EDC III-The New Variable Damper System for BMW's Top Models- A Further Development of our Adaptive, Frequency-Dependent Damper Control

As a logical advancement of the Electronic Damper Control (EDC II) introduced in 1987 on the BMW 635 CSi automobile, the EDC III will be available for all of BMW's top models (7 and 8 Series) from April 1990 on.

It is an adaptive system with three discrete, degressive damping characteristics, and varies the damping forces separately at the front and rear axle. A frequency-selective and amplitude-dependent control strategy in a completely new electronical control unit developed in-house ensures the exploitation of the EDC III's potential for improving comfort and road safety to the full. The quantity of exploitationis given by spread and variation of the shock absorber characteristics and depends on road and driving conditions.

Test results are quoted to confirm the quality of the system. A further aim has been to obtain information about adaptability and dynamic improvement potential under different experimental conditions.

EDC III has fulfilled our development aims of achieving a further improvement in functional quality while at the same time substantially cutting system costs, as well as devising a vehicle-independent unified part concept for the system's entire electronics.