McGarrett

My brother has the PASM on his Cayman S. Both he and I personally like this option. Nice and smooth when you want and it does lower the car and make it stiffer when you need it.

My wife does not have it on her base Cayman but the 17" wheels compensate for that a bit. If I had to do it over I would get the PASM option for sure. If the PASM has to be had with the 6 speed I think you will get to like it.

Dr. Car

5spd...3.50,2.12,1.43,1.09,0.84
6spd...3.31,1.96,1.41,1.13,0.97,0.82
(per another Rennlist member's post)

IIRC, the gear in the pumpkin is different between the two cars, so it would have to be considered to understand the final ratio. The article I thought was in Panorama was actually in Excellence last year, and that article showed that top speed in the first 3 gears is almost identical. All the 6 speed does gearing-wise is put three gears in the place of the 5 speed's top 2 gears. Maybe someone else can confirm or correct this analysis.

One benefit of the 6 speed is that it's a more robust unit that would last like crazy under the torque of the 2.7; it also is said to shift nicer. The 5 speed is a VW unit, likely relatively durable since VW builds fine turbo cars with amazing torque curves.

MarkinMD

I too, am shopping for a Cayman 2.7 and I was also concerned about getting a 5-speed. I had a 5-speed Boxster for 5 years and never felt the gearing was ideally suited to my driving style. The gearing of the 6-speed in my C4S is perfect. So when I drove a Cayman 2.7 last weekend I paid attention to the gearing and I felt the additional torque of the 245HP engine made the 5-speed an acceptable choice.

FWIW...By the time I optioned a base Cayman with the 6-speed and prerequisites, it appeared that it was a better "value" to step up to the Cayman S for a 6-speed car. And if you resell, you never fully recover the full value of the options. I think the Cayman S will hold more in resale value.

IMHO the 5-speed Cayman 2.7 is the best price-performer (Boxster price advantage aside), and my choice.

Paul Marangoni

Do you mind if I ask which options you are considering?

MarkinMD

Not much actually. Power seats and colored wheel crests are the only options I know for sure. Tilt and lumbar are essential for my back! Maybe Bi-Xenon's, sport steering wheel and auto climate control.

Certainly no audio upgrades, I almost never listen to anything but the engine.

Paul Marangoni

I'm thinking 18" wheels with spacers, leather sport seats with alcantara and sport steering wheel with alcantara. I was thinking of getting 6-speed with PASM too, but now you've got me wondering...

MarkinMD

I like the look of 18s better than the 17s. But the June 2007 issue of Excellence said this about the Cayman 2.7... "And though the 18-inch tires don't offer quite as much feedback as the standard 17s do, they are a fine compromise between fun factor and good looks." Since I'm replacing the C4S because of the heavy feel, I want the best feel from my Cayman. So 17s it will be.

I found a neat silver/black painted set of wheels on a car in inventory at Vision Porsche in PA that improves the look of the stock 17s. http://vision.porschedealer.com/new_...ntoryid=241828
I might have my wheels painted like that.

Paul Marangoni

There is no way that 17s provide more feedback than 18s, but they will be slightly lighter for sure.

MarkinMD

With "only" 245HP, light is good! I would have thought 18s provide more feel, too. The guys at Excellence have said 17s offer more feel in more than one article. I haven't done a thorough comparison, so I can't comment. I do know my Boxster had 17s and it was very capable and comfortable.

Paul Marangoni

Hmm... That's surprising, but I guess the lightness makes a difference, even though it's gotta be a very slight difference. Plus, the contact patch will be a tiny bit smaller with a tiny bit less rolling resistance, so..... perhaps.

MarkinMD

The November 2006 issue of Excellence did a full test of the Cayman 2.7. Here are a few of their comments about 17s...
"With smaller rubber, the excellent power steering seems to find an extra line of communication to your fingertips...purity of response from a car with less-wide, less low-profile rubber is always a joy to revisit. The sad thing is that few press cars and even fewer enthusiast cars will be equipped with the 17s because they just don't look quite as good as the (optional) 18s or 19s."

Then they said, "Couple the 17s to the inherent structural stiffness of the Cayman shell - and the exquisite balance of its mid-engined configuration - and you have the perfect bckdrop to highlight the finer brush strokes laid bare by the narrower rubber."

To paraphrase Taggart (played by Slim Pickens) in Blazing Saddles...they use their tongue prettier than a $20 *****. Nice writing...which is why I subscribe.

Paul Marangoni

Thanks for the quotes! That's interesting stuff. If you get the 17s, just lower the car a bit with aftermarket springs and get some wheel spacers and you're good to go!

MarkinMD

Good suggestion, those two changes will improve the appearance.

Paul Marangoni

Exactly. I actually prefer tire profiles of 40 and up, so those 17s will look nice if the car is lowered a tad. The 5mm spacers will help too, but I would even consider thicker spacers.

I like that the newer Porsches come with 40 profile tires on the 18s as opposed to my 2000 996 which came with either 35/265 or 30/285. The roads in Los Angeles are brutal, and anything less than 40 results in bent and/or broken wheels eventually.

himichael

One advantage to a 5sp: You will be much less likely to make the money shift from 5th to 2nd. I drive a 996GT3, but I think if it were geared right, I would prefer it in a 5sp.

m