981 Cayman S - track-worthiness?
01-21-2019, 02:24 AM
#1
Intermediate
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Charlotte, NC
Posts: 38
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
981 Cayman S - track-worthiness?
Hello all!
This is my first post, but after hours of reading I feel confident I’ll gain valuable insight from your responses. Thanks in advance. [EDIT - I actually posted in the Perfromance Driving/Racing Forum as well, but it know I need this group’s feedback as well.]
I’m considering the purchase of a 981 Cayman S to serve as a track car. Having driven them on the street, I’m optimistic about their suitability but I want to confirm before making the move.
To meet my definition of track-worthiness for purposes of this discussion the car must be:
This is my first post, but after hours of reading I feel confident I’ll gain valuable insight from your responses. Thanks in advance. [EDIT - I actually posted in the Perfromance Driving/Racing Forum as well, but it know I need this group’s feedback as well.]
I’m considering the purchase of a 981 Cayman S to serve as a track car. Having driven them on the street, I’m optimistic about their suitability but I want to confirm before making the move.
To meet my definition of track-worthiness for purposes of this discussion the car must be:
- safe - I have plans to do seats, harnesses & half cage
- fun - It must be emotionally rewarding to drive
- fast - I know, this is relative and nearly impossible to reach consensus - so let’s use mid-pack in an instructor run group as the measuring stick; HPDE instructing or possibly Time Trialing is where I see myself using this car
- reliable - capable of withstanding a weekend’s worth of 30 minute sessions at Road Atlanta, VIR and other hot places we all enjoy without overheating, fading, failing, destroying tires or otherwise shutting down
- street-legal - I’ll be driving to/from the track - a tire trailer is where I hope to draw the line
- creature comforts - I’m not especially concerned about NVH, but I do plan to retain heat, AC and stereo
Last edited by egparson202; 01-21-2019 at 10:33 AM.
01-21-2019, 03:00 PM
#2
Based on what I have observed in our local HPDE community, the 981 Cayman S is the weapon of choice when moving up from older model Porsches. That is unless you have the coin to get into a GT3 or GT4. I drive a base 981 Cayman 6-speed as a street legal, but otherwise pretty much dedicated track car. It has survived about 100 track days so far. Upgrades include seats, roll bar and harnesses, center radiator, Girodisc rotors and PFC pads, and front camber plates. The car has the X73 suspension, which I love, however many folks are happy with PASM and a DSC controller. Just had installed a Numeric shifter and cables, which adds some nice feel and precision. I would definitely plan on the center radiator sooner rather than later. You may be able to get by with the stock brake rotors (or their equivalent Sebro slotted style) for awhile at least.
01-21-2019, 03:56 PM
#3
Intermediate
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Charlotte, NC
Posts: 38
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks. Your recommendations (center radiator, modest brake and suspension upgrades) seem entirely within reason to me. I'm getting really excited about making this move.
01-22-2019, 10:20 AM
#4
Rennlist Member
Great platform, but yes do center radiator and at least Pagid/PFC pads if you have much track experience. GT3 control arms for camber, also
01-22-2019, 04:37 PM
#6
Two pretty good undercarriage excursions later in the 987.2, one strong enough to puncture the frunk pan, and zero damage to the structural steel chassis/suspension. It's a tank.
If you're doing DE ie. not max effort time attack, and not the type to have offs, the 981 shouldn't be any different than a 987.2 (if with PDK, a cooler added)
If you're not worried about being the fastest guy on the track, the 6sp. 987.2 base is the track day deal right now. Strong chassis, stout 9A1 engine/trans. and relatively inexpensive to get in to.
Get 3rd radiator, PDK cooler if PDK, 18" OZ on NT01/RE71R, track pads, fluid and alignment and switch to 5w-50 M1. (10,000+ track miles on 987.2)
Last edited by A432; 01-22-2019 at 05:19 PM.
01-22-2019, 05:28 PM
#7
Rennlist Member
^all good advice. I prefer the 981S's slight bump in power and (to me) looks, but 987.2 base is a deal right now. Probably $15k+ less.
Trending Topics
01-22-2019, 05:58 PM
#8
Racer
For last season I finally bought a modern car for my track day weapon, I went from a prepared 1971 911 to a 2014 Cayman S. The mods I did were seats (Recaro Sportster CS), Roll Bar (Cantrell), Belts (Schroth) and then the tarett upper mounts to get more camber in front and LCA's in the back. Ran on 18" RE71-Rs, and Pagid pads for around 12 days of track time, many of them with two drivers, and the car was super fun to drive, very rewarding, and fantastic.
This winter I put an X73 suspension on it as well, I'm super curious to see how that works out.
This winter I put an X73 suspension on it as well, I'm super curious to see how that works out.
01-23-2019, 07:53 AM
#9
Intermediate
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Charlotte, NC
Posts: 38
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
For last season I finally bought a modern car for my track day weapon, I went from a prepared 1971 911 to a 2014 Cayman S. The mods I did were seats (Recaro Sportster CS), Roll Bar (Cantrell), Belts (Schroth) and then the tarett upper mounts to get more camber in front and LCA's in the back. Ran on 18" RE71-Rs, and Pagid pads for around 12 days of track time, many of them with two drivers, and the car was super fun to drive, very rewarding, and fantastic.
This winter I put an X73 suspension on it as well, I'm super curious to see how that works out.
This winter I put an X73 suspension on it as well, I'm super curious to see how that works out.
This sounds like the exact formula I’ll be pursuing. I’m still just a little unclear one thing though. How much negative camber can you get on the front with camber plates or the Tarett mounts? I’m thinking I want to be around the -3 front, -2 rear. Can you post your alignment specs?
Last edited by egparson202; 01-24-2019 at 05:00 PM. Reason: fixed auto-correct mis-spelling
01-23-2019, 08:45 AM
#10
Rennlist Member
Your experience may vary but on X73 with the rather stiff rear ARB that it has that would be a big delta in F:R camber. There is quite a bit of turn in oversteer from the factory, and that is with much more rear camber than front. (I believe OEM alignment hovers around -0.7F -1.5R) but the stickier the tires are that you put on the more front camber you can get away with. My X73 car maxes out at -2.1 degrees in the rear using stock adjustment slots, the front was around -1.8 before I added some adjustable bushings to push that to -2.4. Running a few tenths more camber in the front already makes the rear end quite loose for my tastes, I could be a little more agressive with the car if the car stayed more planted. But part of that is personal preference, and it does feel nice and pointy once you go past 2 degrees negative in the front.
01-23-2019, 09:10 AM
#11
Rennlist Member
To agree with some others, I believe you need the following modest upgrades/options for your intended use:
It's a great car for your intended purpose. Have fun with it!
- Center radiator
- X73 sport suspension option (if you can find a car with it, it's a nice mild track suspension and a nice street suspension as well)
- Fresh DOT4 brake fluid
- GT3 Control Arms
- Tarret Engineering brake caliper stud kit (for routine pad swaps to keep from stripping the hub) https://www.tarett.com/items/986-987...ect-/list2.htm
- Some kind of brake pad upgrade. I'm not a big believer in multipurpose pads if you have much track experience at all. Ones that will work for you on the track will suck on the street (noise, dust, etc) and ones that won't suck on the street will not hold up at the track. Pagid yellows play well with the OEM street pads and can be swapped out for track use. I'm a fan of the Carbotech 1521's for the street and XP10's for the track. The 1521's don't have the thermal capacity of the OEM street pads, but for the street, they are easier on rotors and dust A TON less. XP10's are not as good a compromise as a dual street track pad as the Pagid yellows, but are a better pure track pad. Plus the Carbotech offerings are cheaper.
It's a great car for your intended purpose. Have fun with it!
01-23-2019, 09:32 AM
#12
To agree with some others, I believe you need the following modest upgrades/options for your intended use:
It's a great car for your intended purpose. Have fun with it!
- Center radiator
- X73 sport suspension option (if you can find a car with it, it's a nice mild track suspension and a nice street suspension as well)
- Fresh DOT4 brake fluid
- GT3 Control Arms
- Tarret Engineering brake caliper stud kit (for routine pad swaps to keep from stripping the hub) https://www.tarett.com/items/986-987...ect-/list2.htm
- Some kind of brake pad upgrade. I'm not a big believer in multipurpose pads if you have much track experience at all. Ones that will work for you on the track will suck on the street (noise, dust, etc) and ones that won't suck on the street will not hold up at the track. Pagid yellows play well with the OEM street pads and can be swapped out for track use. I'm a fan of the Carbotech 1521's for the street and XP10's for the track. The 1521's don't have the thermal capacity of the OEM street pads, but for the street, they are easier on rotors and dust A TON less. XP10's are not as good a compromise as a dual street track pad as the Pagid yellows, but are a better pure track pad. Plus the Carbotech offerings are cheaper.
It's a great car for your intended purpose. Have fun with it!
What car are you using XP10's on? I went Pagid because of the compatibility with the OE pads, but I wanted to use Carbotech. I used their Bobcat / 1521 on other cars for autocross and street use. Wasn't sure if an XP8 or XP10 would be best on my Cayman for track use. It's time for new rotors, so I'm debating switching to Carbotech pads at the same time.
01-23-2019, 09:48 AM
#13
Rennlist Member
What car are you using XP10's on? I went Pagid because of the compatibility with the OE pads, but I wanted to use Carbotech. I used their Bobcat / 1521 on other cars for autocross and street use. Wasn't sure if an XP8 or XP10 would be best on my Cayman for track use. It's time for new rotors, so I'm debating switching to Carbotech pads at the same time.
As you are probably aware the XP-8's will be closest to your Pagid Yellows performance wise. Don't quote me, but I think the yellows are slightly better for track and the XP-8's slightly better dual purpose. You will still get the noise an dust with the XP-8's just like with your yellows though.
Also, the Carbotech's and OEM/Pagid's will not play well together due to the different compositions. So it will either need to be OEM/Pagid or 1521/XP-10, you can't mix and match unless you want to keep two sets of rotors and swap rotors at the same time.
There are of course many other pad options/combos out there. I'm just hitting the (4) pads discussed above.
Last edited by mts; 01-23-2019 at 10:38 AM. Reason: added info
01-23-2019, 10:18 AM
#15
This sounds like the exact formula I’ll be pursuing. I’m still just a little unclear one thing though. How much negative camber can you get on the front with camber plates or the Target mounts? I’m thinking I want to be around the -3 front, -2 rear. Can you post your alignment specs?