mooty

sound like engine/ecu tuning? maybe intake? please keep us posted.


true that. i am doing just that with local suspension guru, as of end of july we will log 1200+ track miles on it as we tune the thing.

there will be a lot of compromises and most cayman drivers will not want to have. for this to work well, i need monoball upper mounts, and that's noisy, when new, imagine when the heim joints wear out, it would be hell noisy.

spring rate, air pressure of shox, sway bar set up, alignment etc etc.

also, pricewise, it is 10-15% of the car's cost (inc labor, tax and ancillaries), so not many ppl will be interested. but for the few insane, this will be a great set up for heavily tracked cars (5000+ annual track miles).

CP

Flying T, Mooty,

I was thinking more in the line of ROW ride height, using either lowering springs, or coil-overs, PSS9s etc.

Another area of relative ease (may be) would be down-stream breathing, free-flow headers, plenums, exhaust, etc.

I was not thinking esoteric stuff, more of what the public can reasonably attain.

CP

Porsh-uh

This thread only bares out what anyone who has financed or been a part of a racing campaign of several years or more knows. Perfomance gain for the buck decreases as you get higher in the performance range. This goes for anything. Engines, brakes, suspension and so on. Any car can be made to quick up to a point and then it becomes extremely difficult (read: expensive) to push it further. I'm sure that the Evo block can take quite a beating, but if I had to pick a Evo running 20+ psi boost (even built by a top-notch tuner) or a Cayman S to run an endurance race of 6 hours or more. I'm taking the Cayman S every time. This is taking nothing away from the Evo, which is a car of considerable accomplishment in it's own right.

mooty

i would NOT use lowering springs. i bet is they will greatly shorten the life of your oem shox.

pss9 would be nice way to go. i know pss9 for 996c4s, 993 c4s and boxsters (986) are valved perfectly for your CP. lots of sport driving on twisties, occasional track use etc. no anti sway bars are out for cayman yet (not publicly anyway) so not sure how well you can tune under/oversteer. though you can always compensate for it by spring rate (though not ideal).

it's very hard to get power out of modern porsches w/ just headers and mufflers. sure you will get some hp, but i doubt anyone will REALLY notice it, unless you are actually racing someone.

to get hp out, you need more cold air in, more hot air out, so CAI, header, exhauste, take out the cat. if you really move enough air to see a BIG difference, then my immediate GUESS is that you dont have enough fuel mixture. so you might need bigger injectors, fuel pump etc. no end to this !

CP

John,

I hear you. NA engines are tough to up-grade. Learned that lesson from my M5.

I have always thought to get truely noticeable HP from the Cayman line, we must talk forced induction. Then the question is longevity vs performance. Then I have to trust RUF.

CP

mooty

ruf does have a 3.8L x51 conversion for the cayman, but it's scarying $$$.

btw, if a car is converted by ruf usa (texas) will it have any sort of warranty from ruf or porsche usa?

CP

Ruf has a 12 months warranty I believe. I personally will only do the conversion AFTER the OEM Porsche warranty ran out. I'm sure even Ruf's work will void active Porsche warranty coverages.

CP

FTS

Mooty and CP, you certainly making the very points I am strugling with in mind from a practicallity and marketability perspective.

Engine tuning is difficult for warranty issues. It is best to integrat big names' offerings in a solution rather create something brand new.

As for chassis, there is more room to play there I think. The shocks, springs, A/R bars, strut tops, camber, toe, bushings, ...it goes on and on. Finding the right combination that will suit the streets, tracks and autocrossing AND multiple driving styles is really the challenge; which is the most fun part for me as well.

Looking at some of the well-know brands and working with them over the years, frankly most won't do on a Cayman. JIC is out in my book, so are PSS9s; they are not good enough IMHO. Moton's are a little too expensive for the average Joe; Koni, JRZ are whole another story. What we need is to have full warranty and solid performance at the same time. Tough combination to find, but there are couple

mooty

you are right on. unfortunately you are on the WRONG coast, too far from me. i love motons. i heard JRZ being good but not sure if they shipped. but as you mentioned, beside cost you need to have a knowledgeable person to set it up else, it's just money wasted.

Jim Hodel

I wouldn't pay $70,000 for a Porsche that is finely honed from the factory, and then modify it with stiffer springs and shocks - that's why I paid the premium in price - to have the Porsche engineers tune the suspension with a perfectly blended compromise of ride, handling, grip, and feel.

If I wanted to tinker with a car, and tweak it in my own garage with a variety of aftermarket components, I'd save some $$$ and dink around with an Evo. I'd have less to lose and maybe more to gain.

FWIW, every aftermarket suspension (or engine) mod I have ever tried on a car has made it less suitable as a daily driver. I just do not think I'd do that with a Cayman S.

Jim

TAILWAG

I have tracked my STi for hours and hours of abuse...only a couple of ticks behind my Z06 and quite a few ticks ahead of my Carrera 4 (yes, I know, the 4 is not he best track car)...the STi's will take PLENTY of abuse....

TAILWAG

It is NOT a pointless thread. An SRT4 is not a track car...why do some "Porsche" owners have your attitude is beyond me.

Porsh-uh

Looks like you are the one with the attitude. The original post was actually trying to defuse the attitude. Stop assuming Porsche owners are snotty.

ELUSIVE

Geesh...talk about attitude... You should have been at the track (Pueblo motorsports Park in Colorado) this past weekend for the SCCA race when we were dusting a WRX STi by about 3-4 seconds a lap in our SRT-4. The STi was a nicely built SCCA T2 car and the driver was an SCCA runoff national champion driver. In fact, we out qualified both a very nicely modified 951 (ITE) and 993 (GT2) as well...

pcar964

Newsflash - Porsches nowadays are finely honed from the factory for GROCERY GETTING. For god's sake, you can't even get an LSD in a Cayman. If you want to enjoy it as a sportscar, you'll need to modify it. I always laugh when someone says "I'll leave it the way Porsche built it, they know best."

This goes for the old cars too, but to a lesser extent. For instance, the stock shocks/ride height/alignment on the 993 is frankly pathetic. A Honda Accord has better turn-in than a stock 993. But with simple mods (18" wheels, springs, shocks, alignment), the car is transformed.

Everyone has a different "ideal" balance for what they want in their sportscar. Some are happy leaving it stock, while other need a full track setup. Most people fall somewhere in the middle, hence the existence of aftermarket suppliers.