davidpriebe

This may be a silly question. I recently purchased an '08 Turbo. During my research before buying it, I was lead to believe that the GTS & the Turbo / Turbo S have the same handling characteristics. As in, for a GTS with PDCC, it should corner exactly the same as a Turbo and Turbo S. And actually I am under the impression that given a base model or S model with air suspension & PDCC, they all would handle the same. Yes, I realize that are significant power differences across the models. Is the suspension 'tuned' differently between the GTS & the Turbo? I really thought they were the same when comparing the same options.
The reason I ask is that a certain youtuber with an online auction site that is currently selling a GTS, specifically stated that the GTS' chassis and suspension is tuned differently than the Turbo and Turbo S. I've been under the impression that is not true. Rather the GTS features a tuned V8, specific exterior styling, wheels, and a specific interior, and the unicorn manual transmission.

slavie

GTS does sit 10mm (or thereabouts) lower at stock height. This is why US-spec GTS cars came standard with Air Suspension whereas ROW (Rest Of World) GTS trims came standard with lowered springs (though could be optioned with air suspention) - something to do with US regulations, I forget exactly what.
GTS also came with 21" rims standard (so did TTS I believe), and rims have a significant impact in handling: smaller profile tires/larger rims generally result in stiffer ride all else being equal.

It is very possible that the struts had slightly different tuning as a result, though I don't know that for sure. You can check the PN's for GTS and TT/TTS air suspension equipped cars and verify.
Same goes for steering: Porsche could've made it a tad tighter, though I haven't come across any mention of this.

Other than that, I have not seen any different PN's for bushings or control arms and believe that all to be same. 955 TTS had upgraded bushings, but that was because non-TTS 955 bushings were terrible. 957/958 got upgraded 72mm bushings that were same across all trims.

In short, yes, GTS did receive slightly sportier tune, but nothing groundbreaking.

Libast

Having owned both, aside from PDCC, the GTS handled more direct on inputs, more go-cart if you will- quick lane change plus instant torque from NA... however PDCC on the Turbo S lets me accelerate through a decreasing radius onramp, rather than lifting off throttle.

There's your subjective opinion on the internet for the day

mcbit

I've owned both a 2009 GTS and a 2009 turbo both with PDCC. In my opinion the GTS handling was much sharper all round, but the additional power of the turbo gives enough of a fun boost for me to prefer it overall.

spiller

Well this is interesting. Following!

spiller

Well this is interesting. Following!

I am blown away with how well my 08 TT with PDCC handles a twisty road, even with fried front upper LCA bushings. The gearbox is definitely the weakest link (in mostly that it can’t decide which gear it should be in and responds too slowly).

957GT-YES

Like Libast and Mcbit, I went from an 09 GTS to an 09 CTTS. No doubt the power is amazing with the turbo and highly addictive, the comments about the GTS being set up more for the road is accurate. With a lower center of gravity, naturally aspirated, firmer suspension, it was more planted and connected on the road. The CTTS can feel just a little lofty at times when not in sport mode, but I think it's supposed to be. The GTS is the road-focused trim and the CTTS is more of an all-around warrior. I think they both are very similar on the limit. I've done an autocross with the CTTS and it was truly amazing. The power out of the tight turns, the crispness of the handling from side to side, predictability of the suspension and throttle inputs with the PSM off are truly confidence inspiring. I was the fastest 4-door out of a couple of Macans and a Panamera GTS. I had a few passengers from other P-cars and their wide eyes and raised eyebrows really showed how impressed they were with the car's capabilities. Either way, you'll be very happy. Best of luck in your search. Cheers!

davidpriebe

Thanks for all of the feedback. It does indeed sound like Porsche did "tune" the suspension of the GTS differently than a comparable turbo (air suspension & PDCC on both). It sounds like the suspension is firmer, ride height is lower (10mm), and maybe the steering is tuned differently.

Libast

All possibilities I don't see a physical difference between the steering racks for any Cayennes, but there's lots of programming in the various modules they could have done.

davidpriebe

Just to be honest of where my question originates... I purchased an '08 Turbo, air suspension, with PDCC in November. It's really a great car. I searched for it for about 6 months before finding the one that checked all the boxes. The reality is that I didn't get to test drive it, nor a truly comparable example. I drove a 958 turbo, GTS, and diesel, as well as a 955 turbo. I've been having some serious 2nd thoughts about it now. At the end of the day, its not a sports car. Rather, its a beast of a SUV. I've been thinking that I need to track down a 957 GTS to see if I like how it handles better. When I go out to the garage I shouldn't be reaching for the keys of my '09 mkV VW GTI over the Cayenne Turbo! The GTI is just so much more fun to drive. The GTI is supposed to go to my soon-to-be 16 year old, and I get the Cayenne. I'm finding myself seriously considering giving her the Cayenne instead. I realize that I can tune the ecu for way more grunt than the massive grunt it already has. But I choose the GTI because the suspension is stiff, the steering is firm and tight, and its amazingly quick on the way to pick my kids up at car pool! The Cayenne is numb in comparison (ok, not like my old Honda Odyssey or Nissan Armada numb, good Porsche engineering numb). The suspension is soft (set to sport), ride height too high (set to low), and steering light and quick (feels disconnected from the road, too easy). Really I'm asking a SUV to be a sports car, that can tow a boat, tow a trailer, fill it with kids dorm room stuff and do track days. And it can't, nor was it realistic of me to expect it to. Thanks for reading my ramble, need to go find a 957 GTS to test drive, or accept that the answer really is Cayenne plus an old Miata. Or maybe the teenager gets the Miata, and I keep the GTI and Cayenne. Or, I really should have kept that air cooled 911.

slavie

From your description, I don't think a GTS Cayenne will satisfy your wishes. You will need to seriously consider that Miata...

You can't fight physics. 5000lb car will never feel like a 3000lb car, period. You will always sit higher even if the Cayenne is scraping the asphalt - you're sitting on a battery and other stuff, whereas GTI seat is closer to the floor. You cannot make the pig change direction in a corner as fast as a Miata, and that becomes even more apparent the harder you push it. And while the brakes are pretty good at resisting fade compared to most non-sports car stock brakes, they cannot magically make the Cayenne stop faster than a 911.

I've taken my non-PDCC 957 GTS to autox, Summit Point Main race track, and mild off-road adventure. I was hella impressed with it as an SUV on the track, but disappointed compared to my 130HP LeMons Celica (full race legal cage, racing seat, harness, etc). It pushed pretty bad in corners, brakes were cooked in 10 min. Even off-road experience was a mixed bag - while the Cayenne did get me out of a mud pit after locking the diff and raising suspension, it definitely felt like an underdog in a company of even mildly modified Jeeps. Another Porshe at that event, a Macan, did get stuck and had to be winched out by a Wrangler.

In summary, I still love the GTS. It is the best SUV out there in my opinion - comfy, capable all-rounder that can deliver thrills and haul cargo with a trailer. But, it ain't better than a sports car, it's not a canyon carver, and you won't make it very far up the Rubicon trail (in stock form, at least). Do some soul searching and figure out what it is that you want and need.

957GT-YES

@slavie Great feedback. Well written and very true. Coming from some fun cars myself, the Cayenne will never come close to a Boxster/Miata/Z4/911/M3 as a sports car. During an autocross a few months back, the Cayenne was amazing on the course and I was scaring some passengers, but then I jumped into a track-prepped GT3 and it physically hurt how much force was being put on my body in the turns and by braking. The Cayenne will never even be in the same discussion as anything lighter and more agile. However, for an SUV, it's simply the best, most all-around capable, most fun SUV on the market. Perhaps the OP will like the GTS a little better due to its more firm ride and slightly lower stance but beyond that, perhaps an SUV is not the right choice. Cheers!

DAVfoto

If you test drove a 958 GTS and weren't thrilled than why do you think a 957 will be better, it's about 400 pounds heavier than the 958 so how would the 957 handle better..

Only SUV that you may think is worth looking into is possibly a Macan GTS with PTV+. and if that doesn't thrill ya, don't know what to say.