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Last weekend I bought my first Porsche. It's a 2011 Cayman base in Meteor Metallic with a Stone Gray interior. The car only has 55k miles and looks like it's spent most of its life in a garage. It came with a set of 19" OZ Ultraleggera HLT wheels and low mileage Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires with 2017 date codes.
I'm moving up from a 2011 GTI with the DSG. I put camber mounts, sway bars, engine and DSG tunes on that car and tracked it a dozen times. I was able to do respectable times in the GTI (1:48.13 at Laguna Seca this January) and pass a lot of guys in more capable cars but I came to the conclusion that it's the wrong tool for the job. So, I started looking at Caymans last summer. My wife sent me to the Porsche Experience Center in LA to drive a 2021 Cayman GTS for my birthday last August and I was hooked. It was a great time and I'd highly recommend it.
The Cayman will be my daily driver and do a handful of HDPE events per year. I've already ordered a ProClip phone mount, Porterfield R4 brake pads and a set of GT3 brake ducts for the front and rear. I'm planning to attend a HDPE event next Sunday at Laguna Seca.
I'd like to keep it basically stock with the exception of adding camber F/R and a set of track tires/wheels. I'm leaning towards the GT3 adjustable LCAs in the front. I want to stay away from solid pillow ball type camber plates. I had a set of those on the GTI and they added a lot of NVH.
I had PPF installed on the hood and front fenders. The bumper, headlights and mirrors already had PPF on them.
Had the car ceramic coated. Installed a ProClip phone mount. Swapped brake pads to Porterfield R4 track pads. Brake fluid flush with Castrol SRF. Oil Change.
Yesterday I attended a track day at Laguna Seca. I’ve done 12 days there in my GTI so I know the track pretty well. The MPSS weren’t the best tires for a track day but they did ok. My best time for the day was a 1:54.57. My wife, kids, and brother joined me there for the christening.
Me and my boy. Unfortunately passengers had to be 18 for this group so my daughter couldn’t take a ride.
My daughter asked if she could use my camera to shoot pictures on Sunday. I set it up for her and then she was on her own. She got 3 excellent pictures. IMHO the first one is better than any of the shots the track day photos guys take here.
It's going to take a little getting used to the Cayman and RWD in general.
In the GTI I could apply full throttle anywhere and it would just pull along and understeer a little. It was like a slot car. The only time it had oversteer was under hard braking on turn in. I was also very comfortable shifting it manually.
The biggest downfall for the Cayman is this set of tires. Honestly, it was like driving in the wet compared to the Nankang AR-1 or Hankook RS-4 I was running on the GTI. I think with a decent set of tires I could easily drop 4-5 seconds off my times. I drove it in Sport Plus mode with the ESM on. The transmission was pretty good everywhere but 11 and 2. Those are low-mid 40's corners and it should shift down to 2nd but it would stay in 3rd. Coming out of those corners if I rolled onto the throttle it would stay in 3rd but it felt like it could accelerate harder. If I pinned the throttle it would downshift and the rear end would come around and ESM would kick in. Hopefully by the time I do my next track day I'll be on good tires and be used to manually shifting the Cayman.
It's going to take a little getting used to the Cayman and RWD in general.
In the GTI I could apply full throttle anywhere and it would just pull along and understeer a little. It was like a slot car. The only time it had oversteer was under hard braking on turn in. I was also very comfortable shifting it manually.
The biggest downfall for the Cayman is this set of tires. Honestly, it was like driving in the wet compared to the Nankang AR-1 or Hankook RS-4 I was running on the GTI. I think with a decent set of tires I could easily drop 4-5 seconds off my times. I drove it in Sport Plus mode with the ESM on. The transmission was pretty good everywhere but 11 and 2. Those are low-mid 40's corners and it should shift down to 2nd but it would stay in 3rd. Coming out of those corners if I rolled onto the throttle it would stay in 3rd but it felt like it could accelerate harder. If I pinned the throttle it would downshift and the rear end would come around and ESM would kick in. Hopefully by the time I do my next track day I'll be on good tires and be used to manually shifting the Cayman.
Tires and their condition is such a big factor. If you used the Nankang or another 100 TW tire, I'm sure you could drop 10+ seconds! Once you get the feel down for rotating the car it gets so fun carrying tons of speed through each turn.
Nice car and great photos! Wish I had some good photos of mine on track. I have a GTI as well for a daily driver. Fun car but cant hold a candle to the Cayman in the handling department. The speed you can carry through turns is crazy.
I would look into swapping your steering wheel for the Sport Design wheel that has the much better paddle shifters. Since you already have sport mode it will also show what mode youre in on the steering wheel display.
I got video of my best lap editted last night. This is about 6 seconds slower than my best lap in the GTI, but the AR1s are so much better than these MPSS on the track. My brother said that they don't even squeal before they break loose. It was kind of like driving on a damp track.
I had an 09 PDK with added Sport/Sport+ that I started DEing. Moved to a 2013 Boxster S the end of 2017. I run a dedicated set of 18s with Hankook RS4s and adjustable LCAs on the 2013. Not the fastest tire, but lasted me two years, 10 weekends. New set this Spring. I added the third radiator to the 981, but did not on the 09. The 09 got a little hot one weekend, but cleaned the radiators and never overheated again. I finally bought a Hybrid Hans for safety. Glad to see its a family affair.
Last Sunday was not only the the first time I drove my new to me Cayman at the track. It was also the first time I'd ever driven a rear wheel drive car on a track. Some of the things that worked well in the GTI didn't work as well in the Cayman. That and the greasy tires led to some exciting moments.
05-30-2022, 04:26 PM
Chris’ Cayman
