I am going to test drive on saturday (like probable many others here)

Can someone tell me if you can turn off the PDCC and if so how you do it.

I dont expect a long test drive but wish to be ready to judge it with and with-out this technology.

thanks

 

I am not sure you can and even if you do, it wont be a an apples to apples comparison.

Jason

 

In our Cayenne you can't - insane option!

 

I don't believe you can but I am not sure what you mean by apples to apples...are you saying a car with and without it?

 

Buckwheat - I'm especially anxious to hear your thoughts. You seem like you'd be pretty fair and unbiased.

Keep us posted. Maybe some pics if you have a good camera phone.

 

Test drive? Which dealer in NJ? I want to do a test drive as well... thanks.

 

Just saying that turning PDCC off in a 991 probably does not imitate what a non-PDCC equipped 991 feels like. For example, if memory serves, when PASM is disabled it defaults to full hard and therefore does not imitate what a non-PASM equipped car would feel like.

Jason

 

I agree with the PASM but I'm not sure that means the same with the PDCC and the active sway bars. My guess is you cant deactivate it anyway.

IMO 991's are going to drive totally different depending on if you have PDCC or not.

 

ray catena and schneider nelson in my neck of the woods..but I also have emails from princeton and others....

2/4 is launch day

 

Not that anyone asked, but since we'er on the subject....

In my book the jury is still out on PDCC style suspension (BMW calls it ARS or dynamic drive). I've had 2 BMWs with it. My 2 cents:

Learning a car takes time; how the clutch behaves, how the car reacts to steering inputs in various circumstances, how the brakes hold up etc etc.. Non-PDCC suspension is linear. You can learn the 'curve' of how the suspension reacts to predict body roll, understeer etc.. The PDCC is not linear in that sense. The suspension gets to a certain point and then sort of freezes (uses as much hydraulic pressure as necessary to prevent further leaning - like a huge bouncer holding someone at arms length).

Positives to PDCC -
the flat cornering feels really good as it generates lots of g force, the system softens in a straight line to theoretically give a more compliant straight ahead ride (this akin to the OP's question about turning the system off).

Negatives - weight, expense, promotes understeer, can feel unnatural when driving at or near the limits

I think that the 911 driver who is occasionally spirited but not a hooligan will benefit from PDCC. But if your into a lightweight machine that might see some track days (that's me) then I would always elect a baseline stiff mechanical setup.

But I haven't driven a 911 with PDCC yet...

 

PDCC works by essentially using active end links to either increase or decrease load on the swaybar. Think of them as little constantly active hydraulic actuators (which is essentially what they are). So that being said, with the system inactive the end links probably default to either full tight or full loose. In either case that would not approximate what I guess would be somewhere in the middle for a non-PDCC equipped car. If the system defaults to full tight then you might think, wow, this car is really bouncy/hard riding... or too loose and you might think it rolls too much.

My guess is that you can probably deactivate PDCC by pulling a fuse and disabling the PDCC control unit.

Either way, PDCC is a finicky system that is probably only now become reliable for the long run. Mercs and big Bimmers have had similar PITA systems in the past.

PDCC is probably a no go for me simply because I know I will most likely modify my 991 and am not sure there will be any good work-arounds for the suspension/wheel position sensors that PDCC relies on to work properly.

Jason

 

good info Doc and Jason.. thanks...will be interesting to test it out

 

+1 Good point. The system isn't easily modified, if its possible at all.

One other point is that the PDCC style suspension allows for (but doesn't require) the use of slightly softer springs since the active anti-roll bar takes over some of their job (sorry for the lay terms here). So softer springs combined with softer than usual (or even decoupled) anti roll bars when the car is not in a corner equates to a noticeable loss of road feel in the seat of the pants and the steering. This was my experience in comparing a BMW with the PDCC style suspension to an Msport car with good old stiff dampers, springs and non active roll bars. The Msport car actually had a bit more body roll, but its general feel going down the road was much sharper. I'm curious to see if that's the case in a 991.

 

Great perspective. Hopefully for those that want the option, Porsche would have improved on what is already out there.

 

Depends on your definition of improvement,
One man's trash is another one's treasure...

Let us not forget Porsche is seeking to move twice the number of 911s in 2012!

Easiest way to accomplish that is to make the car more comfortable and thus broaden the potential buyer base....