where are the Porsche cayenne expo builds?

David Harris

Expedition Leader
X2. If that's how you want to spend your money, I would love to see someone actually use one of these beasts in the boonies, equipped as necessary. Go for it, I say!

David
 

CORDSIG79

Observer
Porsche Cayenne Owner here...........AMA(ask me anything)........original owner 115k miles. Steel suspension, summer 22's(probably retired after one brick incident that left me stranded), winter OEM 17s painted flat black, 265/70/17 AT tires......point and shoot model. Not a crawler......there are some rallye videos on youtube that show the cars ability outside of the Transissy.

Go to rennlist forums and read the stickies to know the do's and donts...cardan shaft, coils, spark plugs, etc, Im used to it all and can do it mostly by myself.

The PSM(porsche stability management) is very good on the Porsche, the split is like 70/30. PSM basically measures the slippage/yaw(whatever they say technically) to engage brakes and stop any slippage, keeping you up on a slick rain soaked clay road or crossing. Each Cayenne came with center and front differential lockers, so I think that makes it 50/50(complete novice)...........never needed really any of them and even in some mucky pasture/field crossings. Maybe a few times for good measure on some snow in Dallas we RARELY get.

I duck hunt with it regularly, pulled my wakeboarding boat for 4 years, and use it as a vacation hauler.
 
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CORDSIG79

Observer
I would like to follow up with recommending Club Touareg website to get more insight on Tregs, almost everything else is similar but the even base Cayenne and other models still have more horsepower.

In talking to some members on that forum, whom do custom manufacture their own skid plates and resell them to others with Tregs, its about 1k or less to protect the entire undercarriage. That however makes this 5200 lbs rig, VERY HEAVY.

I definitely like the TReg TDI V6....you will regularly see 30 mpg plus in those bad boys, great torque for getting around off road and simple wheeling done with the air suspension if needed. Same goes for Audi versions of diesel, now accleration is lacking on highway but if you are rigged out for other things, whom cares?

Now a UK website does sell the transissy doors and other parts made out of Carbon, so it lightens the load.

I have another Cayenne member whom is trying to craft a smaller front bumper and skid plate, to get rid of that plastic up front, which in the video above, you can see is just removed for clearance.
 

CORDSIG79

Observer
I've been looking into the Cayenne for a few years now, so I have enough info to keep this thread going for awhile if there are those that are interested. Data has been collected, but it isn't all put together yet. Maybe we can work together to figure it out.



For the tire carrier - 1st thing to understand is that you can only take the Porsche parts so far because the factory tire holder wraps around and will be too small for bigger tires.

The mounting holes can be seen in the pic of someone installing an aftermarket hitch. The hitch is mounted where the stock bumper reinforcement was mounted. If they didn't remove the reinforcement, you would have a threaded hole on each side that you insert stock toe hooks into, and this it how Porsche mounted their removable winch for the Trans Rally. Look back in the thread to see the winch on a bar.

The 4 holes just to the left of the hitch is where the bottom left side of the carrier mounts - a little plastic will need to be cut. There's lots of data/links either in my CPU or other forums. I also have a whole binder of Porsche part #s and diagrams, so it will be something I'll have to chip away at to get it here.
One of the first Rennlist members to do offroading out near Austin has a roof carrier system that holds a non OEM spare with larger tire....high up there and heavy, but if you need it, its there, way less modding.

I wish you could fashion the tailgate to split in the middle, with the window opening up and the rear dropping down.....why, the damn shocks go out in all of these after 2 years, its not hard to change them but, would be nice to have a gate to sit on and rest things.
 

LandRoverHyter

Adventurer
Cordsig79 is your cayenne a v6 or 8? Does it have the off road package? What kind of problems if any have you experienced? Do you take yours to the dealer to have work done? Do you have to run premium gas? I would like to see some pictures of the off road bumper when it is finished up
 

CORDSIG79

Observer
Cordsig79 is your cayenne a v6 or 8? Does it have the off road package? What kind of problems if any have you experienced? Do you take yours to the dealer to have work done? Do you have to run premium gas? I would like to see some pictures of the off road bumper when it is finished up

I think anyone on here could find a v6 or v8 from 14-20k at or below 100k miles. These trucks will go 250k plus miles on any model with regular, non rock busting driving.

I have the Base(V6) 2006.

No offroad package, steel suspension/no air, so I am lacking a rear locker but I know I have center and front differentials I can engage. I will probably give it a whirl in the mud at my parents hay farm this spring when I slap on new Mud terrain tires, as I will have a tractor at my disposal to get me out of any deep stuff.

PSM uses a series of sensors as well as information from the Porsche Traction Management System, to monitor direction, speed, yaw velocity and lateral acceleration. PSM then uses the sensor readings to calculate the actual direction of vehicle travel.

The system can reduce understeer caused by sudden steering inputs when changing lanes or negociating a rapid sequence of bends, as well as mitigate understeer encountered when entering a corner at speed, especially in low-grip conditions. If the Cayenne begins to oversteer or understeer, PSM applies selective braking on individual wheels to help keep the Cayenne on the desired cornering line. If braking alone isn't enough to maitain control, PSM then utilizes the engine management system to control engine output in order to stabilize the handling.

PSM also compensates for mid-corner changes in load resulting from deceleration or braking, and when accelerating with the rear wheels on different surfaces, it improves traction and keeps the Cayenne on course. Braking is stable in all types of weather, while braking distances are reduced to a minimum.

A PSM indicator on the instrument cluster displays the systems presence. Of course, PSM can be switched off if you want to go nuts and is re-activated by braking in extreme situations.

When you go above OEM tire recs you get 18-22 mpg on highway and 15-18 in the city. This is the same mpg as the V8 but you can avoid the coolant pipe issue on the V6.

The V8's have pencil coils that tend to crack every 30k miles. I just changed my own pencil coils and spark plugs at 110k miles, simple read the manual or go to our Porsche forum. OEM replacements were about 200 bucks for Coils and 60 bucks for Spark plugs.

I just changed my battery via Batteries plus, the recommended battery was not shaped as the OEM, the sharp attendant caught that he had the one recommended for the V8's it was 850 CCA, 100 more CCA than what my OEM had , and it was 20 dollars cheaper. So I got the battery for 129 bucks, higher cold cranking amps, Batteries Plus always has a 10% off coupon on their site, and I got to do the dreaded every 5 years battery change. You see in Cayennes, the battery is under the drivers seat. TReg members have a good video on how to do this Service.

The VR6 engine(great little engine IMHO) with the porsche intake is the only difference and bumps hp 20-30 from Treg.....it is very solid and delivers about 220-250 hp depending on your foot. This engine is great but its still a heavy car, I expect to have this as my hunting/travel sled. I like the fact that the entire body is double galvanized, so even if I do strip off the paint on day. I know I could just go over it with a strong powder coat and mil spec it that way and kiss car waxing good bye!

Filters are simple changes in the engine, both V8 and V6, just V8 has one extra one to do.....there is an internal Cabin filter, 10 minutes to change the first time, then from there on its less than 5.

Oh and the tools are cheap, just torx bits and screwy hex bolts. The 12 spline bit for the chair bolts was only 12 bucks and I got 3 other bits Ill never use.....I had to shell out 80 bucks for a spark plug magnetic pit, extension.....no biggie?

Oil changes every 10-15k miles, but I try to change at 9 or 10k miles. I buy the 25 dollar OEM filter and oil myself, then go to any local quick lube and pay labor only.

Premium Gas all the time, or yes or it will seem sluggish, this is why diesel Tregs would be way more attractive outside of America for those wanting to do a true expedition across continents, diesel is the international language.

Problems with Cayenne
All models usually have Cardan shaft failure about 60k miles, you can buy a remanufactured one from vertex for 350 bucks. Alot of owners who are mechincally inclined buy the bearings and rubber joint that fails and rebuild their own.....or use a decent offroad shop in the neighborhood to do that work.

V8 models have plastic coolant pipes that fail, and soak the starter below them and then drip onto the transmission ruining the seals. Its about 1500 for a dealer to proactively replace these pipes, most cayennes above 30k miles have the aluminum replacement pipes already done, a sure to ask for when negotating prices. Most owners recommend a 5k slush fund @ purchase time, that's if the coolant pipes have not burst yet, if the cardan shaft has not broken, your coils and plugs not been replaced, and the pipes bursting and ruining transmission seals, starter etc......you can spend 4 times that on suspension mods. You can usually visually inspect to see if the pipes have been replaced with a large dental like mirror. The turbos have a T plastic pipe that is recommended to change too.....it just a pain to force it out from my readings. All of this is DIY on the website if worse comes to worse.

Air suspensions also tend to fail, those are expensive.....but I see members that do it on their own, I could not. Look on 6speedonline for Cole and Roxxboxx.......very DIY guys and great threads they have built.

I never go to the stealership.......never been forced to go to them either, like in a situation where only a porsche tech could solve this issue thing.... as all you need is an OBDII reader and access to forums to get insight. I would like to however go in and hook it up to the PIWIS now, its been since 47k miles that I have carried it on my own, and probably missed some effieceny updates and programming.

Only recent emotional scare and after wards I had one small local shop replace a vacuum hose that failed, it fired off the check engine light/oil warning and made the car rev high, I freaked at first but a simple smoke test found the leak...

My truck has been through one cardan shaft, I started to buy brake pads and rotors on my own(autohauz, pelican parts, sun coast/ sunset porsche), and keep extra halogen bulbs in the car, those are Over the counter stuff......the headlamps and rear lamps are cool, they pop right out, remove a wire pressure barrier, unplug old bulb, lock new bulb in place, then slide the entire light back in and lock down with a tool from the rear compartment.

so other than eating premium gas, brake pads, and any tire that is soft, I have really only spent money on consumables to keep it running.

By participating on the forums I have been able to pick up 22 wheels and tires for 500, a roof rack system for 150(dude through in 2 MAF sensors too?), 2 sets of OEM 17 Porsche wheels for $200 and one set had TPMS on them and some rotors off former owners cleaning them out.

Both VW and Porsche have an Aisin transmission.......think they are common and shop can fix....so no dreaded porsche only mechanics and parts.

The beta members have all done their home work on these......there is a guy named T2 on rennlist.....250k miles plus in 4 years on his Turbo Cayenne, 2 cardan shafts and few sets of coils, dealership changed his pipes under warranty.

I buy all parts online and stock up when I notice sales......

I have Just for brakes install all 4 pads, rotors, and hardware plus wear sensors with dot 5 brake flush, 275 bucks.....usually 200 in labor to do pads rotors and hardware replacement with sensors. The brake pads are extremely easy to remove, expand old pads, remove, and drop in new ones....very race inspired and easy.

Never gotten stuck and routinely can stay on a wet unpaved trail/road better than any truck with the PSM engaged.

I will think of more later and edit this.

You can buy front and rear bumpers of the Transissy to get better clearance too.....if you cant mod them up like in the video above, they just removed them..
 
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LandRoverHyter

Adventurer
Wow thanks for all the info. I have a soft spot for the porsche and the wife will be needing a DD/family adventure camping rig in the next year or so. Im like you i see the cayennes all the time for 15-20k with less than 75k on the clock which seems like a steal for what you get.
 

CORDSIG79

Observer
Wow thanks for all the info. I have a soft spot for the porsche and the wife will be needing a DD/family adventure camping rig in the next year or so. Im like you i see the cayennes all the time for 15-20k with less than 75k on the clock which seems like a steal for what you get.

Rear Diff explainations with ability to mod front and rear lockers onto Cayennes not having them OEM..

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/porsche-cayenne-forum/652925-rear-locking-diff-standard.html

Why you should look out for 955/957 models(2003-2009 models) of Cayenne as they are more offroad capable but heavier. 958(2010-current) is the new more streetable version.

http://www.joelfeder.com/2010/09/20/review-2011-porsche-cayenne-s-finally-the-porsche-of-suvs/
 
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Nomad_K

Adventurer
Wonderful thread - I looked at Cayenne's for a long while, and came very close to picking up a 2004 with the offroad package and swing out tire carrier...

Although I am back to looking at 'cruisers, seeing this thread on expo rekindled my interest.

As an FYI, in addition to looking at Rennlist, 6speedonline occasionally has some Cayenne related gems of info. Apologies if someone already referenced the following thread (I am still reading through this one!) but it has some decent info, especially links to parts down at the bottom of the first page.

http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/cayenne-955-957/232691-offroad-tires-17-setup.html
 

CORDSIG79

Observer
That thread is mine too......

I just found this expo forum and have done alot of researching on the Cayenne, and was looking for more insight/inspiration when I came across the Overlanding/Expedition forum.........

I have alot of research done from specing additions of Turbos/Superchargers, to wheels, tires, and off road setups.
 

GroupSe7en

Adventurer
Cordsig79, WELCOME!!!

We just got our '04 S with 64k on the clock for under $17k.
Slush fund is a great idea - we just replaced the front lower control arms.
The next battle is brakes and rotors all around.

Last night we were heading out and it started acting funny (like a single cylinder skip or the throttle position sensor crapped out)
then the engine light came on and we headed back home and took the Ridgeline (wife very disappointed lol).
The Cayenne would still do 70 on the hway but it wasn't begging you to do triple digit speeds like it usually does ;-)

We've got a Porsche tuner here in Sarasota (Renn Haus) they're great people and do good work at a good price - we're really lucky

I'm still trying to figure this beast out (no owners manuals and the radio/nav thing is a total mystery!)

I've got lots and lots of questions about mods (17's w/ 265s is on the list)

I might start a Cayenne info thread as I get answers - or maybe you should (hint hint)

Suffice it to say that I love it.

Glad to have another advocate on the forum!

Cheers,
Mark
 

jluck

Adventurer
I'm still not out of the running....I still want one just have to do it without financing any of it and that's easier said than done these days..
:bigbossHL:.
 

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