rcfun33

We purchased a previously owned GTS 4.0 that had SPASM. I was concerned about getting in/out of our driveway, because we have to be careful to go at an angle with normal cars to avoid scraping. I was pleasantly surprised that with sufficient angle, there is no problem getting in/out of our driveway. I was also surprised at how comfortable the ride was. I bought the car for spirited driving and some track days. If anything, I might consider upgrading spring rates for better track performance.

baege

well now you are helping me to maybe think I didn't make a mistake after all!
I realize I never drove a PASM gts 4.0 so maybe there isn't a significant difference in ride comfort?
the clearance issue isn't as big of a deal for me, but I had this impression that pasm cars rode significantly smoother.

patdonahue

Well PASM cars do have softer roll bars. From the car configurator:

Raised ride height of 10 mm in relation to the standard -20 mm suspension. The stiffer anti-roll bars are replaced with softer 718 GTS anti-roll bars.

I went with PASM and am well pleased, most of my driving is on backroads and county highways and living in a rural area I am happy I got the bit extra ground clearance, even so I have scraped my spoiler twice in 1500 miles.

Holdens

For a PASM car wanting a lower ride height - just spring replacement with spasm springs? Anyone know.

slilley

The ride difference between Sport PASM and PASM cars should be pretty indistinguishable. I know the configurator in the US says that the sway bars are different on PASM cars, but even this is questionable - I don't believe the configurator for other countries makes this claim, and I'd be surprised if Porsche used different swaybars in different countries (but this could be checked by comparing the part numbers of the sway bars on US PASM cars vs. US SPASM cars). The springs in PASM cars are longer, but I doubt that Porsche changed the spring rates much because the extra 1/2" still doesn't leave much room before a car would bottom out on a large pothole if the spring rates were too soft.

The Sport Plus setting probably shouldn't be used on anything except the smoothest of roads. I don't even use this setting on the track!

@baege one thing to check is that the plastic spring spacers used during shipping have been removed. Just peer into the wheel wells, and I'm pretty sure those would stand out if they were still in place. Obviously the ride would be seriously compromised if those were still installed - but it's super-rare for a dealer to forget to remove those.

Dan Nagy

Funny, I drive all the time in Sport Plus. I don’t find the car to be stiff at all and much prefer it over my now gone PASM 992 C2S that seemed at little floaty at high speeds. I agonized over this decision (see above posts from last summer), but so thankful I went SPASM. I was going to install a DSC controller but found it is not needed.

@baege Yes, I agree to check to see that the spacers were removed, but also Pirelli’s in the winter are hard. I put the new Michelin all-season ultra high performance tires on it and noticed it made a difference. You might consider to wait until the summer and see how it is before you do anything.

Regarding scraping, I have scraped several times. It’s just a replacement part that I’ll refresh down the road for $200. No big deal. I wouldn’t regret getting the SPASM. It’s configured the way the engineers intended and its superb on the back roads.

baege

so I am a little embarassed to say that I think tire pressures had a lot to do with my impression of a rough ride, the car must have been overfilled during PDI and when I picked it up temperatures were about 10 degrees celsius warmer than today. I checked the psi today and with 34 front 37 rear, the ride was pretty smooth and definitely liveable

wizee

Ah, that makes sense. I usually run my Spyder at 29 psi front and 33 rear cold (though its tires are a bit wider than the GTS). I took my Spyder out of hibernation a few days ago after 4 months of slumber, and I was impressed how smooth, composed, and free of harsh bumps it felt over awful cracked broken post-winter roads in my area. I actually felt happier driving in firm mode than soft mode on these crap roads, even though my Spyder should be stiffer than a GTS 4.0.

TXshaggy

Those are the correct pressure for the GT Cars. Believe the GTS is 35 square for summer tires.

If equipped for “comfort” setting you can take it down to 30.

OP check the fill pressure, it’ll tell you whether high/low.

slilley

@TXshaggy is correct: the GTS tire pressure is 35 psi F/R, but there's also a "Comfort Pressure" option in the Owners Manual that calls for 30 psi F/R.

I personally use 32F/34R cold normally, although that reminds me that I'm still running track pressure right now (probably down to 28F/30R).

Dan Nagy

Right. I forgot about tire pressure as that is the first thing I ask for at delivery. I run comfort pressure, combined with the new Michelin A/S Pilots, the ride is perfect.

c1pher

That’s my question too. The explanation of the stiffer sway bars don’t make sense since they do not lower the ride. The springs are what would lower the car….unless there’s some aspect to this I don’t understand. I’m thinking to mimic the 20mm or 30mm drop, you’d want the corresponding springs and matching sway bars to compliment the stiffness.

Jotaeme_

Cayman GTS 4.0, comparative aesthetic vision of PASM Sport -20 mm and PASM-10 mm