Off-road spec Porsche Cayenne S 957

[Escy]

I changed the brakes and didn't drive the car for a week. When I did, there was an awful judder when on the brakes, it shook the whole car. Coming from the front left. I removed the disc to make sure the disc was sitting flush on the hub, it was. The disc did slightly rub the pads at one point when turning the wheel. I'd assume a warped disc usually but this one is brand new.

I did have an issue when changing the brakes on that side, I was using a 4x4 specific trolley jack but it's a bit old and the chassis has bent, the car is too close to the wall in my garage so the jack needs to be under it at an angle, the car fell off it and it landed on the disc on that side (was the old disc still fitted). It had me wondering if maybe there was some damage to the hub and bearing. Changed out the wheel bearing which was a bit of a beast to do, it's larger than the wheel bearing tool kit I have. I've got arms like Popeye now, It took a lot of brute force.

I've since got rid of that dodgy jack and bought an airbag one now. It felt exactly the same on the new hub and bearing so it had to be the disc. It'd been over a month since I'd ordered them and the seller ignored me (that's ebay for you). I purchased a matching one off another supplier. Fitted it and it's fine so I had a bad disc straight out of the box. Not great, never had that before. If the car hadn't fallen off the jack I'd have known straight away but it put some doubt in my mind. I guess the lesson is I should have spent more on better discs to start with. Will avoid Borg and Beck from now on. You can see the top of the disc looks different to the rest.

PXL_20220616_211935799.MP

[ATM]

C70R said:

poppopbangbang said:

C70R said:

The 4.5 is dogged by reliability issues, including the fairly well-publicised terminal bore scoring. The 3.2/3.6 units have tended to be a lot more robust, as they are derived from the Golf R32 lump.

If you want as close to a bomb proof Cayenne as possible you want a 3.6 957. They are usefully more powerful than the 3.2 and not far off the 955 V8 in real world whilst still towing 3.5T quite happily.

The 957 was the last of the Cayenne "Range Rover" challengers really, the 958 etc. lost the two speed transfer box and became a lot more SUV/Soft Roader. The 955/957 was benchmarked against the L322 Range.

The problem is that the market knows this, and the good ones tend to get snapped up VERY quickly.

Plus, the 6cyl cars seem to be very poorly spec'd for the most part. Very few have air suspension, and many are missing basics like cruise and heated/memory seats (let alone niceties like Bose).

So one like this?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255486033995

[C70R]

ATM said:

C70R said:

poppopbangbang said:

C70R said:

The 4.5 is dogged by reliability issues, including the fairly well-publicised terminal bore scoring. The 3.2/3.6 units have tended to be a lot more robust, as they are derived from the Golf R32 lump.

If you want as close to a bomb proof Cayenne as possible you want a 3.6 957. They are usefully more powerful than the 3.2 and not far off the 955 V8 in real world whilst still towing 3.5T quite happily.

The 957 was the last of the Cayenne "Range Rover" challengers really, the 958 etc. lost the two speed transfer box and became a lot more SUV/Soft Roader. The 955/957 was benchmarked against the L322 Range.

The problem is that the market knows this, and the good ones tend to get snapped up VERY quickly.

Plus, the 6cyl cars seem to be very poorly spec'd for the most part. Very few have air suspension, and many are missing basics like cruise and heated/memory seats (let alone niceties like Bose).

So one like this?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255486033995

That is a 3.6 957, yes.

[C70R]

Well, I'm looking at both Supercharged Range Rovers and 3.6 Cayennes at the moment (inspired by this thread). Both have their own idiosyncrasies that make finding a good one difficult.

Performance isn't as different as you might expect, given the extra size and weight of the Range. While the Range Rovers I've seen have been in terrible mechanical or aesthetic condition, I'm struggling to find any Cayennes in budget with the basic options I'm looking for (multifunction wheel, cruise, heated seats), let alone niceties like air suspension or Bose.

Combine this with some very ambitious sellers in the current market, and it's becoming a royal pain.

[Escy]

Why only a 3.6 Cayenne?

[C70R]

Escy said:

Why only a 3.6 Cayenne?

Because I don't think my budget (£8k) stretches to a 4.8 that doesn't need work (I don't work on my own cars). And I ideally want something I can treat as a workhorse rather than a garage queen.

[poppopbangbang]

C70R said:

Well, I'm looking at both Supercharged Range Rovers and 3.6 Cayennes at the moment (inspired by this thread). Both have their own idiosyncrasies that make finding a good one difficult.

Performance isn't as different as you might expect, given the extra size and weight of the Range. While the Range Rovers I've seen have been in terrible mechanical or aesthetic condition, I'm struggling to find any Cayennes in budget with the basic options I'm looking for (multifunction wheel, cruise, heated seats), let alone niceties like air suspension or Bose.

Combine this with some very ambitious sellers in the current market, and it's becoming a royal pain.

Many won't have cruise but it is an easy retrofit, even if you don't want to do it yourself several specialists will for circa £300. If it has leather and dual zone then it most likely has heated seats.

3.6 well spec'd cars are rare as unfortunately and well sought after due to the reliable drive train hence the silly pricing where a good 3.6 is £2K more than a V8.

They do come up so keep looking. Having had a Supercharged FFRR in the past (and it was a good one) I'd go Cayenne every time as the important bits are far more reliable even though the driving position and off road ability isn't quite as good.

[ATM]

C70R said:

ATM said:

C70R said:

poppopbangbang said:

C70R said:

The 4.5 is dogged by reliability issues, including the fairly well-publicised terminal bore scoring. The 3.2/3.6 units have tended to be a lot more robust, as they are derived from the Golf R32 lump.

If you want as close to a bomb proof Cayenne as possible you want a 3.6 957. They are usefully more powerful than the 3.2 and not far off the 955 V8 in real world whilst still towing 3.5T quite happily.

The 957 was the last of the Cayenne "Range Rover" challengers really, the 958 etc. lost the two speed transfer box and became a lot more SUV/Soft Roader. The 955/957 was benchmarked against the L322 Range.

The problem is that the market knows this, and the good ones tend to get snapped up VERY quickly.

Plus, the 6cyl cars seem to be very poorly spec'd for the most part. Very few have air suspension, and many are missing basics like cruise and heated/memory seats (let alone niceties like Bose).

So one like this?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255486033995

That is a 3.6 957, yes.

What's wrong or missing with this one?

[C70R]

ATM said:

C70R said:

ATM said:

C70R said:

poppopbangbang said:

C70R said:

The 4.5 is dogged by reliability issues, including the fairly well-publicised terminal bore scoring. The 3.2/3.6 units have tended to be a lot more robust, as they are derived from the Golf R32 lump.

If you want as close to a bomb proof Cayenne as possible you want a 3.6 957. They are usefully more powerful than the 3.2 and not far off the 955 V8 in real world whilst still towing 3.5T quite happily.

The 957 was the last of the Cayenne "Range Rover" challengers really, the 958 etc. lost the two speed transfer box and became a lot more SUV/Soft Roader. The 955/957 was benchmarked against the L322 Range.

The problem is that the market knows this, and the good ones tend to get snapped up VERY quickly.

Plus, the 6cyl cars seem to be very poorly spec'd for the most part. Very few have air suspension, and many are missing basics like cruise and heated/memory seats (let alone niceties like Bose).

So one like this?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255486033995

That is a 3.6 957, yes.

What's wrong or missing with this one?

The photos are so useless that it's hard to tell. It doesn't have a multifunction steering wheel, which is usually a sign of a poorly optioned car in my experience. I'd be willing to bet it doesn't have cruise, heated seats or sat nav.

[Escy]

No air suspension either.

[C70R]

Escy said:

No air suspension either.

That's the obvious one, and as you mentioned very rare on the 3.6. But I'll bet good money that's a proper poverty spec car with the single din stereo.

[ATM]

Escy said:

No air suspension either.

Is that just useful for towing. I dont intend on towing much if anything so would steel springs suffice for a general run about?

[Escy]

They ride so much better on air suspension. The damping is adjustable and the changes do make a difference. I'd say its what makes them feel like a car more than a traditional 4x4. Also, if you did venture off road you have more ground clearance/wading depth as it can be raised up higher.

It does add extra potential bork factor though, if you want a cheap beater not having it might be preferable.

[C70R]

ATM said:

Escy said:

No air suspension either.

Is that just useful for towing. I dont intend on towing much if anything so would steel springs suffice for a general run about?

Steel springs give a decent ride, and will be fine for towing if the rest of the suspension is in decent nick.

Having driven steel and air cars, the steel cars ride like a big estate car, while the air cars ride like an off-roader. Neither is a patch on a Range Rover, but air gives a much better ride in general.

[Escy]

The big dog is putting in some graft. It's a great tow car, effortless.

P7291313

P7291312

Was looking at the trip computer, over the last 1500 miles it's averaged 13.7mpg which is pretty spiteful.

PXL_20220729_122639809.MP

[braddo]

Escy said:

The big dog is putting in some graft. It's a great tow car, effortless.

Great to see one earning its keep.

C70R said:

Having driven steel and air cars, the steel cars ride like a big estate car, while the air cars ride like an off-roader. Neither is a patch on a Range Rover, but air gives a much better ride in general.

On the bolded bit, only in comfort mode I'd say. I'm not sure if PASM + air suspension is needed feel the full effects, but air suspension does give a wide window of ride/stiffness. Sport button + sport air setting (and Porsche-spec road tyres) make these cars very stiff; keep the revs in the 4-6k range and for a big SUV they are shockingly quick down a twisty country lane.

Now, how often a driver wants to do that is another matter. For me it wasn't often, mostly on little errands while on holiday when the car isn't full of passengers.

[emix]

Escy said:

The spec is interesting, some cool options but also missing things I'd consider basic. It was apparently a demo car, it's got the off-road package which consists of a thicker sump guard, underbody protection, sill guards and the party piece is an electrically locking rear diff. That option is very rare on a 957. It's also got a motorised electric folding tow bar, electric boot, Bose, extended leather, air suspension, cruise control, front and rear parking sensors. Some good options there.


It's got 18" wheels and the tyres are Yokohama Geolander which are slightly oversized. Since it's got the right bits for actually going off road it would be sacrilege not to let it loose on the mountains near me. I've got a mate that takes his Defender off road and know a few other boys that also do it so I plan to tag along and see if it's decent. I'm looking forward to that.

That is a proper unicorn of a car! I should know, since I've been searching for an offroad package equipped 957 Cayenne for more than a year now, and I have yet to see one for sale. I was beginning to think that perhaps this option was not available in every market, there isn't that much information on it out there. It seems to have been more prevalent on the 955 though. I have seen a few of those with the package for sale.

I agree with you on the bizarre spec, no xenon or heated seats on a Cayenne S, seems rather strange, though I have encountered even sillier specs. A friend of mine purchased a used 2012 Mercedes ML350 petrol which had 9k worth of white designo leather, 6k worth of AMG package with 21 inch wheels and believe or not it lacked xenons, it had the standard halogen headlights. Absurd!

Back to your car now, it is more capable offroad, than most would give it credit for, it's actually properly good. The story with this generation of Cayenne and Touareg is that, it being a first, for both VW and Porsche, they didn't know how their customers will be using the cars, so in the good German tradition of overengineering cars, they made sure they were good both on road and off road and got a standard two speed transfer cases and central locking diffs, the off road package as an option and on the 955 it even had an "offroad look" package that had unpainted plastic wheel arches, bumper guards, and a rear mounted spare tire rack. After observing that everyone used them onroad for the most part, the next generation dropped the two speed transfer case and and only had an option of a rear locking diff that came with the PTV option and was only available on the V8 engines. It was interesting since it was a LSD and in offroad mode it had the ability to fully lock in order to help with traction so basically aided both on and off road driving.

The air suspension on this generation is also surprisingly robust, and you should make full use of it offroad. PDCC equipped cars were even better since in offroad mode they could disengage the antiroll bars.

Subscribed and looking forward to learning more from your experience.

Edited by emix on Tuesday 2nd August 20:33

Edited by emix on Tuesday 2nd August 20:54

[Escy]

braddo said:

On the bolded bit, only in comfort mode I'd say. I'm not sure if PASM + air suspension is needed feel the full effects, but air suspension does give a wide window of ride/stiffness. Sport button + sport air setting (and Porsche-spec road tyres) make these cars very stiff; keep the revs in the 4-6k range and for a big SUV they are shockingly quick down a twisty country lane.

Now, how often a driver wants to do that is another matter. For me it wasn't often, mostly on little errands while on holiday when the car isn't full of passengers.

Totally agree. I've driven a 955 turbo on 20's, the lower profile tyres and thicker ARB's make it drive like a car, I was very impressed. The tyres make the big difference but even with the big AT tyres on mine it's not that bad.

[Escy]

emix said:

That is a proper unicorn of a car! I should know, since I've been searching for an offroad package equipped 957 Cayenne for more than a year now, and I have yet to see one for sale. I was beginning to think that perhaps this option was not available in every market, there isn't that much information on it out there. It seems to have been more prevalent on the 955 though. I have seen a few of those with the package for sale.

I agree with you on the bizarre spec, no xenon or heated seats on a Cayenne S, seems rather strange, though I have encountered even sillier specs. A friend of mine purchased a used 2012 Mercedes ML350 petrol which had 9k worth of white designo leather, 6k worth of AMG package with 21 inch wheels and believe or not it lacked xenons, it had the standard halogen headlights. Absurd!

Back to your car now, it is more capable offroad, than most would give it credit for, it's actually properly good. The story with this generation of Cayenne and Touareg is that, it being a first, for both VW and Porsche, they didn't know how their customers will be using the cars, so in the good German tradition of overengineering cars, they made sure they were good both on road and off road and got a standard two speed transfer cases and central locking diffs, the off road package as an option and on the 955 it even had an "offroad look" package that had unpainted plastic wheel arches, bumper guards, and a rear mounted spare tire rack. After observing that everyone used them onroad for the most part, the next generation dropped the two speed transfer case and and only had an option of a rear locking diff that came with the PTV option and was only available on the V8 engines. It was interesting since it was a LSD and in offroad mode it had the ability to fully lock in order to help with traction so basically aided both on and off road driving.

The air suspension on this generation is also surprisingly robust, and you should make full use of it offroad. PDCC equipped cars were even better since in offroad mode they could disengage the antiroll bars.

Subscribed and looking forward to learning more from your experience.

Edited by emix on Tuesday 2nd August 20:33

Edited by emix on Tuesday 2nd August 20:54

Emix, are you in the UK? When I plan to sell it I could let you know if you are still looking for one.

The off-road package on the 955 is ugly but you are definately right that there are more about, although still pretty rare. To my shame I haven't taken this off-road yet, I was waiting for my mate to sort his Land Rover out, he's done that now and since then my ABS has an issue. I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like off-road.

[emix]

Escy said:

Emix, are you in the UK? When I plan to sell it I could let you know if you are still looking for one.

The off-road package on the 955 is ugly but you are definately right that there are more about, although still pretty rare. To my shame I haven't taken this off-road yet, I was waiting for my mate to sort his Land Rover out, he's done that now and since then my ABS has an issue. I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like off-road.

Unfortunately not. If I were, I'd have started pestering you already. I'm in Europe. When you decide to move on from it, I'm sure a buyer who will be looking for specifically that option will pay a king's ransom for it. I know I would, but I need a LHD car.