2018 M3 with no adaptive suspension?

[18F80]

Long time lurker, first time poster. I just picked up a 2018 F80 after searching for the right one for almost a year (woot!). However, when I picked the car up today I noticed that the button for the adaptive suspension is totally blank. Not only that, but in the gauge cluster where you would normally see the settings for the engine/suspension/steering, there's only two settings for the engine and steering. It was my understanding that all 2018's came with adaptive suspension. Am I losing my mind or are there cases where they were shipping with standard suspension?

I love the car and part of the reason I settled on it was because the ride in comfort mode was tolerable for day to day use. Without it, the car rides pretty harsh on rough roads.

Any insight would be appreciated!

[18F80]

I'll also add that the sticker does list adaptive suspension under standard features

[Dav3]

Yeah, F80 M3 was also sold with no EDC and just passive suspension

Honestly, I have the passive suspension setup and its really not a rough drive

A lot less rough than the F87 M2 I had and E85 Z4M I have

Not ideal but not the end of the world tbh

[swagon]

I've got it too.

Passive suspension was a no-cost option in the USA starting with MY2017, adaptive was thus standard on base models. Competition and CS models had adaptive only.

Should've got a VIN readout and check the car better before buying.

[bsmf8x]

There's also a chance it was coded out cuz previous owner had their own suspension put on it. If your window sticker doesn't have passive suspension under options I think that's more likely the case.

[maddmatth]

Use one of the VIN lookup sites to verify if you car actually had the option. Could have been coded out if a past owner replaced it with aftermarket suspension.

[Imperial328i]

Originally Posted by maddmatth

Use one of the VIN lookup sites to verify if you car actually had the option. Could have been coded out if a past owner replaced it with aftermarket suspension.

You know of a good one of these?

[squareforce]

Originally Posted by Imperial328i

You know of a good one of these?

I've been using https://www.mdecoder.com as a tool for looking up options on every m3 I was interested in purchasing.

[scott13]

Sorry to tell the OP, but if the EDC button is blank (no icon on it) and non-functional (nothing happens when you press it)...you can be pretty much 100% sure that the car never had EDC and that it's not a coding thing. I've had EDC and non-EDC M4's and everything the OP described is exactly as it appears in a non-EDC car.

FWIW, here's a few VIN lookup sites:

https://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=829706

[18F80]

Thanks all for the insight. I was being diligent using mdecoder.com to verify all the options that were listed on the cars I was looking at, I just I never would have guessed someone would option out EDC. Regardless, the more I drive the car the more I think it's not as big of a deal. Loving it the more and more I drive it.

[agentrnge]

Probably a pretty decent amount out there actually. Anyone who planned on fitting coil-overs would have stuck with standard.

[horsepower_and_hounds]

I had a non edc 2015 and a edc 2015 and much prefer the non edc so am about to install coil overs and code it out

[bsmf8x]

Originally Posted by horsepower_and_hounds

I had a non edc 2015 and a edc 2015 and much prefer the non edc so am about to install coil overs and code it out

Why?

I've heard this surprisingly often.

I have EDC and feel a substantial difference between sport plus and comfort but usually just leave it in comfort. Which is still eh.

You know how rwd cars like to lose traction over bumps and rough patches in the road when you're on the gas? I've read that the adaptive suspension helps control that which may be true because this is a lot more stable on bad roads than previous rwd cars I've experienced.

[N1rve]

Originally Posted by bsmf8x

Why?

I've heard this surprisingly often.

I have EDC and feel a substantial difference between sport plus and comfort but usually just leave it in comfort. Which is still eh.

You know how rwd cars like to lose traction over bumps and rough patches in the road when you're on the gas? I've read that the adaptive suspension helps control that which may be true because this is a lot more stable on bad roads than previous rwd cars I've experienced.

I did read that the car is supposed to do like a bunch of calculations every few ms for the road and condition and some other high tech stuff. I really hope it's not like a normal coilover where if you put it like in comfort its like X amount of clicks from max stiffness and sport plus is like max turn on a coilover adjustment. There's gotta be a reason why this adaptive one is 2X the cost of non adaptive on FCP Euro LOL.

[maddmatth]

Originally Posted by N1rve

I did read that the car is supposed to do like a bunch of calculations every few ms for the road and condition and some other high tech stuff. I really hope it's not like a normal coilover where if you put it like in comfort its like X amount of clicks from max stiffness and sport plus is like max turn on a coilover adjustment. There's gotta be a reason why this adaptive one is 2X the cost of non adaptive on FCP Euro LOL.

Yes it can change rebound and damping something like a hundred times per second, and can control each corner independently.
It'll help control body roll and dive/squat by stiffening up one side of the car based on what you're doing.

[horsepower_and_hounds]

Originally Posted by bsmf8x

Why?

I've heard this surprisingly often.

I have EDC and feel a substantial difference between sport plus and comfort but usually just leave it in comfort. Which is still eh.

You know how rwd cars like to lose traction over bumps and rough patches in the road when you're on the gas? I've read that the adaptive suspension helps control that which may be true because this is a lot more stable on bad roads than previous rwd cars I've experienced.

Cuz the system goes to shit when you lower it..... works great if you leave OEM

[Tecnniqe]

Originally Posted by horsepower_and_hounds

Cuz the system goes to shit when you lower it..... works great if you leave OEM

Isn't that why you buy MP HAS? To keep EDC?

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by bsmf8x

There's also a chance it was coded out cuz previous owner had their own suspension put on it. If your window sticker doesn't have passive suspension under options I think that's more likely the case.

Originally Posted by maddmatth

Could have been coded out if a past owner replaced it with aftermarket suspension.

This is unlikely since the EDC physical button is blanked out.

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by N1rve

I did read that the car is supposed to do like a bunch of calculations every few ms for the road and condition and some other high tech stuff. I really hope it's not like a normal coilover where if you put it like in comfort its like X amount of clicks from max stiffness and sport plus is like max turn on a coilover adjustment. There's gotta be a reason why this adaptive one is 2X the cost of non adaptive on FCP Euro LOL.

They don't call it "apaptive" for nothing. It is a dynamic system that constantly dynamically adjusts to driving conditions. The different settings (Comfort/Sport/Sport+) simply access different maps. An adaptive damping system is superior to a static one.

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by Tecnniqe

Isn't that why you buy MP HAS? To keep EDC?

Exactly

[doug_999]

If the decoder lists it, there was a chance it was missed by the factory. Before you go thinking this is crazy, there was a guy on here with a 2018 or 2017 F83 whose car did not have HK. They just forgot to put it in . Weird.

And yes, there was an option in the configurator to skip it.

[Tecnniqe]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

Exactly

Do you know if you get a warning if you change to something not working with the EDC? Like a fault code.