Air Suspension or Coil Springs? Choosing the Right Lift Kit for Your Cayenne or Touareg
Keep the factory air suspension or switch to steel coil springs when you lift a Cayenne or Touareg? An honest comparison of both routes — reliability, ride, warning lights, tyres and cost — so you choose once.
Before you choose a lift kit for an older Cayenne or Touareg, there is one question to answer first: what suspension is on your car right now — air or steel coil springs? The answer decides which kit fits. It is not a matter of preference: an air suspension lift kit only works on a car running air suspension, and a coil spring lift kit only works on a car running coil springs.
This guide shows you how to tell which suspension your car has, which of our kits matches it, and what each kit includes.
The short answer
- Car running air suspension? Choose an air suspension lift kit — 2-inch or 3-inch. The air system stays in place and keeps working.
- Car running steel coil springs? Choose the 2-inch coil spring suspension lift kit.
- Car converted at some point? Go by what is fitted today. A car converted from air to coil springs takes the coil spring kit; a car converted from coil springs to air takes an air suspension kit.
- Cayenne 958 or Touareg 7P (2011–2018)? We make an air suspension lift kit for these cars. We do not currently offer a coil spring kit for the second generation.
How to tell which suspension your car has
The most reliable check is to look at the strut behind a front wheel (turning the steering to full lock helps). If you can see a metal coil spring wrapped around the strut, the car is on coil springs. If you see a rubber air spring — a smooth, bellows-like rubber sleeve with an air line running to it — the car is on air.
Do not rely on the original build specification or the ride height buttons on the centre console. Many of these cars have been converted over the years, and a converted car can still have the factory switches or a VIN that says it left the factory with the other system. What is physically on the car today is what counts.
If you are unsure, email a photo of your front strut and your VIN to info@overlandtrek.com and we will confirm the right kit before you order.
Air suspension lift kits
Our air suspension lift kits for the Cayenne 955/957 and Touareg Gen 1 / Gen 1.5 add forged 7075 aluminum spacers above the strut top mounts. Nothing is removed: the air springs, compressor and ride height sensors all stay in place and keep working, and the ride height settings still work — just higher.
The suspension computer on an air car still "sees" the old ride height after a lift. That is why every air kit includes adjustable level sensor links, which keep the sensors reading correctly so you do not get warning lights. Each set also includes a subframe drop kit, tubular upper control arms and adjustable sway bar end links, so geometry is handled in the same job.
Air cars can go to 2 inches or, with our 3-inch complete set, to 3 inches. Second-generation owners have the 958 & Touareg Gen 2 2-inch air suspension lift kit.
Coil spring lift kit
Our 2-inch coil spring suspension lift kit is for Cayenne 955/957 and Touareg Gen 1 / Gen 1.5 cars running steel coil springs. Forged 7075 aluminum spacers fit at the strut top mount and uprated high-tensile coil springs replace the existing coils, tuned for load-carrying overland use. Your struts and dampers stay, and the 1-inch subframe drop kit is included in the package.
Level sensor links and adjustable sway bar end links are air suspension parts and are not used with this kit. The springs have to be compressed during fitting, so use a proper spring compressor.
Side by side
| Air suspension lift kit | Coil spring lift kit | |
| For cars running | Air suspension (factory or converted) | Steel coil springs (factory or converted) |
| Lift options | 2 inches or 3 inches | 2 inches |
| Ride height | Height settings still work, now higher | Fixed at +2 inches |
| What it adds | Spacers above the strut tops | Spacers plus uprated coil springs |
| Correction parts included | Subframe drop, control arms, sway bar end links, level sensor links | 1-inch subframe drop |
| Warning lights | None when fitted as supplied | No air system involved |
| Installation | Intermediate, 4–6 hours | 4–6 hours, spring compressor needed |
| Fits | Cayenne 955/957, Touareg Gen 1/1.5 — and 958 / Touareg 7P | Cayenne 955/957, Touareg Gen 1/1.5 |
Before you lift: check the system you have
A lift will not fix a tired suspension. On an air car, have the air springs, lines and compressor checked first — a leaking air spring will still leak after a lift. On a coil car, check the struts and dampers, since the kit keeps the ones you have.
What about tyres?
Bigger tyres are usually the reason for lifting in the first place. As a rough guide from our own product data: after a 2-inch lift, around 275/65R18; after our 3-inch lift, around 285/70R18. Both depend heavily on wheel offset, so send us your wheel specs before you buy tyres and we will give you a straight answer.
Do not skip geometry correction
Lifting changes CV joint, control arm and sway bar angles. Our air suspension kits ship with every correction part included; the coil spring kit includes its 1-inch subframe drop. For the engineering behind it, read Lifting a PL71: Geometry Correction for Cayenne, Touareg and Q7. Still deciding on height? See 2-inch vs 3-inch lift kits. Book a full wheel alignment after any lift.
Frequently asked questions
Can I fit an air suspension lift kit to a car on coil springs?
No. The air kits are built around the air strut and its sensors. A car running coil springs needs the coil spring lift kit.
Can I fit the coil spring lift kit to a car on air suspension?
No. The coil spring kit is for cars already running steel coil springs. It is not an air-to-coil conversion kit. A car running air suspension needs one of our air suspension lift kits.
My car was converted from air to coil springs (or the other way). Which kit do I need?
The kit that matches what is on the car today. Converted from air to coil springs: the coil spring kit. Converted from coil springs to air: an air suspension kit. The factory specification does not matter.
Will I get warning lights after lifting?
Not with our air suspension kits fitted as supplied — the included level sensor links prevent them. The coil spring kit does not involve an air system.
Is there a coil spring kit for the Cayenne 958 or Touareg 7P?
Not at the moment. For 2011–2018 cars we offer the 958 & Touareg Gen 2 2-inch air suspension lift kit, which comes as a complete set.
Not sure which suspension your car has?
Email a photo of your front strut and your VIN to info@overlandtrek.com. We make these kits in our own factory and will confirm which one fits before you order.
