Any CR owners modified their car in any way yet??? I have a Fabspeed Race Exhaust leftover from my Spyder that i am planning on installing - also really looking into springs (H&R?) and Spacers for the car as well.

Anyone done any cool/fun/functional mods to the R yet?

 

Porsche went to great lengths to make the Cayman R as close to perfect as they could. There isn't much to improve.

With mine, the only thing I plan to do is replace the brake master cylinder with a GT3 one, add stainless brake lines, and better brake fluid and pads.

I'm not going to touch the suspension - it's awesome as is. Maybe some 18" wheels for track rubber.

Otherwise it's fill with fuel, empty, repeat.

 

Bill,

I totally agreed with you up until this past weekend. I was doing some work on the spyder and noticed the outer shoulder of my front tires have worn down through the tread. I've only tracked the car twice and they already look that way. Unfortunately it looks like I'm going to be investing in a set of lower control arms to increase the front camber so I don't prematurely wear away expensive tires. Obviously, this is on my spyder, so I'm curious to know if any CR owners who track their cars have the same issue, or if it's because the alignment on the spyders are more conservative.

BTW Bill, I did a double take when I saw you now have a CR. What happened to the GT3? You're going to have to stir the GT3 pot a little bit and tell us why you switched to a CR over a GT3. Welcome back to the flock!

 

Joe,

That's a good point. To be more specific, I would not change the springs and dampers; adding LCA's can be a good idea. No track days yet with the CR, so I cannot comment on tire wear.

Let's just say the GT3 I got had some issues that were not disclosed prior to the sale. Apparently, CPO doesn't really mean anything useful. I will miss the hp for sure, but the CR handles much better, like the Spyder before it. Can't go wrong with any of them.

 

I always wondered how reliable a CPO would be. I guess you have answer. Glad to see you're back with us on this forum, though! I placed an order for the RSS control arms today. I need them ready for my next track day coming up!

 

SharkWerks DME, GT3 master and 3rd radiator... I'm considering doing the LWFW at the same time.
I'm waiting to put R-compounds on before I consider the RSS Tarmacs; I just like the ride/handling compromise and the balance too much.

 

Way to go, Steve! Keep us posted on how these mods are working out for you.

Saludos, z356

 

Steve, any problems with outer edge wear on the front tires? You've got a CR, correct?

 

FWIW, I have the RSS tarmacs with the monoball bushings F/R and it's not biggie as far as additional harshness on the road goes, that being said the reason why I installed them on my car was to get rid of compliance as well as getting the extra negative camber. IIRC RSS has 2 different kind of bushings so you can specify the less harsh of the 2 if you only care about negative camber.

IMHO: The GT3 Brake Master Cylinder is not needed on a 2nd generation Cayman with the stock steel brakes. If you were going to upgrade to a bigger caliper like a Stoptech or some other 6pot F/4 pot R set then it might make a difference given that the volume of brake fluid on the actual caliper will be greater than the stock setup.

To the OP, adding H&R to a stock Cayman R setup is brain dead to say the least, why ruin such a good suspension as the stock suspension with the mismatched springs? I guess for those that only care about looks that might be the way to go If you want to retain both looks as well as performance get a good set of coilvers and call it the day

 

I wonder if there is such a thing as ROW MO30 version of the CR suspension???

 

The CR suspension could be considered the ROW MO30 suspension if you think about it a little bit

In other words the CR suspension is the ROW MO30 suspension for the regular non PASM Cayman S and Cayman

BTW: I've ridden on 986 with the ROW MO30 in the past IMHO the CR suspension is sorted out a whole of a lot better than that suspension.

 

Don't say that !
I am in the process of upgrading my '03 S to the ROW MO30 suspension....

 

Will do, Eduardo.

Hi, Joe, yes, it's a CR.
Not really, but the CR wants to slip/slide first. It really needs stickier tires for me to see if I need the RSS Tarmacs.

I drove a Spyder for 30 minutes prior to ordering my Cayman (though I love that car, I didn't want another convertible, but needed to try that 'magical' suspension). IMHO, for cars that are so similar, they are pretty darn different in their handling dynamics.

I put monoballs (pre-Tarmacs) on my RS and I agree with you. My concern is that a certain amount of 'springing' effect comes from the twisting of the rubber in conventional bushings, and in every car where I've switched to monoballs or solid/delrin bushings, in addition to all the good stuff you mention, it has also subtly softened the effective springing.
I'm putting Tarmacs on my wife's 2000 Boxster S (she loves the car too much to part with it) along with replacement factory 030 struts. So I'll have another data point before I get the R-compounds and need to consider the Tarmacs on the CR.

I have the PCCBs and even though they have a larger master cylinder than the iron rotors, they are way too mushy.

+1. The wife's 2000 Boxster S was ordered with the 030, and while it is better than the non-030, she was hoping that a Spyder/CR suspension upgrade was available for the 986. Alas, no such luck.

Just in:
While writing this, I got a call from Alex @ SharkWerks and he's confirmed that there is something wrong with my ABS... so maybe there is more to this story. Between the brake light switch/throttle anomaly and this, the car has been 'interesting'.

And the LWFW is going in.

 

Thanks, Steve. That is very interesting to know. You would think the cars would be very similar, but both you and excellence note significant differences between the cars.

 

I pretty much agree with the Excellence article.

I've owned, and driven, a lot of mid-engined cars (they really do have different dynamics) in the last 30-ish years, and to me, the ride/handling compromise in both these cars is perfect, but they are very different handling cars.

I was immediately comfortable in the Spyder, pushing it much harder than I ever expected. With the same tires, the Spyder seems to have more initial grip, with more body roll/lean (especially in the front) than the CR - where the tires give up before the suspension.
IMO, the Spyder is a perfect sports car as delivered (ok, assuming the 'right' options).

It takes more time to start probing the CR's limits. It doesn't have as much body roll/lean as the Spyder, but you also don't get the initial bite from the front tires that you get from the Spyder. On anything but low-speed corners the CR readily switches between over- and under- steer with throttle.. seemingly, nicely balanced. The Spyder always seemed to give me a safer level of understeer, unless unduly provoked.

I don't think I'll know what the CR 'needs' in suspension until I get the R-compounds on it.

That all said, I don't think there is or will be a dramatic difference in capabilities, just how you drive to get those limits and what the mods you'll be happiest with.