plafondles

Hello everyone, after a long wait, I recently purchased a Cayman R and am completely new to the Pcar world. I will be attending a track day event at a local small technical road course in a few weeks to stretch its legs.

My question is, besides the usual/universal track day prep (pads, fresh fluids, ect), is there any inherent issues with the 987.2 when running on track that I should be aware of? Or is the car able to run a few interrupted hours of hot laps without drama?

Looking forward to learning from the community. What a fun car.

sectachrome

You should be pretty much good to go. I tracked my car earlier this year and the only thing I did to prep was flushing with hi temp brake fluid. No issues aside from some wheel weights falling off due to heat. The 987.2 is supposed to be pretty stout.

plafondles

Good to hear your event went smooth! . It appears on my readings that a lot/most of the oiling issues on the 987.1 was address with the later models.

andy7777

I've had my Cayman R out maybe 6-10 days a season on mostly short, technical tracks in Michigan without any issues at all. Did a little instructing, mostly just like to drive in advanced groups. Change brake fluid and oil regularly, use Cayman R OEM pads (probably wouldn't if my tracks were really high speed) and changed out a set of rotors recently because they were getting thin. Car's never overheated or acted up in any way. It's just a great car for doing the occasional day or weekend and getting you back home.

I do have a fair amount of Xpel on the front end and it works well. Wouldn't really like to get my hood and mirrors pockmarked from a track day.

plafondles

Excellent. Thank you. I run at Gingerman fairly regularly. Hope to see you out there.

andy7777

Cool, there are three R's I know of that do track days with the RSR PCA in Michigan. I also do the Lotus Club Grattan weekend, October 10-11. That track is awesome.

zedcat

For occasional HPDE should be no problems. I have about 150 days on my Cayman R mostly at Texas tracks including COTA, in solo and advanced solo groups. Currently using PFC pads (08 or 11), GT3 front brake ducts, and SRF fluid. Stock rotors but they crack near the edge before reaching the wear limit. girodisc are a popular upgrade. Max stock camber is about neg 1.5 deg so GT3 or aftermarket LCA or camber plates are needed to get enough neg camber to even out tire wear. I have OZ 18in wheels and NT01 tires (245/ 275). In summer I was seeing water temp rise and added the center radiator. I've considered a deep sump too but have been using the car less lately. Keep an eye on the water pump. Also check CV boots and motor/ trans mount at higher track mileage. You didn't mention if MT or PDK. I know of a few heavily tracked cars with PDK failures. Overall it's been a really good track car for me.

edit- forgot to mention, for MT I know of a number of 987.2 that broke shift cables including me. it's more common with higher track mileage though.

and another thought- hard to believe these cars are now 10 years old. Mine was built late 2011. Suggest be sure all maintenance is up to date. Can't recall the drive belt interval, might be 6 yrs. Have seen those fail at high speed- makes a huge mess.

MattUF

Might want to check PS fluid to make sure it isn't low, I've read about people having their PS pump burn up during tracking due to low fluid.

plafondles

Manual with upgraded shift cables by the PO. I tend to check water temp religiously. I had one bad overheating experience on track in a Miata which scared me straight.

plafondles

I will check, thanks for the heads up!

daylorb

I'd recommend getting a Solo DL or Solo 2 DL with canbus attachment if for no other reason to monitor oil temp. I've tracked my Spyder a handful of times and plan to again now that I sold my Miata and the only way to monitor oil temp is this way. Never had an issue, even at COTA in TX heat, but you never know...

The rest has been covered, a CG lock would be nice if you can find one...

MattUF

+1, I have harnesses but in a pinch you can do the trick where you slide the seat as far back as it'll go, yank the seatbelt to engage the lock, then (while keeping tension on the belt so the lock stays engaged) move the seat forward to pin you to the seat.

Andy Ordonez

I've now done 6 track days in the Cayman R I purchased last October. I'll echo some of the previous input - high temp brake fluid (Castrol SRF comes highly recommended) and check oil levels/oil change (LiquiMoly 5W-40 is my preference). Otherwise, good upgrades to consider are upgraded brake pads (Ferodo ds2500 have been a great street/track pad for me), GT3 LCAs (more camber), GT3 brake master cylinder (firmer pedal and feel), SS brake lines, Tarett front and rear sway bars, race wheels/tires (currently using Falken FT-660s for great grip and decent longevity), center radiator (needed to keep things cool when track temps are hot). These are all things I've done so far, and I've been very happy with the results. Enjoy!

plafondles

Had a great day at the track! Got a lot more comfortable with the car and was very impressed with how well and easy it was to control near the limit. I let some of the instructors take the car out and they were very impressed as well. Lots of positive attention around the "little" CR even when parked next to some serious track weapons.

Zach L

I run a stock Cayman R on brake-heavy tracks with only the following:
- Castrol SRF brake fluid (more expensive, but absolutely worth it).
- Ferodo DS1.11 pads on track and swap back to the OEM Cayman R pads for street (the 987 is virtually the easiest car to swap brake pads).
- OEM center front radiator kit (about $350) for extra cooling. PDK came with the center radiator (and need it MUCH more) but easily added to manual cars.
- Dedicated set of wheels/tires for track use. Something like RE-71R or NT01.