Cayman Gen 1- to "S" or not to S...
Discussion
Having made a relatively similar change recently (in my case a 123D to 2.9 Cayman, both on 19" wheels), I'd imagine that your first impression will be: where's the torque? This will be followed in quick succession by: where's the suspension? And where are the brakes? But those are just style differences really.
The Cayman sounds a lot busier than the diesel beemer, but that's mostly to do with proximity of the engine to your head. Well, that and the fact that it needs a few more revs to work. It adds up to a whole heap more personality, and that's a good thing.
As for the ride, I thought the beemer with M-sport suspension was a bit hard, but the Cayman is something else. I imagine PASM or 17" wheels would make a massive difference. That and manning up a bit.
The braking differences are most definitely stylistic. M-sport brakes on the 123 are brilliant, but over servoed and, I suspect, wouldn't last long under really heavy use. The Cayman's brakes need a much harder shove but you get heaps more feel and ultimately just as much power. The whole car behaves so much better under braking that you really stop thinking about the differences pretty quickly.
Aside from the lack of trinkets in my rather spartan base Cayman, everything else is just miles ahead of the BMW, and I really liked that car.
k
klootzak said:
Having made a relatively similar change recently (in my case a 123D to 2.9 Cayman, both on 19" wheels), I'd imagine that your first impression will be: where's the torque? This will be followed in quick succession by: where's the suspension? And where are the brakes? But those are just style differences really.
The Cayman sounds a lot busier than the diesel beemer, but that's mostly to do with proximity of the engine to your head. Well, that and the fact that it needs a few more revs to work. It adds up to a whole heap more personality, and that's a good thing.
As for the ride, I thought the beemer with M-sport suspension was a bit hard, but the Cayman is something else. I imagine PASM or 17" wheels would make a massive difference. That and manning up a bit.
The braking differences are most definitely stylistic. M-sport brakes on the 123 are brilliant, but over servoed and, I suspect, wouldn't last long under really heavy use. The Cayman's brakes need a much harder shove but you get heaps more feel and ultimately just as much power. The whole car behaves so much better under braking that you really stop thinking about the differences pretty quickly.
Aside from the lack of trinkets in my rather spartan base Cayman, everything else is just miles ahead of the BMW, and I really liked that car.
k
^^ I get a lot of identification with your experiences. As above, my daily - now bi-daily The Cayman sounds a lot busier than the diesel beemer, but that's mostly to do with proximity of the engine to your head. Well, that and the fact that it needs a few more revs to work. It adds up to a whole heap more personality, and that's a good thing.
As for the ride, I thought the beemer with M-sport suspension was a bit hard, but the Cayman is something else. I imagine PASM or 17" wheels would make a massive difference. That and manning up a bit.
The braking differences are most definitely stylistic. M-sport brakes on the 123 are brilliant, but over servoed and, I suspect, wouldn't last long under really heavy use. The Cayman's brakes need a much harder shove but you get heaps more feel and ultimately just as much power. The whole car behaves so much better under braking that you really stop thinking about the differences pretty quickly.
Aside from the lack of trinkets in my rather spartan base Cayman, everything else is just miles ahead of the BMW, and I really liked that car.
k
- is a Cooper S. When I test drove the Cayman (it's been years since I last drove a Porsche, a friend's 987 Boxster) I was shocked at how hard a shove the brakes needed, in comparison with what I was used to. But once you learn to trust that the stopping power is all there, they are fantastic and very easy to modulate. Ditto the (almost ridiculously heavy) gearshift with short shift kit. When I'm using the cars pretty much day about, it's the Mini that now feels weird, both in shift and brake feel. It's a few hundred yards up my road to the first set of lights, and I invarably stand the Mini on it's nose as I touch the brakes for the first time that day...In terms of ride, I replaced the runflat 17s on the Mini with 'proper' Dunlops (Sportmaxx RT) and the difference is massive. Now, unfortunately, I'm running my winter 16s, which are runflat Bridgestone Blizzaks. Back to a horrendous ride around the city centre again. It's about on a par with the Cayman (on the current 18s) around town - but there are three key differences.
1) The Mini thumps through the front end more noticeably, with steering kickback, while the Porsche seens to thump more heavily at the rear. I guess this is a weight distribution thing.
2) The Mini (despite being pretty fresh and otherwise feeling decntly screwed together) rattles; the Cayman utters not a squeak, Not even from the 'dog guard' (luggage retaining grill thing).
3) Also - the Mini jumps half a cars width sideways if you hit a big bump mid corner. The Cayman's damping copes so much better once on the move.
Sorry don't know how to quote.
- not recommend the Bose; it's bizarrely boomy and bass-heavy -> I disagree, don't know about the gen 1 but on the gen 2 when you select the "Linear" setting the bass is really tight there is no boominess at all, there is no way I could live with the sound package plus, even the bose is not a patch on the b&o in my audi
- avoid the PCM2.1 if possible; it's utterly pish -> Agreed, PCM3.0 is livable although again completely outdated by the 2009 MMI in my audi
- find or retrofit the short-shift (hard work from cold but then brilliant) -> Agree, the standard throw is very long even for a normal car let alone a Porsche
- prefer a thicker rimmed steering wheel (mine is smooth / multifunction / thin) -> Agree, mine is smooth / multifunction / thin as you say, terrible in my opinion, steering wheel in audi or bmw much thicker and better
- not be too fussed about which seats are in the car (mine are standard and great) -> Disagree I have the 18-way adaptive sport seats and sitting in the standard seat is like sitting on a bench not enough support, I would not go back, I am thin and without adjustable bolsters the seats don't hug me enough
- prefer PASM if ALL I was doing was drivng around town; out of town the non-PASM is perfect -> Disagree I'm on 19" Non PASM and would have liked PASM everywhere, my Audi is on 20" and on the Comfort setting is like a softly sprung limo while on the dynamic setting like a tightly sprung mini, I love the adaptive suspension
"Having made a relatively similar change recently (in my case a 123D to 2.9 Cayman, both on 19" wheels), I'd imagine that your first impression will be: where's the torque? This will be followed in quick succession by: where's the suspension? And where are the brakes? But those are just style differences really."
I had the exact same impressions in that exact order as you but I came from a 90hp diesel let alone a 204hp (or whatever 123d is) I kid you not.
- not recommend the Bose; it's bizarrely boomy and bass-heavy -> I disagree, don't know about the gen 1 but on the gen 2 when you select the "Linear" setting the bass is really tight there is no boominess at all, there is no way I could live with the sound package plus, even the bose is not a patch on the b&o in my audi
- avoid the PCM2.1 if possible; it's utterly pish -> Agreed, PCM3.0 is livable although again completely outdated by the 2009 MMI in my audi
- find or retrofit the short-shift (hard work from cold but then brilliant) -> Agree, the standard throw is very long even for a normal car let alone a Porsche
- prefer a thicker rimmed steering wheel (mine is smooth / multifunction / thin) -> Agree, mine is smooth / multifunction / thin as you say, terrible in my opinion, steering wheel in audi or bmw much thicker and better
- not be too fussed about which seats are in the car (mine are standard and great) -> Disagree I have the 18-way adaptive sport seats and sitting in the standard seat is like sitting on a bench not enough support, I would not go back, I am thin and without adjustable bolsters the seats don't hug me enough
- prefer PASM if ALL I was doing was drivng around town; out of town the non-PASM is perfect -> Disagree I'm on 19" Non PASM and would have liked PASM everywhere, my Audi is on 20" and on the Comfort setting is like a softly sprung limo while on the dynamic setting like a tightly sprung mini, I love the adaptive suspension
"Having made a relatively similar change recently (in my case a 123D to 2.9 Cayman, both on 19" wheels), I'd imagine that your first impression will be: where's the torque? This will be followed in quick succession by: where's the suspension? And where are the brakes? But those are just style differences really."
I had the exact same impressions in that exact order as you but I came from a 90hp diesel let alone a 204hp (or whatever 123d is) I kid you not.
Just a little update. Dreams shattered. Sat in my friend's cayman 2.7 at the weekend and I simply don't fit. Short of putting in sports seats the Cayman is a write off, and thus I assume the boxster as well.
I'm all legs sadly and there was just no way of finding a halfway decent driving position.
911 may be the answer. Mad as it sounds that's a bit of a letdown, I wanted a focused cayman. Thanks for all your help chaps and chapesses.
I'm all legs sadly and there was just no way of finding a halfway decent driving position.
911 may be the answer. Mad as it sounds that's a bit of a letdown, I wanted a focused cayman. Thanks for all your help chaps and chapesses.
carparkno1 said:
Just a little update. Dreams shattered. Sat in my friend's cayman 2.7 at the weekend and I simply don't fit. Short of putting in sports seats the Cayman is a write off, and thus I assume the boxster as well.
I'm all legs sadly and there was just no way of finding a halfway decent driving position.
911 may be the answer. Mad as it sounds that's a bit of a letdown, I wanted a focused cayman. Thanks for all your help chaps and chapesses.
This a pity. I am 6ft 2" and only just fitted into the 987 - I forget how tight they were.I'm all legs sadly and there was just no way of finding a halfway decent driving position.
911 may be the answer. Mad as it sounds that's a bit of a letdown, I wanted a focused cayman. Thanks for all your help chaps and chapesses.
My 981 has lots more leg room
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