sockr1

iTrader: (5)

This install and review is based on the TEIN EDFC Active kit that changes your coilover stiffness based on speed and acceleration. To sum it up, this is the only mod where my wife said my car improved (of course I think all my mods have done that haha).

I’ve had this kit running since October 2013 and it was very new back then but I’m just now getting around to making this thread. If anyone else has this product (or the PRO version) and has more input or better input, please add it to this thread. It’s really a great product and I hope this thread either a) helps someone determine if the kit is right for them, or b) help someone install the kit on their own.

This is NOT the regular EDFC kit....this is the "wireless" one that can change your front and rear damping automatically based on your driving conditions (no user input). This is only compatible with TEIN coilovers.

TEIN link: TEIN.com: EDFC ACTIVE - PRODUCTS

TEIN promo video: EDFC ACTIVE Promotion Video(English) - YouTube

The only DIY install I could find when I received my product: DIY: Tein EDFC Active Install - Scion FR-S Forum Subaru BRZ Forum Toyota 86 GT 86 Forum AS1 Forum - FT86CLUB

Google drive install PDF from TEIN: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4d...ew?usp=sharing

I bought the EDFC Active kit new from XLR8 back in October 2013 and bought used motors "for the TL" from AZ member Kennedy, wired everything up and then when I went to the last step, putting on the motors, I was stuck because the motors were not the right thread size. AZ member Kennedy sold me motors that DO NOT FIT the TL, REFUSED to acknowledge that both me and TEIN reps said the motors would never work on a TEIN setup for the TL, and REFUSED to even try to refund me any money, even when I said I would take less than I paid him for them. It’s pathetic people like him that ruin the trust on the forum

Later that week I got the new motors I had to buy from XLR8 and props to Josh at XLR8 for getting them out to me asap since Kennedy screwed me. if he ever mans up for a refund i still have them laying useless in my closet...enough on the rant, it will come around to those that deserve it.

INSTALL

Here's the box for the kit, along with all the inside contents laid out.





On my own I bought silicone sealant, white lithium grease, and 3 add-a-fuse circuits. You could tap the front and rear into nearby powered wires, but in talking with the RallyDirect guy in the DIY link above, he mentioned that they powered with one wire and ended up blowing fuses. He recommended using a separate fuse for each power wire to avoid any blown fuses. That is why I ran the wires up to the fuse box and used an add a fuse for each one.



these are the "wireless" controllers, one for the front and one for the rear. they are wireless when communicating to the main control unit inside the car, but they still need power input and also provide power to each of the motors (3 wires, so 1 wire to each coilover in the front or back, and one for power).



this is the main control unit and display that goes inside your car.



these are the cords that go from the front or back controller to each of the coilovers



this is the optional GPS unit. this is an extra charge but worth it. the EDFC Active kit on it's own changes the damping based on g-forces (accelerating and braking), but the GPS kit also adds in adjustments based on speed range, giving full dynamic damping. For example, it’s a certain setting from 0-25 mph, then gets stiffer when 26-40 mph, stiffer 41-50, stiffer 51-65 and stiffer more after 65 mph (you can change the speed range also)…and this is before the damping changes based on g-forces.



power cords, zip ties, and connectors





i did a "mock" install and laid out how it would wire up on my floor. the left is the front which includes a controller, a power cord, add a fuse, two cables to the coilovers, and the two motors. the right is the same but for the rear. in the middle is the GPS sensor, the main control unit, and the add a fuse.



THE REAR INSTALL

First I connected the add a fuses to the interior fuse box and ran the rear controller power wire under the driver side door sills (wiring is a little messy, some of those are for my LED door sills)







I then went up the frame for the rear seat and zip tied the power cord to the yellow covered cables. Then I came back down through the triangle opening (ziptied to frame) to place the grounding point underneath the trunk carpet.









Next, I started to make room on top of the coilovers so that I could place the motors on the coilovers. On the driver’s rear side I ziptied the cable bundle as far away as possible from the top of the coilover while still using each of the OEM cable ties and mounts.





Final setup – rear driver



For the passenger rear side, I had to take out some of the OEM cable mounts and then ziptied the bundle away from the coilover otherwise the motor wouldn’t fit on that side.









Final setup – rear passenger



I then mounted the rear controller on the rear passenger side, using the triangle in the frame. There is a nice nook behind the frame where the controller can sit and be ziptied snug. There is also some room for airflow since the controllers get warm under operation. The first two show the original wiring and the later pics show it cleaned up later.







The power cord and the rear driver’s side coilover cable were run under the trunk carpet behind the seats.



THE FRONT INSTALL

The front is an easier install because the wiring doesn’t need to go far and there is better access.

The hardest part of the front install is locating the grommet covering the hole in the firewall and routing the power wire through. The hole can be seen where the yellow foam is…this is after the grommet was removed (grommet shown later). The hole is in the very center of the engine bay





You have to cut the power cord to get it through easier and avoid tugging on the actual connectors. I cut the power cord on the engine bay side and wrapped it around a metal hanger and stuck it through the firewall. You can see where it pops up on the other side (interior of car, behind the radio/nav system). After it comes through, reconnect the wires by crimping or soldering.













This is the grommet and the cord after going through the firewall. I cut a slit in the grommet for the wire.







For a ground, I just chose an existing ground location next to the upper transmission mount.



I didn’t take pictures of it, but for the coilover cables I just ran it along the accelerator cable and zip tied it to similar brackets. After I put each rubber motor cover on the motors, I sealed off the bottom of the cover with silicone sealant just to be safe. TEIN said this is not necessary unless the motors are inverted, but I figure this would keep out dust and water since this is my daily driver. I also sealed up all connectors at the point where the wires lead into the connectors.

I mounted the front driver unit next to the fuse box under the hood. It’s in an area that is not directly exposed to high temperatures or water, and so far there have been no issues. I emailed TEIN these pics and they said there shouldn’t be any problem with that location.





The EDFC Active kit has many different display colors, brightness levels, automatic dimming, etc, I decided to go with red to match the Type S interior. The display unit just has double sided tape and it stays on firm. I then routed the power cable and the gps cord towards the steering wheel area and under the dash. You can also see where I placed the GPS sensor, it’s the black box on the dash near the left side above the vent. It has to have a somewhat open area to link up to satellites



I also put some black Velcro under the air vent (not visible) and made my own small felt cover. I only put the cover on when I park in a sketchy area so that people can’t see the display unit when I’m not in the car. When I drive, the cover is never on, it’s in my door pocket. Just the Velcro is there all the time and it’s not noticeable since it’s on the underside of a ledge.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

REVIEW

To determine baseline damping levels (where you start with no acceleration/braking/movement), I drove the car trying different manual settings. I ended up with the following settings:

My mode (setting G2, S2 – changes based G-forces and speed range): starts at 10 front, 10 rear and ends up at 6 front, 6 rear before accel/braking adjustments

“wife mode” (when my wife or other company is in the car and want a softer ride, setting G2, S1 – changes based on G-forces and speed range but starts softer): starts at 14 front, 14 rear and ends up at 10 front, 10 rear before accel/braking adjustments

If I want a spirited drive, I put the settings to manual and go to the preset value of 0 front, 0 rear for the stiffest setting

Things that I like:
- MANY preset options available: you can even run this in manual mode like the original EDFC kit, you just push a few buttons and it scrolls through each option.
- There are 10 manual presets and 4 dynamic presets. There’s also a combination of dynamic settings that kick in only certain sensors.
- The damping changes based on speed and acceleration, providing optimal damping based on your situation
- The motors respond very quickly (I believe it’s 250 milliseconds in my discussions with TEIN) for changing conditions
- Many display options, including color, dimming, and data presented
- Display unit is pretty small compared to the original EDFC product
- Fairly easy install

Things that could be improved:
- Side to side adjustability (available with new PRO version)
- Less motor adjustments (available with new PRO version)
- When stopped on hills, you can hear the motors moving because the sensor thinks you are accel/braking but very slowly (available with new PRO version)
- Possibility that the system could wear out faster over time (since the motors are changing the coilover damping ability pretty often). I talked to TEIN about this and they said they did studies on wear that there should be minimal impact to the life of the coilover. No issues in 1.5 years but we’ll see!

I don’t know if the extra $200 or so for the PRO version is worth it since the current kit is already pretty expensive (about 600 for motors and EDFC kit)

Overall….a GREAT upgrade and one of the top 3 that I’ve done to my car!! It is expensive but I have no regrets that I made this purchase, it makes my daily driver that much more fun (and comfortable) to drive. Let me know if anyone has any questions!

lil12002

Thanks for posting it! this will help me out alot, i had thought of putting the controller when u have, thats the only real way to add it where it doesnt bother anything else.

Excelerate

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the detailed review and the props. We appreciate it and we appreciate your business.

lil12002

Do you Engine covers fit back on the engine with the EDFC motors and new strut bar? Can you take a quick picture with your phone from your view when you just open the hood?

Thanks

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

the engine covers do fit back on over the motors.

when i added the rv6 strut bar, i had to cut off/dremel some of the interference areas on the engine covers to make it fit. nothing major but i did do a little bit of work to make them fit. the problem area is at the right side of the strut bar. you can see in this pic that the cover is raised a little bit but all the tabs are locked in so it's not going anywhere. here's how my engine bay sits:

lil12002

LOVED THE SETUP, but wife is making my sell it

2012wagon

Very well done and clean install. The Velcro cover to hide the display is nice touch.


However, it is always disappointing to see people getting screwed by sellers of products. Seems to happen all the time.




Your wife shouldn't MAKE you do anything you don't want to.

mattpete

iTrader: (4)

nice writeup sockr1!

DjMikeSkillZ

Nice write up!

And those "real" carbon fiber engine bay covers? If so, where where where?!?! Lol

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

Thanks!!

Those are hydro dipped engine bay covers, done locally by some marines out of their garage. You lay a sheet of any paint or paint design in a tank of water, and then press the item into the sheet. The water evenly pressurizes the paint over the item and then you clear coat it after. Usually pretty expensive but they gave me a deal and I thought it was pretty unique. I did a lot of prep work before that though

DjMikeSkillZ

Pretty slick. Nice work.

I'm also seriously considering this suspension set up as well. How's it been working out? And do you have harsh winters where you live? Before I drop $1500+ ...just wanted to ensure reliably, and resilience to harsh conditions. I live in the Northeast, and we don't exactly have easy going winters.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

The motors and kit are still holding up great!! I don't have harsh winters here, my car has never even seen snow but I don't foresee any issues with the kit in harsh winters. Each motor comes with a rubber boot to cover up the motor. You can also add silicone sealant to each connector and where the rubber boot connects to the coilover to prevent any moisture or dust getting in the moving parts. It's a pretty solid system

4DGSR

sockr1

I think I was sent the wrong motors as well... I ordered the motor kit EDK05-10100 but they don't seem to fit properly. I removed the top, removed the inner 3mm allen screw, replaced it with the bronze 3mm screw so it was flush, when I attempt to put the motor on, it will not grab on to the top of the coil overs. Did you do anything differently than I described?

I not sure if you looked at your part number on the bottom of the motor or not, the set that I have read EDC01-K1466

Waiting to hear back from Excelerate Performance but since they are closed for the day I was hoping you or someone on here would know.

Thanks in advance.

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

it depends on which coilover you are using. which TEIN coilover do you have? i used to have the SS which required a 10mm motor thread, but when I switched to the TEIN Flex i needed a 12mm motor. The 12mm motor has one casting groove around the cylinder where you mount the motor. the motor part number you listed means that you have a 10mm motor thread. i don't know which coilover you have though.

also you do not need the motor extension kit to install the motors and use edfc.

hannamand

Thanks for the write up (and posting the link on the other thread!

I've been thinking of this setup... it answers a lot of the questions in my mind!

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

you're welcome...feel free to ask any more questions, always willing to help people out!

broly

hey sock,

first off: thank you for your tutorial. i have had my EDFC wiring harness for over ten years, and can appreciate a thorough DIY as you've provided since it is a non-trivial thing to do (i was lucky my dealership, the same south-side one i've bashed in recent posts, came through on the installation--and warranteed it!)

i have a question about your active/active pro wiring harness compared to the "regular" EDFC kit.

if i understand correctly, the motor mounts for the active pro/active/regular EDFC are all the same, so i was hoping to get some clarification as to what changes if i want to switch to an active pro EDFC.

my wiring harness connectors for the motors look the same, so i am planning to buy a set of motors and the controller in the near-future (hopefully an active pro).

i did notice that, instead of wiring the motors via harness into the controller directly, the active pro/active controllers seem to allow them to connect to those black boxes which then communicate wirelessly with the motors.

is there any difference in the actual wiring harness that runs from the motors to the area where the controller is? it seems the same but i wanted to be sure.

• like, my wiring harness looks the same as yours but i can't see the little red power cable the way you have near the motors. i am pretty sure my kit never had that separate wire and i'm wondering if that's just for the GPS addon (which i do not plan to get)

thanks

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

thanks for the compliments, write ups take time but if it can help out one person it was worth it!

- the motors are the same for normal EDFC and this kit
- the black boxes communicate via wireless to the controller. they are hard wired to the motors. if you do not have the black boxes, you cannot use the edfc active main controller
- the red cable gives you power for the wireless black boxes and the motors
- if you get the edfc active, i highly recommend you get the gps add on. it's one of the best features because you can have your car be on soft settings for slow speeds and stiffen up as you go faster. for example you could be almost full soft under 15mph but then have it ramp up as you gain speed and provide that suspension stability. i think it's like $75 which is nothing if you are buying a $600 system
- the gps add on is just that tiny square box that i have on my dash and it connects via hard wire to the main controller on the dash

let me know if you have more questions!

broly

ahhhh i see, the red wires are to power the wireless module (black boxes)! makes sense.

• after looking closer, now i see what you did. you pretty much tucked the black box in engine bay and somewhere in the back, and ran the little red wire it needs for power through the firewall (instead of running the motor wires through, which are thicker)
  • since i have a "hole" in my firewall already from my regular motor mount wires going to the regular edfc controller, i think i should be able to keep the black boxes inside the vehicle, under the dash (may take some planning/coordinating, but it should)

i do believe though, that the wiring harnesses are the same for the active pro and the normal (when we are talking about the wiring from the motors to the controller)

• correct me if i'm wrong here, because i see that hte motor mount wiring connector hasn't changed.
  • so it seems that red wire and the black boxes would be the new wrinkle, where i'd have my black boxes inside the car since the motor mount connector harness (from my regular) already has them under my dashboard
    • again, do correct me if i'm wrong

this is delighting information. now that i know the difference in our setups, which is/are:

• your design choice of having the black boxes "outside" the dash lead to you running the power cable, making the cabin wiring certainly neater
• my installer's design choice of running the motor wires through the firewall (no active pro existed at the time), means i'd have to keep the black boxes inside and jerry-rig the power

so these power wires are designed to hook into the fuse box? can you provide a little more explanation on how exactly the power wires hook up to the vehicle's electrical system for power (as this would be something i need to do).

thanks again man.

Taquila1

iTrader: (1)

Congratulations on a tremendous installation and documentation of the same

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

thank you

i think you are correct in what you want to do, as long as they are the same cord hookups for the motors. i don't know the old style of motor hookups but i would assume they are the same as well. if i were you, i'd send TEIN USA an email and see what they say. They have always been super helpful and responsive to any questions i have and they can help you out and make sure you can make it work.

for the power wires, i added an "add a fuse" to each power wire and then used those fuses to piggy back on 3 different fuses in the fuse box. if you haven't used one before, look them up they are really helpful in adding more electronics safely. make sure you use 3 different fuse locations as there were issues from some other users that blew fuses when they tied all 3 power wires into the same fuse.

Taquila1

iTrader: (1)

I'mm going 2 b installing a EDFC system in about 1 mo. I couldn't do it myself w/o someone like u and utube. Thank u so much 4 this detailed post. Ur time and efforts by myself and many others r greatly appreciated. :-)

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

you're welcome i'm glad it was helpful! good luck on the install!

Türk

Thanks for nice write up. I have also installed this set to my 2008 KB1.
Have you updated the controller from EDFC Active to ActivePRO?

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

rahid905

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

rahid905

Tebaz06TL

GREAT WRITE UP SOCK. MY 06 BASE TL IS suspension is shot driving in nyc street for 8 years. So time for a handling upgrade and a decent drop.