Project "Wine&Cheese" - Cayenne Diesel Overland

I ended up getting impatient and ordered up the stock size 255/55R18 Falken Wildpeak A/T Trail tires.  These differ from the Wildpeak AT3W, they're more of a road oriented tire and is popular with the subaru crowd as it comes in a variety of smaller sizes compared to the AT3W.  Plus they have fancy raised sidewall letters.

I really wanted to find a +1 tire, but there just doesn't seem to be many options for a 260/55R18 or 255/60R18.  The 245/60R18 was slightly larger sidewall, and cheaper, but came in a lower load range. 

Chunky enough and road noise is nearly the same as the Michelin Latitude that were on the truck when we bought it, although the 958 is very well isolated from all road noise already!  I believe this truck came with laminated glass, insanely quiet.  We will see how they do with lots of highway miles to get to the trail and very light offroading.  Without a lift, the ground clearance is not great at 9", so some skid plates are certainly in order.  

Next steps are to get Malone AeroRack roof rails installed and try to adapt the SmittyBilt awning in prep for a trip to the Porcupine Mountains!

Side note, the brake dust from these pads is copious!

Brake dust is a real thing.  I've basically given up on ours, just wash the wheels and call it a day.  I'm a Thule rack man myself, have tons of parts for them since I've used them for over 30 years at this point...

Some little updates:

I purchased a BlueSpark "Pro" direct, using the code "NOVAT" got a nice discount, it took a couple weeks to arrive.  I decided on this over Malone due to cost, Malone is upwards of $800 when you get everything needed, and ease of use. If I want to take the truck to a dealer its plug and play, no need to reflash or worries about what the dealer can see for flash history.

https://bluesparkautomotive.com/porsche-cayenne-diesel-239-ps-pro

So far I've noticed slightly better power delivery and peak torque, and about 2-3mpg improvement.  This chap put it on a dyno and acheived these results, not bad for $200 british bucks.

• Map 0 = 198.5hp/339.7tq
• Map 6 = 212.7hp/354.3tq

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/cayenne-958/304549-diesel-addition-bluespark-pro-boost-control-5.html#post3930103

Got the Malone Aerobar roof rack installed, very good for the money and it will do just fine hauling Kayaks.  I'm going to use tbolts to put the Smittybilt awning on for camping trips as well.

Of course, I had to make a stop by Braid USA headquarters at Team Illuminata to test fit some Braid wheels!  We took a look over the various clearance areas, and even test fitted some 17" wheels that barely fit.  Some wheel scrapers would certainly be needed for that size, but they would work.

17" would be an excellent upgrade for keeping the stock suspension, since as I found there isn't any room to increase tire diameter without relocating the intercoolers and modifying the fender liners.  

I'll be keeping the stock wheels for now, we'll see how they perform and if I really get the modification bug I will revisit the Braid wheels option.

I am so in for a broverland trip where we take fancy vehicles off roading and eat hipster meals. I have a full grille/gridle and mini kitchen in the power wagon - we can make this happen!!

do we know anyone who can fish well? that would be the hot ticket, I can fillet if someone can catch those bastards!! Overlanding is just for eating nice food in places your prius wont take you - I'm in!

People had been having issues with the Blue Spark working on the USA cars with the fix software on them.  Europe never got that and the Blue spark wouldn't work properly. 

I've got a Malone tune waiting to load onto mine as soon as the warranty is up.  It drops out of CPO warranty later this month and I may do the TCU tune right away...

docwyte said:

People had been having issues with the Blue Spark working on the USA cars with the fix software on them.  Europe never got that and the Blue spark wouldn't work properly. 

I've got a Malone tune waiting to load onto mine as soon as the warranty is up.  It drops out of CPO warranty later this month and I may do the TCU tune right away...

I had read about that, and asked the bluespark folks specifically if this version was "tuned" for the post fix US engines: they did say yes.  There is a selection for market when ordering.  However it does appear to have some of the issues listed on rennlist or other forums: increased combustion noise "clatter" 1500-2000rpm and some slight hesitation I noticed from a stop with cold engine. I'll keep it on and track the mpg gains and note any more driveability issues.

Honestly the driveability of the OEM engine is pretty terrible when compared to newer diesels. Ex the 3.0L LM2 in the 1500 GM trucks and SUVs drives far far better; less lag, more torque, better mpg. But, I'm not about to spend $60k+ on one of those, and you don't get the Porsche dynamics!

Interested to hear how you like the Malone tune.

fidelity101 (Forum Supporter) said:

I am so in for a broverland trip where we take fancy vehicles off roading and eat hipster meals. I have a full grille/gridle and mini kitchen in the power wagon - we can make this happen!!

 

do we know anyone who can fish well? that would be the hot ticket, I can fillet if someone can catch those bastards!! Overlanding is just for eating nice food in places your prius wont take you - I'm in!

Totally in! A coworker at GM has a first gen Cayenne off-roader so we can get quite the fancy crew haha. Steaks and wine for dinner sounds good! Would that be broverlanding or luxo-landing?

We can fish but not good at catching! Although french farm lake we've had good luck with bluegills. The best bet is to go somewhere where you can also buy fish from a fish market if you suck that day. Ryan at TRF also has a fishing boat...

In reply to engiekev :

they said yes awhile back to me to, but the reality is they simply don't have access to one of our cars/tunes, so they're guessing.  Maybe things have changed in the last two years but they didn't give me a feeling of confidence...

We took the cayenne on its first "overlanding" trip to spectate Summer Snodrift and do some light off-roading on some ORV routes in the area.  Mounted up the trusty smittybilt awning from the Montero, and we were instagram approved!  With the malone roof racks and the awning, we still achieved 37mpg at one point (going 65 mph) and averaged 35 mpg with speeds of 75mph for about 2hrs and 60mph for 1 hour.  On another recent trip I pulled the awning and racks off, and on the same stretch of interstate we only got 33 mpg, must've been a nice tailwind the other day or some nicer diesel!  

So far we've been averaging over 30mpg consistently with mixed driving and the Blue Spark.  I'll need to do a comparison on the same day, warmed engine oil, with the Blue Spark installed and then removed.  Likely this will be hard to compare, because there are engine calibration adaptives which are likely skewed with the install of the Blue Spark that will take some drive time to reset to the factory unmodified system.

It did quite well on the trails, though they were quite mild.  We've done the exact same route with the '85 Montero and it is such a huge departure with the Cayenne, it almost feels too nice and not adventurous enough at points.  Skid plates are definitely in order, with the stock tire size and no lift there is not a lot of ground clearance to work from.  Air suspension would've been a nice option, but not worth it for the limited amount of offroading we do that requires high clearance and not for the complexity it comes with.

Bonus, we got sweet spectator parking next to a fellow VW-ling, and Audi Q3 (didn't even know those existed).

Next on the list was an oil change and fuel filter change.  Oil change was relatively straightforward, I purchased the whole oil filter kit from ECSTuning along with their "Schwaben" fluid exchanger which worked well enough.  I went with their kit which included the Mobil 1 ESP, about $110 for 9 quarts, filter and plug, not bad

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-porsche-parts/oil-service-kit/95810722220kt1/

Joey4482 was able to get us some BG diesel fuel conditioner, which I splashed a bit of in the filter housing after the fuel filter change.  Super easy to do, since the filter is located in the engine bay under some plastic covers and about 6 torx fasteners.   He also supplied some of the BG diesel engine restoration and oil change service fluid (forgot the names) which certainly can't hurt.  DIY guide is here on Rennlist:

https://rennlist.com/forums/cayenne-diy/1101488-958-cayenne-diy-replacing-the-diesel-fuel-filter.html

I wasn't sure that Duramteric offered all the service options for a diesel, so based on some reads on Rennlist went with a Carosft Por II scan tool.  I was able to reset the oil change and other service intervals, and found that it can do a multitude of diagnostics on all modules in the vehicle (like TPMs reading, etc.), and even can run a DPF Regen service procedure.  Well worth the money for these models.

I also splurged for the VW/Audi dipstick that fits in the factory dipstick tube, which has a cap only. PN WA1LMAFE0AD003155

For DEF fluid, purchasing from the VW dealer is a decent option (not the cheapest).  Bonus, their "small" bottle of DEF also screws directly into the DEF tank and has an overflow valve to stop spillage, can fill to 100pct.  And, it happens to fit in the rear cargo side panel nicely.  DIY here, shows the small bottle:

https://rennlist.com/forums/cayenne-diy/1101489-958-cayenne-diy-filling-diesel-exhaust-fluid-def-tank.html

Finally, since I wanted to add some diesel fuel conditioner (BG for a bit until that runs out, then Power Kleen) every tank, and have the funnel for emergency use in the future, VW sells a small funnel kit that fits in the fuel filler neck. Purchase from your VW dealer, less than $5,

https://www.idparts.com/diesel-fueling-adapter-000072709-p-2418.html

I just buy the big 2.5 gallon DEF containers from whatever auto parts store is around.  I haven't priced the DEF from the VW dealer but I'm having a hard time believing it's cheaper there than O'Reillys.  I have a narrow funnel that I use, just pull off the rubber cap, unscrew the lid to the DEF tank, pop in the funnel and fill.  No need to remove the spare tire. 

docwyte said:

I just buy the big 2.5 gallon DEF containers from whatever auto parts store is around.  I haven't priced the DEF from the VW dealer but I'm having a hard time believing it's cheaper there than O'Reillys.  I have a narrow funnel that I use, just pull off the rubber cap, unscrew the lid to the DEF tank, pop in the funnel and fill.  No need to remove the spare tire. 

Good point, I edited my comment about the cost.  I mostly wanted the VW DEF for the small bottle for filling and an "emergency" DEF bottle to keep in the vehicle.  

It certainly would be nice to have a DEF fluid indicator or some indication of how many miles/gallon of DEF are used.  

In reply to engiekev :

YMMV depending on use, it'll go up substantially towing for instance.  My wife seems to go thru most of a tank of DEF in maybe 5-6000 miles of mixed city/highway use...

Cool build!  I'm going to check out that VW DEF tip on the way home today; the parts stores are starting to sell the stuff for double the rumored VW price.

Having gone through pretty much the same upgrade path as you with my Touareg, I've found a couple of easy buttons for maintenance.  You can soften the drastic cost of fluid changes on these machines if you do a little bit of cross-checking specs; example VW 507 00 oils include things like Castrol Edge, even though the jug doesn't show the 507.00 spec.  I hate what ECS Tuning has become, but they have been drastically cheaper for the compatible drivetrain lubricants with the exception of the transfer case, which may also be Porsche specific for you.

When you were looking at tires, did the 265/60r18 Wildpeaks fit on the Cayenne without rubbing?  They're pretty close on the Touareg, but no issues so far with Cayenne 18" wheels.

In reply to sobe_death :

I didn't have a chance to test fit them, but it would appear they would definitely rub without some fender well modification.  I still have them around since I can't find a buyer for them, so maybe they will end up being test fit one day. It looks like the front edge of the fender liner would be the issue, and after that the intercoolers need to be relocated. Cayenne and touraeg might differ a bit, do you have any pics of them mounted on your touareg? 

This user on Rennlist had to change caster and use a heat gun on the fender liners to get them to fit:

That's really good info about the oil spec!

That tire looks huge in the wheel well, just doesn't look right

I don't have many, surprisingly...  I was worried about the intercoolers as well, but even driving around trails in Moab the only real issue has been paranoia of wheeling without a skid plate... 

Snagged a closer photo this morning

Not many updates so far, but the dreaded diesel maintenence is starting to creep in.

Diesel Aftertreatment:  During some long trips, P20EE set which indicates a low efficiency for the underfloor SCR (post DPF), as well as some NOX Sensor 2 DTCs.  Using the PorII ScanTool you can read DME variables, so checking out the NOX Sensor 2 readings showed this sensor is faulty (reading max NOX value).  After fixing the coolant leak, will be taking this to the dealer to fix under the extended emissions warranty which should most certainly be covered.

Oil Leaks: sounds like some TDIs leak (a lot) and some don't, ours leaks! We were able to finally find a dealer that would honor, or even attempt to honor, the emissions warranty for the oil leak.  They elected NOT to pull the engine and reseal the entire engine, and only replace the front main seal.  I've since changed the oil, replaced the drain plug with the revised part number Porsche Genuine, and checked again for leaks.  It appears the rear main seal is leaking, as well as the valve covers.  I'll likely try to get this same dealer to warranty again, as it runs out in Dec this year.

Coolant Leaks: I noticed a coolant smell and sure enough the coolant level sensor has been indicating low.  I debated whether or not to get the dealer to fix this, based on my experience I doubt they would, so I am attempting to fix on my own.  A common leak on these is a regulator valve under the intake manifold, or the engine oil cooler, or the assortment of gaskets/seals in that area.  This means the coolant needs to be slightly drained and refilled, and a vacuum filler is required for this system, so I bought an Airlift UView filler.  More to come on this attempt, parts are only about $40 for all gaskets, $80 for the regulator valve, but $300+ for the oil cooler.

https://rennlist.com/forums/cayenne-958-2011-2018/1165059-cayenne-diesel-coolant-leak-need-help.html

https://www.cpsproducts.com/product-details/550000/

EGR Fouling: Especially after the dieselgate flash, there is a propensity for buildup of carbon in the intact tract post-EGR cooler exit.  There are two parts that foul up, the intake pipe and intake manifold.  The intake pipe is easy to clean and remove, while the manifold not so much.  Since I'll have the manifold off already, I'll clean both.  A lot of rennlist users reported improved drivability and turbo response after cleaning, and seeing some of the photos I can believe it.

https://rennlist.com/forums/cayenne-958-2011-2018/1152733-egr-is-the-devil-bobby-boucher-diesel-egr-that-is.html

Some good 3.0L TDI engine overview docs here:

http://www.volkspage.net/technik/ssp/ssp/SSP_350.pdf
https://pics.tdiclub.com/data/517/840193_3_0_TDI.pdf

For FSMs, alldata is one option and not so legally are the full Porsche PDFs (10,000 pages!) which can be found at certain illegitimate sources.

You're lucky that you have the later design manifold with the single swirl flap up front.  That's where most of the EGR fouling happens anyway, so it's a pretty easy fix.  The 2011-12 3.0 has six swirl flaps at the heads, and they get pretty caked up.  3x manifolds to remove and clean/delete really changes that little maintenance item.

I'd take it in for the SCR issue, then have them find the coolant leak while it's there.  There's a decent possibility that it's leaking from the EGR cooler, and that's definitely a job you want the dealer taking care of.  Mine leaked from the EGR cooler hose so it somehow wasn't covered, but it was a $13 repair and 30 minutes with VW parts. 

Thanks for posting the 3.0L TDI links. I'm looking over the intake flaps and EGR system to get a better idea of the relationship. I expect that stuck intake flaps foul the EGR.

I've had my 2012 Touareg to the dealership twice for warranty work. It's a great way to get brand new parts installed on the engine, but doesn't always fix things. I've had faults for "EGR cooler bypass valve 2 Implausible signal" and "Intake Manifold Runner Position Sensor/Switch Circuit Range/Performance" both times.

First time they replaced the EGR cooler. Second time they replaced the lower intake manifold. I just drove it about 100 miles since it was 'fixed' and the EGR cooler code is back and I expect the other code will come up soon. It seems to be a very common problem. Here's a good thread about the problem: https://www.clubtouareg.com/threads/first-trouble-codes-from-q7.292922/

Good news is there's an aftermarket fix. Basically a limiter for the intake flaps to keep them within the correct range: https://dieselgeek.com/collections/common-rail-tdi-p2015-manifold-fix/products/p2015-code-repair-bracket-set-for-vw-and-audi-v6-tdi

It looks like a good preventative maintenance item, but I'm not sure if the dealership will try to get out of warranty repairs if I install it. It should be good.

Badass. Someday when we need more towing and offroad capacity, will need to replace our Alltrack with something like this.

sobe_death said:

You're lucky that you have the later design manifold with the single swirl flap up front.  That's where most of the EGR fouling happens anyway, so it's a pretty easy fix.  The 2011-12 3.0 has six swirl flaps at the heads, and they get pretty caked up.  3x manifolds to remove and clean/delete really changes that little maintenance item.

I'd take it in for the SCR issue, then have them find the coolant leak while it's there.  There's a decent possibility that it's leaking from the EGR cooler, and that's definitely a job you want the dealer taking care of.  Mine leaked from the EGR cooler hose so it somehow wasn't covered, but it was a $13 repair and 30 minutes with VW parts. 

Good idea, I suppose its worth a shot when I have it in for the SCR work.

I;m highly skeptical they will cover it, even if it does happen to be the EGR cooler. All (3) Porsche dealers we have been to charge $200 for diagnostic services to even begin looking at the issue, then only if they get approval from Porsche North America will they fix parts under the extended emissions warranty and waive the diagnostic fee.  If its not approved, then you're on the hook for the diagnostic fee, and whatever work they decide to do (if you chose to have them do the job).  I've already got burned from one dealer whom I explicitly told I only wanted the diagnostic done if they would run the job through Porsche extended warranty; they did not even attempt to do so and told me "its probably not covered anyway, here's the bill".

From anecodotes it sounds like VW is handling the extended emissions warranty more in the favor of the customer than Porsche. Maybe this has gotten worse recently, has anyone else had such bad luck with Porsche honoring the warranty?  Some posts on Rennlist suggest to contact Porsche North America if they are being difficult honoring the warranty work.

Touareg is probably the better buy if you expect warranty work, since they came with 10yr/100k powertrain warranty plus the extended emissions warranty.

https://www.vwcourtsettlement.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/PORSCHE_BOOKLET_3L_Gen_2-1_FINAL.pdf