patdonahue

A bit of history, in the last century I had a 944 Turbo S, great car but it felt like a caged lion in a zoo driving in city traffic, and waiting for the boost to come up one learned the meaning of turbo lag.
Fast forward I have a 2001 Boxster S and a 2015 Cayman S and I took the Boxster in for a major maintenance and to my surprise I was given a base 718 w/ a PDK as a loner. I live out in the boonies and had the opportunity to drive the car both in city traffic and out on the empty country highways.
Very impressed, the steering feels a bit sharper than the Cayman and at no time while driving the car did I notice any perceptible turbo lag. I had never driven a PDK and it certainly was an interesting experience using the paddle shifter to go up and down through the gears, I am quite impressed with the acceleration, and ride and handling.
Quite an impressive car! it would be interesting to see how the S model is in comparison. The engine sound is certainly different and at idle reminds me of a aircraft piston engine sound. I found it as entertaining to drive as the earlier Boxster 6 and later Cayman 6 but different, in a good way.
Nice car all around.

Suicide Jockey

Pat, I'm with you. I drove a 718 S and couldn't detect any lag whatsoever. Tromp it and it goes!

I, too, was very impressed with the car and I'm not hung up on the sound at all.

JCtx

On a semi-related comment, wonder why Porsche always want to do things differently, even if it doesn't make much sense. Case in point is a Subaru with STi exhaust sounds really good IMO. So why did they have to change the 718 to be different? Makes no sense. A boxer 4 can only fire one way (1432 in Porsche parlance), and it's L-L-R-R (Subaru also changed the cylinder naming, so the firing order looks different than Porsche, but it's the same), hence the low-rumble cadence with a typical exhaust manifold on each side. Porsche must have changed the exhaust piping because the 718 doesn't sound like that. An WRX with STi doesn't sound like an H-6 with PSE, but a lot closer than a 718 with PSE IMO. Just curious. It's not horrible, but coming from an H-6, they should have chosen the next best sound IMO. But guess they're too proud to 'copy' an exhaust sound, even though VW came out with the flat-4 first. Oh well.

storii

I drove a 718 BS with PDK a couple weeks ago. The turbo lag was apparent in hard launch from still position. I felt that either the Sport Chrono with the launch control or the MT would help eliminate it. It was fine once it started going. The sound was very different from the NA flat 6 but it didn't bother me much.

Syeo86

The Subaru "rumble" is a byproduct of unequal length header. The new WRX with the FA20 engine utilizes an equal length header. This was done because of the twin scroll turbo used in the engine.

I believe the 982 S uses a varaiable vane turbo. The turbo on the base engine is not varaiable vane.

I had the chance to autox a base model, and boost lag is present. It is very minor. I imagine the S would perform better.

ajw45

I had a 718 pdk loaner last week and it was a blast. I do think there is some turbo lag under 4k, nothing like a 951 certainly, but once the revs are up it's all good. Even though the 718 is only a small evolution from the 981, all that mid-range torque makes it really feel like a totally different car. Between the beefy torque, pdk, softer suspension, regular seats, and high profile tires I was really surprised at how much better a daily driver and street car it is over the GT4.

JCtx

You're correct, but both still sound very similar. That's because both are 'collected' into 1 before joining the 2 banks with 1 pipe each. Porsche must have added an 'H' pipe before that, or something of that nature, to even the pulses, closer to an inline-4 than flat-4 sound. Both flat-4 and inline-4 are even-firing engines, so in theory, you can make either one sound like the other with the appropriate (and complicated) exhaust plumbing. My point is the Subaru engine sounds way better, especially with their 'performance' STi exhaust. It has a very pleasant cadence, with a soothing low-frequency rumble, and not overly loud. And since VW came out with the engine first, I wouldn't had been worried about copying the sound. But guess that not how Porsche thinks. Ha ha. I'm never going to buy a 718, so not an issue for me, but I think it'd had made the car more appealing IMO. Take care.

CaymanSinAR

I rented a 718 Boxster S a few weekends ago. I've spent the last year or so listening to people bitch and moan about the sound of the 718. I get it now. I really do.

I prefer to drive a 987 over a 981, and I definitely prefer the 981 over the 982 for the sound alone.

The 718 sounds like an industrial vacuum is being turned off and on behind my head. No soul. Just industrial white noise.

If I had to pick a Boxster it would be a 981 GTS. For a Cayman I prefer the 987 S (which is what I'm shopping for now).

I don't know if there is lag in the 718 as much as odd programming of the PDK at very low speeds. Same thing with the M4 DCT. Maybe it is just the nature of DCTs.

GregWormald

The PDK anticipates your next shift and pre-loads the appropriate gear on the second clutch. If you put your foot down in the middle of a mild acceleration, this calls for a shift down rather than the shift up that the PDK has loaded. Result--a short lag while it changes gears.

When you want no lag, shift down manually and then go.

Fsociety

Is the cayman a big enough jump over a S2000 in performance (which I will still keep) or should I go for a 991?

pc4ever

I get it, too. I think it would be a rare person who would get into a 718 and say they prefer it to the sound of a 981. But, as a guy that owned a fabulous sounding 981 CTGS with PSE, I prefer my 718S in every way over the CGTS - except the sound, for which I've reached the point where I find it acceptable. Having owned 996,997, and 991 turbos, I conclude that Porsche just doesn't do turbo sound very well.

Hoodoo

I owned an AP1 and have driven the 718 in both base and S configurations. The base 718 is significantly faster than the S2K and the S even more so. The base 718 has over 125 lb-ft more torque than the S2K, making it a much better daily driver. It's fun to beat on an S2K like it owes you money, but it gets old after a while. That being said, good call on keeping it. I know which one I'd rather drive at the track...and it's not the Porsche.

spyderphile

After 11 years and with two S2000s at the same time for about 4 years, it still hasn't gotten old! I don't think it will, at least to me anyway!

To answer the previous question, absolutely, Cayman will be quicker over S2000 with all the refinements you could expect. Having them both is a good call. You will miss the S2000 if you let go!