Cayenne Off Road Good and Bad
01-05-2009, 09:10 PM
#1
Track Day
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Cayenne Off Road Good and Bad
Hi everyone,
I have just returned from my first real off-road holiday with my 2003 Cayenne Turbo. I am hapy to report that (on standard 18" rims with road tyres - Pirelli P zeros!!!!) the car performed fantastically, surpassing my exectations, and really surprising our travelling companions (driving a Lexus LX470 ie Landcruiser 100 series and a Toyota Hilux). The ground clearance and approach angles are second to none, easily traversing muddy slippery rock that had many other "real" 4WD's stuck.
The only problem occured in really boggy sand (keep in mind I was towing a camper trailer that weighed almost 1.5 tonnes!). When trying to get up a steep hill, you need lots of momentum. Unfortunately when the wheels start to slip, you need to apply a little more power. The cayenne unfortunately reduces the power to limit the wheel spin. While this works great in mud and on rocks, in sand it causes you to lose momntum. The end result is you get bogged two-thirds of the way up the hill. Not good when you have to get out and back down with a trailer attached. I understand there is no way to turn off the traction control. However if anyone knows of any aftermarket mods that can accomplish this then I would really like to know.
I have posted a couple of pictures to this thread so you can see what we were doing. Word got around up and down the beach that some psyco had their Porsche down there. At one point we were cruising along the beach and went past a bunch of guys parked near the water. They gave us a really loud cheer. Some other interested campers from near by (including one real Porsche fan) made the trip to our camp on 4wd motorbike to take a look at the car.
For those who are interested we camped at a place called Alexander Point, about 100 or so km's east of Esperance, Western Australia (you can google earth it if you want). Access is only by beach driving, and you have to negotiate several rocky, steep headlands to get there, but the trip is worth it, it a top camp spot with a really nice sheltered beach for swimming.
Cheers!
I have just returned from my first real off-road holiday with my 2003 Cayenne Turbo. I am hapy to report that (on standard 18" rims with road tyres - Pirelli P zeros!!!!) the car performed fantastically, surpassing my exectations, and really surprising our travelling companions (driving a Lexus LX470 ie Landcruiser 100 series and a Toyota Hilux). The ground clearance and approach angles are second to none, easily traversing muddy slippery rock that had many other "real" 4WD's stuck.
The only problem occured in really boggy sand (keep in mind I was towing a camper trailer that weighed almost 1.5 tonnes!). When trying to get up a steep hill, you need lots of momentum. Unfortunately when the wheels start to slip, you need to apply a little more power. The cayenne unfortunately reduces the power to limit the wheel spin. While this works great in mud and on rocks, in sand it causes you to lose momntum. The end result is you get bogged two-thirds of the way up the hill. Not good when you have to get out and back down with a trailer attached. I understand there is no way to turn off the traction control. However if anyone knows of any aftermarket mods that can accomplish this then I would really like to know.
I have posted a couple of pictures to this thread so you can see what we were doing. Word got around up and down the beach that some psyco had their Porsche down there. At one point we were cruising along the beach and went past a bunch of guys parked near the water. They gave us a really loud cheer. Some other interested campers from near by (including one real Porsche fan) made the trip to our camp on 4wd motorbike to take a look at the car.
For those who are interested we camped at a place called Alexander Point, about 100 or so km's east of Esperance, Western Australia (you can google earth it if you want). Access is only by beach driving, and you have to negotiate several rocky, steep headlands to get there, but the trip is worth it, it a top camp spot with a really nice sheltered beach for swimming.
Cheers!
Oh my!
01-05-2009, 10:03 PM
#3
Rocky Mountain High
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That is double jeopardy! All we need now is a track day on the way home, maybe even with the trailer!
01-06-2009, 01:37 AM
#4
Three Wheelin'
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well im glad to see others offroading looks like fun I will be in that country this year I will have to go check that out!!
costas
costas
01-06-2009, 01:07 PM
#6
I am sure you would have done even better with BFG All Terrains, I have had them in many other trucks and they are just amazing tires all around. Its only weakness is deep mud. I don't think they make them in 255-55-18 but I know that's what the Transsyberia Cayenne use too! So see if you can find out what size they run on? Another brand you probably never heard of is the General Grabber AT2. I have heard many good reviews on them as well and it is available in this size.
01-06-2009, 08:14 PM
#7
Track Day
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Yeah off road tyres are hard to find in 18" here in Australia (make that near on impossible). However Mitsubishi have just released their new Pajero Exceed with 18" rims so hopefully the market might expand a little(it is very popular here and had a very god off road reputation). We don't really get much call for mud/snow tyres here (not much mud and no snow!).
Thanks!
DS
Thanks!
DS
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01-07-2009, 02:41 AM
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Great Pics! In deep sand of course you can air down the tires and that will make a tremendous difference. 6-10 lbs in each will work. I don't know about the older Cayennes but mine has the compressor so I can air back up when I leave the sand. The extra traction from the wide footprint of the low pressure tires should allow your traction control to work much better.
Happy 4 wheeling!
Happy 4 wheeling!
01-07-2009, 02:18 PM
#10
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01-07-2009, 07:22 PM
#11
Great Pics! In deep sand of course you can air down the tires and that will make a tremendous difference. 6-10 lbs in each will work. I don't know about the older Cayennes but mine has the compressor so I can air back up when I leave the sand. The extra traction from the wide footprint of the low pressure tires should allow your traction control to work much better.
Happy 4 wheeling!
Happy 4 wheeling!
01-07-2009, 08:30 PM
#13
Yes, which is why I suggest 15 psi instead of sub 10. Especially with such low profile street tires. I have seen some going below 5 psi for extreme rock crawling but these are on offroad tires with sidewall thick enough to run on without any air! Or so it seems...
01-07-2009, 09:13 PM
#15
Three Wheelin'
Hi everyone,
I have just returned from my first real off-road holiday with my 2003 Cayenne Turbo. I am hapy to report that (on standard 18" rims with road tyres - Pirelli P zeros!!!!) the car performed fantastically, surpassing my exectations, and really surprising our travelling companions (driving a Lexus LX470 ie Landcruiser 100 series and a Toyota Hilux). The ground clearance and approach angles are second to none, easily traversing muddy slippery rock that had many other "real" 4WD's stuck.
The only problem occured in really boggy sand (keep in mind I was towing a camper trailer that weighed almost 1.5 tonnes!). When trying to get up a steep hill, you need lots of momentum. Unfortunately when the wheels start to slip, you need to apply a little more power. The cayenne unfortunately reduces the power to limit the wheel spin. While this works great in mud and on rocks, in sand it causes you to lose momntum. The end result is you get bogged two-thirds of the way up the hill. Not good when you have to get out and back down with a trailer attached. I understand there is no way to turn off the traction control. However if anyone knows of any aftermarket mods that can accomplish this then I would really like to know.
I have posted a couple of pictures to this thread so you can see what we were doing. Word got around up and down the beach that some psyco had their Porsche down there. At one point we were cruising along the beach and went past a bunch of guys parked near the water. They gave us a really loud cheer. Some other interested campers from near by (including one real Porsche fan) made the trip to our camp on 4wd motorbike to take a look at the car.
For those who are interested we camped at a place called Alexander Point, about 100 or so km's east of Esperance, Western Australia (you can google earth it if you want). Access is only by beach driving, and you have to negotiate several rocky, steep headlands to get there, but the trip is worth it, it a top camp spot with a really nice sheltered beach for swimming.
Cheers!
I have just returned from my first real off-road holiday with my 2003 Cayenne Turbo. I am hapy to report that (on standard 18" rims with road tyres - Pirelli P zeros!!!!) the car performed fantastically, surpassing my exectations, and really surprising our travelling companions (driving a Lexus LX470 ie Landcruiser 100 series and a Toyota Hilux). The ground clearance and approach angles are second to none, easily traversing muddy slippery rock that had many other "real" 4WD's stuck.
The only problem occured in really boggy sand (keep in mind I was towing a camper trailer that weighed almost 1.5 tonnes!). When trying to get up a steep hill, you need lots of momentum. Unfortunately when the wheels start to slip, you need to apply a little more power. The cayenne unfortunately reduces the power to limit the wheel spin. While this works great in mud and on rocks, in sand it causes you to lose momntum. The end result is you get bogged two-thirds of the way up the hill. Not good when you have to get out and back down with a trailer attached. I understand there is no way to turn off the traction control. However if anyone knows of any aftermarket mods that can accomplish this then I would really like to know.
I have posted a couple of pictures to this thread so you can see what we were doing. Word got around up and down the beach that some psyco had their Porsche down there. At one point we were cruising along the beach and went past a bunch of guys parked near the water. They gave us a really loud cheer. Some other interested campers from near by (including one real Porsche fan) made the trip to our camp on 4wd motorbike to take a look at the car.
For those who are interested we camped at a place called Alexander Point, about 100 or so km's east of Esperance, Western Australia (you can google earth it if you want). Access is only by beach driving, and you have to negotiate several rocky, steep headlands to get there, but the trip is worth it, it a top camp spot with a really nice sheltered beach for swimming.
Cheers!