j09333

Been away from the brand for a while since 997.2 turbo cab a few years ago.
Never tracked a car before porsche driving school last month and I am hooked.
It all started with porsche world road show-PWRS.
I have owned v12 lambos before my current ferraris and never thought of tracking any v12s or buying a porsche again.
Then my friend took me to the PWRS and we drove current ranges of porsche gt3 included on the track.
Cayman was great until we drove 911 c4s and then turbo and then gt3.
OMG gt3 was so good.
It had the sound and sensation of I might say 458 spyder with back window down blasting through b roads at 9000rpm LOL.
PWRS ended well but I wanted more track experience so I applied for driving school afterwards.
Day has come and I had 2 choices.
Drive f12 or 335i sedan for a day.
I chose 335i for the first half and felt if the paces go up I might never drive f12 ever, so I switched to f12 and it was painful, and then went back to 335i till the day ends.

F12 on track-too much risk and not much rewarding because
a. I will not be able to drive the car fully without risking any
b. car is so well sorted to feel any weight transfer at my ever so slow and cautious speeds.
c. stone chips and maintanance costs are too high for 1 day enjoyments.

335i on the other hand was good for track newbe like me since it slided all over the place.
I learned much driving it but it was too heavy and slow to keep up with the porsches as a group.
Further more, seat position and lacking LSD and it is a sedan and it is my wife's car and etc etc...you get the point.

So I went to the dealer and found
a. I have to wait 7 months to get gt3
b. 911 s is nearly double the price of cayman s
c. M4 is not being delivered and last gen M3 is out of stock.
d. Buying used is not allowed by me wife(she has bad experiences on the used)

I want to enjoy the track day as a stress relief, and no intention of competition at all, and track experiences will make me a better driver.
This is my goal.

Is cayman s a good choice than 911s or m3/4?
Everyone I talked about this suggested against high performance cars like gt3 for it has so much grip and balance, once you lose it you are done.
To learn the car dynamics and to enjoy the day, mid-engine is better suited?

Thank you for reading this and waiting for your replies

Bill Lehman

I have been tracking a Cayman since 2008 and have 107 track days on the Cayman platform. I'm also a PCA Instructor and have taught 46 different students driving Caymans, Boxsters, 911s, BMW M3 & M5s, and a variety of other cars. Based on this experience, I think a Cayman is the best track car as delivered from the manufacturer. A new 981 Cayman S with the X73 suspension and no PTV would be my choice. Regarding the GT3 versus the Cayman, I expect that with equal tires the grip level is very similar and the Cayman has better balance. I've never seen a new GT3 on track, their owners are not supposed to drive them until their engines are replaced, but a used 997 GT3 would be fun.

FTS

I agree with Bill for the most part. I think the Cayman platform is perfect for starting out at the track. Once you grown out of it, you'll have many other options depending on your comfort level, and even with the Cayman should you choose to continue with it. There is no sense in thinking what you might need in the future, I think a Cayman (base) or S would do superbly for you; it did for me

zedcat

This is the Cayman sub forum so maybe some bias here? That said given the premise of tracking a new car, yes Cayman over 911 would be my choice. I'd go base 2.7l, 6MT, x73 suspension, and nothing else. You'll probably point by higher hp cars but will have fun and become a better driver. If you get the bug bad, you'll want track wheels/stickier tires, suspension mods for more camber, bucket seats, rollbar/harnesses, etc.

David A

Bill, can you educate me? Why no PTV? I thought it was the LSD? I have a 993 C2 now but I've been looking at Caymans. Thanks.

Bill Lehman

The PTV works by applying the brakes to the rear wheel similar to PSM intervention. It is not a LSD but may be packaged with a LSD. The Porsche LSD is also suspect. I'm old school and prefer minimum electronic "aids".

mlpor

j09333 - you don't say anything about where you are located, or what kind of tracks or facilities are nearby, or you have access to. And it's not clear to what extent the car you are looking for would also be a "daily driver" or pretty much a designated track vehicle only.

That said, yes the Cayman is a wonderful, right out of the box HPDE "track" car.
You've listed quite a stable of other high performance cars it sounds like you either presently have, or have had - just not I gather so much "on the track."

If that's the case, rather than just running out to buy "a track car" you might consider first just investing some money in you, driving other peoples machinery on the track - I think you'll form some very definite opinions and views, now much more informed based on your own experience, about what track vehicle would make the best fit.

That said, I don't think you would be going wrong with a Cayman, particularly the new one on the 981 chassis. 2nd, personally I think it's easier for a new to the track driver to learn more, faster trying to drive a slow car fast, than trying to learn by driving a fast car - sometimes the really, really, really "fast" i.e. high horse power cars can leave both the driver and any coach/instructor brave enough to hop into the right seat a bit overwhelmed, and suspicious, maybe with good reason, feeling the car is trying to kill them. It's hard to learn & improve went that's the classroom situation, and the presence or raw speed and power alone tends to conceal, sometimes, good technique - HTH

charlie27

this is a complex question and the answer id depdent on several factors. Are you going to be doing just DE? Move on to TA or wheel to wheel racing? What is your budget and objectives?
What is your driving experience? what org would you be running with? what classes do they have? how competitive do you want to be?

go fast in a slow(er) car or slow in a fast(er) car?

or go fast in a fast car?

the biggest variable in lap times in the beginning is the driver.