About PASM

Following my recent posts on whether the popular Sport Chrono Package is worth adding to your Porsche and whether the popular Sport Exhaust is worth adding to your Porsche, this time I’m taking a look at PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management).

PASM is an optional chassis feature—in other words, part of the suspension. According to Porsche’s website:

The electronically controlled PASM damper system enhances driving stability, comfort, and performance. It continuously adjusts the damping force at each wheel to suit road conditions and driving style. The ride height is also lowered by 10 mm. PASM offers two damping modes, “Normal” and “Sport,” which you can switch between using a button on the center console. Normal mode is tuned to balance performance and comfort, while Sport mode provides a firmer setup.

Another website describes it this way:

“Further enhancing stability during high-speed cornering, shock absorbers with a wider damping range provide greater comfort through more precise responses and improve road holding during dynamic driving.”

So, when you add PASM, the ride is more comfortable in everyday driving, while Sport mode firms up the suspension, increases the feeling of grip, and allows for a sportier drive. At least, that’s how I understand it.

And the fact that it continuously adjusts the damping as you drive is pretty impressive. Here’s the PASM button:

I wonder if that’s a picture of a damper?

From what I’ve read online, the overwhelming consensus on PASM seems to be: “You can get by without it, but if you can add it, you absolutely should.”

Drivers of cars without PASM say they notice a jolt over bumps and expansion joints on the highway. In a car with PASM, those impacts are better controlled, making the ride noticeably more comfortable.

My Porsche-driving husband’s take on PASM

Our Porsches are equipped with PASM (including models where it’s standard). I’ve occasionally driven cars without it, including dealership demonstrators, but I never paid much attention to the difference, so I can’t really offer a useful opinion myself…

I do think PASM comes in handy on the highway when you don’t want to switch into Sport mode, but would prefer a firmer suspension for easier driving. (Not the most detailed explanation, I know…) My husband puts it this way:

It varies from one model to another, but overall, I think PASM makes for a more comfortable ride.

When we went to the dealership to look at the Cayenne recently, he said, “You’d definitely want PASM on the Cayenne, too.” So I asked him what he thought of PASM, and this is what he told me:

From what I remember of the 718 Cayman, the car without PASM felt slightly firmer than one with PASM in Sport Plus mode. But “firm” isn’t quite the right word. PASM electronically varies the damping force, so depending on the conditions, it can feel much like a car without PASM—or even firmer.
The point is that PASM is an active damping system that continuously adjusts damping force. So it’s less about being “firm” or “soft” and more about making the ride feel more comfortable and keeping the car’s attitude and tire contact stable through corners.
A car without PASM might feel more hard-edged and capable, but if that were the case, “the GT3 wouldn’t come with PASM as standard,” right? The fact that it does suggests that PASM helps you go faster while also improving comfort.
I’ve also heard that retrofitting PASM is quite involved, so it’s one of those options you’ll want to choose from the start. I always add it.

I still have a lot to learn about how cars are built. But when I think not only about my own driving experience, but also about the comfort of passengers in the front and rear seats, I feel that PASM is probably worth adding.

Which Porsche option should I look at next? If there’s an option you’d especially like me to write about, please let me know in the comments!