Cayman GTS

[TB303]

Mario149 said:

Funnily enough when I was at PEC for my BGTS test drive the auto blip on the manual really got on my tits after a while! And I just couldn't stand the long(er) manual gearing - never spent more than about 3s in 3rd at a time in the manual car while I was there which for tracks designed to emulate road driving really put the nail in the manual coffin for me and reinforced my PDK choice. PDK not as interactive as manual, but a better choice for me as it does what it says on the tin perfectly, rather than being a seriously flawed version of what could have been an epic manual gear changing experience had they chosen not to give it daft ratios which would have just bugged me perpetually.

If you're going to track the car, I wouldn't discount PTV, my experience with in on track at Bedford the other week was positive, but I do think it's a bit pointless on a car you'll only drive on the road as I didn't miss it at PEC

To be fair while they say the track is designed to emulate road driving, the straights aren't that long compared to your average road. But I agree - the gearing is too long. And you'd be breaking the speed limit on UK roads!

[Portland-JB]

Got a build date for mine the other day which is the 26th of sept, dealer said it should arrive around 2 weeks later, has this been the same for you guys?

Also i am told i have the last one of the year before they start building in march next year, which will be turbo engines, very happy that i have a six cylinder would not want a 4 cylinder.

Plus they will probably delay building a GTS model for the new engines until later in the year which will make the six cylinder GTS models very desirable so should hold their money well.

[TB303]

Portland-JB said:

Got a build date for mine the other day which is the 26th of sept, dealer said it should arrive around 2 weeks later, has this been the same for you guys?

Also i am told i have the last one of the year before they start building in march next year, which will be turbo engines, very happy that i have a six cylinder would not want a 4 cylinder.

Plus they will probably delay building a GTS model for the new engines until later in the year which will make the six cylinder GTS models very desirable so should hold their money well.

I do wonder if later on in the model cycle they will pop the turbo flat 6 in a GTS variant? Wonder if the GTS will be available at launch of the 981.2 this time?

[NickUSA]

Portland-JB said:

Got a build date for mine the other day which is the 26th of sept, dealer said it should arrive around 2 weeks later, has this been the same for you guys?

Also i am told i have the last one of the year before they start building in march next year, which will be turbo engines, very happy that i have a six cylinder would not want a 4 cylinder.

Plus they will probably delay building a GTS model for the new engines until later in the year which will make the six cylinder GTS models very desirable so should hold their money well.

You have the same build date (Completion) as us. Ours is already in production and in the body shop.

[tyrrell]

They are going all the way up to December 2015 with builds, my BGTS is scheduled for November production, 3rd week December delivery date all being well.

[Prestonese]

Been told production until early next year......

But then again these guys can tell you anything and we would believe it.

As long as they can get us the car we wanted!

[Budweiser]

I went for Guards as I couldn't justify the extra cost. NCO? Then maybe I would have tried Carmine...

[Cyb1967]

Mine is being built late December 2015 or early January 2016, spec not fixed yet, going to wait until 1st March for delivery making it one of the very last NA BGTS.

[Cyb1967]

Mine is being built late December 2015 or early January 2016, spec not fixed yet, going to wait until 1st March for delivery making it one of the very last NA BGTS.

[JD68]

Good evening all. I have been following this thread for a few weeks and just wanted to say a huge “thank you” to everyone for the wealth of information that has been posted about these cars. Like most of us, I am still deliberating the choice of chassis, PTV and PCCB etc. so really value the comments from existing owners and those who have attended PEC to compare the various options.

I actually put a deposit down last April (I think…) and was planning to take delivery in March 2016 but my dealer is concerned that build slots may not still be available in the New Year. I’m now looking at a November build and the spec needs to be confirmed before I have had the chance to visit Silverstone or sell my current Porsche….

Initial colour choice was Dark Blue Metallic but I am now considering GT Sliver with the red GTS interior. Full spec - as of today - is PG17H8H3 but still subject to change! Have I missed anything vital or added too much unnecessary stuff?

As with quite a few people here, I have never bought a new Porsche before or spent so much money, but plan to keep this for a while. After ten years in track focussed 968s, this is going to be something to enjoy on road trips and holidays as well as a few track days before I get too old…..

Sat Nav is probably the main indulgence so I’m keen to know if it really works and is worth having.
Thanks again.

[bcr5784]

JD68 said:

Good evening all. I have been following this thread for a few weeks and just wanted to say a huge “thank you” to everyone for the wealth of information that has been posted about these cars. Like most of us, I am still deliberating the choice of chassis, PTV and PCCB etc. so really value the comments from existing owners and those who have attended PEC to compare the various options.

I actually put a deposit down last April (I think…) and was planning to take delivery in March 2016 but my dealer is concerned that build slots may not still be available in the New Year. I’m now looking at a November build and the spec needs to be confirmed before I have had the chance to visit Silverstone or sell my current Porsche….

Initial colour choice was Dark Blue Metallic but I am now considering GT Sliver with the red GTS interior. Full spec - as of today - is PG17H8H3 but still subject to change! Have I missed anything vital or added too much unnecessary stuff?

As with quite a few people here, I have never bought a new Porsche before or spent so much money, but plan to keep this for a while. After ten years in track focussed 968s, this is going to be something to enjoy on road trips and holidays as well as a few track days before I get too old…..

Sat Nav is probably the main indulgence so I’m keen to know if it really works and is worth having.
Thanks again.

Ripoff though it is, PCM does work well - and the dual displays are a big cut above anything Garmin or Tomtom offer. That said it is very irritating thattou can get a freestanding system for less than a tenth of the price which offers more functions.

In particular :

1) PCM doesn't support speed cameras
2) PCM doesn't support personal POIs of any sort
3) Upgrades are expensive (some free standing systems have free lifetime upgrades)
4) Some freestanding systems support better route planning/route recording/preferred route functions

All that said, I have PCM and would spec it again. But it does get up my nose that I have been ripped off.

Re other spec issues. If you have been following the threads here and on Planet 9 you will find quite a number of owners finding ground clearance issues with GTSs in general - which are obviously worse with SS. Whether that is a particular issue for you, only you can judge.

Re PTV. I was keen to have this option - or at least an LSD - but I haven't got it. Others have, however, said that commotion that the differential braking can cause is irritating. If it's anything like the noise PSM makes when operating I'd be wary of speccing it personally. Worth trying if you have the option.

Edited by bcr5784 on Friday 11th September 01:53

[Mario149]

JD68 said:

Good evening all. I have been following this thread for a few weeks and just wanted to say a huge “thank you” to everyone for the wealth of information that has been posted about these cars. Like most of us, I am still deliberating the choice of chassis, PTV and PCCB etc. so really value the comments from existing owners and those who have attended PEC to compare the various options.

I actually put a deposit down last April (I think…) and was planning to take delivery in March 2016 but my dealer is concerned that build slots may not still be available in the New Year. I’m now looking at a November build and the spec needs to be confirmed before I have had the chance to visit Silverstone or sell my current Porsche….

Initial colour choice was Dark Blue Metallic but I am now considering GT Sliver with the red GTS interior. Full spec - as of today - is PG17H8H3 but still subject to change! Have I missed anything vital or added too much unnecessary stuff?

As with quite a few people here, I have never bought a new Porsche before or spent so much money, but plan to keep this for a while. After ten years in track focussed 968s, this is going to be something to enjoy on road trips and holidays as well as a few track days before I get too old…..

Sat Nav is probably the main indulgence so I’m keen to know if it really works and is worth having.
Thanks again.

I'll declare my bias - my car is DBM. But.....Don't rule out DBM, it's a beautiful colour that really comes out in the sun and is nice and rare so feels special. Nothing wrong with silver at all, but round where I live silver and black Porsches are about 2 a penny and frankly I get sick of seeing them!

Ref PCCBs, If I was ordering now, I'd give them serious consideration now that SICOM (sp?) offer a refurbishment service for a fraction of the price of new discs. I'd like them, but personally they're probably still a bit overkill for me even though my car goes on track, that said, from a visual PoV they do fill the rims better than the steel items. Ref brake dust from steel brakes, if you specify the carrera Classic wheels, the beauty of them is that you don't see the dust on them as I've found out!

Ref PTV, I've got it and happy with it, can feel it on track, but you don't miss it for road driving.

Ref PCM, if your car is a long termer (5 years+), frankly I wouldn't bother as by the Tim you sell it it will be crap compared to everything else anyway. At best I'll say it's adequate compared to my 2 year old £120 Tom Tom, but even that may be stretching it a bit. I only specced it as I didn't want to have to have a nav unit on my window (vanity) and I have a high threshold for crap sat nav

Ref PASM etc, since the GTS isn't a hardcore car really whatever option you choose, I went for PASM as I like being able to change the cars character, nothing wrong with sports suspension option but it's not going to suddenly make the car feel like a GT3/4. If I was tracking my car a lot more I'd consider it as you get a bit less body roll AIUI, but again for the road you won't miss it IMO

If you can stretch to it the bucket seats are fantastic - dead comfortable and they make the car interior look/feel very high end, especially in conjunction with the GTS pack, £5K very well spent in total IMO, and when i look at other 981s and 991s without, they look a bit low rent to my eyeball of a sudden!

If I'd had another £1K to spend on my car, I'd have optioned the radar cruise thingy

Finally, just make sure you're happy with the gear lengths if you're buying a manual car. The silly gear ratios on the manual 981s are pretty much it's major flaw, at PEC which mimics fast road driving, I never used 3rd for more than about 3s at a time in the manual car, if that. 84mph in 2nd and 115mph in 3rd are acceptable in my GT3 on track, they are however manifestly not acceptable on a 981 for the road. That for me was a deal breaker even though I've always been a manual man (oo er matron). PDK ratios are about 10% shorter so you'll get to use more ratios more of the time and feel like the car is pulling a bit harder. When pottering, you'll be glad for the PDK, when having a mildly spirited to quite spirited drive, you'll prob miss the manual a bit, when properly on it on track or on great alpine roads etc, the feeling of razor precision that PDK with paddles gives is great. In an ideal world, if my 981 was my only fun car, I'd opt for manual and try and get someone to fit me a 10-15% shorter final drive

Hope this is some use

Edited by Mario149 on Friday 11th September 07:05

[981C]

Mario149 said:

PDK ratios are about 10% shorter so you'll get to use more ratios more of the time and feel like the car is pulling a bit harder.

Edited by Mario149 on Friday 11th September 07:05

The 981 PDK ratios are actually longer than the manual if you look at the Porsche literature, but that's bks. The 981 and 991 have the same FD of 3.44. My GTS would top out at 76-78mph in 2nd. If it had the published 3.25 FD it would have been more like 83mph.

[Mario149]

Haha! Yes, not always good to believe everything you read! Probably best to stay away from exact gear ratio figures etc, the main thing for people to take away is that maximum in gear speeds for PDK are noticeable lower than for manual (obviously excluding PDK's 7th gear)

[Portland-JB]

Sorry when i meant last one of the year i meant out of my dealer (Sheffield)

They do not have any other allocations until new ones are released next year, he did say that they will be 4 pot engines though, and most likely a GTS model won't be built until late 2016 to get the standard cars and the S models off the ground.

Either way I'm not bothered what they do or decide to produce because I've got what i wanted a proper NA flat 6 :-)

[JD68]

This is all a great help, many thanks!

Had a brief run out this afternoon/early evening in a CGTS with the sports chassis and I am feeling much more confident about my choice. It is not great at slow speeds on bumpy roads or around town, but once up and running, everything smoothed out on some very challenging back roads in Surrey and Sussex.

This is a huge relief as my previous (even more brief) experience was in the damp on really narrow roads where speeds were low and the suspension obviously never got to actually work. The car was just very uncomfortable and I was about to give in and play safe with PASM…..

Last night I had a chat to an owner who had recently returned from another trip to the Nurburgring and was raving about the sports chassis so I wanted to be sure it works for me on the roads in my area as well as on European trips.

Next step is to have a final look at colour and interior trim options so back to the dealer tomorrow, who luckily has a couple of GTS Boxsters in the showroom for comparison.
This is all very exciting but taking over my life at the moment!

[Mario149]

You may have done and/or mentioned this already, if so apologies, but if not have you tried PASM on the same roads? If not, really try to just to get a good comparison. I test drove an SS Cayman round London and it was fine, but the dual personality of PASM is a real boon - the ability to switch from comfy cruiser to more taught than SS is a lot of fun, especially since 981 GTS PASM in sport mode is still waaaay softer than normal mode on PASM on my 7.1 GT3 which is manageable for the road, so you're not limiting the amount of time you can use the 981 PASM's sport setting I.e. It'll rarely be too firm

[bcr5784]

Should have mentioned PCM has speed limit display based on GPS - so not likely to be as accurate as a real-time system but I find it pretty accurate most of the time.
I'd share Marios suggestion on PASM, seems to offer the best of both worlds - and gives you a little more ground clearance too.

[TB303]

981C said:

The 981 PDK ratios are actually longer than the manual if you look at the Porsche literature, but that's bks. The 981 and 991 have the same FD of 3.44. My GTS would top out at 76-78mph in 2nd. If it had the published 3.25 FD it would have been more like 83mph.

Sounds like the PDK ratios are too long as well (but obviously better than manual). I would expect 2nd gear to top out in the 60s if I could choose.

[TB303]

bcr5784 said:

Ripoff though it is, PCM does work well - and the dual displays are a big cut above anything Garmin or Tomtom offer. That said it is very irritating thattou can get a freestanding system for less than a tenth of the price which offers more functions.

In particular :

1) PCM doesn't support speed cameras
2) PCM doesn't support personal POIs of any sort
3) Upgrades are expensive (some free standing systems have free lifetime upgrades)
4) Some freestanding systems support better route planning/route recording/preferred route functions

All that said, I have PCM and would spec it again. But it does get up my nose that I have been ripped off.

Re other spec issues. If you have been following the threads here and on Planet 9 you will find quite a number of owners finding ground clearance issues with GTSs in general - which are obviously worse with SS. Whether that is a particular issue for you, only you can judge.

Re PTV. I was keen to have this option - or at least an LSD - but I haven't got it. Others have, however, said that commotion that the differential braking can cause is irritating. If it's anything like the noise PSM makes when operating I'd be wary of speccing it personally. Worth trying if you have the option.

Edited by bcr5784 on Friday 11th September 01:53

I agree it is a ripoff. I had the last version on my 987 and was happy to have it (bought used).

My issue now is that Waze is so good (camera and police locations are a nice safety net too) and there is little point for the actual GPS function of PCM. It's going to be increasingly hard for these factory Nav systems to compete with the likes of Google backed systems....

The main reason to have it is to have it integrated but with a Kenu mount the iPhone works wonderfully for me now.