TracTive Semi-Active Suspension Review

Redd wrote

If I was being totally honest, one of the main reasons I got the TracTive was cos it was getting to be a real chore having to adjust the damping for Sunday canyon runs, and then Monday daily driving. Yes, I'm lazy lol. What's even better now is that I have specific settings for certain stretches of road. High speed stuff I use softer damping for more grip, and in the twisties I go stiffer for better response. All switched on the fly, with the press of a button.

Even til today the TracTive still continue to impress me. The magic is in the roll and pitch control. Your brain tells you soft springs should not be able to have body control like that, but the car just takes your inputs and does what you command it to. No fuss, no drama, and super smooth. I haven't driven Ohlins Dedicated Track yet, but the TracTive was another level above and beyond the R/T.

My car with dedicated and those spring rates combined with my other suspension upgrades create a package that allows me to literally turn in at almost any speed with never a hint of plow….she only breaks loose from the rear if I attempt to defy the laws of physics and then you can right foot her right back into place. I swear the car yawns at me in Bordem on the track—-she is way ahead of me I think.

But track use is 10 days a year if I’m lucky. My son is a top goalie in the country so hockey financial drain is eliminating a lot of track time……might be time to sell the dedicated and put these in.

DM me if you are willing to walk me thru who you got them thru—-I got the perfect shop to instal them.

Appreciate you .02 brother!

Cheers,
e46e92

Unfortunately I'm in Malaysia, so got it thru the Malaysia distributor. Not sure who the distributor is in the US. Sorry.

e46e92love

Ok. Now I better understand your primary reason for wanting a semi-active/EDC system. You’d definitely want their ACE controller over the EDC plug-n-play. The Tractive Touring and Road/Track kits are 1-way semi-active in rebound. Their ACE allows you to preset how aggressively you want to control roll and pitch motion based on fixed LS rebound whereas their 3-way kit adds LS compression, which is adjusted manually, to help with roll and pitch control. Adding LS compression improves roll and pitch control because now downward (compression) and upward (rebound) motions are being used, not just the upward motion used by the 1-way kits. The 3-way LS compression adjustment helps with corner entry as well as weight transfer in cornering and braking. The 3-way option also adds manually adjustable HS compression to deal with bump control at corner entry, mid and exit. ACE vs. EDC plug-n-play - EDC version doesn’t allow you to predefine roll and pitch control strategies, instead you’re stuck with BMW’s comfort, sport and sport+ strategies for low speed and high speed control. 1-way vs. 3-way - just like conventional dampers, a 3-way setup is superior to a 1-way setup.

The setup you want - active in LS & HS rebound and active in LS & HS compression - does not exist. Tractive and Nitron offerings are the same - a street, a street-track, and a track option - and either a plug-n-play EDC or a standalone controller option.

I don’t understand your comment about just controlling stiffness. Are you talking about damper adjustments because those aren’t stiffness adjustments?

If you know how to properly setup a 2-way suspension then it’s not that much more challenging to setup a 3-way suspension. 3-way just separates compression into LS and HS.

I’m running MCS 2WR (F/R 700/1100 lbf/in, rear divorced, converting to rear c/o with 1000/900 lbf/in) with compression adjustment on the remote reservoir and rebound adjustment on the top of the damper. For the rear, I still have to jack up the car but once up I just reach in between the top of the tire and wheel arch to gain access to the adjust rebound. For the fr we ont, it’s done in the engine bay at the top of the damper. Less of an inconvenient than your R&Ts. However, my MCS setup can be used on the street with no adjustments or just reduce compression damping (under hood and in rear of trunk) to make it more comfortable. If I want to make it very comfortable then I’ll also reduce reservoir pressure to 100 psi (track it’s 175 psi). For my Mini CS with R&Ts, I just reach under the car to make adjustments for summer/winter setups. The R&Ts have been great on the street for over a decade.

Redd wrote

Unfortunately I'm in Malaysia, so got it thru the Malaysia distributor. Not sure who the distributor is in the US. Sorry.

No worries at all…..always forget this place is international!!

Cheers,
e46e92

M3SQRD wrote

e46e92love
The Tractive Touring and Road/Track kits are 1-way semi-active in rebound. Their ACE allows you to preset how aggressively you want to control roll and pitch motion based on fixed LS rebound...

Hmmm...i always thought TracTive was active in LS compression. Cos when I set pitch/roll to max I don't even feel the initial compression of the damper. Whereas, with Ohlins R/T I can feel weight transfer compress the damper/spring before the steering input translates into a turning motion.

TracTive Semi-Active Suspension Review [#84]

The error went away. Wiggle the edc cable, remove and reconnect. All good now.

TracTive Semi-Active Suspension Review [#90]

Where in malaysia? I'm from Malaysia too but live in Texas now.

Redd wrote

Hmmm...i always thought TracTive was active in LS compression. Cos when I set pitch/roll to max I don't even feel the initial compression of the damper. Whereas, with Ohlins R/T I can feel weight transfer compress the damper/spring before the steering input translates into a turning motion.

Motion is always controlled by the spring, not the damper. The damper controls how quickly a motion is damped out. Initial turn in is dominated by spring rate, tire (grip and pressure), and steering response. Dampers generate force based on the relative velocity of the damper piston and damper body. LS damping is for force-velocity slope in the 0-3 in/s range (note, force is 0 lbf at a velocity of 0 in/sec but due to friction/stiction the force is actually non-zero, and the gas pressure in a monotube damper results in a compressive force that must be exceeded before the piston rod starts to move). So I’m confused by your statement of pitch/roll with no compression of the damper. Also, the R&T is a 1-way damper that varies both rebound and compression due to its dual-flow valve technology. However, the R&T LS damping is fairly low in the 0-3 in/s range from fully open to 10 clicks closed. From 10-20 clicks closed, LS damping goes from useable to unusable (practically a vertical slope at 20 clicks). So your comparison of Tractive Touring and Öhlins R&T needs, at a minimum, the number of clicks from fully open the R&T setting was. If Tractive was actively controlling LS compression then why would they release a 3-way version that manually adjusts LS compression?

rodeo82 wrote

TracTive Semi-Active Suspension Review [#90]

Where in malaysia? I'm from Malaysia too but live in Texas now.

I'm a Petaling Jaya boy! TX is nice. I studied and worked for a few years in KS.

M3SQRD wrote

So I’m confused by your statement of pitch/roll with no compression of the damper.

Yeah you're probably correct, I don't know this stuff as well as you do. Just sharing what I feel the car is doing when driving the TracTive vs Ohlins R/T since I've driven both back-to-back.

e46e92love wrote

DM me if you are willing to walk me thru who you got them thru—-I got the perfect shop to instal them.

Inertia Laboratory (Texas) is the official importer of Tractive dampers, and they and DSCsport (east coast) are the only US dealers (I think this is correct).

DSCsport developed their own controller for Porsches and was developing one specifically for the F8x. DSCsport F8x controller didn’t come to fruition for an unknown reason.

Redd wrote

Yeah you're probably correct, I don't know this stuff as well as you do. Just sharing what I feel the car is doing when driving the TracTive vs Ohlins R/T since I've driven both back-to-back.

What you’re feeling and experiencing is great information especially if it’s been back2back between Tractive and Ohlins R&T - I don’t know of anyone else who has this experience. Spending $4-5k USD for one setup is more than what most people are willing to spend and then spending another $3-3.5k USD on a second setup, not going to happen very often

Does anyone know if they can do custom valving/rates? I’d like something a bit stiffer and more track focused

M3MATT wrote

Does anyone know if they can do custom valving/rates? I’d like something a bit stiffer and more track focused

I believe Inertia Labs might be able to do that for you. They also make a custom version of the Nitron R1 (in collaboration with OG Shark) -> https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1914036. So, I feel like reaching out to Inertia Labs could possibly be fruitful.

For what it's worth though, in my discussions with Jason / OG Shark, it did seem like the R1 is probably the way to go for dual duty and even more so if you are track focused, unless you do frequently adjust your settings via EDC, and even then the limitation might be with the EDC controller.

M3MATT wrote

Does anyone know if they can do custom valving/rates? I’d like something a bit stiffer and more track focused

Their Road/Track version comes with custom rates. They probably modify the compression damping with custom rates but I’m not sure about rebound damping which is full damping at 0 V to minimum damping at max V. However, if the max LS and/or HS rebound isn’t sufficient then they’d adjust the range. With their ACE controller allows you to set predefined setups (similar to EDC three settings) to control overall pitch and roll motions which suggests you have direct control over LS rebound.

I’d actually wait for the new Nitron elec-TRON R1 and R3 semi-active setups. Nitron is developing their own controller and EDC plug-n-play options. OG shark is currently working with Inertia Lab to create a custom e-tron R1 (or is it R3 first?) setup similar to their conventional custom R1 and R3 setups. You can specify spring rates, or use their recommended rates, as well as droop travel, I believe. Here’s a link from the F8x forum:
Nitron elec-TRON

Very interested to see how Nitron elec-TRON compares to TracTive. Options are always good.

Redd wrote

Very interested to see how Nitron elec-TRON compares to TracTive. Options are always good.

Is it know how much the Nitrons will be? I’d imagine double what these are, if not more

M3MATT wrote

Is it know how much the Nitrons will be? I’d imagine double what these are, if not more

They’re developing and releasing the F8x, including F87, first. No ETA on e9x.

Pricing on F8x:
Nitron elec-TRON R3: 8,367.00 USD + shipping (piggyback);
Nitron elec-TRON R3: 9,547.00 USD + shipping (remote w/QDs)
Nitron elec-TRON R1: 5.867.00 USD + shipping
Nitron elec-TRON Road Kit: 4,667.00 USD + shipping

M3SQRD wrote

They’re developing and releasing the F8x, including F87, first. No ETA on e9x.

Pricing on F8x:
Nitron elec-TRON R3: 8,367.00 USD + shipping (piggyback);
Nitron elec-TRON R3: 9,547.00 USD + shipping (remote w/QDs)
Nitron elec-TRON R1: 5.867.00 USD + shipping
Nitron elec-TRON Road Kit: 4,667.00 USD + shipping

I got a quote for $4,3XX with ~$250 shipping. Not far off.

Really want a good street damper. I'm on the other side of your race car drivers. Just tired of the shitty Dinan S3R suspension.

OmairK wrote

I got a quote for $4,3XX with ~$250 shipping. Not far off.

Really want a good street damper. I'm on the other side of your race car drivers. Just tired of the shitty Dinan S3R suspension.

Nice! Those are retail prices.

Are these the Roadsport version for your e90 M3? EDC plug-n-play or Nitron DCU? For the R1 and R3 versions, OG Shark and Inertial Lab will release their custom versions of the R1 and R3.

Haha, the other side of race/track car…Have you driven, or been a passenger, in a car with MCS 2/3/4WR or Ohlins TTX 2/3/4-way or Moton MS 2/3/4-way dampers with street rates? If not, you’d be amazed by their performance and comfort. It’s indescribable because people don’t believe you unless they’ve experienced it for themselves. I have a MCS 2WR setup on my wife’s f22 m240ix with street rates and she could immediately feel the difference between the stock and MCS suspensions. It’s spoiled her! She wants our g20 330ix to handle the same way.

OmairK wrote

Really want a good street damper. I'm on the other side of your race car drivers. Just tired of the shitty Dinan S3R suspension.

Value for money wise, it's hard to beat Ohlins R/T for street driving. Super comfortable with great body control.

Redd wrote

Value for money wise, it's hard to beat Ohlins R/T for street driving. Super comfortable with great body control.

For an even better street ride, the 3DM and PSI R&T street kits with custom valving and spring rates makes them an even better street setup yet still perform well. Trade off is no longer having EDC.