George from MD

Having recently driven a Cayman Interseries I would say Cayman hands down. While I own two 911s I have to admit that car was the most pleasurable, responsive, neutral, forgiving, fun to drive thing I've ever driven on a race track. Period.

Gt3 performance for tens of thousands less. I may even retire the beloved Mrs. P and get one myself.

racer

Yeah.. but a cayman interseries car is 100K and is a racecar. A GT3 (996) can be a $60K car. That said, I saw the "lowenbrau" and "miller high life" livieried cars at SP a while back and thought they looked great and went fast

I think the OP was looking at the $30K range as well.

To me, the DD rub is weather or not you want the luxury of dropping items in the back seat, or putting them in a trunk. Also, the cayman may feel more claustrophobic given the tall bulkhead behind the driver. Switching from my SC to a Boxster I found this to be an issue, since I had gotten used to the larger cockpit and open space behind me.

quickxotica

I've done all three, so here're my 2 cents:

I owned a 944S for 9 years that evolved from stock DD/AX car into an S2 (motor, brakes) "barely streetable" DE/TT car. I loved that machine. I was running red group and became an instructor in that car.

Eventually I went crazy and ordered a brand-new '07 Cayman S with all the "sport" goodies and none of the weight-adding options. I put gt3 seats, harnesses and DOT R compounds on it and went tracking for 2 years. I also road-tripped it all the way around the USA (8k miles) with my wife. It was a great car for both uses.

Then I needed back seats (hello child) so I sold the Cayman S and bought a mk2 996 C2. Out came the stock m030 suspension, in went X74. For track days, in go the gt3 seats, harnesses etc. It is a DD and a DE/TT car.

Verdict: For me personally, with my driving style, I am both faster and more entertained in the 996mk2 than the Cayman S. But that's just me. I have a close friend who drives a Cayman S with just a couple mods and he and I trade tenths back and forth. Comparing data with him (and our own subjective reflections) reveal that the Cayman can carry more speed from turn-in to apex than the 996 can, and is a bit more stable in high-speed transistions (think 4th-gear esses), but the 996 walks away from apex to corner exit every time. The 996mk2's 3.6 has a slight mid-range torque advantage that is noticable, but the real difference is traction. In the Cayman S you really feel the open differential holding you back, whereas in the 996 you can easily drive around it.

For me, the Cayman was almost "too stable" on the track, and when I first tasted a well-set-up 996 at the track (a friend's) I was laughing out loud in my helmet and knew at that moment that the Cayman had to go.

As street cars, both are lovely. The 996 has simpler electronics, and its easier to get weight out of.

Drive both if you can. Your taste may vary.

M758

Wait... He had 1 year of DE under his belt? What is wrong with 944 Turbo? That car is way more car than a 1 year DE driver needs.

Does he want to keep the Turbo a street car? Or is just old and time to replace his P-car?

Cayman S or 996 are nice cars and other than being newer are not much faster than a 944 Turbo.

quickxotica

I agree with M758 on this point. The 944's with their 16" wheels have a nice wide envelope of accessible slip angles to play in without getting hurt. Their weight distribution is very good, and they respond well to traditional inputs (i.e. no electronic nannies corrupting the interface). I would stick with the '44 for another couple/few years unless there is some unmentioned factor that is forcing the issue.

Compared to the '44, the 996 (and to some degree the Cayman) will have "sharper" handling at the limit (in part due to the low-profile 18" tires) that leaves less margin for error between hero and zero (even with all the nannies).

atr911

OMG... I have the same question in my mind.

Cayman or 993? Hmmmmm.... 996 isn't an option for me.

certz

I had a 996 Cab right up until my wife put it in the wall at Road America. It was a great DE car and DD. I put PSS10's, GT3 sways, seats, harnesses, etc. in the car and could walk away from Cayman S's. It was easy to drive and forgiving, but there are issues with both cars once you start tracking them. There are potential oiling issues because neither has a dry sump. I baffled the oil pan and installed the dual chamber air-oil-separator and never had an issue, but I know people that did and do have problems with their cars because of the, imo, poorly designed oiling system. Just a word of caution - both are great cars and he will be happy either way.

As for the Cayman or 993 question atr - 993 hands down.

mooty

a new interseries cay is about 100k

i have all the cars discussed in this thread.
if you want to stay stock. 996 and cayman s are tied.
if you want to mod and develop the car 996 is better. it can use a lot of GT3 parts. you can't beat factory engineering.
can you get a cay to work, yes. but you need money and time and patience. i have some money, little time, NO patience. after 3 cay s, i came back to rear engined cars.

BostonDMD

I doubt that would pass as a "conventional" DD.........

mooty

LOL.
i really liked the car and was about to buy one. but there were no HSR racing in CA. so i was not allowed to get one. and if i can't have the car in 24 hours, i lose my patience. so i never bought it.

but couple of east coast RL got those things and are having a blast.

BostonDMD

Mooty, you change cars as easily as I change my latex gloves between patients........

More power to you dude........

P.S. I am jealous...........

GTgears

Most of the time I would agree with you. But on either of the cars being considered if the OP plans to track the car with any regularity he'll want to remove that sorry excuse for an LSD from the car and replace with one that works...

Gary R.

Can't the Cayman use GT3 parts like control arms, etc. also?

mooty

front yes.
rear no.

mooty

wont change any more.
found something i like.