daylorb

I had read somewhere that the stiffness of the Boxster along with the roll-over protection actually provided as rigid a top or more than the standard roof of the Cayman with no rollover protection? Obvious lack of layer of metal between you and the street...

shus2006croc

Sorry.... I'm an engineer.

Rollovers are more likely with a high center of gravity.

We are concerned with rollovers with a mid-engined sports car?

I'd worry more about front end crush zone.

Buy the car you like Cayman or Boxster and sleep at night.

ekam

You obviously haven't seen a lot of movies...

I wouldn't worry about the front end crush zone. If you shoot at a car, it's going to EXPLODE in flames.

HenryPcar

Not true. Rollover has to do with physics and the angle of attack to topple the car. All it takes is clipping a curb or encounter a bump at high speed during a turn and things get ugly real fast. Lower COG helps, to a degree. Even F1 cars roll over in mishaps.

shus2006croc

All things being equal:

Driving skill ect. Hitting, obliquely of course, a curb at 90 Mph excepted.

"More likely".

yachtfund

My father has had two boxsters, a 981 S and currently a 718 S and have both been year round daily drivers. Despite my protests, both sit outside in all year in Boston. We get a lot of snow there, the cloth roof has never been a problem. In the cold it creaks a bit but I don't really consider it a problem. The cars are also surprisingly well behaved in the snow with a decent set of tires. I've never really worried about rolling them over when I'm driving them but I would probably prefer to be in a cayman if I find myself in an upside down car...

okie981

I owned a GT4 at the same time I owned the BS I still own, both with Porsche Sport Exhaust. There is more engine mechanical noise inside the Cayman due to the aft part of the car interior enclosing all the area over the "trunk" and the engine cover, and projecting that sound forward. Not to say that's a bad thing, and not to say it's a LOT louder, there is just more mechanical noise in the Cayman. Of course a Cayman has more torsional rigidity than the Boxster because, Duh. But that's not to say the Boxster is not rigid, it is very firm in torsional flex. But the Cayman is more so. Over the shoulder visibility on either side in the Boxster is not good with top up because, Duh. But the Cayman can't transform itself into a different driving experience like the Boxster can by taking its top off. Now who doesn't appreciate it when the top comes off of anything you love to play with? I know I do .

With top down, windows up, and OEM wind deflectors installed in the roll hoops and between them, it is a very comfortable cruise at any highway speed as far as buffeting and noise, IMO. And the sound from the exhaust tips is only about 6 feet right behind you when you wind it up with your foot on the gas.

CaymanSinAR

Precisely why my username is CaymanS but I have a Boxster GTS. I rolled down the windows of the Cayman during my test drive. The first time I heard that 3.4 flat six howling past 4,000 at full tilt I knew the Cayman was out and the Boxster was in.

ramans

I currently own a 981 Cayman S and a 981 Boxster S, the Boxster is my daily as I love the convertible when it's sunny and can run top down, but I also drive it most of the winter as it'st he one with the DWS 06 tyres on it currently. The Cayman is used more for track duty as it's aligned for that, has the modified suspension, seats, and half cage. I don't feel any less safe on the street in the boxster than I do in the Cayman, and in fact I feel that with the top up the Boxster is actually quieter since in the Cayman the engine and the rear suspension are actually in the passenger compartment with you, and you hear a lot more road noise in the car.

LarryB

Tom R.

25 posts and something like 23 opinions. The solution is drive both and get the one you want. When I bought my M Roadster I didn't want the Boxster. I wanted a lower beltline. With the Cayman being a closed car I don't mind the higher beltline. But, that's opinion. With the lower beltline came more noise and wind buffeting with the top down it got played out after about a half hour on the highway, similar to the Boxster. My biggest complaint wasn't the noise from the car, it was noise from the tires of the cars next to my ear. I had a lot of convertibles, owned one or two at a time continuously for about 40 years. With thinning hair and an aversion to hats or lotion I gave in and bought the Cayman. I am more concerned with melanoma than rolling over.

Pep!RRRR

Boxsterman

True, however, you miss all the fun of the wind in your hair, the people asking you what you do when the top is down and it's cold outside ( I love the look on their faces when I tell them I roll the windowa up), or the bird poop on your noggin!!!!LOL Who needs a hardtop???

okie981

True, but with reduced visibility out the center rear view mirror if you've really packed it full, and unless it's tied down really well, more likely to end up with you or on you in a panic stop or worst case a frontal impact.

mhm993

I've had both. I prefered the Boxster S as a fun car, but the cayman S was more "practical" in that a couple folding beach chairs fit in the wayback.



Tom R (post 26): Long time, no see!