I see a lot of posts from folks who are opting out of SPASM with the 992. People post their concerns about ground clearance, state that they don't intend to drive their 911 hard, or emphasize that it's a daily driver, ie. not a track car. Some posts go so far as to deride it as not being necessary, while others simply skip the Sport package so that they don't get SPASM. Heck, even for myself, I was kind of ambivalent about it, but knew that I wanted it in my 992 given experiences with other prior generation 911s.

Now, that I am about 5k miles into my 992 C4S ownership experience, I am starting to view SPASM as an essential option for the 992. When you're driving the car hard, it's so powerful and fast that with SPASM disabled, it feels like the engine is writing checks that the suspension can't cash. Conversely, hustling down the same winding back roads with the SPASM enabled, the car is just better composed through turns and transitions -- much more confidence inspiring. Toggling that little dash switch or running in SportPlus, which enables SPASM by default, dramatically improves the car through transitions. Given that barnstorming through the twistys is very much my jam, I am really thankful that I spec'd SPASM. Heck, even on the highway at speed, it makes a difference. Frankly, it delivers the 911 experience that I signed up for.

Ground clearance hasn't been an issue. The plastic lip has only touched down a few times -- when it gets "beat", the lip is a cheap part and can be easily replaced. I've driven cars that are lower and more difficult to navigate in the real world. 10mm lower is "cake".

 

Good points. Not to mention - the lowered suspension and extended lip look so good.

 

i chose not to get the SPASM or the PSE (I did get the Sport Chrono). I wanted more of a GT rather than a performance oriented car with great aesthetics (Gentian Blue with Slate Gray/Chalk interior and Carrera Classic wheels), all of the comfort, convenience, and safety features, and a little quieter exhaust with the quad tips as this will mostly be my wife's DD and will rarely see overly sporty driving. I also did not want a lower car or a front lip that extended out further due to the possibility of scraping. That's the benefit of having a lot of options with Porsche--you can build it just the way you want to use it.

 

To be clear, SPASM and PSE don’t detract from the GT-ness, at all. Over the weekend, I drove through 5 states, 1827 miles, spending as much as 10 hours/day behind the wheel. It’s an astoundingly capable car.

 

I've listened to both the standard exhaust and the PSE and the standard is definitely quieter and less "in your face" which is what we wanted. Having a higher ride height and a less protruded front lip is also what we preferred to minimize having issues with sloped drives, parking garage ramps, and potholes. Each to their own for what the car is intended.

 

I don’t have SPASM on my c2S 992 but 991.1 c4S was lowered to just below SPASM ht. Car looked amazing and handled well. Occasional scrape and you have to learn to be cautious and approach angles at an angle ! I would’ve liked it on my new car.

 

SPASM (Sport PASM) provides the following:

• Electronically variable active damping system with two manually selectable modes: "Normal" and "Sport"
• Ride height lowered 10 mm compared to standard - due to shorter stiffer springs
• Stiffer anti-roll bars (front and rear)

The lower center of gravity with higher stiffness springs and the stiffer anti-roll bars are "always on" making the car handle better and and feel obviously more sporty.
Selecting Sport makes the dampers rebound faster, adding control. Beyond that, if one also has Sport Chrono, selecting Sport Plus also tightens the bushings that sit between the engine/transaxle and the car structure, adding yet more control.
As detansinn pointed out, the suspension is stiffer and tighter but still quite supple with SPASM.

 

Curious whether a 992 with a DSC controller installed will have any different damping if it has SPASM instead of PASM. The lower ride height of OE SPASM is probably not a plus for my environment.