Dino944

Hi Guys,

I had a question about the ground clearance of my Boxster RS60 Spyder. I was reading the owners manual and the specs section says ground clearance is 4 inches for a Boxster S, then across from that it says 3.7 PASM. Does that mean that cars equpped with PASM have 3.7 inches of ground clearance all the time, or is that when the suspension is on its hardest/sport setting? Also, from what I read the RS60 on the net, the RS60 is 10mm lower than a Boxster S, so is it 10mm lower than the 4 inches from a Boxster S, or 10mm lower than an S with PASM, or again is it 10mm lower than a car with PASM only if the suspension is on the hardest setting?

Thanks in advance.
Best regards,
Dino

stiles_s

100% sure of:
- pasm doesn't actively lower the car. it's fixed height, variable damping
95% sure of:
- the pasm on the S and RS60 is the same, so if hte S happens to have PASM (like mine), it's going to be @ the same ride height as the RS60.

Scott.

Dino944

Thanks Scott,

I was fairly certain the the ride height was not actively changed. I was just surprised to see the owners manual say that the ground clearance is 4.0 inches, then under PASM it say 3.7 inches, as I thought Boxsters had the same ground clearance whether or not equipped with PASM.

Best regards,

Dino

00r101

Well all the PASM literature says that PASM is 10mm lower. So if stock is 4.0 then PASM should be 4.0 - 10/25.4 = 3.61"

Dino944

Thanks. I knew the RS60 was 10mm lower than a standard Boxster, but did not realize until reading the owners manual that cars with PASM are also about 10mm lower. So maybe the RS60 is 10mm lower than a standard Boxster, because its equipped with PASM...hence that would explain why there is no additional info regarding the dimensions/ground clearance of the RS60 in the RS60 owners manual supplement.

Thanks again.
Best regards,

Dino

tinman

00r01,
Yes you are right....all the posters were in the United States.....I'm going to guess that DINO944 may be less metric in his ways, or perhaps all he had was a tape measure, which such as a "Stanley" which shows the measurement predominantly in inches....I'm not even sure if there is the metric scale on it, I'm not going to bother to go even look....

For those who want to go over it... 2.54 cm = 1 inch.....so 1 inch has 254 mm (1cm=10 mm)...so 10 mm which is the significant figure in talking about PASM is approximately 1/25th of an inch (actually 0.98 of an inch).....which is not much...10 mm is very very minimal, but apparently enough that Porsche concluded that it was worth it to have PASM include lowering the car by 1/25th of an inch....for those that say, it makes the car look better, have your head examined or enjoy your other superpowers which would probably include "looking through walls (or clothing)"......
I chose not to get PASM, I regret it now, however, I am happy with car as it is....I live in Southern California, and even as careful as I am driving my car, rolling in and out of driveways, parking lots, I believe the clearance leaves the front bottom prone to scraping....which the Dealership did.....It's great on smooth highways, but not fun in daily life with A-Holes in SUV's honking at you as you roll thru "danger zones".....

Some people are just comfortable to using inches and feet (forgot what they call this old system) to metric....

mm's will also come into play when you think about wheel spacers, tequipment offers 5mm wheel spacers.....imagine how thin that is...1/50th of an inch....for hundreds of dollars.......

Dino944

Hi Tinman,

You are correct in thinking I'm not very metric in my ways. Hell I probably have not used the metric system since grade school. The figure of 3.7 inches, was directly from the owners manual. I guess they figured their American customers won't know much too much about metric measuements.

I was mostly curious, because I was wondering if it meant cars with PASM changed ground clearance when activated, but I now that is not the case. I know modern Lamborghini's have a button that lifts the front of the car so they can avoid damaging their front spoilers. I have found I have to be more carefull about speed bumps and driveways than I've had to be with some other sports cars I've driven.

Thanks again for the info on what an insignificant difference the wheel spacers make and the metric system in general.

My car came with PASM so it was a non-issue. Why do you regret not getting it? Do you "track" your car? I have not had much opportunity to compare the feel of the car using PASM vs having it off. But some people told me they feel the stiffest setting is too stiff for anything other than a track or really smooth highway. As mentioned I don't have enough time behind the wheel to comment on the pros/cons of PASM.

Best regards,
Dino

stiles_s

for me PASM has been a mixed bag in my Boxster S

Like:
- subtle lowering (yes, I can see it)
- stiffer springs & rollbars
- the fact you can switch to a softer setup for really rough roads

Dislikes:
- the PASM "active" damping -- really dislike it. In fact, I hate it. I far prefer the more predictable feel of a good old "fixed damping curve" shock/strut and a plan to replace my OE shocks w/something like Bilstein HD's when they a) wear out and b) the bilsteins come available.

00r101

Clearly you don't autocross. The responsiveness of the PASM in sport on turn in and the increase of rebound damping in slalom is worth the $2K price of admission IMHO. On the street the sport setting is pretty much an annoyance unless the road is billiard table smooth and twisty.

stiles_s

Cleeeearly I don't
... at least not now w/the box.

Good to hear the PASM Sport is great in the slalom. I don't doubt it.
My beef is w/the feel, not with the capabilities. Pasm allows you to get down a windy road absurdly quickly. What's going on in my brain, though, is an argument about whether or not I should trust the system while it's doing it.

With a "dumb" damping system, I can predict exactly how the car is going to react. With a smart system, a bit of that relationship is lost. I go faster more comfortably, but the car's brain is offloading some of the processing I used to do.

tinman

I regret not getting PASM at the time, I don't track the car, but I do enjoy "spirited" driving, I bought my car off the lot, and so it was as it was, it did have Nav system, whcih probably costed me a couple of thousand, and it's gt silver/cocoa brown (which I did want....)...but that combo costs you about $8000 right there and I also picked up the factory hardtop, and with installation that probably ran about $5000....hey, it was my first Porsche and the economy was a better....I probably was within $10K of a 987 with my options.....oh well, it's a car, and I enjoy it, thinking of the Cayenne GTS for more comfort and for roadtrips....and whoever decided not to put a spare or TPMS in my car.....what was he thinking??? I know, I did buy it as such, but with further thinking, I would not have.....any flat stories out there???????? I havn't gotten one yet, but I imagine a slow leak would be hard to tell while driving, while a blowout, would screw up your rim, body work, and me a total mess....maybe I'll trade the Boxster in for a Cayman, even just regular would be ok....

Dino944

I'm sure the GT Silver with Cocoa Brown is a beautiful combination, but those special colors get pricey! I've only seen one silver on cocoa car, the dealer where I got my car has a 2010 987 in polar silver on cocoa and its stunning! As for the spare tire, buying a 987 would not have helped you in that department...they just give you a can of "fix a flat." Just look at it as buying is a learning experience. I'm sure that with more ownership experience there are changes we would all make in terms of the specs we might choose on our cars.

Best regards,
Dino

Cpa4S

tinman - you are off a decimal place. 2.5 cm in an inch - the 1 cm drop for PASM cars is .4 inches - noticeable to the eye

tinman

sorry about the math error....I'll look it over later....thanks for correcting.

tinman

Yes, 10mm = .397 inches....noticeable to some people's eyes, I wouldn't say everyone's eyes....for exercise a dime is 1.35 mm.....so the 10 mm is 7.4 dimes thick, I would say noticeable to people who are very acute, but not everyone is and you have to take into account the load in car at times, distance you are viewing car from, (tire wear???).....but in a showroom, or a garage, they probably would be noticeable side by side, I'm not sure if I would be able to discern the 10 mm independently, unless I had previously studied the differences. Either way, great cars. Thanks.