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Chasing more ride comfort in my 200k mile 04 CTT. Where do I begin?
I'm relatively happy about the way my 04 CTT drives for such an old car with such high mileage, but there is one thing that bothers me more than anything else; the ride sucks and NVH is dreadful.
So far I've replaced the front lower control arms, however the rest of the suspension AFAIK is original, so obviously it's overdue for a refresh. The air suspension appears to operate as it should do and has no faults/leaks/irregularities to speak of, so that's at least some good news. What I'd like to figure out though is where should I throw money first to improve ride comfort given the air suspension appears to be doing ok?
Is the strut/shock absorber that the air spring sits within something that would make a lot of difference? (Part shown in picture below)
Upper control arms, shock top mounts and internal rubber bump stops are also things I can think of which might help soften it up a bit. Can anyone speak to how much of an improvement is offered by these pieces?
Are there any other key components I should be looking at replacing as part of a suspension refresh that I haven't mentioned here?
So I just had my front suspension redone this week..and wow. What a difference. I bought Mevotech supreme parts on rockauto. Upper control arms, aluminum lower control arms, tie rod assembly, bar link, CV axles. My air struts were working fine so I just did a refresh on them with new dust cover, seals, and upper shock mount.
Then I put new tires and got an alignment. The car drives like I'm on a cloud now. It used to drive so harsh and was needing this sooo bad.
I'm relatively happy about the way my 04 CTT drives for such an old car with such high mileage, but there is one thing that bothers me more than anything else; the ride sucks and NVH is dreadful.
That's not how these things drive, so something is very, very wrong. Why did you do only the lower control arms? And what is "high mileage"?
In any case, the uppers need to be done. While you're in there pop the top off the air struts and see if the bushing needs to be changed. They're cheap. Get a new o ring or it's likely to leak. You need new sway bar links and bushings too by now if all of this is original. Same for tie rods.
Anything else depends on mileage and visual inspection to see what else is broken, but even a low mileage example would need all of the above by now based on age alone. Rubber bits and boots don't last forever.
Thinking about this further I have more questions: what size wheels, what tires, what condition and what pressure are you running them at? If you went a put a set of 20s with rubber bands around them running at 50 PSI you need to fix that problem first.
That's not how these things drive, so something is very, very wrong. Why did you do only the lower control arms? And what is "high mileage"?
In any case, the uppers need to be done. While you're in there pop the top off the air struts and see if the bushing needs to be changed. They're cheap. Get a new o ring or it's likely to leak. You need new sway bar links and bushings too by now if all of this is original. Same for tie rods.
Anything else depends on mileage and visual inspection to see what else is broken, but even a low mileage example would need all of the above by now based on age alone. Rubber bits and boots don't last forever.
Mileage is just shy of 200k miles.
Did the lowers as the ball joints were quite bad. Uppers looks fine but I'm sure they're anything but. Definitely need doing. I will do them with the other parts you speak of to refresh the airbags.
Thing is, I don't see any of these bits solving the somewhat crashy and uncompliant ride comfort. Control arms will improve handling and NVH a bit yes, but ultimately I think it's the shock absorbers that the airbags are attached to which are probably kaput.
Engine mounts, diff and transfer case mounts are probably all shot too which wouldn't help. Not really keen on dropping out the motor to replace them though, I think I will just live with the idle shudder as it's only really annoying when stopped in traffic and slowing down.
Thinking about this further I have more questions: what size wheels, what tires, what condition and what pressure are you running them at? If you went a put a set of 20s with rubber bands around them running at 50 PSI you need to fix that problem first.
Wheels are original Porsche 18" and tyres are brand new Yokohama Geolandar G015's 265/60/R18 all round. Pressure is at 35psi if I remember correctly.
Thinking about this further I have more questions: what size wheels, what tires, what condition and what pressure are you running them at? If you went a put a set of 20s with rubber bands around them running at 50 PSI you need to fix that problem first.
That's where I would have gone too as even right the 22s I run on my 957 CTTS, the ride is fantastic and I only even use comfort mode on the worst washboard roads, but seeing his answers about 18s with normal tire pressue ansna working air suspension he should be fine.
That's where I would have gone too as even right the 22s I run on my 957 CTTS, the ride is fantastic and I only even use comfort mode on the worst washboard roads, but seeing his answers about 18s with normal tire pressue ansna working air suspension he should be fine.
That's the thing though, even with working air suspension and small wheels with fat tyres the ride is average at best. Other than things like bushings, shock top mounts and control arms which would all contribute slightly to this, the only major component I can think of which has any bearing on the way the car rides over rough sections of road is those internal shock absorbers which are just regular gas struts like on any normal car, jus that the spring has been replaced with an air bag.
Thing is, I don't see any of these bits solving the somewhat crashy and uncompliant ride comfort. Control arms will improve handling and NVH a bit yes, but ultimately I think it's the shock absorbers that the airbags are attached to which are probably kaput.
200k is time for a refresh of everything most likely.
It's really hard to describe a problem like this in a way it can be diagnosable, so I'm asking a lot of vague questions trying to get a better idea of what you're talking about specifically.
Two things on shocks - have you set them to "comfort"? Sport is um.....not good and a nearly useless setting at least for me. Also, when they are in comfort have you pushed on the suspension at one corner at a time to get the truck bouncing as far as possible and then let go? What does it do? It should center and stop. If it continues past center the shocks aren't doing their job anymore.
That's the thing though, even with working air suspension and small wheels with fat tyres the ride is average at best. Other than things like bushings, shock top mounts and control arms which would all contribute slightly to this, the only major component I can think of which has any bearing on the way the car rides over rough sections of road is those internal shock absorbers which are just regular gas struts like on any normal car, jus that the spring has been replaced with an air bag.
Do 955s have the Sport, Normal, & Comfort buttons? Thought maybe they only added these in the 957, but could be wrong since I only have a 957 CTTS.
Wheels are original Porsche 18" and tyres are brand new Yokohama Geolandar G015's 265/60/R18 all round. Pressure is at 35psi if I remember correctly.
My understanding is that these tires are common on Wranglers and pickup trucks. Maybe the suspension geometry on the Cayenne doesn't play well with these tires. Perhaps someone with experience running all-terrain tires on a 955/957 Cayenne tire can describe their experiences. I certainly wouldn't expect anywhere close to the performance you would have with a high-performance road tire.
My understanding is that these tires are common on Wranglers and pickup trucks. Maybe the suspension geometry on the Cayenne doesn't play well with these tires. Perhaps someone with experience running all-terrain tires on a 955/957 Cayenne tire can describe their experiences. I certainly wouldn't expect anywhere close to the performance you would have with a high-performance road tire.
I don't know those tires specifically, but I've been running 265/65/18 BFG KO2s for years on mine. It's not an issue.
The problem statement here doesn't sound like a broken belt/bad tire issue, but again it's hard to tell from a description. Perhaps moving the fronts to the rears to see if anything changes is a prudent idea.
But really, a 200k mile heavy pig with what sounds like original suspension components other than lower control arms is going to be an absolutely sloppy mess no matter what tires are on it.
But really, a 200k mile heavy pig with what sounds like original suspension components other than lower control arms is going to be an absolutely sloppy mess no matter what tires are on it.
200k is time for a refresh of everything most likely.
It's really hard to describe a problem like this in a way it can be diagnosable, so I'm asking a lot of vague questions trying to get a better idea of what you're talking about specifically.
Two things on shocks - have you set them to "comfort"? Sport is um.....not good and a nearly useless setting at least for me. Also, when they are in comfort have you pushed on the suspension at one corner at a time to get the truck bouncing as far as possible and then let go? What does it do? It should center and stop. If it continues past center the shocks aren't doing their job anymore.
Yep, shocks always on comfort as anything else is too hard. I mean even comfort isn't really all that comfortable on anything other than a smooth road. I have tried both normal and sport, and while there is a perceivable difference it is not very major.
If I push down on the suspension it dosen't really move at all, maybe I'm not putting in enough force but it don't want to dent the car or anything.
As you mentioned at 200k everything is due for a refresh anyway. I just want to pick the things that will make the most significant difference to ride comfort and replace those, as doing eveything would be a $10k+ job which just isn't worth it on such an old car with this many miles. Who knows when the engine or trans will have major issues, and the last thing you want to do is drop big $$$ on suspension work and then be heavily invested into something that will inevitably have other costly issues down the track. I'm willing to invest a bit into some things but replacing every last suspension component and bushing is a route I'd rather not go down.
05-07-2023, 06:05 AM
Chasing more ride comfort in my 200k mile 04 CTT. Where do I begin?
