and of course stupid fast. It’s a tall order. Compromises will have to be made. I get it.

Question:
How close does the DSC Sport come to meeting my handling goals on track without killing the street livability? I know there’s no such thing, but it seems to make a bit of a silver bullet promise. You both have experience with the unit in similar cars and use cases. Is this my ticket?

Thanks.

 

[kz]

TeeLew has infinitely more knowledge in this field than me and he probably will chime in - but I think if anything, DSC Sport comes with ability to have two completely different custom maps for your specific needs that you can change with the flip of the switch. OEM calibrations I think are pretty decent when it comes to streetability, but once you're in the HPDE territory, there are improvements that can be made.

If you're after handling, you will probably want to install stiffer springs that will sacrifice some street comfort - I am currently on 5300W Ford springs and in my opinion they're very much street livable.

One thing to remember though is - that writing calibrations requires knowledge - using the DSC Tuner software isn't necessarily hard but knowing what to do is.

 

[Egparson202]

Hmmm…. OK. Maybe a combination hardware/software approach is what’s needed. But I’d be curious to hear how much handling improvement can be had with just a software/calibration-only approach.

 

[kz]

Hmmm…. OK. Maybe a combination hardware/software approach is what’s needed. But I’d be curious to hear how much handling improvement can be had with with a software/calibration-only approach.

Problem with quantifying it is that's somewhat subjective and I haven't had a chance to test it in a conditions that would allow a "lap time" comparison (and I am probably not consistent enough of a driver for it to be meaningful).

But - in my current setup, I've replaced stock VDM with Ford Performance tune with the DSC with Tim's (TeeLew) maps (that was the only thing changed - unplugged one, plugged the other one in) and after one Test&Tune autocross run I was convinced to spend $1400 on my own controller - that's how noticeable handling improvement there was - in my subjective view.

 

[Egparson202]

kz, that’s pretty convincing. Can you say a bit more about the springs in your current setup? Which made a more noticeable difference? Spring change? DSC? Other?

 

[kz]

kz, that’s pretty convincing. Can you say a bit more about the springs in your current setup? Which made a more noticeable difference? Spring change? DSC? Other?

I've installed Ford Magneride Handling Pack (https://performanceparts.ford.com/part/M-9602-M) and have not replaced springs with anything stiffer yet - they're dual rate, rear ones are Magneride specific - if you google them, there are measurement of their rates available somewhere on multiple forums done by the same person - not sure how accurate.

I've done springs together with the bars, VDM tune (that came with the package) and few other things (rear subframe bushing lockouts, front strut camber plates, probably something else I don't remember of) and it has been more than a year and a half ago - so it is hard to compare but my gut feeling tells me DSC had more of an impact.

Also, take into account my car is regular GT PP1 while you have GT350 that came with stiffer / shorter springs from factory.

 

[Egparson202]

We could speculate that the magnreride handling pack you have is likely quite similar to the factory GT350 stuff. Maybe somebody out there could confirm/deny that. But for argument’s sake I’m a DSC sport and a couple trick files away from magic, right?

 

[kz]

But for argument’s sake I’m a DSC sport and a couple trick files away from magic, right?

For me that was the case - I keep putting that disclaimer in there because I'd hate for you to spend substantial amount of money and be disappointed. I did (even though I much rather at this point of the season would not) and was happy with the purchase. Trick files are the key, tunes that come with DSC are not going to be the magic you're looking for - IMO.

 

[shogun32]

If you run the base damping similar to stock, then freeway road undulations can set off excessive body motion. The stock controller can see this happening & quickly ramp in damping for a moment. The DSC doesn't have this ability

so what's missing? Velocity-based damping map, period or in rebound direction?

 

[Egparson202]

Trick files are the key, tunes that come with DSC are not going to be the magic you're looking for - IMO.

I thought you might say that. Some moderate forum searches seem to indicate that there was some file sharing going on for a while. Do you know if that’s still an active thing?

 

[shogun32]

Trick files are the key, tunes that come with DSC are not going to be the magic you're looking for - IMO.

it was the same over at Camaro-land. For all that initial money you'd think DSC would have come with up with some better maps. Otherwise just charge say $400 so the user can fund map development. There was a clearing house of maps people were sharing and improving amongst themselves.

It's fun working with a real chassis dynamics engineer, huh...

 

[Egparson202]

it was the same over at Camaro-land. For all that initial money you'd think DSC would have come with up with some better maps. Otherwise just charge say $400 so the user can fund map development. There was a clearing house of maps people were sharing and improving amongst themselves.

It's fun working with a real chassis dynamics engineer, huh...

I have a nominal understanding of shock tuning and a very modest level of experience. Had some success with double adjustable shocks once. It’s not what I’d call easy or quick to dial in. Turning knobs is just about as easy as modifying tables. The tough part is knowing what changes to make. Most of us need help in that arena.

 

[kz]

it was the same over at Camaro-land. For all that initial money you'd think DSC would have come with up with some better maps. Otherwise just charge say $400 so the user can fund map development. There was a clearing house of maps people were sharing and improving amongst themselves.

It's fun working with a real chassis dynamics engineer, huh...

I have a feeling they may have done some good work with Porsches (no reason for me to say that other than just a feeling - on the other hand - you can sell most Porsche owners pretty much anything as long as it's expensive ;-) ) Rest of the vehicles - something maybe better than OEM in some aspects but not really well developed either.

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