My beloved B5 S4 avant is proving to be not as functional as I need since I often need a bit of ground clearance for mountain adventures and to drive over slower drivers. So, a Cayenne Turbo seems like a logical replacement.

The price differences between an 06 turbo and turbo S are close enough to be nearly negligible, but between an 04 and an 06 are still quite high for the same mileage and options. I've read quite a bit about the differences between the two, but need some clarification on a few things. I like the Turbo S, but they're rare enough that patience will be needed to get one just the way I want. So, if I can get an 04 turbo, spend a bit of money to get it close to a Turbo S - then it might prove to be a better deal in the long run - especially if I'm extra resourceful and give hand jobs for cheap parts.

1 - bigger brakes. Is it possible to upgrade a Turbo to Turbo S brakes? The calipers look to be the same (could be wrong) and it seems just getting the brackets, lines, rotors and pads - and you'd be set. I think the normal brakes are probably fine for most, but all my friends are fat and when I'm hauling *** down I-70 into denver at supersonic speeds in the middle of the summer, I might need a bit more brake fade resistance. Are there upgraded options out there for solid rotors, that when combined with good fluid and better pads make a substantial difference in fade resistance?

2 - Intercoolers. Has anyone priced out the costs to upgrade to the Turbo S intercoolers? It seems like these more than the larger throttle body and supporting parts, contribute to the higher power numbers for a given boost level over a turbo. At least in other FI motors, the ICs make a pretty big difference in power.

3 - Suspension. I've read that the suspension is tuned a bit differently for the Turbo S, making it a bit stiffer. Is this just to match the dampening rates to the brakes so, in essence, making the ride the same as a normal Turbo? Or is the ride noticeable more "sporty" in a turbo S? Is this just a Turbo S thing, or something for all MY 06 turbos?

Seems like the coolant pipes, cardan shaft, and all the other normal maintenance items on the 04 Turbo are also found on the 06 turbo. So, aside from that and the performance differences, is there any other big item reasons to spring for the turbo S compared to an 04 turbo with a solid background?

 

I believe the Turbo S has an actual transfer case such that you can get low range. In your mountainous adventures, and driving over Yugo's, you may want that.

 

Actually the calipers on the 'S' are bigger, and the rotors are different, and apparently the replacement cost of the rotors is ridiculous.

I use to own a 955CTT, but I'll give you my summary of the differences.

Turbo = FAST!!
Turbo S = VERY FAST!!

Get the Turbo, save the money for repairs, winter rims and tires, and if you must a tune.

 

The rotors, calipers, and pads are all bigger on the Turbo S. The rotors are a very expensive two-piece design.
The control arm bushings are different, and I've heard that the programming of the air suspension is different, but in driving the Turbo and the Turbo S, I didn't notice any difference in stiffness.
The cardan shaft is different on the Turbo S, but is still subject to failure.

A tune on a standard Turbo will get you very close to Turbo S power (of course, a Tune on a Turbo S would bump it up some more too, and those intercoolers probably allow for a little extra boost).

 

Camp,

Your 08 CTT has an actual transfer case - like mine. You can select it using the mountain toggle on the center console. It will say "Gear Reduction ON". That is the low range!

Guess you haven't used it yet

 

The wife drives it most of the time so I haven't played with much of the features yet. I was messing with it on Friday trying to program our garage door opener into it, to no avail, and noticed in the menus that it had a gear reduction feature. I don't believe the 955 CTT has that feature though, does it? Just the 955 CTTS and 957 CTT and CTTS.

Good to know that all my current 4 wheeled vehicles have a selectable low range.

 

If it is in your price range, the 957 has less differences between the Turbo and Turbo S. Ask me how I know?

 

No worries - figured that would be good information for you to know since you are in snow country.

The homelink is a little tricky to figure out - it is different for each model. You can go to homelink's main website for instructions on each specific vehicle.

Here is the link:

http://www.homelink.com/program

Just plug in the requested info for detailed setup information.

And to answer your other question - Yes, the 955 and 957 has low range, locking center diff, and locking front diff standard. They took out the transfer case in the 958 to save about 300 lbs - better handling and faster, although not as capable offroad. These types of features are now handled electronically.

With those locking diffs, your wife might have to pull you out of a ditch !

 

Doh, ignore my attempt at being helpful earlier. Thanks for the clarification. I really need to crawl around under this thing and figure out what all it can really do

 

Excellent. Sounds like the S will be the car, then. Upgrading a Turbo puts me within Turbo S prices - so might as well spring for the car that is 2 years newer and totally OE.

 

Exactly. Go with the bigger, meaner one... I have driven my friend's '06 TTS which has some small mods, it is quick!

 

The price of the rotors for a Turbo S is nearly 4 times that of a Turbo. You also can't run anything smaller than a 19" wheel on a Turbo S.

So the only advantage the brakes on the CTTS has is looks and possibly for track use. For normal everyday driving, snow tires and maintenance costs a modded CTT is a better deal. (Also consider that 19/20" snow tire cost more than 18" ones)


The only other differences are the ECU tune, lowering module tune, lower control arm bushings, tie rod ends, intercoolers and some trim bits.

Most Cayennes need control arms anyway so it's easy (and the same price) to just put in the CTTS arms. (Mine were about $250 each and you need two).

A chip and lowering module will get you the rest.

I know a shop locally that will do custom larger intercoolers for a reasonable price.

 

Cole-
Does the shop you mention in your post need the vehicle or is it a bolt in kit they are able to build/ship?

Also, you mention control arm issues, is that on all Cayennes including the TTS?
Thanks!

 

I'm not sure it's control arm "issues" per say. But bushing on control arms wear out, and need replacement, happens on any vehicle. Oh, and it's not necessarily mileage related. I had a E55 with 30k miles on it, and they wore out, but the car was 8 years old.

To Cole's point though, if you are replacing (say 60-80k range), you can just put the CTTS control arms on, instead of the CTT. BTW $250 an arm isn't that bad... the E55's were $220.

 

There is a performance intercooler builder local to me. I made a deal with them about a year ago to prototype a set of larger side mounts using my CTT so they could offer a kit. They make dual side mounts for many of the twin turbo Audi applications.

The fail at this point has been entirely mine. I was busy with my business and never took my CTT to them to do the work. I can follow up on it now that I have some more time and see where it goes. EDIT: I just sent the owner an email. We will see where this goes.

Fwiw, control arms on my 951 cost 2-3x that of the CTTs