stevethe6th

Last week I set out to replace one of our ’01 X5 4.4 Sports with something a bit newer. I had fully intended to buy a '04 or '05 X5 4.6/4.8 and decided to include the Cayenne S in my search since it has a similar power level. While looking for an S I found this one-owner used ’04 Cayenne Turbo with 44K miles for $41.9K. For some reason I expected a used Cayenne TT to be a much more expensive vehicle. The vehicle is in great shape, no dings, scratches, curb rash, carpet stains, etc. I checked it out with our local dealer – Momentum Porsche in SW Houston. They have maintenance records going back to the original sale. Anyway, power junkie that I am, I bought the turbo. This is my third P-car, having owned an ’89 944TS and a ’73 914 GT4 race car previously. In fact, as I type this I’m wearing one of my original “Porschelist.org” t-shirts.

It’s hard not to be impressed with the power and the brakes. I’m actually looking forward to doing my first brake job. Handling is a toss-up between the X5 and the Cayenne. On the downside - the X5 has a more useable power band around town and I’m shocked by the turbo lag in the CTT (with PSM on). With the PSM off it’s about what I would have expected. I’m not sure why the programmers felt they had to sacrifice around-town throttle response to maintain stability. I would prefer both. Anyway, I’ll adapt my driving style (manual shifting and left foot braking, for instance) to increase responsiveness. I’ve already added K&N filters and suspect that the cat bypass pipes are next. My 944TS responded well to an HKS boost controller, nearly eliminating turbo lag (Hmmm….).

I love the gizmos and comfort features. The lighting is outstanding, the Bose system is kick-***, my friends and associates are envious – life is good. I do miss my I-Pod interface but that’s a temporary setback. Overall I’m very happy with the purchase and look forward to a few years of fun commutes and grocery runs.

Dennis C

Welcome to the forum. Nice wheels on your CTT.

FORE!

ltc

Hmmn, let's go with



Turbo lag? Hesitation? It's just your imagination.

Next time I visit Larry's (R.I.P. ) grave, I'll let him know.

ltc

Oh and BTW, welcome to the forum, yadayada.....

dustybottoms

Very nice looker...

Enjoy

Cpa4S

that is very clean looking.

was it from a P dealer and/or did you get extended warranty?

the sport button on the 08 adds that pump ou are missing. i am going to try turning off PSM and putting sport on to see if it adds even more?

stevethe6th

Not from the p-car dealer. It was a trade-in on an Aston Martin at Global Motorcars. No extended warranty - just a very thorough pre-puchase inspection. I won't have it long enough to worry about a warranty if I can't learn to live with the lag.

stevethe6th

Looks as if I'm in for the full menu of CTT pleasures - "Would you like some lurch and surge with that shimmy?" With PSM on, the car now refuses to accelerate at better than a Golf diesel pace for several seconds (or downshift for that matter) even when floored, then, finally, surges forward. If I turn the PSM off, it's better but only because it downshifts more readily. Idle is rough, it's slow to start when warm and shudders occasionally (when not lurching and surging, but still in concert with the shimmy). I know - it's possessed by the ghost of Elvis.

Oil change and clear side marker installations last weekend were uneventful thanks to the DIY's. Topped off the power steering today with Pento$il (or whatever it's called).

I also ordered coils today, hopefully that solves at least part of the lurch, surge/shudder problem. If this continues I'll see if "THEKING" is available in Texas as a vanity plate. Any other advice would be appreciated.

andrew911

Are you supposed to drive with PSM off? In our cayenne S that the car is crazy with psm off- I mean it's fun and all, but it doesn't seem like it's meant to be driven like that- some cars have a sport button, and turning off PSM seems like a "super-duper sport" button. I guess it can't hurt the car, but I always feel funny turning it off, not to mention fuel mileage would probably dip into the single digets- ha!

A sport button is one thing I definitely miss in our cayenne- why it's not there boggles my mind- I mean, a lexus has a sport shift option but a sports truck doesn't? Especially given the quick upshifts for economy that the cayenne is calibrated for. There's plenty of torque that it doesn't lug or anything, but I would prefer to have the car the way it is 80% of the time and be able to put on a sport shift logic the other 20% of the time. Oh well... it's more of a nit pick item- I still love the truck and when you get on it, it steps out well and sounds great while doing so! The turbo is even better in that regard I'd imagine (the stepping out well part that is- sound is probably about the same)

Cpa4S

my is still break in though i have pinned it 3 or 4 times in the last 3 months. anyway, sometimes i get it right and it is a bullett and sometimes a slug with the lag.

i will say that with the sport button tends to make a h@ll of a difference.

Cannoli

Steve - congrats on your new purchase. You'll be pleased with the purchase, just realize it is a turbo, so you need to be in its "sweet spot" i.e., turbos spooled if you want maximum performance. Having a Cayenne Turbo over a Cayenne S is more than a different front end and turbos. The air suspension is really nice to have. The brakes of a 955 Cayenne Turbo have a lot of room for improvement, hence the 955 Cayenne Turbo S has larger brakes, among other features.

Enjoy.

stevethe6th

Looks like many of my performance issues were due to intermittent signal to/from cam position sensor and air bypass valve due to rodent damage to the wiring harness. What I felt was ridiculous lag/surge was apparently due to the DME switching into a "limp mode". No Viagra jokes please. Only $1300 and two dealer visits to rewire the harness and replace the position sensor (apparently damaged by the shorted harness - damn rats). I've also mitigated the effects of the quasi-round Hankooks by swapping the worst offender to the rear. I can still feel it at >80mph (while recklessly stomping a Honda Accord with dual fart cans), but the shaking is minimal. Should be OK until I get the Toyos. Maybe the CTT is a keeper after all....

Cpa4S

good to hear it is working out - it must have been in storage or something for a while to get the damage. did the dealer mention if it had been sitting?

stevethe6th

No, no dealer knowledge of prior storage conditions (they do have full service records on the vehicle). Interestingly, the service rep says they get at least one car a week with rodent damage!! Hard to believe, but he said while mine was in there were two other P-cars with similar issues. The factory must install some particularly tasty plastic.