About this event
Saturday November 18, 2023
PCA-SDR Cayenne & Macan Off-road Tour
Join the Porsche Club of America San Diego Region to enjoy a half day of off-road driving just outside of Ramona, CA, with a meetup for a no-host lunch in Ramona following the morning drive. This event lets you learn and experience the capable off-road abilities of your Porsche SUV while enjoying the beautiful back country roads of San Diego.
The purpose of this event is to permit any well maintained Cayenne or Macan to participate without needing any special off-road equipment or preparation. And off-road driving experience is not required, either! The drive will start in Ramona and depart for the trails at 9AM, and have about 3 hours of off-road driving. Required equipment includes a mechanically reliable Cayenne or Macan with all-season tires at a minimum. Route specifics will be sent to registered participants the day prior to the event.
*** This event will go on, rain or shine!!! ****
The plan is to enjoy your Cayenne or Macan on a route that results in a dusty Porsche SUV, where a healthy car wash session should be all that is needed to return it to its garage queen status. This is not an event designed to beat up and/or break your beloved Cayenne or Macan, but we will be driving off road, on trails that are rocky, dirty, and lined by bushes that can encroach on the trail. This drive is designed to safely let you exercise your SUV's capabilities without harming its daily driver and family hauler dependability. The pictures throughout this registration web page show the expected terrain we will encounter.
The morning meeting location, and route specifics, will be provided the evening before the event, but due to trail conditions and possible closures, the actual route might change even the day of the event. Overall you should plan for being in the Main Street, Ramona area around 8AM on 11/18, ready for a briefing/pre-drive meeting that starts at 8:15AM. Following a couple hours of off-road driving, join others who are interested to hang out and have a no-host lunch in Ramona, CA.
Please register for the event as soon as possible, since attendance will be limited. If you have any concerns about the event and/or your Macan or Cayenne, please contact the event organizer to discuss.
Event requirements
Primary requirements: a gassed up Porsche Cayenne or Macan with no mechanical issues, with at least all-season tires, and a careful driver. The drive should not take more than a third of a tank of gas from start to finish. This event is limited to only Porsche Cayennes and Porsche Macans.
Appropriate tires are one of the most important pieces of equipment for this event: All-terrain tires on smaller diameter wheels are preferred for decreased puncture risks, but good condition all-season tires on wheels up to 20-inch diameter, will be adequate. Old tires with little to no tread depth may get you stuck in the loose dirt climbing portions of this drive, or result in a flat tire if you hit a rock, so please check your tires, and regardless of the tires you have, plan to drive carefully. Low-profile summer street type tires and wheels 21" or larger in diameter have a higher risk of punctures, and/or expensive wheel damage. Despite the risk of tire damage, if you still want to try to drive your Cayenne or Macan on summer tires, or on 21" or larger wheels, come prepared with a spare tire that fits your vehicle, along with the appropriate tools your vehicle needs, to do a tire swap.
Off-road driving experience is not necessary as the purpose of this event is to permit new drivers learn how to use the off-road features of their Porsche SUVs. The plan is to also aid new drivers to help manage any situations that may be uncertain, with on-the-fly tips during the route. There will be some optional opportunities to test the more advanced traction abilities of your SUV, if you so desire. Overall the trails should be handled by any version of Cayenne that is carefully driven with tires that have decent tread remaining, set to the partial load tire pressures. In general, Macans have less ground clearance with greater bumper overhangs compared to Cayennes, and will need to navigate the rocky and steep areas of the trail more carefully to prevent bottoming out, or scraping something. Cayennes will have no problem handling this trail from a clearance and traction standpoint, but Macans inherently have a greater risk of clearance issues and need to be more carefully driven to prevent potential issues, especially in the more rocky areas of the trail.
***PCA requires performing a self-inspection of your Cayenne prior to the event to help assure its readiness: please download the Self-Inspection Checklist here; fill it out and bring it with you. Regarding the form, this event is NOT considered a CAT 3 event.***
This is a special kind of PCA SDR event since the whole family can come along for the drive. All adults in attendance, driver or not, will need to sign the paper waiver at the drivers meeting held before departing. Please note, only the main registrant needs to register for the event, but everyone in a car needs to sign the waiver the morning of the event.
If minors will be attending the event, which they are absolutely encouraged to do, a Waiver for Minors must be signed by both parents. If only one parent will be actually attending the event, download the waiver PDF, print it, and have both parents sign the waiver, and bring it to be turned in at the morning tour briefing. Both parents need to sign the waiver for any minors in attendance.
Once you register for the event, you will get a confirmation email with links to download the Self-Inspection Checklist, and a link to the Minor Waiver. Then the day prior to the event, you will get an email from the event organizer with detailed information of the meetup location, and time, as well as SUV preparation information, and driving tips to consider.