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So I was trying to keep the RPMs down for the first 1,000 miles. I passed 1,000 yesterday, it took it out for a spirited country road drive with my son after getting home from a great fall morning at Autobahn Country Club.
I finally let it rip to 8,000 rpm. WOW!! It is everything I hoped it would be, and MORE! The combination of the full exhaust, the tune and the short gearing is insanely good. My son and I agreed (he drove it too, and has driven all the previous ones) that this was by far the best of any 718 4.0 I have had. The HP and Torque is so strong. In the upper RPMs, it pulls so hard. With the shorter gearing, the 8,000 RPM comes VERY quickly, especially if you are used to the 718 4.0 Manual with the standard gear, like I am (26,000 miles over 3 of them in the past 3 years).
The Engine Intake and Exhaust sounds are unbelievably good, particularly in those last couple of thousand RPMs. Rick DeMan said that it sounded like a GT4RS at full tilt - he is right! The GT4 RS intake sound is more so RPM dependent versus throttle level dependent. With headers this 4.0 is more so throttle level dependent, if you are at full throttle or near full throttle, it is much louder than the same RPMs at lower throttle - which I find to be the case with the 4.0 with headers, it was the same for my GT4. In accelerating from a stop and ripping through the gears at full tilt, this thing sounds very Motorsport, like a Cup Car or something like that. This exhaust setup was great in the GT4 as well, but I think I am onto something with taking the two pieces of sound deadening out - that makes a big difference in this car. The experience at full tilt is very visceral, in a way that is much like a GT4 RS, just not as often as the GT4 RS kicks into that noise starting at lower RPMs and is more so just RPM dependent. (I have driven a GT4 RS in anger on my country roads, and also have been a passenger in one in a track session at Autobahn.)
The DeMan gearing is the star of the show, it is like the final piece that pulls it all together into absolute perfection. Worth every penny!! It is the sum of the parts, the full exhaust (with BMC Air Filters), the sound deadening removed, the tune and the Deman Gearing, but I don't think it would be quite the same without the gearing. The power delivery is so smooth, so linear, and the throttle response is insane. With the other 4.0 cars, I always felt like they could use a little more horsepower and torque, but not so with this one. I now have zero interest in a GT4 RS or Spyder RS. I prefer a Manual, but still have thought about getting one. But this car has completely cured me of that. (My bank account will thank me for that!)
Mission accomplished with my build!! (Thank you, Rick @DeMan Motorsport !)
For both sides combined. Also see any videos on removing the engine cover, you will see how to remove all the parts in that area, perhaps even see that sound deadening in the video - I don't recall.
I have the Glass Engine Cover as well, I may later have that installed.
Right now I have an issue with a vibration sound inside the cabin, I am not sure if it related to taking out the sound deadening or not. It starts about 5 minutes after starting a drive, and can be pretty annoying. With the windows down or cracked, it is not as noticeable, but with windows up it can be pretty maddening. As part of the troubleshooting process for that, I may try putting the sound deadening back in temporarily to see if that is a contributor to it. The full exhaust with headers creates more bassy frequencies, I wonder if it is something else vibrating in the car from that. I haven't isolated yet where the sound is coming from, my son says it is coming from behind us from the engine compartment, to me in the driver's seat it seems like it is coming from the dash somewhere.
The car is just about perfect, besides that one issue! Always something...
Sound clips here. This is with both windows completely down, you get the exhaust from outside the car and still some very visceral and loud intake noise from inside the car.
(Please forgive me laughing hysterically in the second one as I bounce it off the rev limiter both in first second. 8,000 RPMs comes very quickly in this car! )
@IL_Pete Vibrations may be from the exhaust system. I had similar issues on my first exhaust setup. The OAP's may be making contact with chassis or the rear muffler may be making contact with the heatshield on inside of rear bumper. There may appear to be clearance when exhaust is cold, but as the exhaust heats it expands and makes contact.
@IL_Pete Vibrations may be from the exhaust system. I had similar issues on my first exhaust setup. The OAP's may be making contact with chassis or the rear muffler may be making contact with the heatshield on inside of rear bumper. There may appear to be clearance when exhaust is cold, but as the exhaust heats it expands and makes contact.
Thanks for that tip! I will have my shop check for that, the next time I have it in there to get some things done.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I am of course first and foremost thankful for my family and our time together. But I did manage to sneak out this morning for an hour+ country road drive, on a Sunny Day here in the Chicago area, high forties in temperature, a beautiful fall day. So I am also thankful for this amazing car, a beautiful day here, and an awesome drive today.
This car is really amazing! I feel like I really am nailing it with the spec and the build. The spec is absolutely perfect - I would not change a single thing. I can tell you that that has never happened before, I have always had a couple/few things I would have done differently. (I guess the more you order and have owned, the better you get at it!)
What I like the best about the spec, and the build so far:
The Full Red Interior. Especially the Red Dash with GT Silver visible on the front left fender. So iconic, and also it connects me back to my Silver/Red 1998 Boxster and 1999 996 911 C2 Cab from my younger years. And my Boxster 25 from last year.
The White Dials - they really “lighten up” the Instrument Dial area. I had those on the GT4 last year as well.
The extra Leather bits on the interior - pretty much every Leather option you can get, including the Climate Control Panel and the Fuse Box Cover.
GT Silver - so amazing, my favorite Porsche color EVER, and it looks particularly great on this car.
The rear window visibility is fantastic on a Cayman. The best of any of the 4.0 models, by a longshot. And in this car, an extra bonus is how you can see the FV Spoiler when it comes up at speed.
The power and the feel, with the Deman Gearing + Deman Tune + the full exhaust, everything is so immediate and linear. The throttle response is so lively, and everything just pours on - the power, the RPMs, the feel, the speed, and the sound!
The full exhaust - OMG, especially with the windows down. With the Headers, the volume and tone is very throttle level dependent. It sounds great at higher RPMs at Medium throttle, but high RPMs with heavy or full throttle it is downright BEASTLY! Like a demon has been released from the depths of Hell. You have to be careful where you are and who is around before lighting it up like that.
This car is turning out so great - I think a lifetime keeper for me, given they aren’t making any more. I have never kept a car more than 3 to 4 years, this one might be the first!
I still have a little more work to do with the build, but so far, I am very happy with the results - in spec, performance, and the aesthetic changes. This is my favorite car I have ever owned. (My favorite Street car anyway, I might adore my Cayman R Race Car a little more, but that is comparing Apples and Oranges.)
I am very glad that I started with the Cayman GTS 4.0 platform and built from there. That way I was able to get the Full Bordeaux Red Leather interior, no wing, and build it out from there, to something that is even better for me than my amazing GT4 was.
(You may notice that I have the Stock Wheels back on. I had a set of Continental UHP All Seasons from last winter from my GT4, 245 Fronts and 295 Rears. I put those on the Stock Wheels, they actually work great on the narrower stock GTS wheels. I really like those tires. They are smooth and quiet, and provide great grip. Noticeably slightly less grip than 4SPS's, but it a good way - they break loose in accelerations and corners a little more easily. )
Had to add this rear angle view - the back end looks so beefy and aggressive with the Frog Venom Ducktail Spoiler, and the GT4 Rear Diffuser! And with the GT4 Side Vents. I was very pleasantly surprised how much the GT4 Rear Diffuser "finished off" the look.
This picture makes me smile and laugh, and freaks me out a little - my brain has to process what it is.
It is almost as it the lift metaphorically dropped and merged the two cars into one to create my Cayman GTS 4.0 build. The Full Bordeaux Red interior and creature comforts from the top one (my Boxster 25 from last year), with the beefier look of the bottom one (but with no wing), a Manual transmission (the Boxster was a Manual, the GT4 was a PDK, for the track). And performance as good as or even better than the GT4, with the DeMan Gearing and Tune, with the same exhaust that was on the GT4.
The best of all the previous ones, wrapped into one! Perfection!
Had to add this rear angle view - the back end looks so beefy and aggressive with the Frog Venom Ducktail Spoiler, and the GT4 Rear Diffuser! And with the GT4 Side Vents. I was very pleasantly surprised how much the GT4 Rear Diffuser "finished off" the look.
I told you the Gt4 diffuser would give the rear end the needed look. Now you need to add RS fins to it to complete the rear end
I told you the Gt4 diffuser would give the rear end the needed look. Now you need to add RS fins to it to complete the rear end
Ha! If I did that, I would probably want to give it another go with the GT4 front bumper. Which I am considering.
That leads me to what is still left on my list.
I am dropping it off in a couple of weeks to get a couple of things done:
Install these Automotive Passion Carbon Fiber bits in the Rear Cargo area: https://automotivepassion.net/produc...e-bar/?swcfpc=
I have the CF Interior Trim, so these should match nicely. I didn't love the mismatch between the Darker GT Silver exterior and the much lighter/whiter rear bar though the hatch. I also got the black Water and Oil caps from the GT4 RS, to match. My stock ones are Red.
Getting a custom SportShifters **** installed, I had a Raceseng one in there, but it was a little big and heavy, the Sportshifters one will be a little more Porsche-like and fitting for the car.
Getting the Glass Engine cover installed. I don't really care about seeing the engine - not much to see there. I more so want to let more noise transparently into the cabin. Not necessarily the volume, a lot of that is coming through with the removal of the sound deadening under the side compartments, I am more so curious if that will let the engine and exhaust noise a little more transparently through, have it be less muffled. Worth a try.
From there my next big decision will be what coilovers to go with. I think I have it narrowed down I think to the Ohlins Road and Track, or the TPC Racing Tractive ones. The Ohlins get great reviews, but I would lose the PASM and DSC capabilities, which isn't the end of the world - I don't use the PASM button very often, this car will never see the track. The TPC/Tractive retains PASM and the DSC, but at 2x the price.
That will have to wait a little bit, I ended up replacing my G87 M2 Manual with a 2024 Golf R DSG not too long ago, and I am doing a fairly significant build project on the Golf R first. The M2 was very nice, but I objected to the clutch and shifting feel in the M2 being very different (and not great) relative to the 718. I could have gone to the ZF Auto M2, but I found after test driving the Golf R that I like the VAG DSG much better than the ZF Auto, while Manual shifting. It is much more"PDK-like" and shifts pretty quickly, while I find the ZF Auto slower and sometimes a little clunky. In Auto mode, both are great, I am referring more so to Manual mode, which is the mode I more often than not drive in with a paddle shifting automatic. With some mods, you can make the Golf R as fast and fun as an M2, and it is more stealthy as a DD. Plus it is all wheel drive, better for the Chicago Winters in that regard. I will post an update on the "What is your other car thread" (which coincidentally I started a few years ago) when the build is complete.
After that, I may give it a go again with the GT4 bumper, if it doesn't sell quickly here on the Marketplace. I am still thinking about that.
Next year I might tinker around with some different exhaust combinations. It is really terrific with the Kline Inconel and the Soul Street Headers, but after the suspension gets done, that is something I could probably tinker around with endlessly, to give me something to do ongoing after everything else is pretty much done.
10-23-2023, 09:51 AM
Always something...
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