For transparency here are the "experts" details
BMW Group
United Kingdom
Salma Yusuf
Customer Support Executive
Summit ONE
Summit Avenue, Farnborough
Hampshire , GU14 0FB
Tel: +44 (0) 800 3256 000
Mail to:
customer.information@bmw.co.uk
URL:
www.bmw.co.uk
Here is the information regarding EDC
http://www.bmw.com/com/en/insights/t...r_control.html
This suggests more than simply 2 settings and corroborates what the expert was saying. It implies 2 overall settings (comfort or Sport) that are infinitely adjustable within limits based on sensor information.
Here is the information about active suspension or adaptive drive.
http://www.bmw.com/com/en/insights/t...ive_drive.html
You will note that adaptive drive is made up of 3 components.
Dynamic drive - Adjusts stabilisers in real time
Flex ray - Which is the high speed electronics
Variable damper control - Adjusts the dampers in real time
Now
before everyone gets confused you will note there is no link to VDC at all on the adaptive drive page and if you look to the right you will notice a hyper link to EDC as a related article.
VDC no longer has an entry in the technology page at all. It is left in the description of adaptive drive presumably as a typo and just hasn't been changed when they re branded VDC to EDC.
Look at the wording used in both EDC and adaptive drive descriptions. VDC = EDC at least in in UK BMWs. I am looking at the en version of BMWs site. They dont help themselves because in the EDC description they even use the word variable.
If this doesn't convince you have a read of the flex ray description. It also describes the same electromagnetic valves that are described on the EDC page.
I was very specific in my wording to BMW but i may send another query ensuring I havent been given information about active / adaptive suspension. As it looks to me though the reason it sounds like the adaptive suspension is because it does appear to be half of that system.
As for Dynamic Damper Control (DDC) that you mentioned I cant find that anywhere other than on the BMW X3.
http://www.bmw.com/com/en/newvehicle...g_control.html
To be honest it sounds similar to the other 2 so DDC = VDC = EDC.
To summarise
EDC is a system that can be activated manually through the driver experience button or automatically using the sensors in the car. The result is 2 settings (comfort or Sport) which can infinitely adjust damper settings in real time based on sensor information within the defined profile limits. The comfort provided in comfort mode is better than that of a non EDC car as per the experts information.