so I went to go test drive a CD yesterday and I really liked it. the low end tq was great, but some engine and steering wheel vibration at higher (6-7 rpm i think).
Anyway I was checking out the GTS in the showroon and played around with the Air suspension settings. I am a blue collar cost conscious buyer and wanted to know if what you guys feel about the AS/PASM. Is it "worth" it?
I live in the North NJ/NYC area and thought that the settings would be helpful, i.e. high setting during snow/NYC and lower setting during highway driving.
Will I be able to keep the high setting during regular city driving or keep the low setting during the highways or vice versa, or does the AS adjust itself similar to the RRS. And does the car feel more softer in the higher setting?
If anything I will test drive a GTS to really get the feel for it, its just the GTS is too much for my current budget.
Thanks for your input.

 

The air suspension is one of the best features on my CTTS. It will ride slightly better in the normal setting than low. You will find that the Cayenne PASM is more robust feature-wise than the RR. It has auto-leveling, constant dampening adjustments, and will give you almost 11" of ground clearance on the highest setting in the 957 - not sure about the 958.

 

I see, thanks for the input. I am thinking I would really want this option on the CD.
So lets say I just get the PASM, will it also enable me to have a higher ride height in case I need it for ground clearance due to snow etc. and then a real lower ride when i want to have tighter cornering. As far as what the dealer told me PASM will not visibly change the ride height at all.
thanks, your CTTS must be a beast.

 

Yes, there are 5 height settings in all. I would say about 2-3 of those are driveable at speeds over 30 mph. If you want to check out the height range on a 957, I had a demo in a video I posted at the end of last year.

You can check it out on here:

http://vimeo.com/user12313747/wickedcayenne

Yeah, who said big girls can't dance? Seriously though, I noticed you have a R8 V8 coupe. I am doing my preliminary research on a R8 V10 Spyder. I am looking for a possible DD and weekend car that is unquestionable faster than my truck, has supercar looks and reasonably within reach. Which is harder than it sounds. New toy should be able to run 10s at the track. I am eyeing AMS's new TT kit on the R8 boards. This should put me in the HP range I want - around 800rwhp. How do you like your R8?

 

will be getting air suspension on my Audi for sure

 

my r8 v8 is "sufficient" in terms of power. it pulled noticeably harder than my s5 v8. I did test drive the v10 in manual and it feels faster on the highway although the engine at low speeds and rpms didnt sound as good as the v8 imo, but when you opened it up the v10 was more impressive.
I just could not justify the 30k+ difference in price when i bought the car a while ago. Plus call me crazy but i prefered the rear styling of the v8. With the new s tronic coming out i bet you can get a v10 coupe/spyder with good miles for around 125/135 easy.
I use my r8 daily and have no problems with it, its comfortable enough to be used daily with the only real issue being ground clearance. I even use it during light snow without fault. It has enough luggage space in the front and behind the seats for a small weekend trips or light grocery shopping.
I have never ridden in the v10 with apr tune but i heard that it pulls even faster with gallardo output. some ppl got various kits on r8 talk, stasis, heffner etc to name a few and I can imagine it can get you to the power you want for the price of a new s tronic. I suggest you wait for the s tronic v10 plus when it comes out first to get a real feel of what else you can get with your money. good luck with the search.

 

The V6 CD doesn't go to 6k RPM. Mine has no vibration up to 90ish.

As far as the Air goes there are things you should consider. If you are going to do a lot of towing or carry a lot of heavy loads, then the self leveling function is really nice to have. Air is also generally considered to take the harshness out of 20+" wheels. Finally, the CD (in the US) can't get PDCC which most people associate with the Air system (its what makes it handle/feel more like a sports car half its size).

So I would say if its just going to be your DD, little or no heavy loads will be transport, and you aren't going to upgrade the wheels, then it might not be as important for you.

I have the steel suspension and 18s on my CD and am happy with its ride. I even auto crossed it this past weekend and was shocked how well it did. I have little doubt that if the GTS owner had been willing to actually push his P!g it would have out performed mine, but I didn't find the CD wanting at all in how it handled. More than the suspension, I need lower profile tires if I'm going to AutoX it again (6k lbs really chewed up the front sidewalls while turning under heavy braking).

 

thanks, ill check out the vid. So just to re clarify since I was told otherwise by the dealer, you are saying that the PASM alone has 5 ride height settings as well? I was told that it was only the air suspension with the PASM. Thanks. haha. I am saying this because if i can have 5 different ride heights with the PASM alone then I would rather get that option since its cheaper

 

yeah i wasnt really sure what the rpms were when i felt the vibrations. haha.
But thanks GNAT your suggestions were the main reason why I test drove the diesel and it was great. They did not have a v6 to test drive back to back so ill be coming in this weekend if they get one in. Overall the acceleration of the diesel is definitely enough for me, just have to see if it justifies the difference.
thanks for the input on the AS, I think I will be getting 20 inch wheels aftermarket as well. But the main reason why I wanted the AS plus PASM was that I wanted the option to be able to adjust my ride height according to my preference that day. If i can get different ride heights with the PASM alone then I would just opt for the PASM.

 

xing the CD must have been fun. guess you were on sport mode the entire time.

 

renaissance great vid. that ctt is a monster i think power wise you def need a v10 with mods if you are driving that ctt daily.

Gnat any reason why you decided to forgo the PASM without AS?

 

AutoX was a blast. Yes sport was on the whole time and PSM was off. I kept it in auto though as the throttle was just too twitchy in manual with all that torque. I heard some "are you kidding" and "not a real Porsche" comments behind my back in the morning, but opinions changed in the afternoon when they watched me throw it around (and get better times than some 911s!!)

I didn't do air because I had a hard budget line and other options were more important to me. Honestly though if I had another 10k in my budget I still don't think I would get it. I just don't have an actual need for it and there are other things I don't need that I would value more. Even if I was going to seriously track/cross it I would go for the carbon brakes before the air.

 

Another advantage of the air suspension is that it makes oil changes a lot easier. You can simply drive onto a set of 2x4's and set it to the highest level.

 

The PASM also has 3 different ride firmness settings.

1. Comfort
2. Normal
3. Sport.

 

Haha good point. Do you find that the car feels more cushy like a Lexus or Cadillac at the higher settings?