Talk me out of a Porsche Cayman

[RJ]

I figured it was something like that.
Makes sense to do it when you have the time, parts, and the temperature is nice.
I imagine in Tampa, February is about the ideal time to do it.
Where I live, on the other hand, it would be miserable in my unheated garage. Spring or fall is the most pleasant time for wrenching at my house.

Interesting that you managed to use up a set of rotors in less than 40,000 mi with no track days. Those must be soft rotors and tough pads.

Yep it’s a good time of year here for sure, about 68 and partly cloudy today in Tampa.

Yeah so June ‘19 I bought the car with 18.9k, so I’ve put on about 10k since then. The pads were around 50% ish, perhaps they were renewed 1X? I’m not a track guy, but it was my DD back and forth to work before I retired. The base 991.2 rotors got the S rotors from the 991.1, at 330 mm diameter, I’m not real sure how soft the cast iron is, but they stop the car pretty well.

[OlongJohnson]

Yes, it's definitely an area of emphasis. Here's an interesting table of bodyshell weight reductions from 2005 to 2016 (the 2017 bodyshell was retained with updates):

I've been rabbit-holing E46 stuff lately. There's some data that says the E46 coupe unibody is ~100 lb lighter than the E36 coupe unibody.

I used genuine Porsche OEM pads and rotors. I don’t like reusing old brake parts, so I also ordered new pad wear sensors (2), caliper bolts (4), brake disk rotor retaining screws (4), and brake pad spring clips (4), from Pelican Parts. Total parts cost was $743.50.

The cordless impact wrench is awesome. Both for taking the wheels bolts off, and the dang stubborn disk retaining screws that are almost welded on. The rotors themselves needed several doses of WD-40 to unloosen, only coming off after a few enthusiastic whacks from the dead blow hammer.

Pad wear sensors are good to have extras of on hand, but I only replace them if the clips get mangled taking them out of the old pads. If your light didn't turn on, they're still good. That other stuff can all be reused without issue if it's in good shape.

Keeping the disc retaining screws in good shape is much easier if you use a hammer impact screwdriver to remove them.

It baffles me that Europeans seem to have not yet figured out that two M8 holes threaded in the rotor hat to allow bolts to be screwed in is an effective press to allow the rotor to be gently removed from the hub without taking a hammer to your wheel bearings. Every Asian car I've seen made in the last 35 years has had them. Except the one I worked on with Brembo-supplied brakes. On that one, I drilled and tapped them myself before putting the rotors back on, to make my future better. Also, a tiny bit of zinc dust petrolatum (ZDP) goes a long way in not needing to press or hammer anything in the future.

In general, 2mm remaining friction material thickness is an appropriate wear limit for automotive brake pads. The marked minimum thickness on rotors is the "take out of service" limit.

[GJM]

https://blog.dupontregistry.com/pors...-to-j-d-power/

[RJ]

Major Detail - Exterior

28,796 miles

Did my first major detail on the paint today. I am a little bit familiar with cleaning cars for show; I had a '67 Austin Cooper S that was restored by a previous owner I took to a whole bunch of events when I lived in the UK in the mid-90s. I did the London to Brighton run in it a couple times, which was an awful lot of fun.

Anyway, this GT Silver on my car is easy to keep looking clean. For whatever reason the dirt doesn't show up almost at all, even though I know it's got stuff on it. I knew when I was putting the brakes on I'd need to get to the finish to clean it up.

For this detail, I washed with Dawn dishwashing soap, to try and degrease the car and get most of the previous wax off. I then did a clay bar treatment, lubing with water+a drop of Dawn in a spray bottle. The paint was pretty smooth at this point. I had ordered a Griot's Garage G9 orbital polisher and a 5.5" backing plate and pads from Lake Country:



This worked well. I ended up just using the black waxing pad and the all in one product I chose, HD Speed. This is basically a cleaner wax. After a hand application of the curves and fiddly parts I knew I could not get wiht the buffer. I applied the HD Speed in even passes until I got around the car all the way. This product cures fairly fast, after about a minute, and some light buffing, the finish is super smooth and glossy.

After about 6 hours work, I'm pretty happy with my first use of a buffer. It's definitely a more effective way to apply a product than a hand polish job. The Griot's buffer is soooo nice to work with; I'm very glad I upped my budget to buy this one. I can see why it's popular.

I finished up with some Rejex synthetic wax on the rims, and my usual low-sheen Chemical Guys Tire Dressing on the Michelins. Plus polishing the windows.



The finish "pops" a bit more now. The paint was in decent shape, for a four year old daily driver. I could probably have gone to use the slightly harsher blue polishing pad I'd ordered, but in the end, being a noobie, stuck with the black wax pad. I was more interested in seeing how this product worked for what was essentially a wax job. I really like this HD Speed stuff, the finish ended being very very squeaky and durable feeling; whether this was the product, or the claybar, or both, I'm not sure, but it definitely looks better.

[olstyn]

Man, clay bars and cars are a double-edged sword. You will get the car cleaner than you ever thought possible, but you will find, mentally catalog, and wince about every flaw.

[vcdgrips]

Looks great. Far braver than me with that power tool.

Turtlewax Wax and Dry with yellow Micro fiber towels from Costco.

But then I do not drive a Porsche!

[Doc_Glock]

https://blog.dupontregistry.com/pors...-to-j-d-power/

That is pretty surprising! Porsche is calling my name lately. They just seem to “get it” with their social media etc. they have done a great job at building a culture around the brand, like Harley Davidson.

Then I looked at prices on used Caymans. Frick. I need to wait til I have a few kids out of college and 30-40k in play money before going down that road.

I still think a rear engine is kinda dumb.

And here is an amazing video that shows why Porsche has such a following.

[JM Campbell]

Major Detail - Exterior

28,796 miles

Did my first major detail on the paint today. I am a little bit familiar with cleaning cars for show; I had a '67 Austin Cooper S that was restored by a previous owner I took to a whole bunch of events when I lived in the UK in the mid-90s. I did the London to Brighton run in it a couple times, which was an awful lot of fun.

Anyway, this GT Silver on my car is easy to keep looking clean. For whatever reason the dirt doesn't show up almost at all, even though I know it's got stuff on it. I knew when I was putting the brakes on I'd need to get to the finish to clean it up.

For this detail, I washed with Dawn dishwashing soap, to try and degrease the car and get most of the previous wax off. I then did a clay bar treatment, lubing with water+a drop of Dawn in a spray bottle. The paint was pretty smooth at this point. I had ordered a Griot's Garage G9 orbital polisher and a 5.5" backing plate and pads from Lake Country:



This worked well. I ended up just using the black waxing pad and the all in one product I chose, HD Speed. This is basically a cleaner wax. After a hand application of the curves and fiddly parts I knew I could not get wiht the buffer. I applied the HD Speed in even passes until I got around the car all the way. This product cures fairly fast, after about a minute, and some light buffing, the finish is super smooth and glossy.

After about 6 hours work, I'm pretty happy with my first use of a buffer. It's definitely a more effective way to apply a product than a hand polish job. The Griot's buffer is soooo nice to work with; I'm very glad I upped my budget to buy this one. I can see why it's popular.

I finished up with some Rejex synthetic wax on the rims, and my usual low-sheen Chemical Guys Tire Dressing on the Michelins. Plus polishing the windows.



The finish "pops" a bit more now. The paint was in decent shape, for a four year old daily driver. I could probably have gone to use the slightly harsher blue polishing pad I'd ordered, but in the end, being a noobie, stuck with the black wax pad. I was more interested in seeing how this product worked for what was essentially a wax job. I really like this HD Speed stuff, the finish ended being very very squeaky and durable feeling; whether this was the product, or the claybar, or both, I'm not sure, but it definitely looks better.

Don’t steal my side jobs dude. Great job!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RJ]

Off topic, but hopefully allowed:



Awkwardly, I detailed my car first, so there was a bit of a chill in the air yesterday. Didn’t get a hip thrust or narrowed eyes, but pretty sure I got the pursed lips, which usually indicates a mild Stage 1 in the wife’s unhappiness index. I rectified that this morning, cleaning up Mrs. RJ’s ride. Phew!

[RJ]

Don’t steal my side jobs dude. Great job!

Thanks again for the steer to the G9. It’s a great machine.