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I saw an older gentleman at Home Depot loading bags of potting soil and plywood into his brand new 911 on a day it was raining. Not exactly a day or task for that car. But he said he worked hard his whole life so he could buy his dream car. He wanted to buy it new and couldn't afford having another car, but he was determined to make due with the one vehicle he always wanted to own. To some (including my initial reaction), he was misusing a perfectly good car. But I also have a lot of respect for him. If money, insurance, living conditions, or just strong personal preference limit you to just one car, get the one car that you'll enjoy more than anything else; that's why we have roof racks.
I don't know what it is about these cars that makes people have this reaction. It's a sub 100k car that they made thousands of. He even drove it, get this, in the rain? If it was a 5 or 7 series would you even think twice about it?
I don't know what it is about these cars that makes people have this reaction. It's a sub 100k car that they made thousands of. He even drove it, get this, in the rain? If it was a 5 or 7 series would you even think twice about it?
I don't think anyone is saying the car will break because it is driven in the rain or loaded with potting soil. It obviously won't. I think the aversion is due to getting the car filthy, and in snow/salt/icy conditions, possibly causing corrosion or not having enough grip to be safe. Some people like to keep their cars in as top condition as possible no matter what they drive and to others a car is a car and is meant to be driven. There are obviously several points along that spectrum.
I can say this though, even for the "beaters" I've had over the years, I always took care of them mechanically and visually, interior and exterior. I don't like a dirty car and don't like marred up bad paint. I'm not obsessive about it, but I also like having the option to leave the car tucked away inside when conditions are bad and to have something a little more rugged for hauling things around. If my budget were $50k (just to pick an arbitrary number) I'd rather spend $40k on a slightly more used "dream" car and $10k for a beater than the whole budget on one vehicle. Again though, I understand people see this differently and that's not wrong either.
Before: Check fluids, oil change every 1k miles or less, swap brake pads, swap to wheels with racing tires, necessary aero adjustments, necessary camber/toe adjustments, necessary damping adjustments, hook up harnesses, and remove emergency tools and other items.
After: Check fluids again, spark plugs should be examined but I don't always do this, swap brake pads back, swap to daily wheels, put tools and items back in, remove harnesses, revert to civilized alignment and damping, and maybe even raise the car if I know that week was taking me somewhere with bad roads or speed bumps.
For a while, I was commuting my track car over 120 miles a day, so alignment was crucial to readjust. I'd usually leave the racing brake pads and bucket seats in, and only readjust the aero based on upcoming events.
Those are just the key items... Wear and tear is inevitable with time and torn CV boots, cracked coolant hoses, and worn mounts/bearings are things I've come off of the track with and needed to replace ASAP.
Wear and tear happens on all cars, but racing escalates these issues.
My usual post-event check list only took 1-2 hours, but was still a hassle on Sunday evenings. Life became a lot less stressful when the track car wasn't my daily.
But I digress.... The OP didn't mention racing.
If the Cayman is the car they really want, there are ways to make it work for their hobbies. The inconveniences can often be overcome by the joy the car brings, which is why I never complained for the years I was tracking my daily.
I'd definitely rate that as more than what the occasional HPDE driver would do though... I'm not nearly at that kind of prep although I would say I'm also not pushing the car and now have a separate track car. But when I do the occasional DE in my Spyder, my alignment/camber/etc. stays the same for street and track, so do my pads. Oil is still about every 1k miles for me but I only put on 2-3k/year so about 2-3 times/year is all I change it. Everything else stock except for rims/tires. It is a pretty easy process, although understand if I was pushing it to the 95% level it would be more onerous.
What Daylorb said. No need for alignment adjustments every track day, nor even any possibility of aero adjustments for near stock caymans, or even moderately street/track modded ones. It's pretty easy to prep, run, get back and go to work.
To OP, though, who doesn't seem to be into the whole track thing, it is just a question of priorities. I've done a cayman as my only car for 2+ years and liked it a lot, but it depends on your hobbies, goals, and other life stuff. I couldn't do it again, now that I do more stuff that cayman's can't support. If you are into MTB, which it sounds like you are, I'd hesitate to have just a cayman.
Had similar issue. Boxster is my only car unless I swap with the wife, which can be inconvenient. Therefor, my regular "hauling" tasks include a) my fencing weapons and kit (picture an odd shaped golf bag), and b) my music gig stuff (full-size keyboard, stand, amp, cables and such).
So... before I bought this Boxster I asked a local dealer to humor me. Could I stop by and just try fitting some items into the car? I wouldn't hurt anything, but I ain't buying today either. If the answer is no, I understand. Can I, huh?
The guy laughed and said "sure, come on by". I dry-fitted my items into same model and year I was targeting, confirmed it would fit as needed, and then proceeded with confidence to acquire a car.
If there is any way to actually test the fit (buddy's car, fellow PCA'r, local dealer used on lot), it's a fool proof way to ensure fit, especially for irregularly shaped items.
BTW - Love the video. Having spend 2 hours driving through a snow storm to get home last night... gotta love these cars.
You could always kick it up a notch and run a mini trailer and fit whatever you want on it. Enough people have done it on various Porsches there should be some writeups around on how to do it.
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I totally get where the OP is coming from. I'm a musician and I have stuffed a keyboard, keyboard stand, Amp/Speaker, collapsible seat, and a backpack into my Boxster and toddled off to a gig 80 miles away. The ride home at 2am with empty roads makes it all worthwhile!
I totally get where the OP is coming from. I'm a musician and I have stuffed a keyboard, keyboard stand, Amp/Speaker, collapsible seat, and a backpack into my Boxster and toddled off to a gig 80 miles away. The ride home at 2am with empty roads makes it all worthwhile!
Fellow keyboardist slogging gear in the Boxster, oh yeah!
You could always kick it up a notch and run a mini trailer and fit whatever you want on it. Enough people have done it on various Porsches there should be some writeups around on how to do it.
11-29-2018, 11:44 AM
