ledbette

There are a few guys in PCA HPDE that have a ton of experience, but intentionally stay down in the intermediate run group. They would rather be one of the faster drivers in a moderate speed group than a moderate speed driver in a group loaded with fast drivers and fast cars.

dcharnet

I agree, but would phrase it differently. You have more cars to dice with. You spend less time watching your mirrors.

Borealis161

Well stated.

sanderabernathy

I had a base and a GTS Cayman 981. The extra 50 to 65 horsepower in the S and GTS is transformative. I now have a GTS 4.0. I wouldn’t consider a Cayman with much less than 350 HP. I kick myself for spending 8 years in a base 987 and 981. Great cars but just too docile.

bldn10

Is there a thread for 981 track times? Not GT4.

Chrismalberts

If it was an early 90s Sentra SE-R then it had 140hp stock and an LSD for the front wheels. I had one and loved it - eager motor that revved to 7500, lsd to put the power down, great seats and driving position. I can see how it could box above its class on the track.

9eight7

My delta between a base 987.2 and GT4 is 4s (same tires and alignment). You could probably add 3-4s on the GT4 time for a 981 S/base, respectively.

981Cio

Owner of a 15 Base, moving to a Cayman S (hopefully) for PDK, better suspension, and simply more power. The Base was fine on track, and kept up fine in the corners, but lacked straight line speed

BondJ

Nice move. S over base will give you more top-end speed but be aware, PDK over S 6SM will not.

jabwind51

Thought I would add to this thread in 2023.

I have tracked modded 996 turbos, 981 GT4, 991 GT3 and air cooled 993 cars and now have a simple 718 Cayman Base 6MT.

I’ve learned that 300hp is probably
my lowest limit personally lol for both street and track. The base car is great and worth learning on for anyone interested in track work. It also feels better knowing it’s not a $200K car lol. The turbo lag down low is a bit annoying but I’m sure a tune can figure out some more responsiveness including power. After all those GT cars, I think track pads/ fluid and stickier tires and you can have a blast and keep up with lots of “better” cars (which some I have already owned but were above my skill level at the time.)

But, the flat 6 sound……

Hope this helps for anyone in 2023

bldn10

My experience is that you can have fun in almost any car as long as you don't care what other cars you are running w/ or lap times. I do and I do so a base Cayman would not float my boat; indeed, my 981 S really doesn't either but that's just me coming out of a 987.1 w/ 3.8 and 987.2 w/ TPC turbo.
That said, I recently instructed a guy in a mostly stock older Miata and we had a blast! Everywhere except the straights it felt like we were flying - tires squealing, back end coming around, 4-wheel drifts, insane recoveries, 10/10ths - just a hoot. And we actually passed some much faster Porsches, BMWs, etc. The last session I took my iPhone w/ lap timer and was shocked that we were going almost 20 secs. slower than my 981 S. But more pure fun.

jabwind51

That sounds like a lot of fun! Driving until the wheels fall off! I have rented some beat up Miata’s and had a blast.

I know did care at first and I think that is why I went the direction of GT cars and searched for more power and mechanical grip but they were well above my skill level.

Mark Dreyer

Many Miata drivers are some of the best I’ve seen on track. They don’t have the hp to recover if they blow a turn so the top drivers are amazing at not losing momentum. I always joke that I judged my progress as a driver when I could hold off a well driven Miata in my 986S Boxster which had twice the hp.

Ernest72

I own a base but it’s not tracked. I want to whine it out on the street and enjoy those higher rpm’s. Great weekend canyon carver.

if I was tracking it is an S with at least sport chrono, and then update the suspension to x73, ohlins or another package pending your needs on the track. Definitely need some upgrade in sways.

dlbehrns

The S is .5 seconds faster at 0-60 and 5 mph faster at top speed. Do you really want to spend $10K more for that? You could put race headers and an upgraded ECU tune on a Base for $3-5K and there would be no S that would beat you on the track. Just my 2cents