cayman as a courtesy car
Discussion
As someone who vowed to have a 911 one day from an early age, I was a bit surprised when I finally got to drive on at the PEC a while back. 991 C2S - no doubt it's quick in a straight line, but the handling was "off" - I didn't like the weight out the back and boy, you could definitely feel it was there even with all the engineering to try and hide it
Was glad to hand the keys back and jump into my 981 Boxster to go home - feels by far the better car in terms of balance and handling if not in outright acceleration or top speed
I now personally wouldn't even consider a 991 as a purchase and am sad that the 718 has arrived (not driven it, but the engine change just isn't for me) - not sure what I'll change to now when the time comes, although I'm going to hang on to the Boxster for a good while yet
Was glad to hand the keys back and jump into my 981 Boxster to go home - feels by far the better car in terms of balance and handling if not in outright acceleration or top speed
I now personally wouldn't even consider a 991 as a purchase and am sad that the 718 has arrived (not driven it, but the engine change just isn't for me) - not sure what I'll change to now when the time comes, although I'm going to hang on to the Boxster for a good while yet
Of the small percentage of drivers who notice and care about handling, I imagine that about half like the rear engine handling and about half don't. It's a matter of taste. I think I would ultimately prefer mid-engine if there were no speed limits, but at low speeds rear-engine is more engaging. Mid-engine plus massive, grippy tyres and low speeds just means endless neutrality and mechanical grip, which means all cornering feels the same no matter the speed (within the small spectrum of lawful speeds).
ORD said:
Eh? The 2.7 is not a fast car, not compared to a 991.
Of the small percentage of drivers who notice and care about handling, I imagine that about half like the rear engine handling and about half don't. It's a matter of taste. I think I would ultimately prefer mid-engine if there were no speed limits, but at low speeds rear-engine is more engaging. Mid-engine plus massive, grippy tyres and low speeds just means endless neutrality and mechanical grip, which means all cornering feels the same no matter the speed (within the small spectrum of lawful speeds).
The 2.7 981 is similarly engaging at "low" speeds as the engine can be worked and heard and felt whereas even the S feels a little dull at legal speeds I agree.Of the small percentage of drivers who notice and care about handling, I imagine that about half like the rear engine handling and about half don't. It's a matter of taste. I think I would ultimately prefer mid-engine if there were no speed limits, but at low speeds rear-engine is more engaging. Mid-engine plus massive, grippy tyres and low speeds just means endless neutrality and mechanical grip, which means all cornering feels the same no matter the speed (within the small spectrum of lawful speeds).
And for some of us a 5 second 0-60 time is plenty fast enough.
Moog72 said:
As someone who vowed to have a 911 one day from an early age, I was a bit surprised when I finally got to drive on at the PEC a while back..... Was glad to hand the keys back and jump into my 981 Boxster to go home...
I vowed to own a 911 since I had a 935 scalextric car. Since that day nothing else would do! 
If you ever want to drive (IMO) a proper 911, and ever find yourself in the Berkshire area of the UK, drop me a PM and you can have a go in mine.
v8ksn said:
I think it all boils down to the size
Sports cars (in my opinion) need to be small enough to feel nimble and give you options when threading them down a road but they also need to be fast and involving. The Cayman gives you the small biddable nimble car feeling and the 991 does not.
The general rule for me is If I can reach into the back of the glovebox from the drivers seat then the car is the right size for me
But the 981 and 991 are practically the same size if you park them next to each other. Well certainly in gt4 and (53 form anyway....Sports cars (in my opinion) need to be small enough to feel nimble and give you options when threading them down a road but they also need to be fast and involving. The Cayman gives you the small biddable nimble car feeling and the 991 does not.
The general rule for me is If I can reach into the back of the glovebox from the drivers seat then the car is the right size for me
v8ksn said:
I think it all boils down to the size
Sports cars (in my opinion) need to be small enough to feel nimble and give you options when threading them down a road but they also need to be fast and involving. The Cayman gives you the small biddable nimble car feeling and the 991 does not.
The general rule for me is If I can reach into the back of the glovebox from the drivers seat then the car is the right size for me
Agree it boils down to size - but both the 911 and 981 are VAST compared with cars of the past - getting on for a foot wider than the original 911s. Unfortunately most (fun) roads are the same size as they were 50 years ago...Sports cars (in my opinion) need to be small enough to feel nimble and give you options when threading them down a road but they also need to be fast and involving. The Cayman gives you the small biddable nimble car feeling and the 991 does not.
The general rule for me is If I can reach into the back of the glovebox from the drivers seat then the car is the right size for me
This is what was said last time someone brought this up:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=231&t=1528853&i=120
I still like mine very much.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=231&t=1528853&i=120
I still like mine very much.
Edited by pete.g on Thursday 2nd June 13:43
ORD said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
A bit long? It is absurdly long. To my mind, it simply ruins the car. With sensible gearing, it would be a truly wonderful sports car engine; with the gearing that it has, I would never even consider buying one. anonymous said:
[redacted]
Branding, yes, in terms of expectations. Purpose of a brand is after all to convey a set of attributes you can expect on purchase (or even test drive). I was just musing that my expectation of a 911 might now better apply to the Cayman than a modern 911. And why would that matter (to me)? Because since I was a kid I have admired and valued what the 911 stood for in terms of performance and handling, and I think it would be a shame if that's no longer the case. Appreciate that's not entirely rational though, particularly if Porsche still make other cars I would like. anonymous said:
[redacted]
The 2-3 shift point on my 997 is something like 66mph. A bit high but fine because you don't need to hit that speed, as 3rd is fine from below 60. The equivalent shift point on a 981 is somewhere above 70mph. It matters because you cannot short shift a 2.7 and get much acceleration, so you end up stuck in one gear for ages. The pleasure of a manual box is going up and down it.Imagine that engine with 2nd topping out at 62 (which it would have to for the official 0-100kph), giving a shift point somewhere in the high 50s. 3rd would then be useful from 40-something (just like in the more powerful but longer geared cars). Lovely.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I think I prefer the 2.7 to the 3.4 in the Cayman/Boxster, simply because I don't much like the 3.4 as an engine. I've never driven a GTS, though. Perhaps that's a bit better. My general impression is that the higher the specific output, the better a F6 feels and sounds. The 3.8 at 400bhp is lovely, for example, whereas the 3.4 at 320bhp feels a bit lethargic at higher revs. It's infinitely better in the 991.1 (with a much higher specific output). Then again, you prefer the 997 3.6 to the 3.8, so you're bonkers!
No right answer. Both great engines. All this is now irrelevant - the nice distinctions between various (always lovely) F6s. Now you just get a turbo 4 or turbo 6 with the turbo turned up or down.
If you took out 100kg, it would feel less dead in the middle of 3rd, which would be nice for road use. I certainly agree on the tyres. Huge tyres on a car with such lovely balance and fairly little torque is just silly - it hides the lovely handling under a massive pile of grip.
I think I kinda know what you mean about the 3.6, but my impression was that it is no stronger (and, if anything, less strong) than the 3.8 at high revs. It's just that there is maybe a bigger contrast to the mid-range. If you're running through the gears and keeping it on the boil, that disappears.
I think I kinda know what you mean about the 3.6, but my impression was that it is no stronger (and, if anything, less strong) than the 3.8 at high revs. It's just that there is maybe a bigger contrast to the mid-range. If you're running through the gears and keeping it on the boil, that disappears.
ORD said:
3rd would then be useful from 40-something (just like in the more powerful but longer geared cars). Lovely.
I think people must drive differnt cars to me lol3rd at 40 mph is so dead in the GT4 you would never do it, the car only just starts to pick up at 45mph in 2nd !
Like wise the 981 2.7 is not nice at all it just makes noise if you press the throttle but no speed increase !
You cannot short s
t it as it has no power if you do.I like the 3.4 in my other two cars far better they Rev out easy, the gearings less and they make much nicer road cars.
Esp the lighter spyder as its another 80kg out the car. So I have 310lb/ft torque in a 1250kg car. And it revs out to red line sweet.
Gassing Station | Boxster/Cayman | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff