cgomez

Definetively, the smartest use of up to $90K of racecar money, but some of us just choose to swim upstream and prove the midengine platform is superior

Krokodil

+1 from a fellow salmon.

Cheers,

cello

So, you two Salmon - upstream swimmers/early adapters, post up your build-outs, specs, and costs, pls.

Nothing here stating this is 'rear-engined only' racing board. I am looking for that info and I am am sure there are others .....

BTW, go now or wait until 9A1 engines hit the used market???

cgomez

I was fortunate not be the early adapter as I bought Joel Furey's car early last year that was already built by Spencer ***. This is how the car came built (CAN'T imagine it costing less than $30K as other's mentioned, even if you do some work yourself) :

Safety
Custom Welded Kalani Gohara Roll cage
Roll bar padding - BSCI
Window net & right side net
Porsche Motorsport electronic kill switch
Teamtech 5 point harnesses
Fire extinguisher & mount
Interior
AiM MXL Pista Telemetry system with additional sensors
Driver floor plate
Steering wheel hook
Longacre convex rearview mirror
Radio blank with electronic cutoff switch
Windshield tear offs
OMP steering wheel
QR steering wheel adapter & spacer
Cool Shirt wiring & flow control panel
Body
Radiator screen kit
Carbon front splitter
Porsche Aerokit rear wing
18" CCW wheels
Wheel bolts and spacers
Suspension/ Chassis
Moton Club Sport - 900/1000# springs
GT3 control arms - front and rear
Solid transmission mounts
TPC Racing sway bars
TPC Racing drop links
Drivetrain/ Exhaust Guard race LSD - 70/30
German race exhaust system
Lightweight flywheel
Short shift kit
Center radiator
Brake line kit - braided
PS Underpulley
Racing battery

Everything I've added since has been mostly to improve reliability and/or run the car with NASA GTS3 (most of it added weight! - coolers specially -, so made the car slower! Except the graphics which we all know count for at least 1sec in a 90sec lap):

- Front mounted PS fluid cooler
- Transmission Cooler
- Additional sets of CCW wheels (Coloured)
- Spare tuned ECU (NASA or run PCA I Prepared)
- Spare rear Hatch with Bigger Wing (NASA or run PCA I Prepared)
- Motorola Radio
- 2 Chasecams PDRs (forward facing one with Racecam)
- GPS module for AiM
- Custom Martini Racing graphics
- Replaced driver harness with more user friendly Scroth

Current weight is 2980#s w/o driver, 3175#s with driver (<1/4 tank of gas) and min weight for HStock PCA is 3106#s with driver.

I hope this helps, and those in the know will notice that it is basically what you end up doing to any 996, 986, 997 or 987. That's why I think the best deals out there are the former Koni cars like the one being sold by GMG (Price is a small fraction of real build cost)....

mooty

depends on how much you want to spend and how long you want to wait.
i am very tempted to do a cayman HSR car. 9A1 motor, new car, stripped.

mooty

carlos, those came off my 06 cay s, the first car delivered in CA. BEFORE launch day

cgomez

I'm a big believer in progress and technology so the new engines have to be better and more reliable (and they are more powerful and new cars are faster). It only depends if you want to run H or I Stock in PCA. In NASA GTS3 go for the newer car; it also has better gearing that makes it accelerate faster.

In H the Cayman is competitive b/c you run against 3.4 996s (same engine, same power), but the 996 can weigh 60#s less and use the big factory aeropack wing to compensate for the midengine advantage

Can a 3.4 DFI be competitive in I Stock against the 3.6 996/7s? I think so (the carreras will still pull a bit harder out of corner exit, but coming out at lower speed), as the base OEM max HP is similar and the DFI torque curve is smoother. However, the Carreras still have the advantage of being able to use a big wing of the factory aeropack. If there were a Big Wing Aeropack for the Cayman, it will be a no brainer.

My PCA rulebook wish is to have a weight equalizer formula to allow the pre-DFI Caymans like mine run in GTB against the Koni cars and the Interseries DFI Caymans (a 150#s difference should be OK to balance out the 30hp advantage of the DFI cars). I would run in GTB trim not only b/c it is faster but b/c it should be cheaper in running costs (less weight = less tires/brakes/stress = less $$$)

cgomez

You were a WAAAYYYY TOO EARLY adapter.... you have to let others with deeper pockets of time and a raceshop sort out the nuissances before jumping in!!

The engine "issues" are mostly about proper oil levels and not caching air in the system.

Krokodil

Like in most areas, being an early adopter is not the low cost route.

Unlike Carlos I built my car from my daily driven street car, purchased new in September 2006 (07 model). Certainly not the most cost effective way into a race car, but considering my rookie driver development path it was probably the best for me. Skip to the specs if you do not want the story.

Year 1 (07) - I started running AX events with PCA when the car was only 3 months old, where I won a number of events and the season points championship. Also during this first year I started running the car with the Porsche Owners Club (POC) and won the Short Track Series class trophy, setting a couple of lap records along the way (low bar I guess). Year 1 modifications included: center radiator, Quaife TBD, deep sump, and underdrive pulley.

Year 2 (08) - Only a few AX events and a full year of POC Time Trials. Second in LI (Improved) class for the year. Completed wheel to wheel licensing ("Cup School") at the end of the year with a second clinic waiver and the OK to race. During year two we made several changes to the car for both performance and reliability. Through the rear view mirror this helped spread out the costs - also aided by the car continuing to serve as my DD. Year two changes included: roll bar (BBI), GT3 seats, Schroth harness, FE mount and bottle, GT3 control arms (front only), sway bars, Bilstein HDs and PASM springs, Motorsports VOS, complete overhaul of the PS system (remote reservoir, remote cooler, AN fittings and new high pressure line). By now my vision was to convert the car at some point so all modifications (save the seats, shocks, and roll bar) were done looking forward.

Year 3 (09) - First year racing wheel to wheel. Second in POC race class R6 and a few LI class lap records (low bar again). Ran the car at near stock weight of 3220# with driver. First race, first practice session, car goes poof. Engine done. So rebuild time (no interest in a crate w/ the same problems) leads to several other changes ("while we are down"). Year 3 modifications included: engine build (blueprint & balance, crank modifications to improve oiling, Carrillo rods, deck heads, and 996 oil "swirl pots" to improve deaeration), LWF, Sachs Clutch, PSS9, cat back, cool suit, and electronic kill switch. Car done as DD in September and I finally purchased a tow vehicle (3 years of saved second vehicle costs).

Year 4 (10) - Converted the car to near CaymanSpec (POC CSR class) over the winter. Modifications included gutting the car, installation of a full cage, Recaro HANS seat, net, steering wheel, floor panel, rear wing and uprights, springs and hardware, shock mounts (top F/R), splitter (under construction), and a number of finish items. Car is 2700# empty and still has the stock bumper supports, stock wheels, and Fabspeed catback. I expect to swap out the dampers later in the year as I recover from the cost of the build.

Current spec (at least what I can remember):

Safety
Custom roll cage (Vision Motorsports)
Window net
Electronic kill switch
Schroth 6 point harness
Recaro Pro Racer HANS seat
Fire extinguisher
FAST cooling system

Interior
Traqmate (custom mount and wire routing)
Reroute of tunnel wiring
Custom driver floor plate
Radio blank with electronic cutoff switch, cool suit control
Windshield tear offs
Momo steering wheel
Sparco steering wheel adapter & spacer
Removal of all interior components (save the dash) including HVAC, E brake
Proper finish to bare interior (stud removal, stripping, paint)

Body
Custom radiator screens
Splitter (under construction)
Rear wing (9.75 x 60), custom uprights and endplates (Vision Motorsports)
Hood & deck pins
Tow hooks

Suspension/ Chassis
OEM wheels
H&R spacers
H&R stud conversion
Revalved PSS9 - rate under development
Koklen Spring hardware to adapt PSS9 to Eibach
Kokeln top mounts - ran Mode and PMNA for first race
GT3 control arms - 997 front and 996 rear
GT3 sway bar - front
Tarrett sway bar - rear
Tarrett drop links
Modified power steering system (remote cooler, remote reservoir, AN fittings)

Drive Train
Stock ECU
Quaife TBD
Fabspeed catback
Fabspeed catless headers
AASCO LWF
Sachs clutch and PP
OEM short shift kit
OEM stock transmission
OEM center radiator
Underdrive pulley
Engine blueprint and balance
Carrillo rods
Modified crankshaft (grooved journals, etc)
996 oil return "swirl pots" (improves deaeration)
Deep sump with pickup and windage tray
Porsche "motorsports" VOS

Brakes
Goodridge SS brake lines
Pagid RS29 pads
OEM rotors

Guidance, Build Work, and Testing
Vision Motorsports - Dwain, Danny, Mo, Nick, Cary

Again, while this has been a fun road of discovery and learning, it was not the least cost financial path if you knew going in that you were going to build a race car and did not care what it was. When we started the 09+ Interseries cars did not exist and there were zero built cars for sale (Cayman S), so this may have been the least cost option to race a Cayman. Also, it must be remember that at the point of conversion I have a car that is worth about what a donor Cayman would cost and I already have a large part of the conversion cost sunk. These costs would be wasted if I had switched chassis at this point.

So, is this still the right path? I guess it depends on your acumen, patience and access to the dollars to do the work. A 06-08 car is <$30K at auction, add build costs of X (maybe $30 to $35K depending in shop rates, mods already complete, etc) and quite a bit less than a ~$100K Interseries car. A used 09+, if you can find one, at ~$50K may be the right path, but makes for a pretty expensive club racer. At this point (if you do not care about the car being a Cayman), a 996 cup car or a used Koni car are probably better options.

Hope this helps. It will be great to see a number of you help build CaymanSpec into a successful race class. For build photos, rules discussion, and current class regulation please visit www.caymanspec.com

Cheers,

CWay27

What about your GT3 brakes.....

cgomez

GT3? No it is not (Maybe rotor size is the same?). It is the factory OEM PCCB brake setup. As we found out at Sebring, the upright is unique to the Cayman (not the same of the GT3, nor Cup, nor 997).

mooty

i FINALLY learned that!

cgomez

Krok, I checked again the Specs (and still disagree with the ability to blueprint , but I'm over that so dont bother discussing here) but it doesn't say anything about the ECU? Can it be tuned?
With the stock ECU whats the RWHP of your car?

Any other Cayman Specs in CA?

cello

Thanks guys; all noted and saved for future reference.. cgomez - understood about the Koni cars/buy built-out, but you (and Kroc and mooty) are more advanced drivers. I am looking to grow with the car not only as a driver but from the perspective of understanding what the changes made do and bring (ie via the butt dyno). So for that reason, Krocodil, I too was thinking a yearly progression - very helpful.

Krokodil

No other CaymanSpec cars quite yet. One car is near spec and possibly for sale. Another should be close by the end of the year ($$). There has also been interest from others, but I suspect it will be year end before we know whether this is going to take off.

The regulations do mention the ECU (actually the DME) under section 6.8.11. Modification to the program is allowed. This is still a concern of mine. What do you think?

My car is making about 300 RWHP on the stock ECU - 298 and 303 on two differnt dynos.

Cheers,