tstafford

All,

I'm coming back after a multiyear P-car hiatus. I've owned many different cars/models: 360s, 997s, 997TT, Boxster. And oddly, the Boxster was the one that I have the fondest memories of. I've also done a fair amount of track time in P-cars and also some open wheel.

I'm leaning heavily toward getting a 2009 Cayman S PDK. I'm married now and have twin girls in the oven so I want to demonstrate some degree of restraint. Wife is fully supportive of this decision and would go higher if that made me happy - I'm a very, very lucky man.

So my question is pretty simple - as a person who values the following:
- Ease of use
- Cornering over top end speed/"usable performance"
- Clean interior (I love our 2012 328)
- Auto over stick - my favorite 360 was F1 not 6-speed
- A bit of style (don't we all?)
- Wanting to show some fiscal responsibility!

With that in mind, am I zeroing in on the right car? Other general impressions are welcomed. I'm getting excited!

Thanks all.
Tim

kikis911

Tstafford, good luck on getting your next P-car(Cayman)...I recently traded down my 08' BMW M3 for an 09' HONDA CR-V because my salary was cut at work...but once I get back on my feet Im getting a Cayman S...like yourself Im gunning for an Cayman ...more likely an S myself..I just love the looks of the Cayman...take your time looking...and hope you find one that meets your wishes.

mchi55

Tstafford,

Congrats on the twin girls coming soon. You and our wife must be very excited.

For your questions,

- cornering/handling - I think the cayman has one of the best cornering/handling around. It is mid-engined which gives it a natural advantage. I believe the Cayman S or R also won motor Trend magazine's best driver's car back in 2011

- ease of use. Cayman are known to be daily drivers. Very easy to drive.

- manual or PDK. It is personal preference but I have not driven a PDK, but heard it is one of the best dual clutch trans. out there. You can't go wrong with either transmission.

- style. I think the Cayman looks great, and gets lots of stares and thumbs up.

- and for costs, of course the cayman is cheaper than a base 911.

If you had fond memories of the Boxster, you definitely need to consider the Cayman. With the fixed roof, the driving experience in the Cayman is like the Boxster, but only much better. I know because I used to have a 2001 Boxster S with 6-speed manual and it was one of my favorite cars to drive, until I got my 2007 Cayman, and I have had a lot of cars in the past (C6 Corvette, 350Z, 08 Mustang, Honda S2000, Acura RSX, etc)

Hope this helps. Good luck!

__________________________
2007 Porsche Cayman, manual, Tubi exhaust
2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, twin-turbo 520hp/530 lb-ft torque
2007 Mercedes GL 450, has every option included
2008 Jeep Wrangler X

tstafford

Thanks guys. It took a few weeks but deposit is down on my car. Red/Tan, 2010 S with PDK and many nice options. Pricey, but I'm excited. My wife wanted all the bells and whistles. I'm especially excited that it has Sport Exhaust. I really like that. Several weeks before delivery because I've asked for a cool modification to be done to it:
http://www.suncoastparts.com/product...7c2performance

mchi55

Congrats on your purchase. Your "cool modification" will go great with your sport exhaust, and make the exhaust tone much nicer.

Keep us posted on when you get it and pics would be great too.
__________________
2007 Porsche Cayman, manual, Tubi exhaust
2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, twin turbo, 520hp/530 lb-ft torque
2007 Mercedes GL 450, includes every option possible
2008 Jeep Wrangler X

tstafford

Will do. Things are moving along nicely. With any luck the car should be here by next weekend.

tstafford

A couple of pics. More when it arrives!

mchi55

Beautiful car. Congrats again. Love the red/beige color combo
__________________
2007 Porsche Cayman, manual, Tubi exhaust
2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, twin turbo, 520hp/530 lb-ft torque
2007 Mercedes GL 450, includes every option possible
2008 Jeep Wrangler X

tstafford

Hee hee. Just heard from the shipper. Car is being picked up tomorrow AM for late night arrival.

mchi55

You must be crazy excited! Can't wait to hear your impressions on it.
__________________
2007 Porsche Cayman, manual, Tubi exhaust
2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, twin turbo, 520hp/530 lb-ft torque
2007 Mercedes GL 450, includes every option possible
2008 Jeep Wrangler X

ECS Tuning

Congrats on the new car and the twin girls !! You will have to post pictures and impressions of the overall Cayman S compared to your other Porsche's you've owned.

tstafford

Will do. Car arrived late last night (very late). I've driven it a bit today, but I'll have a better POV in a day or two. So far I'm surprised by how rigid it is - pleasantly surprised. I thought it would be a little bit of a cream puff, but it isn't.

mchi55

Congrats on finally getting the Cayman! Enjoy and can't wait to read your reviews. Yes it is very rigid. One of the most balanced cars I've ever driven.
__________________
2007 Porsche Cayman, manual, Tubi exhaust
2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, twin turbo, 520hp/530 lb-ft torque
2007 Mercedes GL 450, includes every option possible
2008 Jeep Wrangler X

tstafford

Had a bit of time to take the car thru some paces and thought I'd give my initial thoughts:

Power: You need to get on it a bit. Get it in the power band and it becomes a different car all together. I'm sure this contributes to the reputation that it's a good DD. It's enough power to give me what I want, but not so much to incite fear. (My 997TT at times was simply too much.)

Usability: Excellent. And this was my primary hope. The car is very well balanced. The power and the handling work nicely together. It inspires confidence with it's responsiveness and crisp cornering. You don't need to be driving at extreme speeds to enjoy what the car has to offer.

PDK: Quite nice. I find myself letting it shift and focusing on the driving instead. Maybe that's lazy, but it's kind of nice. In Sport Plus it seems to have a fairly aggressive set of shift points. Honestly, I think I'll settle in to letting the car shift itself. If I felt otherwise, I'd get the paddle shift upgrade because the integrated buttons in the wheel are kind of ridiculous. Ferrari figured this method out over a decade ago - Porsche could have just followed suit.

Chassis: It is stiff as I mentioned in my earlier post. It provides quite a bit of road feedback. It's not quite E36 M3 stiff (a car I drove for a long time) which made you feel like you might lose a filling when you went over a pothole or speed bump! Of course those cars had a propensity to blow out the top of their own shock towers (but that's for another forum). The Cayman is probably at the top end of the rigidity that I would want in a DD. The GT3s were too much to handle when I just wanted to run to the ATM or get some groceries. But it's certainly far less cushy than the 997TT which was a bit of a GT.

Sport Exhaust: Ok, acceptable, but nothing like an AWE or a Fabspeed. Probably easier to live with, but I'd go for more. It's certainly not worth it to me to pull it off the car and replace, but on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a 3.5. Of course I didn't like that my Fabspeed threw a CEL after 500 miles on my TT. I suppose this option won't cause me any possible headaches. That's good. I know I could disconnect the electronics that close the baffles at high RPM, but I'm not inclined to monkey with it.

K40: This is a pleasant surprise. The car has a K40 RL360 installed in it. I knew this at the time of purchase but discounted it because I'm not much of a radar detector guy. But wow!! The K40 really, really works. It warned me of a rear K band detection and I couldn't see a cop anywhere. Low and behold about a minute later he's 300 yards behind me coming up strong. There is no doubt in my mind I would have gotten popped if not for the K40. It will be on during all driving.

Love to hear other's thoughts on any of the topics above.

mchi55

Great writeup. I agree with almost everything you said.

Although I only have the base Cayman I think the power is just right for a DD, which I use my Cayman for. I used to have a C6 Corvette and it had stupid power but handled horribly compared to the Cayman.

And the stock exhaust are a little weak, like you said. My mechanic who installed my Tubi exhaust said it best "Porsche stock cars' exhaust sounds are pretty neutered". With the Tubi it's night/day better.

It's still one of the best handling cars I've ever driven, IMO.
__________________
2007 Porsche Cayman, manual, Tubi exhaust
2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, twin turbo, 520hp/530 lb-ft torque
2007 Mercedes GL 450, includes every option possible
2008 Jeep Wrangler X