What is The Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) System?

One of the most important pieces is an electronic damping system called Porsche Active Suspension Management, or PASM. Wondering how it works? Here’s Porsche PASM explained in simple terms.

Porsche PASM Explained

Benefits and Shortcomings of Regular Shock Absorbers

To get why PASM matters, you first need to know where regular dampers fall short. See, traditional dampers usually force a choice: stiff or soft. The former is great when you’re caning it because it reduces body rolls and helps the car stay flat through corners. Even if you hit a bump, the vehicle will shrug it off without tossing you around. However, at low speeds, like during normal city driving, those same bumpers can feel harsh.

Softer suspensions flip the experience. Their springs compress more easily and rebound more slowly, which smooths out the rough stuff when you’re moving slowly. But once you start driving harder, that softness turns into body rolls and float.

Is That the Divide PASM Is Trying to Fix?

Correct. PASM uses sensors to monitor your driving and road conditions, allowing it to adjust the suspension as you drive. That means the dampers can get stiff when you’re playing and extremely compliant when you’re just cruising.

Controlling this system from your Porsche is easy. Just hit the shock absorber button on the instrument cluster to cycle through the drive modes. Or, if you want, you can jump into the Porsche Communication Manager and switch the PASM settings from there.

What Is PASM Sport?

On certain 911s, there’s an upgraded PASM called PASM Sport. It features adjustable damping with Normal and Sport modes, a ten mm drop in ride height, tighter anti-roll bars, and aerodynamic enhancements like an extended front lip and a higher rear spoiler. All in all, models fitted with this system handle and look better. Hard to see a downside here.

What Are the Porsche Driving Modes?

Driving modes are really how you unlock PASM. How many you get depends on the Porsche you’re in. The 911, for example, comes with five: Normal, Sport, Sport+, Wet, and Individual. The Taycan, on the other hand, has three: Range, Normal, and Sport. If you’re in a Taycan Cross Turismo, there’s also a Gravel mode for rougher roads.

And just so you know, PASM doesn’t work alone. It also talks with the engine, all-wheel drive, traction control, ABS, and even the electronic rear differential to ensure everything’s working together for the best ride possible.

With PASM, you can have your cake and eat it too. For more information or to test drive a model equipped with PASM, stop by Porsche Warwick in Warwick, RI.