tbaker

New to exploring the Cayman S....recently sold my E46 M3 to get something more practical given that we just had our first kid.

Sometime in the next year (don't know when, just whenever I find what I want) I will be getting a second car (keeping my SUV) to replace the fun I had in my M3.

Thinking about many different cars - E90 M3, M Coupe, Cayman S, 997S, 996 GT3, etc...

I like the Cayman, just wanting to boost the power to make up for the restraints given to the engineers to keep performance below the 911.

So - what kind of power gains could I expect from intake, exhaust, chop, etc? I assume mods will be like those on the M3 - very expensive on a $/HP or $/torque increase....

Thx.

Tom

mooty

it's very hard to gain hp in porsches (not counting turobs), let alone expensive. i had e36, e36m3, e36/8 and if you think those are costly to hop up, get ready for a SHOCK ;-)

intake and exhasut and even a chip will gain hp, but not in the same realm of return for investment compared to M3's. and it's not easy to just change the rear end on porsches vs. bmw. if the concern is with hp and torque, your best up in the choices you listed is E90M3 with V8. but in stock from, anytime you approach a turn, the cayman will be on your six, cayman is that agile and M3 are heavy bricks (i am trying to be neutral, i have both and the e36m3 in stock form is really not comparable to cayman and e46 is even heavier).

996gt3 and 997s are great cars. but they drive completely differently than M3 of any generation. you should test drive them over time and do it 10x or more. some will never get used to them. i got two bimmerhead friends (i am one too), who track and races m3 for years, but just doesn't like the feel of rear engined car. it's not their driving, they are fast in GT3's as well, but they just dont like it's balance. perhaps you can pm frayed. he's also a bimmerhead/porsche nut who can chim in with his exp.

944TURBOS

I went from a bmw(although a 325) that I tracked to a 944 turbo and now going to a 996 GT3. I have tracked several 911s so I know what mooty is talking about. I love the feel of 911s on the track, especially the balance under braking(unmatched imho), but he is right you should really drive one to feel it out. The cayman is a lot more neutral being that it is a true mid engine sports car. The 911 is unique in its handling charecteristics but I very easily transitioned into racing 911s.

If this is going to be a fun toy (you stated a 2nd car) then you will love any of the porsches. The 996 GT3 will obviously give the most performance without a doubt, the 997S makes for a great daily/track car, the cayman S also offers the best of both worlds but is a two seater(like the GT3) so it may be hard to take the wife and kids out in. I am sure you will want to have some fun with the wife and new baby so it might be beneficial to check out the 997/997S so you have the back seat. Sooner of later the little guy/girl will be old enough to know what a P-car is and will want to get some rides in it and with a 997/997S you will have the back seat available.

Jim Michaels

Tom: Strosek Design is offering a Cayman tuning kit that they say gives 320 hp. It includes air filter, catalyst, sport exhaust, and reprogrammed electronics. I don't know the price. They also offer a 380 hp 3.8-liter conversion. Other tuners offer the 3.8-liter conversion with the X51 package for over 400 hp. They used to say that reliable hp gains cost about $100 per hp, but apparently we need to upgrade that saying as well. Oh, just to keep the string going, my other car is a M3 as well.

FTS

To give you an idea: there is a special from 9ff (from US distributor) with bolt on mods that pushes up to 320 or 340 hp (can't remember) for $8400, which includes a $1K discount to the first 5 buyers

Jim Michaels

Yes, that's a good example, although it's probably one of the highest cost per hp upgrades to be found. I'll do the math. Forty more hp for the $8400 discount price is $210 per hp. Their estimate is that the kit should cut about .3 seconds off of 0-60 times. That's $2800 per tenth of a second. But that's just for the kit, so most can figure to add the costs of 5 to 8 hours of installation labor (their estimate) to that. With 40 more hp, one might also want modest upgrades to suspension and brakes.

"Speed costs money; how fast do you want to go?"

pstoppani

Cheapest HP/$ is usually via a blower or turbo; although these are recommended only for street use.

Mojimbo

I have seen a dyno from the 9ff +40HP Cayman powerkit. Its not cheap at $9k - but its a reliable +40HP upgrade.

There was a group buy going on at the caymanclub.net. I'm not sure if its over or not - worth a shot to save some $$$$.

Either way, the dyno I saw posted 350HP!!!

not bad!

Jim Michaels

The new Performance Products catalog has several more Cayman mods listed than the last one had. H&R lowering springs ($330);, alloy strut brace, for those who like to wear a belt and suspenders too ($350); Powerchip custom ECU tuning (17 hp gain for $990); PowerFlow intake kit (10 hp gain for $370); Sport Air Filter ($105); K&N air filter ($50); muffler ($1249); and headers ($3486). That's $6200 in mods just related to power, and no telling how much more hp all that would make. Maybe the 9ff 40-hp kit for $8400 isn't so far out of whack after all.

qirex

Yeah...it cracks me up how people buy a porsche, then try and nickel and dime when they want to increase the performance. Then, when they put all this junk on the beautiful porsche and it works like crap they either say you cant improve on the factory and go back to stock, or then buy quality stuff.

Its a lesson I learned trying to save money with contractors (once "saved" money with a plumber who couldnt read...ha!).

I was a little skeptical at first myself, but I have 9ff exhaust and suspension on my car. It feels like it was on the car from the factory. No resonance in the exhaust, killer sound (selectable) and of course (this is 9ff we are talking about) massive power gains.

Sure, the stuff wasnt *cheap*, but neither was my car...and neither am I!

$6200 and a bunch of questions....vs $8400 and a system that was engineered to work as a unit (with a warranty) from the world's most extreme tuner.

Thats $2k in piece of mind right there...priceless

B2C

Thats a pretty sweet deal there...I spent about that on an "all motor" 350Z. Spent close to $7k and got nowhere close to these gains. These were from the american tuners...not even the Japanese ones (Jun, Spoon etc).

You guys have no idea how good you have it.

I wish 9ff branched out to other marques...but then I guess they only do what they know.

FamilyCar

I don't know if I'd get a 996GT3 as a first Porsche. I personally like the way the other 2 look a bit more, the 997S, nicer butt, and the Cayman. The 997S and Cayman S would be easier to learn too.

I think the best ticket might be to wait a bit and get the 997GT3. Presumably there going to be wonderful everyday drivers and still kick *** on the track according to all the hype. There was a nice article in Excellence, usually a trustworthy source, from Ian Kuoh where he wrote glowingly about the car. I've got the 997GT3/RS - used of course, I love used cars - on my short list for my next P-car in 2010. Boy that feels a long way off.

If you can't wait, I know a guy cutting to the front of the line by doing a European delivery to get his 997GT3. You could do that. You could take me and I'll test drive it for you to make sure everything checks out. I'll carry your bags for you too.

SciFrog

Don't waste your money. Stick to stock, or pony up for a GT3, or a used one...

B2C

waste your money?

The real waste are those heavy, craptastic headers that porsche uses on these cars...except the (997) X51 - the 996 X51 was pure marketing...

I swear, I was in disbelief the 1st time i saw oem porsche "headers"..$70k and they serve this crap up?

Bob Rouleau

Have you checked the headers on a 70 K mercedes or BMW? Has anyone considered that 8400 bucks buys the same horsepower as a 997 .. for the same price?