2012 Cayenne S with JUST Steel springs - any improvements I can make?
 

So I am about to pick up a 2012 Cayenne S (my first porsche!) and am having some concerns (buyer's remorse?) about the fact that it comes with just steel springs (no air, no PASM).... Can someone out there add a little color on how the steel spring ride isn't that bad (yes, i'm looking for some support here) and maybe some color on what I can do to upgrade it. I would have been happy to have paid for AIR and PASM, though I couldn't find (just) those options in the car I wanted

- Coming from a 2003 Audi RS6 that I adore.

I own a 2014 CS with the standard steel springs, and I am very happy with my decision not to order PASM or the air suspension. To some extent my decision was based upon the intended use, that is, basically around town driving by my wife and some trips.

I looked closely at PASM when I ordered my 2011 997, and I stuck with the base steel spring suspension in that case, too, and it is great.

FWIW, I am familiar with air suspension because my A8 came standard with it, and I leave it set in "dynamic" all the time and the handling is quite good for a large sedan. I have the sport option. But I think Porsche tends to calibrate its base suspension more toward handling than Audi does with its non S or RS models. In fact, your RS6 has steel springs, I think, and I would be curious to hear your comments as to how the CS compares to it.

You will love the V8. Mike

I have a 2012 base Tiptronic with steel springs and 20" Sport Design II wheels. Overall the ride is great, especially on the highway. Sometimes it can be a bit fidgety when on uneven, cracked pavement or at low city speeds. But I think some of that is because of the larger wheels with less sidewall. When I test drove Cayennes with the standard 18" wheels I didn't notice it nearly as much.

Like other SUVs it can bounce a bit after bumps in the road. But not nearly as bad as most and not anything like my 2000 Suburban, my ex-MILs 2006 Pathfinder. My ex-wife had a 2008 X5 and I'd say the ride quality is very similar. But the Cayenne handles noticeably better. Even with the standard steel springs, the Cayenne is easily the most athletic SUV on the market by far.

Presumably more reliable as a simpler overall system.

I have the full on air / PASM and decided when I was in the market to not consider any car w/o those options but that's me. One of my rationales was that I wanted to do some off roading but that's not materialized after all. I found the summer high performance tires did so poorly off road that I lost my taste for it in the Cayenne and will stick to doing off roading only in a real 4 x 4 - my Toy Taco.

Now that it's tire time, I am not going to dual sport tires to get the Porsche off road but with Conti' summer high perfs again because I'd rather the highway performance than a dual purpose tire / SUV.

So in a very real way, I probably could have gotten by with steel after all.

Apologize for reposting this youtube video. The reviewer does make comments about the steel suspension. So, in a nutshell, it is fine for the current generation. I came from a 987 Boxster. I drive the CD much more than I ever did with the Boxster.

One of the things that I found with the air suspension is that you can select between comfort mode and sport mode. This is VERY helpful here in the land of ice and snow, as the frost heaves and potholes in spring are brutal. Then when on a good highway or new road you can throw it in sport mode and the car handles amazing.

People talk about reliability of the air bag systems, but I do not anecdotally see this. In fact because of the air bags, no shocks are ever replaced. My 10 year old CTT and 04 Treg drives as if the shocks were new.

I know this doesn't reinforce your choice. You won't notice it if you haven't had it before. It's like the heated steering wheel. Never knew I couldn't live without it until I had one. Now I actually discount cars if it doesn't have it.

Coming from an Audi allroad quattro 2.7T.....trust me, you don't need air springs on street-driven Cayenne S. My 2005 S came with H&R lowered springs and I love the 911-like handling it has!

I think your wheel/tire selection will make or break the steel suspension for you. The less sidewall you have seems to have a direct correlation to a negative view from what I've seen.

I have a 2013 CD with the steel suspension and the basic 18s and have no complaints. While there is no doubt an Air/PASM/PDCC P!g would have done better, I was also quite happy with it the day I spent throwing it around an AutoX event. There is a shocking lack of body roll (compared with other SUVs). I highly recommend a day at your local chapter's AutoX school/event for all Cayenne owners to really understand how these things perform. It's a blast to do (even if you get the snide comments behind your back in the morning like I did) and you'll have a much better idea how it will handle in an emergency situation.

My view is that unless you are towing, carrying lots of weight in the cargo area, will be tracking it often, or just like to have all the cool toys, you won't miss it much.

As far as what you can do, I believe H&R makes an option for the 958s without Air.

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate it. Sold the rs6 today….. wow, that hurt. My all-time favorite car. Now to move onto the Cayenne, which Ill be picking up this coming week. I'm sure Ill love it! Something about the simplicity of the steel springs excites me (maybe that's just me trying to get excited). If it doest get me going, Ill probably put in the H&R and maybe play around with some wheels. The car I'm getting has 19's on it.

Along those lines, I have a set of HRE mono bloc wheels left over from the RS6. I assume that there's no chance they'll fit the Cayenne… right?

You are NOT gonna be happy with the performance of the Cayenne after coming from an RS.....just sayin'

69gaugeman, i'm not expecting the performance of the cayenne to be close to the rs6. its an suv… I'm buying it because i need/want an suv. i completely expect it to drive like one.

Your expectations are way off then. It's no 911, but it's undeniably a Porsche and as such it handles like no 5500lb SUV should.

Sorry to disappoint you, but it won't drive like an SUV.

Of all the SUVs I have driven and compared to before we bought our Cayenne, they all pretty much drove like SUVs.

The Porsche Cayenne driving experience is so much more enjoyable than all the others. :thumbup:

My first Cayenne had air suspension. For my next one, I wanted one that was as simple as possible. Less electronics/etc to break. I'm happy I did. Besides, the setting on my previous one was always on lower and normal settings.

If you're planning to tow and take it off-road, then further consideration would've been good.

I have the steel springs on my 2013 Cayenne. No regrets.

I find it a great balance between handling and comfort. I never found myself needing more clearance (and i drive in the worst of winter conditions). It also does just fine towing my 2000lbs boat.

I have 18" for winter, and when I switch to my 20" summers there is almost no impact on comfort.

Additionally much less to go wrong.

Hope this helps ease your mind ....