Dynamic Chassis Control Retrofit : SHARAN 2014

17 December 2014 : Retrofitting of DCC on Volkswagen Sharan

Visit main DCC page, click here 

This Sharan customer is from Malaysia and have an issue with the very bad road conditions there in his home town. Tried fitting balloon tires on his Sharan using 16" wheels.  The ride slightly improved but the handling was absolutely terrible ! 

Volkswagen have a solution..... Dynamic Chassis Control or in Sharan language...Comfort Select ! 

DDC Explained by VW  

An incredible and details write up could be found here at MyGTI 
http://www.my-gti.com/2653/volkswagen-dcc-adaptive-chassis-control-design-and-function

We retrofitted his vehicle with this kit compromising of control switch, acceleration senders, level sensors, 4 sets of electronic controlled shock absorbers from Monroe, control module and an octopus wiring harness ! 

The mechanical portion of fitting the sensors and absorbers were done by Godspeed Auto under the expert hands of technicians Robin and Stanley ! Guidance was provided by chief tech Kang ! 

Determining the position of the senders and sensors is important as it is regimental to the proper function of the DCC !

Rear Acceleration Sender

Left and Right Level Sensors 

Rear Level Sensor

Left and Right Acceleration Senders

The DCC shocks have a control valve which controls the dampening action of the shock absorbers 

Rear DCC Absorber

Front DCC Absorber

DCC front absorber (top) vs standard absorber (bottom)

Fitting the kit on the Sharan took the experts about 3 hours to complete.  Naturally, the alignment would be affected after this retrofit which should be readjusted after all the work is done. 

The Front Left Acceleration Sender installed together with the shock absorber

Front Absorber installed ! ( the plug is sealed temporarily with tape )

Next, the vehicle visited my favorite radio shop at Toh Guan Road East.... another set of experts work on the car...Alex, Ah Poah, 

Striping out the interior for sound proofing job( another story ) 

The striped interior helps in running the DCC harness ! Life is sweet !

Striped out all the way to the rear ! 

We fitted the DCC control module under the 2nd row seat with the octopus harness ! Why Octopus ? ...........well.....it has 15 individual separate wiring harness going to different direction in the car ! Cannot and must not mess up ! No joke harness ! 

Harness connector under 2nd roll seats 

The Octopus harness I was referring to.......No Joke harness ! 

Connectors, pins, housing and boots ! All needed !

The individual and specific harness to the various sensors/senders 

Both Level Sensors and DCC Shock Absorber connected to the DCC Controller 

Connecting the level sensor !

Install the DCC control module and connect the harness 

The original carpet cover does not fit

When we tried fitting back the original carpet, we realised that it would not fit. What used to be an empty tray now a control module is there.  As shown in the picture above, the carpet cover do not have the embossed surface needed to cover the module but a depression for the original empty tray. 

Need to replace a new carpet cover which comes with "DRIVE SELECT" option or what we are doing here, DCC ! More $$$ to spend again but the customer insist on original position and fittings !

Lastly, we needed to program the vehicle and do the basic setting on this vehicle......using the ODIS programming system. All done within 3 hours of cold sweating. It is not an easy process....vehicle on ground, off ground, driving....etc.  

Only one way to set the DCC to work....using the ODIS by VW ! 

After the successful programming....the system works okay.  The control switch is located at the central console area.  When it keeps flashing, it would mean the system is faulty.  After programming, the flashing would stop and every works like clock works ! 

Both the C & S indicator is flashing continuously before programming.

After programming, the flashing stops.  Press it once to select the C or the COMFORT mode

The COMFORT mode would be displayed on the MFD on a few seconds. 

Press it again to activate NORMAL mode

NORMAL mode displayed for a few seconds on the MFD

Lastly but not least, the SPORTS  mode.  

SPORT mode displayed.....hard ride ahead ! 

This SPORT mode is for hard driving and cornering, not everybody like this setting ! Even GTI owners prefers to switch to NORMAL or COMFORT as they find the SPORT mode too harsh for their liking......but not all GTI owners though.  Some swear by it !

The Customer's Comment :
"ssh_sharan has left a new comment on your post "Accessories List": 

Having driven a standard-spec sharan for 2 years, I am generally satisfied with the car except for the ride quality. It’s not I would call magic-carpet smooth especially when the roads get really rough and uneven. Another thing that nags me is that there is no 6 seater available even as an option.

I searched the internet and found jimmy’s blog. Impressed by what I saw on his blog, I decided to get DCC and the 7-seater to 6-seater conversion through Jimmy. Both of these upgrades involve a lot of parts, but luckily Jimmy sorted out everything for me and even managed to get some parts at a cost that is well below the retail prices.

Installation took place in Singapore and the progress went smooth as silk. Jimmy’s expertise and in depth knowledge made things look easy. But in reality, the DCC has so many wirings and connection that one false move would end in big trouble.

The DCC and seat conversion turned out perfectly. Everything works exactly like it should. What is really amazing about the DCC is that it can make the car more comfortable yet at the same time more controlled. I know it seems contradictory, but it really is. 

I am one happy customer! "