Talk me out of a Porsche Cayman

[TGS]

Tuner in upstate NY takes on Porsche's "cayman complex":



hubba'hubba!

[Doc_Glock]

I do know this. I want a Black Cayman. Some day. Not necessarily a GT4RS. But certainly without any silly turbochargers.

[Doc_Glock]

Tuner in upstate NY takes on Porsche's "cayman complex":



hubba'hubba!

That looks like an amazing package. The engine is great but the gearbox changes are also a great idea. Manufacturers in general (particularly Germans) gear the cars too long for American driving.

[TGS]

That looks like an amazing package. The engine is great but the gearbox changes are also a great idea. Manufacturers in general (particularly Germans) gear the cars too long for American driving.

It's actually perfect gearing for American driving as well as track driving.

It's just not as "fun" as shorter gears which aren't as efficient. Subaru put short gears in the first few years of the STi, and while SOME enthusiasts loved it everyone else bitched and moaned. Some enthusiasts would still change it to longer gears since the car simply wasn't competitive on the track.

So, you thinking a newer GTS or an older 6-cyl?

[Doc_Glock]

It's actually perfect gearing for American driving as well as track driving.

It's just not as "fun" as shorter gears which aren't as efficient. Subaru put short gears in the first few years of the STi, and while SOME enthusiasts loved it everyone else bitched and moaned. Some enthusiasts would still change it to longer gears since the car simply wasn't competitive on the track.

So, you thinking a newer GTS or an older 6-cyl?

The first time I drove a FRS when it was introduced, I could tell the gearing was just waaaaay to long. It was super boring. At least on the street.

Older 6: can't remember the year designation. Unfortunately they don't seem to depreciate much at all. Edit: looked it up: I really like the looks of the 987 made 2005-2012.

One reason is simply numbers. BMW sells in Z cars multiple times what Porsche sells in Caymans. Mazda is another exponent up in Miatas. Caymans are just freaking rare, on the order of only 3-5k cars imported a year. (Z3, Z4 20-30k/year, Miata 50-70k IIRC).

[TGS]

The first time I drove a FRS when it was introduced, I could tell the gearing was just waaaaay to long. It was super boring. At least on the street.

Older 6: can't remember the year designation. Unfortunately they don't seem to depreciate much at all. Edit: looked it up: I really like the looks of the 987 made 2005-2012.

One reason is simply numbers. BMW sells in Z cars multiple times what Porsche sells in Caymans. Mazda is another exponent up in Miatas. Caymans are just freaking rare, on the order of only 3-5k cars imported a year. (Z3, Z4 20-30k/year, Miata 50-70k IIRC).

Yup, that's why I didn't waste any time when I saw my local dealer had two CPO Caymans in stock, an 18 and a 19. The 18 sold the same night I found it, fortunately the 19 was still there the next day.

It's cool to see them investing more on the Caymans in the last couple years with the GT4 and GT4RS, but from what I've read it's mostly for other markets and we just get the spillage. And, even still, they continue to artificially downgrade the Caymans compared to their commensurate trim in 911s as it's a better car than the 911 but they can't admit it.

[TGS]

After doing some reading and talking to others who've done the same, I put some Michelin Pilot Sport All-Season 4s on the car this week to replace my Goodyear Eagle F1 summers.

The typical thing to do is to put winter tires on your sports car when temperatures drop. Thing is, in a climate like Virginia when it's cold at night and warm during the day in the spring and fall, you're either close to or well outside your operating temperatures for half of the day depending on what tire you're wearing. That, and a lot of times we can have some pretty wild temperature swings during the spring and fall. This fall has been pretty consistent with a steady decline in temperature, but it's not out of the ordinary to alternate between hot and cold days until the weather decides to stick to hot or cold...meaning you're again outside your temperature range half the time for your given seasonal tires.

The PS AS4s ride very well.....quiet, smooth, moreso than the Eagle F1s although those never bothered me. They grip well.....not as much as the summers in warm weather, but plenty for use on the street. They're a little bit more squishy feeling at the edge before they break traction, whereas the Eagle F1s would just smoothly break with much less noticeable warning. This feeling on the edge could also be influenced by my choice of sticking to the stock 18" tire size for street use...235/45 fronts and 265/45 rears....so I wonder if you're running lower profile tires as tends to be the fad these days if you'd experience a little bit less squishyness when approaching the limit. For the given purpose of a street tire I can use to drive my Cayman in varying temps, I'm totally happy with them so far.

This is for a relatively lightweight, moderately powered mid-engined car; YMMV if you're driving something outside that envelope, but @noguns expressed satisfaction with them on his BMW M3 so maybe you'd be happy as well. Just wanted to add an anecdote for those who might be skittish from trying out the newer generation of high performance all-seasons. It seems like even talking about putting ASs on sports cars causes people to shut down and scoff, but these ain't your daddy's all seasons....so give it a fair shake if they apply to your situation where you either might have a climate like ours or simply might not have the room to store two separate sets of wheels/tires for the seasons.

I'm looking forward to see how they feel during mid-Winter, though the only winter tire experience I'd be able to compare them to is apple and oranges (an 05 STi with Blizzaks).

[noguns]

I’m glad they worked out for you. I did an auto cross on the as3s one November at summit point and they didn’t do to bad. They performed better than the Bridgestone extreme summer tires due to temperature and they offered pretty good feedback.

I actually find my M3 to be more entertaining because they aren’t as grippy as an extreme summer tire. I also love that I can drive all year round on these. Btw I never really noticed much different in response when changing sidewall profile when comparing the same tires. The sidewall stiffness of the tire itself determines the response or squishy feeling imho.

Enjoy the cayman!

[RJ]

...and that's a wrap.

Two and a half years into ownership of my 911, time to move on and let someone else enjoy this beauty.

I realized lately that since I'm no longer working, I wasn't driving the car like I was. Getting in and out, physically, has been an issue for Mrs. RJ for some time because: reasons. I looked at trade values, and was astonished that the car is now worth more than I bought it for in 2019. It has the better part of a year or more left on CPO, but as a five year old vehicle, it's starting to show some age. And, I'll have to admit, at age 62, I'm feeling the clutch a bit more than I have ever before. Bottom line: Every experience I've had has had a beginning and an end, and I'm at the end of this one. And the fact these cars are now trading at historic values, like many used cars these days, means its a no brainer financially.

We just concluded a deal on a new car order for a BMW 540i, with Performance Center Delivery. We will get a new car and a good bit of money out of the deal, plus save thousands in taxes. Whoever gets this car will have a well-maintained vehicle with sheaves of paperwork, dealer service history and virtually nothing to do except drive and enjoy it.

It's been fun.

[P30]

Every experience I've had has had a beginning and an end, and I'm at the end of this one. And the fact these cars are now trading at historic values, like many used cars these days, means its a no brainer financially.

End of an era? No, beginning of a new era.