Cayman S worthwhile upgrades
Discussion
Afternoon all,
I bought a Cayman S a couple of weeks ago to use whilst I save up for something with a GT badge. I drove it at Silverstone at the weekend and was hugely impressed with it on track. I'm thinking about spending a few k on it to make it feel a bit more lively on track days. I've got the following list of potential additions from Parr:
Cargraphic Sport backbox with changeable exhaust tips
or, Remus Sport Back box.
Parr ECU Remap and High Flow Filter
Intake Plenum & GT3 Throttle Body
Porsche Short Shift
Quaife ATB Limited Slip Diffrential
Parr Fast Road/Track Geometry set up
Has anyone used these mods on a Cayman S? At the moment I'm thinking of going for the short shift, the intake plenum and throttle body, the remap and filter, geo and then maybe add a GT3 Alcantara steering wheel. I reckon that would make it feel a bit more track focused.
Any thoughts on these mods? Interested to hear from anyone who's modified their Cayman.
Or, should I save the money? or order a Cayman R and forget the GT2/3?
Cheers
I bought a Cayman S a couple of weeks ago to use whilst I save up for something with a GT badge. I drove it at Silverstone at the weekend and was hugely impressed with it on track. I'm thinking about spending a few k on it to make it feel a bit more lively on track days. I've got the following list of potential additions from Parr:
Cargraphic Sport backbox with changeable exhaust tips
or, Remus Sport Back box.
Parr ECU Remap and High Flow Filter
Intake Plenum & GT3 Throttle Body
Porsche Short Shift
Quaife ATB Limited Slip Diffrential
Parr Fast Road/Track Geometry set up
Has anyone used these mods on a Cayman S? At the moment I'm thinking of going for the short shift, the intake plenum and throttle body, the remap and filter, geo and then maybe add a GT3 Alcantara steering wheel. I reckon that would make it feel a bit more track focused.
Any thoughts on these mods? Interested to hear from anyone who's modified their Cayman.
Or, should I save the money? or order a Cayman R and forget the GT2/3?
Cheers
Edited by 996GT2 on Wednesday 23 February 18:05
I have the Remus on my Cayman S, alone that's enough to put a smile on your face in one go. It suddenly feels like the engine has been un-corked, and the drive by sound is something that'd make a GT3 think, mmmmm. Blipping the throttle is a problem, I can't stop doing it!
I've spent hours reading reviews and thoughts on the plenum and the general throught is that its not worth it, but if you did the whole lot, i.e. exhaust, intake, plenum, throttle body, ECU remap, I'm sure the sum of the parts would add up. You'd be able to do all of that for approx £2,000-3,000. Put that on a nicely specced Cayman S, and you've saved a lot of mular versus a Cayman R.
I'd like to be in a GT3 at some point, so I'd rather save now and have the GT3 sooner than later!
p.s. here's mine... Yes, I've posted the link before but hey!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da8oSH8DIx0
I've spent hours reading reviews and thoughts on the plenum and the general throught is that its not worth it, but if you did the whole lot, i.e. exhaust, intake, plenum, throttle body, ECU remap, I'm sure the sum of the parts would add up. You'd be able to do all of that for approx £2,000-3,000. Put that on a nicely specced Cayman S, and you've saved a lot of mular versus a Cayman R.
I'd like to be in a GT3 at some point, so I'd rather save now and have the GT3 sooner than later!
p.s. here's mine... Yes, I've posted the link before but hey!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da8oSH8DIx0
Edited by March2008 on Wednesday 23 February 22:15
you don't need a diff imho
I had a much better geo dialed in and no spinning wheel issues.
why do people say that it needs a diff ?
I would not go with Parr I would use Softronic it's tried and tested by 100's of people with proven real gains and you can fash it back to stock on your own
Go Remus,AWE, Borla for exhaust, GT3 plemun, GT3 throttle body, de-snork, under drive pully, better brake pads and a good geo (not factory spec) and some good tyres and stay on 18" rims.
I also had the Porsche SS and loved it over standard.
I ran a proven 340+Bhp 10 second 100mph car with zero dead spots.
a great car
I had a much better geo dialed in and no spinning wheel issues.
why do people say that it needs a diff ?
I would not go with Parr I would use Softronic it's tried and tested by 100's of people with proven real gains and you can fash it back to stock on your own
Go Remus,AWE, Borla for exhaust, GT3 plemun, GT3 throttle body, de-snork, under drive pully, better brake pads and a good geo (not factory spec) and some good tyres and stay on 18" rims.
I also had the Porsche SS and loved it over standard.
I ran a proven 340+Bhp 10 second 100mph car with zero dead spots.
a great car
Edited by mrdemon on Wednesday 23 February 23:00
I've fitted Bilstein PSS9 with Semi Solid gearbox mounts, Quaife diff and Remus exhaust.
Only reason for the exhaust is that the stock one cracked so needed replacing. But all the other mods make the car feel night and day different on the track.
Never bothered with any engine upgrades.
Only reason for the exhaust is that the stock one cracked so needed replacing. But all the other mods make the car feel night and day different on the track.
Never bothered with any engine upgrades.
Cheers all.
The Cayman R comment wasn't really serious, I spec'd one up on the configurator and as much as I love the Cayman I'd never put 60k into one.
I'm not really after more power as I think it's got just enough to make it interesting, certainly enough for use on the road. I'm not really a fan of loud exhausts, a bit more rasp from it might be good but I don't want it boomy in the cabin or attention grabbingly loud.
I just want it to feel a bit more urgent/responsive when getting on the power out of corners etc. I guess the suspension could make a difference but I didn't feel that the stock setup was struggling with my driving, it's quite an expensive upgrade to replace the dampers so I reckon a geo setup might be better to try first.
As for the diff, I'm also not really sure what difference it'll make, would be nice to drive one with it before spending a grand on it.
mrdemon, you car sounds impressive, who did the upgrades for you?
My car is the usual basic Cayman S spec:
Bose
Parking distance control
Auto dimming mirrors/auto wipers
Sports seats
19 inch sport design wheels
At silverstone last weekend
Another potential option is to get an OPC to retrofit the 'Sport' chrono upgrade, short shift and maybe the Alcantara steering wheel, that might be enough to liven it up for the time being and would keep it factory standard.
The Cayman R comment wasn't really serious, I spec'd one up on the configurator and as much as I love the Cayman I'd never put 60k into one.
I'm not really after more power as I think it's got just enough to make it interesting, certainly enough for use on the road. I'm not really a fan of loud exhausts, a bit more rasp from it might be good but I don't want it boomy in the cabin or attention grabbingly loud.
I just want it to feel a bit more urgent/responsive when getting on the power out of corners etc. I guess the suspension could make a difference but I didn't feel that the stock setup was struggling with my driving, it's quite an expensive upgrade to replace the dampers so I reckon a geo setup might be better to try first.
As for the diff, I'm also not really sure what difference it'll make, would be nice to drive one with it before spending a grand on it.
mrdemon, you car sounds impressive, who did the upgrades for you?
My car is the usual basic Cayman S spec:
Bose
Parking distance control
Auto dimming mirrors/auto wipers
Sports seats
19 inch sport design wheels
At silverstone last weekend
Another potential option is to get an OPC to retrofit the 'Sport' chrono upgrade, short shift and maybe the Alcantara steering wheel, that might be enough to liven it up for the time being and would keep it factory standard.
Edited by 996GT2 on Thursday 24th February 09:53
ZeroH said:
Gav you may be the only guy to ever go from a GT2 to a cayman !! What happened to the R8 ?
I know mate, not the usual progression through Porsches! The R8 was a bad move financially, it's the first car I've had on finance and after a few months it started to nag at me that I was paying 10 grand in interest for the privilege of owning an Audi, as good as it was. I had a reasonable offer on it so it went and I took the loss as (another) one of life's lessons 
I got the Cayman to use on track days/nurburgring/Spa this year whilst I save up some cash and decide what to buy next. Although after the way it got around Silverstone I'm starting to question the need to spend another 30-40k for a GT car.
996GT2 said:
Magic919 said:
18" wheels would be a good start.
What's the reasoning behind that? I had 18s on it whilst the 19s were being refurbed/painted and whilst it was slightly less crashy on bad roads it felt softer in corners and more wallowy. Are 18s considered better for track driving? Bigger wheels mostly add weight. It's unsprung mass too, the worst kind. When comparing two tyres, both pretty low profile, a change in construction will affect sidewall stiffness more than the size change. Best indicator would be a stopwatch and track. Impressions of handling can be deceptive.
Magic919 said:
Check MrDemon's post - stay on 18" wheels.
Bigger wheels mostly add weight. It's unsprung mass too, the worst kind. When comparing two tyres, both pretty low profile, a change in construction will affect sidewall stiffness more than the size change. Best indicator would be a stopwatch and track. Impressions of handling can be deceptive.
Cheers. So they're essentially heavier (any numbers anyone?) and give a crashier ride? As for the tyres, isn't the profile of the 19s (35) the same as the fronts on the GT3? Bigger wheels mostly add weight. It's unsprung mass too, the worst kind. When comparing two tyres, both pretty low profile, a change in construction will affect sidewall stiffness more than the size change. Best indicator would be a stopwatch and track. Impressions of handling can be deceptive.
Just trying to understand why 18s are considered better, I'm not concerned about the ride on the road as I think it's ok (must be in a minority!) although the weight difference might make it worth changing.
mrdemon said:
you don't need a diff imho
I had a much better geo dialed in and no spinning wheel issues.
why do people say that it needs a diff ?
I would not go with Parr I would use Softronic it's tried and tested by 100's of people with proven real gains and you can fash it back to stock on your own
Go Remus,AWE, Borla for exhaust, GT3 plemun, GT3 throttle body, de-snork, under drive pully, better brake pads and a good geo (not factory spec) and some good tyres and stay on 18" rims.
I also had the Porsche SS and loved it over standard.
I ran a proven 340+Bhp 10 second 100mph car with zero dead spots.
a great car
great car but i must disagree about the diff . try any car without a diff then with a diff and you will notice the difference immediately .I had a much better geo dialed in and no spinning wheel issues.
why do people say that it needs a diff ?
I would not go with Parr I would use Softronic it's tried and tested by 100's of people with proven real gains and you can fash it back to stock on your own
Go Remus,AWE, Borla for exhaust, GT3 plemun, GT3 throttle body, de-snork, under drive pully, better brake pads and a good geo (not factory spec) and some good tyres and stay on 18" rims.
I also had the Porsche SS and loved it over standard.
I ran a proven 340+Bhp 10 second 100mph car with zero dead spots.
a great car
Edited by mrdemon on Wednesday 23 February 23:00
geo is good , but geo and diff even better .
as for the re map , i personally wouldnt bother on an na car , but hey horses for courses
Edited by wtdoom on Thursday 24th February 12:00
The gen2 cayman S is pretty good out the box. if your going on track you just need some 888's and some decent pads. mines still on a standard geo,
heres a video of silverstone a couple of weeks ago..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQT7cheX4KE
heres a video of silverstone a couple of weeks ago..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQT7cheX4KE
dontdobends said:
The gen2 cayman S is pretty good out the box. if your going on track you just need some 888's and some decent pads. mines still on a standard geo,
heres a video of silverstone a couple of weeks ago..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQT7cheX4KE
Superb video, makes me realise there's a lot of room for me to get quicker before trying to make the car quicker!heres a video of silverstone a couple of weeks ago..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQT7cheX4KE
Had no idea the PDK S had that much pace in a straight line!
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