If you were building a PDK track car, would it be a 3.8l cayman or 3.8 carrera gts?

 

The Cayman. Lighter and mid engined. Though it needs a lot of upgrades to make it as track endurance capable as the GTS. Namely bigger brakes, extra front rad, bigger brake ducts for cooling.

 

I would put an older GT3 dry sump engine in it...

 

Call John at BGB Motorsports.

 

The GTS would be much easier and probably cheaper at the end of the day. The rear suspension is much better than the caymen and you can also fit larger rear tires on the GTS. If the this is going to be a track only car and paddle shift is the priority I would buy a 997 GT3 Cup and install a paddle shift kit. It would be a much better track car than both the GTS and the caymen.

 

Thanks for the great input. Not sure I'm ready for the gearbox and engine rebuild costs of the 997 cup. KMP paddle shift does seem like a good compromise. Does it protect from money shifts? Car will be used for DE stuff. No plans to race in the near future, just DE stuff. Cup car seems a little bit overkill for DE. Downside to pdk track car is resale. Upside: no money shift, lower tranny and engine replacement costs.

 

MDrums has been running a GTS for several years with 0 PDK problems. He has done some minor suspension upgrades I believe with custom rear sway bar that Orbit Racing fabricated.

Peter

 

3.8 in a Cayman for DEs might be overkill too. Just say'in. But I like the direction you are going!

I would go to a 996 cup and enjoy the challenges of a manual.....

 

So if just for DE, why 3.8L Cayman? The cayman s engine is plenty powerful. Just look at some of the times the GTB1 cars are doing lately (lots of video from Sebring and COTA races). Pretty amazing what these cars can do with relatively stock engines. Not sure it makes a lot of sense to spend the money on a 3.8L transplant. Are you going to drive the car on the street too? I test drove back-to-back a 2014 Cayman S and a used 997 GTS last week. I have to say I was way more impressed with the new 2014 Cayman S. For dual purpose street/DE car, just need a center radiator kit, track alignment, second wheel set, new fluid, new pads... and you're good to go. If you want to take the next step, TPC offers a bunch of stuff (sway bars and links, 255 HP power kits, suspension upgrades, etc... but I contend that this car is plenty capable right of the box). Only bummer about the 981 right now is the lack of compatibility with the GT2 sport buckets, and it will be at least a year before Porsche offers something equivalent... and as far as I am aware, there is no harness bar available as of yet (but i'm sure there will something available shortly).

 

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Tried a 3.4 L PDK cayman at VIR 2 weeks ago. Very fun. MPSS. Tpc sway bars and drop links. Gt3 front brake ducts, SRF, PFC pads and giro disc rotors. Consistent 2:22 laps. Pace was 10-14 sec off cayman track cars. Brakes would overheat after 20 min. I think the car has about 4-5 more seconds in it with a better driver.

ITC cars were running 2:05-2:12. They have cage/ safety, better brake cooling, better aero, mild engine performance mods, jrz suspension and stickier tires. I think 3.8 would just add to the fun. I have no local race shop. If car is going far away for upgrades, might as well do it all.

Since carrera gts already has 3.8, seems like it might be an easier build. Engine mods always carry some reliability risk. Gts needs Strip, cage, gt3 monoball suspension, gt3 bumpers, aero and wing. Not sure if gts needs abs or psm reprogram like cayman.

Would love mdrums thoughts...

 

I think that we'll see the future in Club Racing with PDK so it shouldn't be a negative re-sale value wise for a track car. A lot of DE cars are valued based on their ability to slot into specific NASA, PCA, SCCA race classes. From that perspective, the 3.8l upgrade on the Cayman is overkill because it will always be "just an odd-ball DE car". BTW - Cayman wise, I ran stock brakes until 2 weeks ago on my race car without any overheating issues. Larger brakes on the Cayman will start freaking out your ABS without the right set-up.

If you have no local race shop my recommendation is to stay as close to stock as possible, which means go for the GTS.

 

Jcastle,

What part of WV are you in? Is Summit Point close to you? There is plenty of Cayman support in NoVa. My sponsor and I are starting on a 2012 Cayman PDK build for GTB1 and should have a 2008 Cayman slated to start a build in the fall.

As others have said the 3.8 may be overkill and will hurt anything you do with the car later on. You can build an excellent track car out of a Gen 1 or Gen 2 Cayman with either the 6sp manual or the PDK.

There are plenty of proven formulas for a very capable suspension to choose from and the stock brake calipers are well up to the task provided better fluid, cooling and a race pad (nothing different than what you have to do to any other model).

As for the PDK and track use. We are following what several pro teams have done who used Cayman PDK in Grand Am. Cayman ITC has a few PDK cars holding up and doing particularly well.

 

Not sure what GTS or new Caymen go for but since you are probably going to trash your warranty with your mods I would go with a 7.2 GT3 instead. Much better suspension and they don't seem to have the problems the RS have. As for PDK if you are getting one just to avoid a money shift I would work on my shifting.

Peter

 

I have several reasons for wanting pdk, not just fear of money shift. Ive driven my RS at the track for 2 years. Looking for something cheaper and safer to beat up on. When my instructor at mid ohio killed his GT3 with a money shift, I started looking more serious at PDK.