So I didn't really think it through as I was buying my 05 Cayenne S, not knowing that the performance market for the S is very limited. As I'm am mostly using this as my family mobile I do want a little extra speed, good sounding exhaust that doesn't annoy my 9 month old son.. And some extras in the appearance.. What I'm looking for are some suggestions on which direction I should go.. Exhaust, a performance tune etc... Something to last me for the next few years till I go buy the turbo.


Please help!

 

I'll admit that my 06S was purchased a little impulsively and I ended up with turbo envy. So I guess I'm sympathetic to your situation and while you should do some (truly fun) forum reading to educate yourself further, I'll respond and offer you the following...

I don't think there is much to make the S faster. But a different muffler or a muffler delete (with or without resonators) will change the audio attitude for sure and maybe pick up a HP or two. A secondary cat delete is another exhaust option with a few more potential HP gains (I think). But laws may prohibit it in some states (if not now, some day).

I went the muffler delete route with medium resonators. It's pretty loud, perhaps more than what you want. But car guys love it. Maybe somebody else will chime in with a muffler recommendation, otherwise talk to a few of your local muffler shops and see what they recommend for your budget.

The other big improvement I made is if you're on 17'' or 18'' wheels, some larger wheels are a nice upgrade. The larger wheel creates a shorter side wall and most will allow a wider tire. There are lots of posts debating 20'' vs. 21'' vs. 22'', and you might want to avoid cheapo ebay wheels since the cayenne is so heavy. I went with 20'' OEM wheels that I found used, and had the passenger side refurbished to fix curb rub.

Also consider that you can add spacers to any wheel and flush up the tires with the wheel arches. This also creates a wider stance from the back visually. I think this is an often overlooked, good bang-for-your-buck modification. I added 15mm to my back 20x9 wheels. Check out Adaptec.

More ideas? LED tail lights, clear side markers, HID match fog light bulbs.

And of course, look into the dreaded coolant pipes. If you got plastic, they are something you'll want to fix proactively in your (family car) situation.

 

I just bought an 04S yesterday from my dealer, not really worth dumping money into the truck, just drive it and enjoy it. It is a waste of money to try to make a truck into a performance car.

 

^^^

There aren't a lot of aftermarket "performance" things out there ... BECAUSE THEY AREN't NEEDED. It doesn't need to be louder, but you can spend the money. Tuning won't do much (anything) because the PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS at Porsche already did the math. The most bang for the buck is to improve throttle response by adding a Sprint Booster. That will out perform anything you could add. If you want "race" mode, keep it in red with traction control off.

 

That is absolutely correct. Trying to squeeze more performance outta this truck....is akin to bringing sand to the beach.