bbolden3

Hi guys, new to the forum and excited to move into a Porsche platform from BMW. I own an F87 M2 and want to make the switch to Porsche. With that said, I gotta make three public posts before I can privately message people that have some caymans for sale, so this is post number 1. I’m sure this subject has been beaten to death but feel free to discuss. I live in Atlanta and would like a manual cayman but wasn’t sure if it’s practical. For anyone who daily drives a manual 981, is it easy to live with?

brianpdx

Welcome to the forum! While I can't answer your specific question (manual vs. PDK), I can say that I made the move from an F87 M2 to a '14 Boxster S. Other than occasionally missing the brute power of the M2, I don't think about it at all or regret the decision. Everything I've read is that the manual transmission in the 981 is quite good, so best of luck on your search.

Randy_B

Welcome and happy searching! I was looking at M2s prior to getting my 2016 Cayman S and I also own a 2003 E46 330i that I have had since new. Both of my cars are 6-speeds. I will say PDKs are much easier to find but I'm glad I held out because I really enjoy having manuals.

hsattley

Welcome to the forums and best of luck with your search! I went from a 435i 6-speed to a 981 Boxster S PDK (I wanted a manual, but the car turned up at a local Audi dealership at a decent price with all the options I wanted). I've test driven multiple 981 manuals so I have a good idea of the experience.

Overall, the 981's manual is quite easy and enjoyable to live with. Throw is a reasonable length (longer than a Miata's but a bit shorter than a modern BMW's) and the shifts have a nice mechanical feeling - my biggest complaint about my 435i was that the shifts felt super rubbery. There's also reasonable enough spacing between the gates so it's hard to mis-shift unless you're gunning it. Only caveat for me personally is that the shifts are perhaps a little too easy - I'd prefer a feeling closer to a Miata but you can solve that with mods (OEM and Numeric SSK are popular shifter mods). The clutch pedal is heavier than a BMW's but is nicely weighted for me - I would have no issues doing stop-and-go traffic with it if I needed to. You also get more feel through the pedal so you learn the bite point really quickly.

Rev-matching was a bit tricky at first because the engine was so responsive compared to my 435i, but that's a plus for me. If you want the car to rev-match for you, you can look for a 981 with the Sport Chrono Package (adds Sports Plus mode and dynamic engine mounts) and it'll rev-match for you in Sports Plus mode (not in normal and Sport modes).

To be clear, I have no regrets getting the PDK. It is a fantastic automatic with super-fast shifts, and quite simply makes the car faster. Going from 7th to 2nd in <1 second never gets old. The manual is obviously more involving, but the PDK is super fun in its own way.

For the inevitable base vs. S question, I personally would go for the base if I was buying a manual. The base engine loves to rev and sounds fantastic, even more so if you get a car with Porsche's Sports Exhaust (PSE) - a must have for me personally. Plus, because it's a bit underpowered you can push it a lot more at legal speeds. Unfortunately, most base cars are stripper specs so it'll be hard to find a manual base with all of the other options you may want.

ShopVac

I have an F82 manual and a B58 F30 manual - may be in minority here, but I'll be fighting automatics till the day I die. The main flaw with the manual in the 981 was the length of the shifter, which had to go immediately. Realize that nobody wants to dump more cash after just buying a car, but a shorter shifter in these is a must. The GT4 short shifter is relatively inexpensive and only took an hour for the install. World of difference.

Comparing - the shifter is a little more clunky, primarily because the throws need to go all the way to the back, I feel miss shifts are rare - and the lever does fall (or click) into gears nicely. Clutch pressure is much higher than the Bimmers...but it's easy to get accustom to. I do not see it as an issue in stop and go traffic. with a 981 (well - no more than any other manual). Only concern is if keeping the Bimmer, that clutch becomes extremely light when you go back to it - making it a harder adjustment to that car.

rock-rf

Welcome! I daily a manual 981 Cayman S and definitely can recommend. No issues in stop and go traffic, the same as any other manual car. The clutch takes a little more pressure than a normal car but it’s not anything crazy. The low seating position might take a couple days to get used to; it took me a bit to get a feel for the car’s size when reversing. But otherwise visibility is pretty good. Also, you can add a CarPlay module to the stock head unit, which makes the car basically as modern as I need it.

I came from a tuned manual Golf R which was way more torque-y so I miss that occasionally. But the Cayman’s engine/exhaust sound and driving dynamics are several tiers above for me, so it makes every drive more of an “experience”. I’ll echo the short shifter comments from above too—I had one in my VW and am looking to get one for the Cayman now as it feels too tall in comparison. If you’re used to normal taller shifters, it might not bother you at all.

I will say that the Cayman driving experience ruins the feel of a lot of other cars for me though, so beware…