Cayman Advice - Looking to buy possibly

[Mario149]

bcr5784 said:

Slightly off beam, personally I would take a lot of convincing about the sense of tracking a car that I owned - unless it really was a track day car and I was doing a lot of days on track.

I'm basically the opposite It's a no brainer for me to track each of my cars a few times a year, it eases my frustration of not being able to use them on the road to anywhere near their full potential. They may not be optimised for the track in the way a Caterham is, but they're mine and getting to explore them and learn them is very satisfying.

[mollytherocker]

Mario149 said:

I'm basically the opposite It's a no brainer for me to track each of my cars a few times a year, it eases my frustration of not being able to use them on the road to anywhere near their full potential. They may not be optimised for the track in the way a Caterham is, but they're mine and getting to explore them and learn them is very satisfying.

Totally agree!

A track is the only place you can REALLY push your car, even an older one!

[bcr5784]

Mario149 said:

I'm basically the opposite It's a no brainer for me to track each of my cars a few times a year, it eases my frustration of not being able to use them on the road to anywhere near their full potential. They may not be optimised for the track in the way a Caterham is, but they're mine and getting to explore them and learn them is very satisfying.

While you undoubtedly learn things about your car on the track that you are most unlikely to do on the road, having tried a similar car to mine at the PEC (a bit limited I accept), I know I will have more fun in a Caterham or an Elise without the risks to my P&J. I wouldn't push hard enough to risk gravel rash, for instance. But each to his own.

[T4NGO]

Bit off also, but is a Cayman R rare?

[Beanoir]

T4NGO said:

Bit off also, but is a Cayman R rare?

Not on this forum they're not, but our in the real world they're not particularly common, c.230 odd UK cars.

[T4NGO]

Ah, ok. Was at a stealer yesterday and was trying to tell me a Caymen R was rare. Was a nice one but think I prefer the manual to a PDK. Maybe is rare, but sometimes rare doesn't mean good. Just means never sold many!

[Beanoir]

T4NGO said:

Ah, ok. Was at a stealer yesterday and was trying to tell me a Caymen R was rare. Was a nice one but think I prefer the manual to a PDK. Maybe is rare, but sometimes rare doesn't mean good. Just means never sold many!

I never said they weren't good...

Depends what you want, Cayman S is a great car, loved mine. The Cayman R is realtively rare, it's also quite unique as a factory produced car, but the R isn't just about rarity value.

After owning my Cayman R for 8 months and just having done 2,500 miles through the alps last week, I can safely say that it's an incredible car and eclipses the S as a drivers car, but it doesn't mean the S isn't great. Plenty will argue you can make an R from S, and you can probably get 95% of the way there, but at what cost etc, if you want an R you may as well buy one, or mod an S to your own spec and have an equally good car. There is no right or wrong on that debate.

As a daily driver or depending on your driving tendancies, you may not really benefit from the R and an S would be perfectly suited, each to there own.

Drive one and decide for yourself what suits you best.

[T4NGO]

Thanks. OK. PDK.
Yes or no? I undertand its a personal choice, but are there any inherent issues with either? Weak spots or is going one way a complete nobrainer as opposed to other?
I think I've decided on an R. Only thing I dont really like is the garish sticker down the side they all seem to have ala US muscle car stylee that they all seem to have.

Thanks for all the advice everyone and apologies for any dumbass q's

[Trev450]

There aren't any reaccuring issues with either manual or PDK transmissions that I'm aware of, so a purely personal choice.

You can always remove the decals with a heat gun.

[loughran]

T4NGO said:

I think I've decided on an R. Only thing I dont really like is the garish sticker down the side they all seem to have ala US muscle car stylee that they all seem to have.

Ii's not about muscle cars, it's about tradition.

[bcr5784]

loughran said:

Ii's not about muscle cars, it's about tradition.

True, but not one I like either. One of the things I've always liked about Porsche's is that they are NOT "flash". And then they, to my eyes, spoil their special editions by signwriting the sides. Can't put that many people off though if the second hand prices of 2.7RSs a are anything to go by.

[T4NGO]

Sorry. Not having a pop at tradition. It's just a 'feature' I'm not happy with and should I get one will remove. As I would have if my tvr had them. Sags don't do subtle, so I'm not worried about that, just never been a fan of stripes.

Regarding PDK, does it have to come with the 'chrono' option to release more power or something? Am I reading this info right? Is it pointless to find one without both options?

[braddo]

Bargain track prepped Elise here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/motorsport/...

Stick some lightweight carpet on the tub and roof and it will be a lot more civilised on the road.

[Beanoir]

It all depends on what kind of track days you do, the Cayman R would be fine for most people out of the box as a casual track day car, far better in many regards than a Gen1 cayman S would be in terms of 1) reliability and 2) capability. You can always better prepare a car for track though, it just depends how serious you are. My money would be on a cheap 996 Carrera 2 and spend 10k on suspension, wheels, tyres and couple of other bits and it would be a really enjoyable track car.

However going back to your original post, the Cayman R is not anywhere near within a £14k budget and I would probably suggest it would bring you closer to your original conundrum of being a bit too valuable to track if this is how you already feel about the Sag.

I'm not convinced by the idea of a Chimera as a track car, plenty of other better suited options at that kind of price IMO. Lovely cars though.

[T4NGO]

Hi,

Yeah the more I looked the more I fancied the 'R' but also the more confused I get. Even to the point of sticking to what I know and getting a tamora.
As for extending the budget I was goint to use on the road also and the R seemed a good allrounder.
Elises are nice, but they just seem underpowered (I'm not the stig so can't make up for my lack of abilities lol) and have never floated my boat. Although that one with the hardtop looks better.

Its all so darn confusing.....

[Asterix]

Just sold my 2008 MY08 Cayman S. It was tracked heavily for the first two years and driven spiritedly all the time. Apart from usual wear and tear it never missed a beat other than the gear selector cables breaking which is a well known fault.

[T4NGO]

Well, thanks for all the help and advice. I test drove a few fri-sunday. Listened to what you guys said and the majority seems to believe I can't just get a gen 1 and track it with out mods, I cant be arsed with that. And the failure possibilites also? Seems worse than TVR. I did get a bit carried away and liked the look of the R, but the budget was getting a bit silly...
I have to admit even though I like the look of a Caymen and quite wanted one, the drive didn't inspire me. Didn't feel like what I had hoped a Porsche should. To be honest didn't feel much different to the Merc. Which I guess can be a good thing as its a classed as a sports car and rides comfy.
So I went and bought a Tamora instead. Kinda sticking with what I know, but easier to work on at home. The more I looked at Caymens, the more un homeworkshop friendly they seemed. This could be wrong, but I know what to do on TVR's. So again, thanks for input and sorry if anyone feels I wasted their time. I genuinely was looking at a Caymen, but just didn't have the spark TVR's have, maybe all I drove were bad ones? But 3 I feel are enough to figure out they weren't for me.

Alan

[Beanoir]

T4NGO said:

Well, thanks for all the help and advice. I test drove a few fri-sunday. Listened to what you guys said and the majority seems to believe I can't just get a gen 1 and track it with out mods, I cant be arsed with that. And the failure possibilites also? Seems worse than TVR. I did get a bit carried away and liked the look of the R, but the budget was getting a bit silly...
I have to admit even though I like the look of a Caymen and quite wanted one, the drive didn't inspire me. Didn't feel like what I had hoped a Porsche should. To be honest didn't feel much different to the Merc. Which I guess can be a good thing as its a classed as a sports car and rides comfy.
So I went and bought a Tamora instead. Kinda sticking with what I know, but easier to work on at home. The more I looked at Caymens, the more un homeworkshop friendly they seemed. This could be wrong, but I know what to do on TVR's. So again, thanks for input and sorry if anyone feels I wasted their time. I genuinely was looking at a Caymen, but just didn't have the spark TVR's have, maybe all I drove were bad ones? But 3 I feel are enough to figure out they weren't for me.

Alan

"Didn't feel much different to the Merc [C220]"

[T4NGO]

Yeah C220 coup, I know. Weird isn't it. I was honestly expecting different and more from them.

[DarkMatter]

T4NGO said:

......
So I went and bought a Tamora instead. Kinda sticking with what I know, but easier to work on at home. The more I looked at Caymens, the more un homeworkshop friendly they seemed. This could be wrong, but I know what to do on TVR's. So again, thanks for input and sorry if anyone feels I wasted their time. I genuinely was looking at a Caymen, but just didn't have the spark TVR's have, maybe all I drove were bad ones?....

I know what you mean. I did all of the maintenance on my TVR Griffith but over my 8+ years of ownership I found that for the majority of journeys my driving enjoyment reduced. Having bought a Gen 2 Cayman 2.9 my driving enjoyment is now high again but having already paid a specialist to have an oil/filter change and new pads/disks I can't see me doing as much maintenance as on the TVR. As you say there are lots of internet scare stories about potential problems with Porsches which make even TVR Speed 6 engine problems seem insignificant.