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Cayman ModificationsDiscuss modifications to your Cayman
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Overall it is not too bad but you should have some mechanical experience before undertaking it. The car looks a lot better and the ride quality is no different. I'll eventually get some photos of it.
Alan
PASM - Porsche Active Suspension Management
This active damping system offers continuous adjustment of individual damping forces based on current road conditions and driving style.
The driver can choose from two setup modes, ‘Normal’ and ‘Sport’, using a separate ‘damper’ button on the center console. ‘Normal’ mode is designed for general road driving and circuits with uneven tarmac. ‘Sport’ mode is intended for smoother track surfaces, where the harder settings help eliminate pitch and roll.
In either mode, PASM continuously evaluates the current conditions while automatically selecting the corresponding damper rates from the respective set of mapped values.
A range of sensors are used to monitor the movement of the body under acceleration, braking and cornering maneuvers, as well as on poor road surfaces. The PASM control unit then evaluates this data and modifies the damping force on each individual wheel in accordance with the selected mode. The result is a significant reduction in body movement as well as a better grip on the road.
For example: if ‘Sport’ mode is selected, the suspension is automatically set to a harder damper rating. If the quality of the track surface falls below a certain threshold, the system immediately changes to a softer rating within the ‘Sport’ setup range. When the quality of the tarmac improves once more, PASM automatically returns to the original, harder rating.
Need more information about PASM? Click this link: FAQ for PASM
Strictly speaking physics the ride quality MUST have changed since the new springs were installed. That being said the possibilities are:
1) The change is so small as to be imperceptible to most humans
2) The change, while large enough to be noticed, isn't so much of a change as to affect most drivers in a way that they really care about.
well...i cant argue physics...i took it in college but im no professor. i guess my point is that the ride is not at all uncomfortable or harsh...so i guess i should rephrase...the quality of the ride may have changed, but it is imperceptible to me...and its still a quality ride...[img]/fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/thumbsup.gif[/img]
Strictly speaking physics the ride quality MUST have changed since the new springs were installed. That being said the possibilities are:
1) The change is so small as to be imperceptible to most humans
2) The change, while large enough to be noticed, isn't so much of a change as to affect most drivers in a way that they really care about.
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I love the looks of a slightly lowered ride, but it is over a million mule hours and thousands of cad-cam engineering hours tossed out the window. Suspension geometry is very complex (loads, power delivery, ride, handling, electronics, safety intervention, and about 100 other items that are affected whenthe car is in motion) and is the one thing I don't make permanent changes on (track camber, etc, not withstanding)...
I very much agree - I wonder what some of these folks are doing to their suspension and handling by doing things like putting 7mm wheel spacers in the front and 15mm (!!!!!!!!) in the back or lowering the car because it 'looks good,' (as opposed to doing it for the purpose of competition, and thus actually 'tuning' the lowered suspension for a specified purpose or objective) and tossing out many of those 'mule hours' you speak of.
Why buy a car like this that's made to handle and make purely cosmetic changes that change the handling characteristics? Maybe, sometimes it changes them for the better - but maybe not... I dunno... just musing, I guess
brad
Edited by - beez on 06/12/2006 8:28:37 PM
__________________
21-year PCA Member
PCA DE Instructor
again...im no expert in the area of automobile suspension dynamics, but i thought i read in a thread somewhere on this forum that the cayman is actually lower in europe but has to be set up higher here in the US due to safety regulations. I am certain that that is the case on some audi's. so....does a european porsche cayman perform differently or better or worse than an american cayman based on the suspension set up? I mean really...is changing the height really throwing out the baby with the bath water?
to each his own, but i think the height may be where its at because of more factors than performance alone, and may also be there because of what the general population of porsche owners wants or expects.
again...im no expert in the area of automobile suspension dynamics, but i thought i read in a thread somewhere on this forum that the cayman is actually lower in europe but has to be set up higher here in the US due to safety regulations. I am certain that that is the case on some audi's. so....does a european porsche cayman perform differently or better or worse than an american cayman based on the suspension set up? I mean really...is changing the height really throwing out the baby with the bath water?
to each his own, but i think the height may be where its at because of more factors than performance alone, and may also be there because of what the general population of porsche owners wants or expects.
May very well be (and I hope you are correct), but once again: you don't know what you don't know.
What type of springs? linear or progressive? Rates? Ride height adjustment 1' or something else? What other changes are made in the models that are not 'advertised'? Is every other PN that is linked to the suspension the same for European and US models? Etc, etc...
Believe me, I'm not saying you 'should not do this mod'. I like the looks, but it is something that I would be 'extra cautious' in my due diligence first before making a change. Adding 15 HP is one thing, but changing suspension geometry is something entirely different....
Maybe the Euro cars are lower (I don't know this to be true, but that's neither here nor there) but let's say for the sake of argument that they are - the Porsche engineers have tuned the suspension that way, they haven't farmed out the work to an after-market shop.
I guess what I'm saying is it just seems to me there should be a better purpose to mess with something as finely tuned as a Porsche's suspension than just to make it look better, or make the tires look 'phater.' It should be because you want the car to handle demonstrably better, and it done by someone who really knows the difference, and if that means it gets lower, then so be it.
brad
__________________
21-year PCA Member
PCA DE Instructor
Speaking from experience (heavily modified my last 3 cars), messing with the suspension of a car meant to have great ride and handling can have adverse effects. When I modified the suspension on my Evo (twice with JIC FLTA2s and Tein Type Flex coilovers), I wasn't prepared for the consequences. Sure the car looked great lowered, but the awesome handling of the Evo was gone. Are you willing to compromise all the R&D that was put into your car for the sake of aesthetics? Unless you are well-versed in suspension tuning, leave what is good alone. My supercharged M3's suspension is stock and my Cayman's suspension will remain untouched.
