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Hi everyone. I bought a base 2015 cayman last week and am pretty satisfied with the purchase. It is my first sports car, so I won't be driving it like a madman, but the comments about its handling from online reviewers have been pretty spot on. The mid engine and low weight design by default is almost like cheating to make a car handle pretty good. The only options that came with the car were the sport tailpipes, PDK, power steering plus, and convenience package.
In all honesty, after driving a thousand miles in it so far, I feel like maybe a corvette would've been a better car for me, but I still like this car a lot. I'd be lying if I said that a car's appearance wasn't a huge factor in my decision.The car does get stares and compliments nonetheless, and I think the reason why is because this generation cayman is just not seen a lot on the road if you think about it. I think only like 10,000 or so have been sold in the US so far (not sure). Corvettes, however, are seen everywhere all the time.
I have a question about oil changes. The porsche dealer said that changing the oil myself would void the four year warranty because they use a particular kind of oil (mobil 1). Should I really take it to the dealership to do the oil changes? Also, should I top off the oil myself after 1,500 miles after the breaking in period, or change the oil instead? Thanks.
Congrats on your new Cayman! White's a nice color for the Cayman. I also considered a C7. They're nice for sure, but a Porsche has a precision feel and sound like no other.
Regarding the oil...if you're driving the car under normal conditions (i.e not tracking it or driving it unusually hard), I would just follow the factory maintenance schedule. I would also use the dealer for service while in the warranty period. Technically, the warranty should remain intact if you perform the service correctly yourself, but why take the chance. Don't give the dealer or Porsche any reason for denying warranty coverage. My car has nearly 5K miles and so far it hasn't needed topping off. It is my daily driver and is driven moderately till warmed up and never beat on.
Hey thanks for the response Rob. Yeah, I believe metallic white or yellow was the way to go for this car. The yellow with 20" ten spoke rims really POP.
Another question I have is about using this car as a daily driver and sports cars in general. Is it ok for a car like this to be driven with quick acceleration (but not really fast, like under 5500 rpm at all times) all the time? Basically what im saying is, because its a sports car, does it mean I should drive it like one all the time and the engine is durable enough to take the wear, or does it mean I should only drive it like a sports car some of the time.
I enjoy going from 15mph to 45mph on an empty 40mph speed limit road for example without flooring the pedal, but certainly accelerating more quickly than I normally would in a normal car. Say I do this 10% - 20% of the time.
It's my second one, but first I bought for myself. My first car was a secondhanded old sedan whose maintenance records for the first 80k miles were unclear.
Hey thanks for the response Rob. Yeah, I believe metallic white or yellow was the way to go for this car. The yellow with 20" ten spoke rims really POP.
Another question I have is about using this car as a daily driver and sports cars in general. Is it ok for a car like this to be driven with quick acceleration (but not really fast, like under 5500 rpm at all times) all the time? Basically what im saying is, because its a sports car, does it mean I should drive it like one all the time and the engine is durable enough to take the wear, or does it mean I should only drive it like a sports car some of the time.
I enjoy going from 15mph to 45mph on an empty 40mph speed limit road for example without flooring the pedal, but certainly accelerating more quickly than I normally would in a normal car. Say I do this 10% - 20% of the time.
Driving the car as you describe is fine. Porsches are designed for extended high speed Autobahn driving. Accelerating around town is not taxing the car at all. Just drive easy until the engine oil reaches normal operating temperature (around 185-215 degrees). I usually keep it under 4500 rpm till the oil reaches 150 degrees, then I'll go moderately over that. Once fully up to temperature, you can approach redline. Also keep the break-in period in mind, which limits you to 4K rpms over the first 2K miles. Some owners follow it, others don't. Many take it easy for the first 500-1000 miles then drive it as they wish.
It's worth reading your owner's manual. In there many of your questions are covered in detail.
Driving the car as you describe is fine. Porsches are designed for extended high speed Autobahn driving. Accelerating around town is not taxing the car at all. Just drive easy until the engine oil reaches normal operating temperature (around 185-215 degrees). I usually keep it under 4500 rpm till the oil reaches 150 degrees, then I'll go moderately over that. Once fully up to temperature, you can approach redline. Also keep the break-in period in mind, which limits you to 4K rpms over the first 2K miles. Some owners follow it, others don't. Many take it easy for the first 500-1000 miles then drive it as they wish.
It's worth reading your owner's manual. In there many of your questions are covered in detail.
Hey thanks Rob, I will definitely consult the manual more thoroughly
The guy at the dealership said to simply "don't redline it", but I thought "nah, I don't want to get it even close to redlining it". I'm about 1,200 miles into it now.
Funny story - At about 220 miles into the car, I accidentally got close to redlining it for a split second at about 7,200 rpm (from what I saw on the tachometer give or take 100 rpm), when I was going 62mph trying to get onto the highway, and realized I had to get to 72mph pretty quickly because there was this car right behind me. I simply accelerated some more, and all of a sudden, I hear this "FEEEEEEEEERN sound that made me worry for a second because I thought the car behind had exploded or something. It turned out to just be the cayman's V6 engine which sounded hellish and unreal. I got a little worried that this might've damaged my car, but a friend of mine said I should be perfectly fine if it was just that once.
Another thing I noticed which is odd is that the oil temperature is almost always at 225 F once I get onto the highway. It's like it just stays there, and the other thing on top of that (i'm not sure what it is yet) is always at 194 F and just sits there. It's like the numbers aren't able to register past 225 F and 194 F or something, but then I saw the 225 go to 228 F all of a sudden. I live in Florida so the temperatures here during a sunny day are like 51 F - 73 F as of now. Is this a common "problem" that others are having too because I think I've read on here about others noticing the same thing when they take it on the track.
Great advice all around. At 1200 miles break in, you are laughing, you can do as you wish.
Break in periods are nice because it allows everything in the engine block, cylinder heads, chambers, valves etc to go through their natural contraction expansion stages. Its more for long term durability than anything else ...read: if I keep my car for over 10 years and want to keep my repair costs down then I should do this. Otherwise I have had various porsches on the track at 500km...without any issues 3 years later.
No problem redlining, just wait until warm...or just leave in sports plus and try not to keep redlining at every stop light.
You have a great car with a great engine...I think the engine though is too smart. More on that on a different post.
I am at 800 km on mine and its doing great!
Enjoy
I am partial to white!
Last edited by GentlemanRacer; 12-15-2014 at 09:59 AM.
Reason: add
Hey thanks Rob, I will definitely consult the manual more thoroughly
The guy at the dealership said to simply "don't redline it", but I thought "nah, I don't want to get it even close to redlining it". I'm about 1,200 miles into it now.
Funny story - At about 220 miles into the car, I accidentally got close to redlining it for a split second at about 7,200 rpm (from what I saw on the tachometer give or take 100 rpm), when I was going 62mph trying to get onto the highway, and realized I had to get to 72mph pretty quickly because there was this car right behind me. I simply accelerated some more, and all of a sudden, I hear this "FEEEEEEEEERN sound that made me worry for a second because I thought the car behind had exploded or something. It turned out to just be the cayman's V6 engine which sounded hellish and unreal. I got a little worried that this might've damaged my car, but a friend of mine said I should be perfectly fine if it was just that once.
Another thing I noticed which is odd is that the oil temperature is almost always at 225 F once I get onto the highway. It's like it just stays there, and the other thing on top of that (i'm not sure what it is yet) is always at 194 F and just sits there. It's like the numbers aren't able to register past 225 F and 194 F or something, but then I saw the 225 go to 228 F all of a sudden. I live in Florida so the temperatures here during a sunny day are like 51 F - 73 F as of now. Is this a common "problem" that others are having too because I think I've read on here about others noticing the same thing when they take it on the track.
Not sure about the FEERN noise, but it was probably nothing if the car is still running well. Also, your Cayman has a Flat 6 engine, not a V6. Mention your car's "V6" engine to a Porsche guy and you'll get an earful. lol.
Normal oil operating temperature will vary due to ambient temperature, duration of ride, type of driving, etc. Those numbers you mentioned sound fine. Mine runs similar oil temperatures on the highway.
I've been shopping around for a new sports car for the last few months.
I currently drive a 2005 Boxster that I bought new, so it will be 10 years old next year and I've only had some minor issues with it.
Had a problem with the air vents and and the struts that hold up the front hood, and that's it.
Great car.
I've test drove many cars....911 turbo's, 991 CS, Cayman S and GTS, Corvette Stingray, Jaguar F-type, BMW 1M coupe, 997 GT3, Nissan GTR.
The Corvette was definitely quick, but it's such a large car compared to the Cayman I didn't care for it.
The only cars that I really enjoyed and got my blood flowing were the Cayman GTS and the 997GT3. I just feel that the new 991 feels like a big, bulky car compared to the Cayman.
I loved the raw, analog feel of the GT3, however living with that rock hard clutch would be a real challenge for a daily driver.
The Jag was fairly quick, sounded amazing, but still too bulky with the long hood.
I find it's hard to go from a mid-engined car like the Boxster to any other platform because of the great balance and handling it offers. Just wish it had about 200hp more.
I like a really nimble car over high hp, bigger, heavier muscle type car like the Vette or the GTR. I owned an Ariel Atom for 6 years so light, nimble, tossible cars are my favorite.
I like to row my own gears, so I never found the GTR very satisfying at all.
Not sure if I should pull the trigger and order a Cayman GTS or wait for the Cayman GT4.
Enjoy your new ride.
12-14-2014, 12:55 AM
New 2015 base cayman pics
and try not to keep redlining at every stop light.
