Today is the first day I have driven my 08 Turbo in the snow. It not as good as the escalade that I had before.
I am not familiar with the lockout for the differential, when should I use this? This is the button to the left of the sport settings on the console.

thanks
David

 

That is for offroad use and does not do you any good on regular snowy roads. If you are stuck in a pile of snow then it might do you some good...

 

With winter tires on my 2008 GTS vs winter tires on my 2010 Escalade my GTS beats the pants off my escalade in performance and just all around capability any day.
You have winter tires on your cayenne right? Which size and brand?

 

No I dont have snow tires. I have the 18" bridgestone dueler tires. These are the same tires that I had on the Escalade, but they were 22"
What tires do you have for winter?

 

Perelli scorpion ice and snow 18 inch.

 

with snows ... my CTT is a beast in the snow.

 

Keep in mind the Cayenne has a sports car bias to the AWD. 66% of the power is going to the rear tires. If you are running crappy tires it will break these loose easily, then in turn have to spin the fronts.

This would be much less noticable on something like a standard GM 50/50 split system.

It should also be noted that I think the PSM allows for a little "Hooliganism" before kicking in where the GM systems kick in before you are even close. More of a phylosophy difference in the design.

Put on adequate tires and it should be great.

 

I was able to play in some 12-20" snow recently and found the CTT did great in standard AWD until we started to plow with the front after I had it lifted in terrian-spec height with Bridgestone LM25 snows on. It then started to spin a bit and I got worried. I had to go forward a bit more before I could find a good place to turn around so tried putting it in locked and mode (after putting it in neutral) and it completely changed the handling to claw forward even more confidently. I played so more until I could not go forward any more and was able to simply back out of my tracks. At the bottom of the hill I did turn off the PSM and just did a couple of large circles. All done way up in the mts, off of paved roads... Same trip had to drive on black ice more an hour each way and it handled it complete fine in standard mode. I just watched the traction sign flash away a great deal, but with the throttle on, the car was unstoppable.

 

You probably need to put it into neutral to engage the rear diff by pushing up twice then put the car into Reverse and cut the wheel and give gas up to 4k RPMS to engage the rear differential.

Again.
1. Start car, put in N
2. push up twice on toggle
3. Cut wheel about a turn and half
4. Put in Reverse and punch it up in rpms, 4k max, the anti slip brakes will kick in to hold you in place while it fully engages the rear diff.

 

I don't see the need to rev to 4K. Mine engages fine as long as it is in neutral and I am not going over 19 mph. FYI, mine has the ability to lock BOTH rear and front differentials and disengage the sway bars.

I find the low range useful on rough dirt roads, especially for controlled and comfortable descent. With the Special Terrain it is very controlled and manageable. I never found the low range useful on snow/ice; in fact, it made it worse.

Also, when towing, Comfort mode resulted in more vibration (as the trailer shook the SUV). I had to use Normal mode or Sport mode when towing a load.

I'll probably be taking her off-road a lot more this summer and doing more dirt roads and beaches. However, what I am not settled on and could use suggestions with tires! Please!

Porsche has one setting for AT tires and recomends Pirelli N0 235/60-18's. Currently I am using General Grabber AT2's in 255/55-18's and borrowed the All Season PCM setting for the correct size.

Porsche recommends Pirelli N0 255/55-18's for winter driving on the CT.

BUT I am having a rought time with them this winter. They seem too wide and slide too much. I am thinking that my next set of snow tires will be 235/60-18's in order to dig down more and avoid riding and sliding on top of the snow & ice so much.

Aside from that, the narrower taller set will give me an exta 1/4" of ground clearance--a good thing in the deep snow and for off-road--and a slightly softer ride.

Anybody have any experience with the narrower snow tire?

Also, I am thinking of studded tires. Our ice has been so bad that I am really considering studs but the Pirelli Scoprion Ice & Snow don't seem to be studdable. Anybody using a studded or studdable snow tire?

Finally, I had a chance to buy a set of Porsche chains last winter and wished I had gotten them but there were specific to the narrow tire which I didn't have. There were three days when I would have used them. Just like an ice rink out there but I'd rather stay off the roads. While I know how to drive on ice & snow and my car does better than most, there are many drivers with ill-equipped "All Season" tires who are just plain unskilled and dangerous.

When my stealership gave me their loaner Cayenne, I'm glad the serviceman mentioned the "All Season" tires before I left. They were ****! I came to a complete stop at a stop sign THEN slide sideways a good foot!

I had to laugh every time I hit the gas; little 6-banger was so cute! Yet, she managed to break loose all four wheels too readily. I missed my CTT with real Snow & Ice tires.

Folks, do not use compromises on these cars with your tires! All of your safety features rely up your tires and brakes. Put your money there. You'll be safer and better served.

 

What he said
I have a set of all seasons on my CTT and I was blown away by the performance in the snow.

 

Get a lot of snow down there?

Right.

I'll send you some.

We've has an very icy and colder winter than normal. While I complain that my low profile tires are sliding, I'm moving far better than the average yokel. I see people spinning their tires like crazy trying to get forward motion.

The ice from the ice fog was so bad last week that I began to want studs. I'm still thinking of them at times but at speed one good stretches of road, studs are problematic.

 

No, but from SoCal you can be in areas that have huge snowfall in about 3-4 hours drive - 400-500 inches per year.

I run Blizzack dedicated snows (not performance) in 255/18's and they are remarkable in the snow and ice.

 

I have Pirelli Scorpions in 255/55-18's and while they are excellent, if I can find a better tire/size, I'm all ears. Lots of folks up here swear by Blizzacks.

Can you compare them to my Pirellis?

Anyone out there able to compare tire sizes, especially between 255/50-18's and 235/60-18's?

 

The main problem with the scorpions is that they are performance snow tires. You need to get a true snow tire. These have a much softer compound and make a huge difference with how the sipes grab. The Blizzacks I have are the DM-V1. They are truly excellent in the snow and ice compared to any performance snow tire.