disden

Hello, the transformation is complete! My garage has nothing but Porsches! I already have a Panamera GTS and a CD for my daily drivers and love them. However, I recently set my wife up with a new Benz GL550 and she hated it, was always driving my CD around and said how much she loved it. Its weird, but this was our 3rd GL and we both really didnt like it as much as the old ones. So, I found her a pretty much loaded up CD (air suspension, 21's, all the goodies) and pulled the trigger. She is so happy. The only people who arent happy are the kids because they lost their backseat video system, however the iPads will keep them occupied.

These CD's are amazing. Its incredible what a difference the air suspension makes, even on 21's Sport Edition wheels the ride is quite nice/soft in comfort mode. Anyone on the fence about the CD should check them out, great mileage, comfort and space (well not in the cargo area). The back seats actually fit my 3 kids as well as the bigger GL did, only thing we lost was 3rd row which we never used. So far so good! As long as wife's happy, I am happy.

SUVp.cay

If I went with 18" wheels on a Cayenne Diesel, would the ride improve in the comfort mode if I added air suspension (vs springs)? Dont care about sport mode just want a very comfortable ride and the ability to perform well in snow, hence the 18"s.

Needsdecaf

If you went with 18" wheels, I don' think you would need to add the air suspension. It would be pretty comfortable on the steel springs.

gjmattos

My wife's CD has 18" wheels with PASM/AS set up in Partial Load and likes the feel. I have a BMW with Adaptive Drive with 19" wheels and feels about the same. We live in a city so it works.

disden

I would think 18s with normal springs would be ok, if able you should test one out. It's pretty amazing how different the ride is between my wife's with it vs mine without, but as I posted earlier we both have larger wheels. I like a firmer ride, but my wife not so much, so the air susp works out well on her vehicle.

Joseph O'Reilly

this and what needsdecaf wrote agrees with the dealer's advice here- up to 19's are fine with steel springs. starting from 20, at least pasm, or even better, air suspension, starts to really help.
there are no steel sprung demo cayennes in germany so i ordered mine "blind" with 18s, ptv+, and no pasm, and this combo got the dealer's "blessing". the 19in turbo wheel is growing on me, but the standard 18s with the color caps (ordered separately for 20 bucks on ebay) were good enough for me when i configured. but i second the comment made elsewhere on rennlist numerous times, that wheels are the easiest thing to change later, and to focus on the stuff that is more permanent when building your order. as for the ride comfort, i was disappointed with the lack of difference across the three pasm settings and with the feel of the air suspension (bumps taken harder than i expected in all heights and pasm settings). the handling however was impressive and i have as of yet no way of knowing whether the air and pasm had a lot to do with that. in other words, i am not concerned that my car will feel harsh or bumpy, but rather slightly that it wont be as composed and controlled on bad and twisty roads at silly speeds. hopefully ptv+ takes care of that. the initial cost for air and pasm seems very reasonable for porsche, but i passed to keep the drivetrain more low-maintenance over time.

disden

None of the 18 inch options were that appealing to me, although for the winter would be a great choice. I think the Cayenne looks best with 21's, seems to fit the car well, make it look more aggressive. For the winter I will probably get my wifes CD some 19's with winter tires. I will say that my CD with 20' RS Spyder rims and Conti all weathers did really well this last winter, had some heavy snow too.

Cowboys5

I have 19's on my CD and no PASM. Extremely comfortable.

SUVp.cay

Cowboys, does your Cayenne have springs or with air suspension?

f4 plt

I had a 2008 Cayenne GTS with Air suspension and it did not "WOW" me and I tow an enclosed trailer ( Trailex) I did not get the air suspension on our 2011 Cayenne S but got PASM and I perfectly happy. I'm ordering my wife a Cayenne Diesel and it will have PASM.

As for wheels the 2008 had the 21 inch wheels and the ride was rough. We have 19 inch wheels on the Cayenne S and will get them on the diesel. The ride with the 19's is very comfortable yet firm and you have more protection from road hazards such as potholes. Additionally 19 inch tires are much cheaper and wear much longer than 21inch

With the trade in of her BMW 328 i for the Diesel we also will be an all PORSCHE family and yes we ARE keeping the "S" or as I call it my Carrera that seats five.

Beantown Kman

f4 plt: I am planning to order a new CD this summer. I will get 19" wheels for sure. I plan to tow an open Trailex. I've been told that the air suspension is nice when trailering because it will adjust the ride height and handling to compensate for the tongue weight of the trailer. Do you not agree? Does tongue weight or trailer load have much effect on the ride?

f4 plt

I have towed my Trailex enclosed trailer over 5000 miles across country at highway speeds with a Porsche in it with my "11 Cayenne "S" with PASM and no air suspension. I have had no problems what so ever. The trailer and vehicle ride well. It is important ot adjust the load so your tongue weight is 10-12 % of the total load and that it does not exceed vehicle max tongue weight. An additional validation that you do not need air suspension is my tire wear. have not rotated them and have over 29,000 miles on the Cayenne. The measured tread depth is 5-6/32 on the rear and 6-7/32 on the front remaining. That is outstanding tire wear for a vehicle of that weight, that many miles and that much towing. Besides the 5000 plus towing the enclosed Trailex, I also regularly tow my steel 16 ft utility trailer. I would think my ordered Cayenne Diesel will do every bit as good with better mileage. Of note I towed on one long trip with the tongue weight on the enclosed almost 60 lbs over max before I got a tongue weight scale and better managed the load. Can't say enough good things about the Cayenne.

Beantown Kman

That is very helpful information. And it's a strong testimonial for the Cayenne! But it leaves me a little confused about air suspension and PASM. What, exactly, does air suspension do and why would someone want it? As for PASM, if it works the same as it does on the sports cars, I assume people get it on their Cayennes because it allows them to firm up the suspension if they choose a more "sporty" ride. But is it really necessary for comfort in "normal" mode? Would you be able to tell a difference in ride quality in a Cayenne with 19" wheels whether it had PASM or not? Is PASM an advantage to those of us who trailer?

endless_corners

PASM with air allows for ride height adjustment and damper stiffness adjustment.

f4 plt

As I said I'm not a fan of air suspension and yes PASM firms the ride like it does on a 911. I find I use it on the highway in the Cayenne especially in windy conditions as it stabilizes the vehicle likewise on very bumpy and washboard roads I may even switch to the comfort setting. Bottom line is it gives me options for different conditions. Yes air suspension does change the ride height and I had in on our '08 GTS but never used it, oh maybe once or twice to play and towed with that vehicle also but did not adjust the air suspension. Down side is it takes up some under deck trunk space and is something else that can break.