Jotokutora

Hello everyone, first time poster here. I'd like to get members feedback for a potential purchase. I am aware this part of the sub is for 981 owners but being that is a Porsche forum, there may be enough members with plenty of experience to chime in.

I currently have an lovely Madreperla white Alfa 4C and I must admit is just a gorgeous car. It robs attention from any Porsche and even some Ferraris. Now, looks are skin deep, hence why I am considering getting into a Porsche. Porsche have great performance and handling. Now, the Alfa is a great handling car and raw which i like, but I must admit that it is not the best built vehicles. Thankfully the 4C's have shown to be quite reliable vehicles. Although the 4C has really good sound for a 4 cylinder car, it really doesn't compare to the flat six of the Porsches. Sound is important to help the sport experience and after riding on a buddy of mine 981 Boxter spyder, I have not stopped thinking about it. Granted, the Spyder sports the 3.8 liter engine, and my budget don't stretch that far. The 3.4 liter of the Cayman sound similar with the right exhaust.

I have not driven the Porsche yet, so who knows it may not compare to the raw feeling of the Alfa, but then again, I may fall in love with the entire balanced package it provides. The Alfa is bloody fast and torquey, so it will be interesting how the linear power delivery of the NA engine will feel. I have owned the E46 M3 (one of may favorite cars ever), the E92 M2, E87 M2, F80, M4. I wonder if the Cayman power delivery would be close to that of the E46?

The 718 Cayman looks better personally but not a nice as the 981 GT4. It is faster thanks to the turbos, and it has a more refined interior but... the sound is that appealing. It does have character, which is fine, but the Alfa sound considerably better. The 718 'S' model is faster than the Alfa so that is good for track days. The 981 is slower in the torque department but sounds better. Also, the 981 have suffered most of its mayor depreciation while the 718 still depreciating.

The 911, well it has more space and practical, so i could put in the kid in the back. It is marginally quicker than the Cayman 981 (not 718 from what I have seen), but... they are everywhere, so it loses in the aspect of having a special vehicle. anything from a GTS, GT3 and up feel special ( to me at least)

Question, which of the two Generation Cayman would be the better car to get in to? The faster newer car, that doesn't sound that great, or the older, slower car that sounds great?


Any advise will be appreciated!

2slow2speed

Former E46 owner here (6spd and SMG), the S54 engine with the ITB's was very responsive and climbed the rev range very quickly and the engine produced good power all the way up to the 8000RPM redline, the engine note on the S54 was not pleasant IMHO.

I had a Cayman R with the 9A1 3.4L engine, the DFI engines are quieter than the previous M97/M96 engines in regards to engine note, that been said the engine sounded better than the S54. Power delivery was smooth, as far as how well the engine climbed through the rev band, it felt slower than either my previous E46 M3's or my 3.2L NSX. The PSE that I had on the Cayman had a nice note to it at higher RPM's. One thing that you will notice about a Cayman is that you will notice quite a bit of intake noise as well since the air intake is located right behind the driver.

The 9A1's were nerfed by PAG from the factory in the Cayman application, so they kind of run out of breath before reaching redline. Some intake mods might take care of things but that will require things like GT3 TB, different intake runners and a tune, so not CARB friendly if you happen to be located in the state of California.

The 718's seem to have better numbers on paper but for the track heat management will be your biggest concern on that car. The 9A1 was proven to be pretty much bulletproof once you added the 3rd radiator on the 987.2 models and the 981 models as well. Easier to increase power on the 718 given that it is FI, but you will pay the price down the road in regards to wear and tear of the engine and again you will need to address cooling.

I guess it comes down on what exactly you want to be chasing down at the track and how many actual hot laps you want to do before taking a break if you are looking at laptimes.
Another thing to consider is elevation, at about 5,000 ft a NA Engine will lose about 15% of the HP, a Turbo engine will be able to compensate for some of the power loss.
On the streets the engine note of the F4, is not pleasant since it sounds like a Subby engine, the F6 has a very distinctive character.

I prefer NA cars for track cars, so the 718 hasn't even crossed my radar. 981GT4 were good values when they were launched, so depending on how much $$ you are willing to put down on the car and what mods you are planing to do with the car just going to a 981GT4 might make the most sense, even then a 718S with mods might be able to run faster laptimes.

At the end of the day you probably need to prioritize what is important for you before choosing between the 718/981.