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I opted for the PASM (10mm higher than standard) on my Cayman GTS 4.0 mostly for clearance purposes on the lousy roads in my area. I am very glad I did. In addition to negotiating speed bumps, driveways and drainage dips without a problem, it helps if you have to run over a rock or other obstacle. I ran over a pine cone yesterday, which made a horrific noise as it scraped the underside of the car; it would have been worse if the car was 10mm lower. I also have a GT3, and frequently have to use the front axle lift (not available on the Cayman) to get around town. While I'm sure the Sport PASM provides slightly sharper handling, I can assure you that a Cayman with PASM is no slouch on twisty roads, and provides a very comfortable ride.
Same here on my Boxster GTS 4.0 which arrived 3 weeks ago. I am in the Northeast with good awful roads. I cannot imagine having anything other than PASM. I also agree with others that this whole fender thing is ridiculous. The car looks great as is and I cannot imagine driving with a firmer less compliant suspension
Same here on my Boxster GTS 4.0 which arrived 3 weeks ago. I am in the Northeast with good awful roads. I cannot imagine having anything other than PASM. I also agree with others that this whole fender thing is ridiculous. The car looks great as is and I cannot imagine driving with a firmer less compliant suspension
To each their own. To me the raised suspension looks ridiculous on a sports car and would eliminate a used car from my consideration. The SPASM in Normal is more than comfortable on even the harshest NE roads. If I needed it any softer then I'd take my 5 series sedan. Great that Porsche has given the choice for everyone to decide for themselves.
PASM here on a CGTS for ground clearance purpose mostly. Not a single regret. Perfect ride quality without compromising the handling.
Fully agree on the fender gap - ridiculous to base the choice on that. Base 718 sits higher but it is still a sports car.
For unclemat as requested 718 GTS 4.0 mitt PASM showing the wheel gap.
Also I live in a rural area so I tend to see a bit of debris on the road pebbles, pinecones, twigs, etc. If I an going down the road at a slow speed say 20-25 MPH with the radio off I hear a LOT more of the debris tapping on the undersurface of the car than I heard with my 981 C/S which had a standard suspension. Granted some of this may be do to the more extensive underbody cladding, some of which is a felt type covering over light sheet metal in the centersection of the car. In any event I am glad I went with the 10MM raised suspension.
Last edited by patdonahue; 01-29-2021 at 08:14 PM.
hopefully this picture helps so you can see the difference.
White GTS has SPASM 20mm drop and Gentian blue has PASM which raises it by 10mm. Wheel gap is noticeable but on the flip side I don’t scrape 😁. The owner of the white GTS has learn to go slow over all speed bumps, but it looks good with that drop.
I'm in the wheel gap sensitive group, so the gap is something I notice. The roads around here are pretty good so it was an easy decision to go with the 20mm drop and it does sound like (above) the suspensions parts are different.
I agonized over this decision for a couple of weeks on my CGTS order, and even drove 1.5 hours to a dealer that had a 718 Cayman with each suspension (a GTS 2.5L with Sport PASM, and an S with PASM). In my eye, the extra 10mm lift for the PASM car wasn't super-noticeable...after all, 10mm is less than the thickness of the average pinky finger! Unfortunately I couldn't drive both cars because the GTS was effectively new and on display in the showroom - a leftover 2019 with under 50 miles.
In the end, I went with Sport PASM on my CGTS because my former 997.2 C2S had the Sport Suspension and I never felt that was too stiff. Sure, it would occasionally scrape on driveways if I wasn't careful, but it was never too extreme. I also plan to AutoX and (eventually) track the CGTS, and I need every advantage I can get!
Here's some of the info I collected in my research that might be helpful to others:
From Motor Trend: "Porsche says it offers the standard suspension as an option on the GTS for those who want a little more comfort. It needn't bother: The sport suspension proved anything but harsh and noisy, even on some of Portugal's rougher back roads. And it's more than acceptable in terms of ride quality around town."
Cayman ground clearances:
No PASM 4.3 inches
PASM option -10mm (roughly 3/8") 3.91 inches
GTS PASM -20mm (roughly 3/4") 3.52 inches. THIS IS THE STANDARD FOR A NEW GTS, You may choose -10mm instead as a free option
GT4 PASM -30mm (roughly 1.18") 3.1 inches
Although the N.A. Porsche website state that -10mm PASM has softer anti-roll bars, this might not be true. If you check the Porsche.uk, Porsche.de (Germany) and Porsche Australia websites, none mention stiffer anti-roll bars
And finally, here are pics from Porsche's configurator showing the default Cayman suspension, the default -20mm GTS suspension, and the GT4's -30mm suspension
So much has been written about the 10mm difference between PASM and Sport PASM over the years, I figured I should pitch in too! As small as 10mm sounds, that's the difference between clearing many seemingly non-threatening driveways and some benign-looking speed bumps, and tearing off the plastic lip (that hangs below the bumper) by its roots. Being as careful as I can be, that lip almost routinely scrapes something, thankfully just barely, on my PASM-equipped (-10mm) car. I'm sure I would've lost the lip on my Cayman by now had it been equipped with Sport PASM (-20mm).
PASM is on my short list of must-have options, and I'm sure I would love Sport PASM even more, but unfortunately I've determined it's not practical for me.
So much has been written about the 10mm difference between PASM and Sport PASM over the years, I figured I should pitch in too! As small as 10mm sounds, that's the difference between clearing many seemingly non-threatening driveways and some benign-looking speed bumps, and tearing off the plastic lip (that hangs below the bumper) by its roots.
That’s a massive over exaggeration. You’re not going to rip off the lip unless you go over a very large dip without paying attention. SPASM and X73 cars are fairly easy to navigate without much scraping and even when it does scrape, it’s only the underside. Even my GT4 is pretty easy to avoid scraping and the rare scrape is all under the front edge. And the GTS doesn’t have the extended front splitter, so it’s much less likely to scrape.
Last edited by Archimedes; 01-31-2021 at 12:10 PM.
That’s a massive over exaggeration. You’re not going to rip off the lip unless you go over a very large dip without paying attention. SPASM and X73 cars are fairly easy to navigate without much scraping and even when it does scrape, it’s only the underside. Even my GT4 is pretty easy to avoid scraping and the rare scrape is all under the front edge. And the GTS doesn’t have the extended front splitter, so it’s much less likely to scrape.
Got it, and I'm not trying to convince anyone not to opt for Sport PASM. I myself would love to have it! My intent was only to pass along what has been my personal experience. In fact, I did begin to pull the lip off once when I inched too close to the curb in a parking lot and one or two clips pulled out, so not a massive exaggeration at all. My fault, and totally avoidable, but the dangers do exist.
Got it, and I'm not trying to convince anyone not to opt for Sport PASM. I myself would love to have it! My intent was only to pass along what has been my personal experience. In fact, I did begin to pull the lip off once when I inched too close to the curb in a parking lot and one or two clips pulled out, so not a massive exaggeration at all. My fault, and totally avoidable, but the dangers do exist.
The parking lot barrier thing is another story. One of those took the bumper off my 540 years back. I think just about any car can have a problem with those. I’m talking about speed bumps and depressions, etc. SPASM is very manageable if one is careful. PASM is just a slightly more comfortable ride in exchange for more wheel gap. Personal choice.
The parking lot barrier thing is another story. One of those took the bumper off my 540 years back. I think just about any car can have a problem with those. I’m talking about speed bumps and depressions, etc. SPASM is very manageable if one is careful. PASM is just a slightly more comfortable ride in exchange for more wheel gap. Personal choice.
Speed bumps have been less of an issue for me in my three years with PASM, although I still find I scrape (only barely, fortunately) the lip a bit more frequently than I would like. Pull-offs into parking lots tend to be the culprit I think. It's not always easy to slow down to 1/2 mile-per-hour when entering a parking lot off a thoroughfare.
This is an excellent educational thread.....ground clearance is certainly one of my concerns should I pull the trigger and get one....
My '03 RS6 had stock ground clearance of 4.1 inches and I lowered it 1 inch with KWV3 (DIY in the garage). With the 3.1 inch ground clearance I had to be very careful pulling into my driveway or into the driveway at work. But it was not an issue otherwise on the road. Ya, approach speed bumps really slowly LOL. The note above shows that the ground clearance on the GT4 is 3.1, so I am not concerned at all.
The GPS coded auto raising feature in the Corvette and 911's and such is a great option, but alas the Cayman and Boxster are the ugly step sisters who get non of the love with that.
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Here's some of the info I collected in my research that might be helpful to others:
Cayman ground clearances:
No PASM 4.3 inches
PASM option -10mm (roughly 3/8") 3.91 inches
GTS PASM -20mm (roughly 3/4") 3.52 inches. THIS IS THE STANDARD FOR A NEW GTS, You may choose -10mm instead as a free option
GT4 PASM -30mm (roughly 1.18") 3.1 inches
Does anyone know where or how these these measurements are taken? I measured my GTS with PASM (-10mm) and found the mudflap(?) just forward of the rear wheels with the least amount of ground clearance (when parked on flat ground) at just under 4". Every other spot cleared the ground by 5" or more. The ground clearance of the front lip I mentioned in my earlier post scraping on a driveway or parking lot entrance every now and again varies from 6-3/4" to 7-1/4".
01-29-2021, 06:52 PM
