scott30

After 13k the dealer is telling me I need new tires. Is this normal after so few miles? Also, I was told by a friend that only Porsche dealers have a certain tool to do alignments on the Cayenne. Is this true? Any suggestions?
Thanks

PTEC

13k miles on a set of tires is pretty average for a Cayenne. If you have a Cayenne turbo, consider yourself lucky to get even that much. The weight, performance, and tire compound all lead up to pretty short tire life on the Cayenne. An alignment is usually a good idea to ensure your new tires wear evenly and you get the maximum service life.

ltc

Why do you need tires?
Wear bars showing with even wear? Inner/outer edges worn?
What kind of tires, size, UTQG?

Do a search and you will find that tire life on a Cayenne is all over the place; some get only 6K while others can go 25K.

What kind of alignment system does your dealer offer? The rack is more important than the individual tools/wrenches used.

My dealer uses a Beissbarth ML4000 alignment system and provides a printout of target/actual for all alignment parameters. Charge is about $200 or so.

BTW, it is considered 'tradition' to post a few pics of your Cayenne.

Welcome to Porsche ownership hell......I mean the Cayenne forum.

356driver

Tires are a major expense so I suggest you check them yourself before making such an investment. The OEM summer tires on the Cayenne are optimized for performance and traction. They are made of soft compounds that unfortunately wear out a lot faster than the tires that come on the 'ol family minivan. Tires on the Cayenne can wear out anywhere from less than 10K miles to about 30K miles, depending on a lot of factors:

1. Most important is how you drive. Flinging a 5000 lb. machine around corners exacts a price that is paid in rubber. Physics dictates that all that force must be countered by the traction of our soft, sticky tires, which leave a few sad tire molecules on the pavement each time we go around a curve.

2. Alignment problems will exhibit themselves as a tire wearing a lot more on the outside or the inside. On the bright side, if only one tire has gone bad because of misalignment you might be able to just change the pair on that axle of the car. But don't mix different types of tires on a high performance vehicle like the Cayenne or the handling will suffer a lot.

3. Tire imbalance can also cause a tire to wear prematurely. An unbalanced tire will often wear in "cups" along one edge of the tire. 20" Cayenne tires are very sensitive to proper balance and most folks on this forum have concluded that a tire shop with a RoadForce balancing system is a good call.

Your Porsche dealer doesn't have a monopoly on good tires, good alignment equipment, or good balancing equipment. You can get the right tires at many good tire shops, or on tirerack.com. Given the proper equipment, the more important factor in alignment and balance is the skill of the technicians. If you know of a reputable high performance tire shop then you can safely put your Cayenne in their hands. If you are in the boondocks where high performance cars (and the businesses that specialize in them) are less common, then you might want to stick with your Porsche dealer.

Tirerack.com has a good information section about tires and how to choose the right ones. Welcome to the forum, where we profess love for our trucks except for the occasional scream of agony.

JFScheck

20K on my 19" P's and could go another 3-5 (but that might be pushing it)...

That inlcudes towing one big arsed trailer and driving fairly hard

skl

As crazy as it sounds, if you have a Costco near you they can get you tires. I got 19" Diamairis Michelins at our new Costco but it took them a month or so to track down the right size and Porsche approved markings. Did a fine job (though I admit I was nervous) mounting them but I just took the wheels and didn't leave the truck. Got a great deal as far as I'm concerned... now I admit I wouldn't take the 911 there though...

ltc

John,
No need to worry, as I have been informed that the Cayenne has a 'tire tread depth low' warning indicator built in..............

I believe it is a "!" on the dashboard, signaling that your tires tread depth is low........

What? You mean that's not what it means?

scott30

As a follow up to my original question, the large tire chain here in Westchester NY said they did not have the proper "tool" to align tires for the Cayenne S . The dealer charges close to $300 for an alignment. That seems high to me. This is my first Porsche but I have a MB and a BMW and it was never this expensive. Any thoughts? Thanks for the help.

356driver

Large national chains are meant to serve the masses and they probably fainted when you pulled up in a Porsche. I'd be very surprised if there isn't a decent tire shop near your location that has the right equipment. Try doing a search on the Hunter web site for dealers that have their equipment. Hunter makes the RoadForce balancing system and other high end alignment gear. Click here:

http://www.gsp9700.com/pub/search/FindGSP9700.cfm

ltc

OK, I'm confused (yes, I know, it must be the meds....but I prefer to think that everyday I own the Cayenne, I'm one day closer to stupid).

Are we talking about alignment or (road force) wheel balancing?

356driver

Both. Scott30's national tire chain apparently shied away from working on a Porsche. So we need to help him find a decent tire shop in his neighborhood that sells high end tires, can balance them properly, and can also do an alignment on a Cayenne. It's not rocket science but some tire shops will do it and others won't. Otherwise he might as well pay overinflated dealer prices for tires, balancing and alignment.

If a tire shop has Hunter equipment they are more likely to take alignment and balance seriously, and hopefully have skilled technicians who work on high performance vehicles. Scott30 needs a proper alignment and he needs new tires. The tires have to be properly balanced, hence the search for dealers with the RoadForce equipment.

Having RoadForce gear is kind of a koolaid test, if you follow my drift.