Introduction and thoughts on my 2006 CTT
11-15-2013, 05:30 PM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Introduction and thoughts on my 2006 CTT
Hello from a long-time lurker – started reading this forum about a year ago and ultimately bought a 2006 Cayenne Turbo this past May having educated myself on this board. My Cayenne has low miles, only 31,000, so I’ve not had all the usual issues yet, but feel prepared for what to expect. With 6 months experience, I thought I’d post my thoughts for others:
Overall:
- It’s what I expected from spending time on the board. Great car with high build quality. Has its issues, but probably worth it for a car enthusiast, especially if you’re willing to do your own research and potentially your own repairs on the known issues.
Pros:
- Drives like a German sports sedan -- A bit too heavy to toss around like a real sports car on the tight stuff, but very impressive handling for its size.
- Best role is grand-touring/highway cruising – Very fast and controlled
- Silly acceleration when you put your foot in it. Love the effortless power!
- Grip – always there; wet or dry. Haven’t seen snow, but you’d have to do something super aggressive/crazy to lose adhesion on the street.
- Quiet, comfortable driving experience
- All-round athlete: I like that I can pull a trailer or drive off-road if needed.
Cons:
- Transmission map (stock) is too lazy – it likes to keep the revs below 2000rpm, which means no/low boost and lag. It does better in cold weather when it’s trying to warm up the transmission by holding the gears a bit longer. I’m hoping an ECU flash may remedy this (TBD). It’s too bad Porsche didn’t include a sport button on the 955. PSM-off button works for that, I suppose. Manual shifting (especially with the stick) fixes the issue for best sporty driving experience.
- Steering wheel buttons don’t advance through programmed stations, but rather all radio stations. That’s stupid (or should be a changeable setting).
- Gas mileage was a surprise. I get only ~10-11 city; ~12 mixed; ~15 highway. Hard to cheat physics, I suppose. That said, the driving experience is worth it to me.
Issues:
- Transmission clunk on 5-4 downshift. Clunks more when hot outside and when downshifting under load. I get around it by downshifting to 4th first and then getting on the gas. Clunk was made somewhat better by draining/refilling the box with fresh Mobil 3309. I may bite the bullet and get the new valvebody to make it disappear.
- Smoke odor! Not a Porsche model issue, but the car I bought turned out to be a smokers car (shame on the dealer for not disclosing and for me to have not noticed at first). The odor has actually gotten stronger since I’ve owned it. I’m investigating ways to treat the smell – am considering an ozone generator treatment. Suggestions welcome.
- Seatbacks came loose. Re-glued the top connectors the first time with epoxy, but that failed in month. Re-glued a second time with a really strong rubber cement – like ShoeGoo. Seems like that will hold. Broke the 2 clips on the bottom of one of the seat backs – used epoxy clay to repair – seems like it will hold fine.
- Occasional rough idle/engine. Probably is coils based on feedback of others, but it’s not regular/bad enough for me to care right now.
- Burns oil somewhere. As expected. Seems to be related to how much time you spend on boost. Like the poor gas mileage, I view it as part of the cost of admission.
- Instrument cluster speaker – I think it’s dead/weak. Can’t hear the turn signal indicator. May buy a replacement speaker to fix.
- Coolant tubes / driveshaft – knock on wood, but my car is too low mile to have these yet. Will consider preventative maintenance at 55,000 miles.
Other:
- Car came with 18” factory Cayenne Turbo wheels with Pirelli Scorpion Ice Snow tires. I was actually really impressed with this tire. Seemed very grippy/stable for ice/snow rated tire. I’m in Houston and wanted 20” Sport Technos, mostly for looks. Found a used rim set and mounted with Yokohama Parada Spec-X tires. I was going to buy Conti Extreme Contact DWS based on others’ reviews, but the Yokohamas were dirt-cheap from Discount Tire and similarly highly rated. So far, so good. Has increased steering and handling response a bit, but the low profile tires don’t seem nearly as bullet proof as the 18s. Not a huge issue as I’m in Houston, but I’d have kept the 18s if I lived anywhere with snow or dirt roads. BTW, the 18” wheels are now for sale (low miles on tires) – PM me if interested.
- Need to buy/install a Dension to play digital music
- Need to get a ECU flash. Always want more power and hope it would address the lazy transmission.
- Will consider getting secondary cat-bypass for the sound/performance. Not high on the list.
Thanks to the great posters on this board for their collective wisdom. Hope this post helps others that may have interest.
Overall:
- It’s what I expected from spending time on the board. Great car with high build quality. Has its issues, but probably worth it for a car enthusiast, especially if you’re willing to do your own research and potentially your own repairs on the known issues.
Pros:
- Drives like a German sports sedan -- A bit too heavy to toss around like a real sports car on the tight stuff, but very impressive handling for its size.
- Best role is grand-touring/highway cruising – Very fast and controlled
- Silly acceleration when you put your foot in it. Love the effortless power!
- Grip – always there; wet or dry. Haven’t seen snow, but you’d have to do something super aggressive/crazy to lose adhesion on the street.
- Quiet, comfortable driving experience
- All-round athlete: I like that I can pull a trailer or drive off-road if needed.
Cons:
- Transmission map (stock) is too lazy – it likes to keep the revs below 2000rpm, which means no/low boost and lag. It does better in cold weather when it’s trying to warm up the transmission by holding the gears a bit longer. I’m hoping an ECU flash may remedy this (TBD). It’s too bad Porsche didn’t include a sport button on the 955. PSM-off button works for that, I suppose. Manual shifting (especially with the stick) fixes the issue for best sporty driving experience.
- Steering wheel buttons don’t advance through programmed stations, but rather all radio stations. That’s stupid (or should be a changeable setting).
- Gas mileage was a surprise. I get only ~10-11 city; ~12 mixed; ~15 highway. Hard to cheat physics, I suppose. That said, the driving experience is worth it to me.
Issues:
- Transmission clunk on 5-4 downshift. Clunks more when hot outside and when downshifting under load. I get around it by downshifting to 4th first and then getting on the gas. Clunk was made somewhat better by draining/refilling the box with fresh Mobil 3309. I may bite the bullet and get the new valvebody to make it disappear.
- Smoke odor! Not a Porsche model issue, but the car I bought turned out to be a smokers car (shame on the dealer for not disclosing and for me to have not noticed at first). The odor has actually gotten stronger since I’ve owned it. I’m investigating ways to treat the smell – am considering an ozone generator treatment. Suggestions welcome.
- Seatbacks came loose. Re-glued the top connectors the first time with epoxy, but that failed in month. Re-glued a second time with a really strong rubber cement – like ShoeGoo. Seems like that will hold. Broke the 2 clips on the bottom of one of the seat backs – used epoxy clay to repair – seems like it will hold fine.
- Occasional rough idle/engine. Probably is coils based on feedback of others, but it’s not regular/bad enough for me to care right now.
- Burns oil somewhere. As expected. Seems to be related to how much time you spend on boost. Like the poor gas mileage, I view it as part of the cost of admission.
- Instrument cluster speaker – I think it’s dead/weak. Can’t hear the turn signal indicator. May buy a replacement speaker to fix.
- Coolant tubes / driveshaft – knock on wood, but my car is too low mile to have these yet. Will consider preventative maintenance at 55,000 miles.
Other:
- Car came with 18” factory Cayenne Turbo wheels with Pirelli Scorpion Ice Snow tires. I was actually really impressed with this tire. Seemed very grippy/stable for ice/snow rated tire. I’m in Houston and wanted 20” Sport Technos, mostly for looks. Found a used rim set and mounted with Yokohama Parada Spec-X tires. I was going to buy Conti Extreme Contact DWS based on others’ reviews, but the Yokohamas were dirt-cheap from Discount Tire and similarly highly rated. So far, so good. Has increased steering and handling response a bit, but the low profile tires don’t seem nearly as bullet proof as the 18s. Not a huge issue as I’m in Houston, but I’d have kept the 18s if I lived anywhere with snow or dirt roads. BTW, the 18” wheels are now for sale (low miles on tires) – PM me if interested.
- Need to buy/install a Dension to play digital music
- Need to get a ECU flash. Always want more power and hope it would address the lazy transmission.
- Will consider getting secondary cat-bypass for the sound/performance. Not high on the list.
Thanks to the great posters on this board for their collective wisdom. Hope this post helps others that may have interest.
11-16-2013, 11:23 AM
#4
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Thanks guys. Will also plan on doing doing plastic tees and whatever else is in there when it's time.
A couple more thoughts observations I've gathered from this board:
1) Driveshaft -- Seems like someone is now offering a one-piece shaft (no center bearing to fail). I wonder what the downside of the one-piece shaft is? Porsche wouldn't use a 2 segment driveshaft if it didn't accomplish something. But if that something is minor, I'd consider using the one-piece shaft. Seems like we could get a cheap group buy on a large order of these. There is seemingly little magic in driveshafts.
2) Tees -- Does anyone have a source of aluminum or brass replacements? That would seems to be the best route for longevity. What are the dimensions of the tees? Anyone measured? I'd spend some time looking for available substitutes on the web if I knew the dimensions of each.
3) Cat bypass pipes -- Am I correct that these seem to increase boost response/performance in addition to making a nicer sound? Some have suggested that the bypass pipes can help with the lazy shifting (I assume by increasing boost at lower rpm).
Thanks again for the welcome.
A couple more thoughts observations I've gathered from this board:
1) Driveshaft -- Seems like someone is now offering a one-piece shaft (no center bearing to fail). I wonder what the downside of the one-piece shaft is? Porsche wouldn't use a 2 segment driveshaft if it didn't accomplish something. But if that something is minor, I'd consider using the one-piece shaft. Seems like we could get a cheap group buy on a large order of these. There is seemingly little magic in driveshafts.
2) Tees -- Does anyone have a source of aluminum or brass replacements? That would seems to be the best route for longevity. What are the dimensions of the tees? Anyone measured? I'd spend some time looking for available substitutes on the web if I knew the dimensions of each.
3) Cat bypass pipes -- Am I correct that these seem to increase boost response/performance in addition to making a nicer sound? Some have suggested that the bypass pipes can help with the lazy shifting (I assume by increasing boost at lower rpm).
Thanks again for the welcome.
11-16-2013, 02:52 PM
#6
Three Wheelin'
I have a '06CTTS. My driveshaft just went this summer, at 66K miles. The Coolant pipes are probably affected by age as well as mileage but I would imagine the heat cycles that come with mileage would play the best part. Highway I get around 17mpg, and around 15mpg in mixed, no city only driving to compare. Definitely get your scanned or pick up Durametric, you may have a weak or partially failed coil now. Obviously swap out the plugs while you do the coils too. Haven't had any issues with the plastic trim except the plastic door that covers the rear cupholders.
