P-Car777

Ladies and Gents,

First off, thanks for all the great input that everyone contributes to this board, it's truly a wealth of knowledge and thank you for sharing!

Secondly, I apologize in advance for this long winded post, but I am positive I am in good company on this board who can offer their opinions about my situation which I fortunate enough to be in.

Cayman/Boxster: The Gateway Drug

So about a year ago I got the urge to ditch my BMW 550xDrive, which I thought at the time of purchase was "sporty" enough, and stumble into my local Porsche dealership. I was coming from a long history of BMW coupes and sedans, mainly 3's and 5's that were generation after generation loosing their sporty soul so to speak. Each iteration of BMW's lineup had become more and more bland/clinical/numb. So I thought it was time to give a "real" sports car a drive and compare. The new Cayman 981S had just been out for few months and I saw it at the dealership for the first time in the flesh and of course drove it....what ensued from that drive was the equivalent of having removed casts from both of my legs and immediately breaking into a sprint. I could not believe what I had been "missing out" on all of these years!! What the hell was I doing buying luxury sedans along with the rest of the sheep thinking this was "the ultimate driving machine". No offense to BMW or people that buy them, they make dependable luxury cars for the masses, but they had steadily been loosing their sportiness IMO. So I test drove the crap out of that Cayman S manual and was hooked instantly. Drove the PDK, but didn't feel that instant connection as I did in the 6MT. The balance, the noise, the involvement of the 6MT, WOW. I broke my cherry, there was no turning back, so I bought the car. I never even bothered driving a 911, I thought who needs anything more for the street, why pay more when I was totally happy with what the Cayman delivered. I even thought it was a better looking car than the 991.

Fast forward five months after Cayman ownership...I still loved the balance, size, scalpel like handling precision, but I felt it needed more power, it just wasn't blowing me away the way that it used to. So where does one go when they have such a quandary, the porsche dealership of course. I drive the 991C2S manual and PDK, again, no real connection with PDK car, but with 6MT it just felt right and the extra power was on tap when needed vs. the 981S.

Fast forward four months later at a time where I was looking for a DD that the wife can use as well and of course I find my way to the porsche dealership and luck into a Macan S (has SC, PTV, PASM..no luxury goodies). So now after a few months driving the PDK Macan I finally get just how awesome the PDK transmission is, and how awesome the Macan is as well. Not to add flame to the MT vs PDK fire, but I always thought of myself as a die hard MT guy, but PDK has changed that. I began to understand how technologically superior the PDK box is vs MT, albeit just a little less engaging, but much more fast/efficient than I will ever be. So after this epiphany, where do I go, yup you guessed it, back to the dealership and test drive a Cayman GTS and 991 C2S (both equipped with PDK gearboxes). Take home messages form these drives were Cayman is still a better balanced car then the 911, can only fight physics to a certain point, and that it still needed more torque/HP.

Finally, why I the hell I am writing on a GT3 board, well I sold my 6MT 991 C2S and ordered a 2015 GT3!! I am writing to you all for your ownership experience, knowledge, etc. to ask you all about the GT3's driving dynamics, as I have never driven one!

I am confident that the GT3 power-plant is awesome and not laking, although maybe in torque (as compared to a turbo), but I also wonder about the "feel" of the 911 GT3 chassis/dynamic. I am sure its better than a standard carrera with its rear-axle steering, but does it feel as nimble as a smaller mid engined cayman? I ask these questions out of ignorance and I am in no way trying to stir up any sort of controversy, but I wanted the opinions of people who know better than me what the "real" story is so to speak. I wonder if I would be better off in a GTS cayman, although lacking in power but great balance, or a GT3, not to compare the cars, but to say which one is better for me!! Porsche as a brand makes awesome cars and we are all privileged enough to be able to drive them. Bottom line is, once you get a taste of what P-cars can do and how they make you feel, you just want more!! I want to have as much fun as possible on four wheels. I only track about once a quarter, but may start doing more if the "boss" allows it!

P-Car777

911Jetta

^^^^^^^^^
Great story!

You're going to absolutely LOVE the GT3, based on the text above. I'm not in the market for one and have no driving experience in one either, but we're talking Porsche and GT3 here. Get ready for a driving experience turned up to 11.

Until guys with experience chime in:
Words from the man in charge.


Until the guys

P-Car777

Howdy 911Jetta,

Thanks for your video reply, awesome stuff!!

Love your SG 964, she's a beauty.

Jimmy-D

I've owned a Cayman S, 997.2 Turbo, Audi R8 V10 and have driven many other sports cars. Keep in mind I do not track my toys but weekend driver.

The 991 GT3; is what I always wanted and craved in a sports car. It is NA, rear wheel drive, has a big wing(that looks like it belongs), high revving(9000 rpm) and great exhaust sound. It drives small and very light on its feet/nimble. It is very raw and visceral. It makes a lot of noises and makes me feel like I am driving a race car that is very forgiving for street driving from a comfort standpoint.

This is not a car for every one. - but it is the car for me at htis point. When I look at it in my garage I feel like I am looking at a match box car that my Son has - It is truly a toy and I would have it no other way

P-Car777

Jimmy--D,

Thanks for your input, for me one of the most appealing things about the car is its "rawness". Also good to hear you feel that it is light and nimble.

Do you ever wish it was a manual?

Enjoy in good health!!

TRAKCAR

He said manual! Ban!

Jimmy-D

I am a Manual guy and I do not miss it. I am just stumped how Porsche created this PDK-S(automatic) that acts like a Manual - You just do not have a third peddle

You can not even compare the PDK-S to PDK. They should of called it some thing different because it confuses people who have driven a C2S w/ PDK

P-Car777

LOL, I promise I won't do it again

P-Car777

Music to my ears...very interesting POV, as I think the standard PDK is pretty good, so sounds like PDK-S is gonna rock!

Zulu Alpha

Interesting you say that Jim. It is unfortunate they tune the ECU of the PDK to creep basically dumbing it down for the average driver to feel like an Automatic, but actually the PDK is a manual gearbox that is virtually identical to the 7-speed (say it isn't so :O). The PDK-S is also essentially a PDK with shorter ratios and a heck of an ECU tune that is true to a manual. I remember my M3's SMG-II has the same characteristics as the PDK-S, in that there is no creep. PDK-S (and by right PDK as well) shouldn't creep due to its inherit design as it's a manual box. People get confused when they hear PDK and think it's an automatic with a torque converter, while in reality it's a manual transmission with 2 sets of clutches bathed in oil, very different to an auto box with a torque converter (slush box). ZF make great automatics as on the X5/X6 M and the Jaguar F-Type. These are true auto transmissions with torque converters that must creep due to their mechanical design. In terms of PDK, they engineer the creep into it to make it feel like an "automatic", And I hate that!

P.S. P-Car, your post rocks, and I'm not offended by the BMW statement as I share the same. That's why I jumped ship. Enjoy your GT3 in good health.

KenU

PCar777,

If the above quoted post does not do it for you, then I'm afraid the GT3 is not for you.

Jimmy wrote a similar post on another thread I started a couple of weeks ago when I was truly "on the fence" about acquiring the GT3.

I now have a Nov build (not locked yet) on a GT3 *because* of Jimmy D's posts and how similar we think and feel when it comes to cars costing $140,000+. "Admiring the car as the garage door opens" when pulling up in your other DD, etc.

I was lucky enough to test drive one to its limits, got out of the car, looked back at it in awe and amazement and said to myself "What am I going to to with this car? I'm not going to track it. I'm driving a '14 Panamera GTS, what do I need this for?"

Jimmy's post and mindset mirror mine, and I suspect others here as well. It brought it home for me. Ever see the "Blues Brothers" movie when, in the church with James Brown singin and preachin, Jake looks up at the light and says "I see the light!!"? That was me after reading Jimmy's post a couple of weeks ago and above.

Automotive dopamine is a wonderful thing - if you know what I mean. It's triggered in many ways in different people.

Good luck

aamersa

If you liked the balance of the cayman better than the 991 c2s, have you considered the gt4? If I am not mistaken the launch is not that far away.

neanicu

Hate to break it to you,but a tranny where you do not actually engage the engine through a mechanical action(clutch),but instead the computer does it for you when receiving an input from the driver,it's called an automatic. It's not a torque converter slushbox,but it's an automatic all right!

cingulus

Obviously, they are both great cars, having driven both, I just felt that power level of the Cayman S I drove left me wanting. If cash is not the issues go for the GT3.

mwar99

I just love the back and forth on the PDK being an automatic or not. How long can we beat the dead horse.