Cayman experience.

[MrDemon]

I just find the 2.7 PDK dull and yes the 981 is quieter than the 987 inside.

on the track yes a 2.7 should feel good you can keep the revs up etc and you never slow down that much to notice the lack of torque , on the road it lacks a bit of grunt and torque.

I think mastering clutch/gearlever co-ordination with a manual gearbox is the joy of driving and what makes me buys car like this over a Golf DSG

If one just wants transport then a golf is a great car and 1/2 the price, if one want to drive as a hobby and have fun a manual sports car is the way to go.

A low powered automatic sports car, I don't see the point of it.

 

[AndrewT]

A week ago my son and I went on a Cayman one-to-one experience at the Thruxton motor racing circuit. We each drove a Cayman 981 2.7 PDK with an instructor in the passenger seat. It was great fun and we learned a few things....

• My son scored better than me technically, I scored better than him on pace - conclusion, more haste less speed required or things could end up badly for me.
• The PDK gearbox was a joy and highlights my inadequacies with clutch/gearlever co-ordination with a manual gearbox, especially in 'red mist' situations.
• The 2.7 seemed capable of going much faster than my abilities allowed - why is it then that 3.4s seem more desirable?
• Neither of us made adverse comments about cabin noise - is the 981 noticeably quieter than the 987 with regards to road noise?
• What eventually happens to the cars that are used on the various experience days around the country? If buying secondhand is it best to avoid an 'experience' car, and how would you know it had been used as an experience car?

Andrew.

 

[C2dweller]

How to avoid 'experience' cars... A diagnostic check will identify overrevs (ignitions in overrevs ranges), which should still be present in PDK cars that have been used for this purpose. Manual cars more so.

KR Lee

 

[MrDemon]

have you seen how people drive lol most cars have over revs, also Porsche sell about 2000 ex demo cars a year.

So no easy way of telling if it's a experience car bar a honest advert, a PDK in sports plus will have no more over revs than a 1 owner from new car !

As for the 2k ex demo cars PA thrashed from cold on the loan fleet it's any ones guess.

 

[AndrewT]

I'm not actively seeking to change my manual 987.2 2.9 at the moment, I was just asking out of curiosity - I guess buying a 1 private owner car is a sure way of knowing it's not been an 'experience' car (providing the owner is honest about how/where it's been used).

I'm sure I used to have better clutch/gearchange co-ordination, I'm just getting worse with age and lack of practice (my daily driver is a DSG box Audi).

 

[Motorhead]

Sounds like a case of use it or lose it Andrew..!

Jeff

 

[AndrewT]

Jeff, if I'm honest with myself it may be that I never had it in the first place!

 

[Buddy]

Actually the 987.2 is also quieter than the 987.1 inside and as for the PDK v Manual debate I drive my PDK 987.2 S but the last couple of days drove my son's Boxster S Manual, it took me a few yards to get the feel of the clutch and get my coordination in manual mode but it did strike me with how much slower the shifts were while driving the PDK in manual mode is both fast and actually fun. I was at the PEC a couple of months ago and moved over for a GT4 the instructor said it's a nice car but they should have put a proper transmission in it.

 

[flat6]

I think the cars that work hard at PEC end up in the used cars sold also. I think someone said they get rotated so don't spend too much time there. Well, probably true of the standard cars. The specialist models like a GT3 that works at PEC I doubt they rotate amongst GT3s for sale at OPCs lol.

As for 2.7 vs 3.4 its all down to personal requirements. If you're going fast as you ever will in a 2.7 then it's natural to question why bother with the extra performance in the 3.4 that you wont unlock. But what does fast mean. You can accelerate quickly to a legal speed. If you have the extra grunt of the 3.4 it makes acceleration more thrilling. Even when you're not driving assertively it can be more effective i.e. putting your foot down without dropping down a gear gives you enough shove whilst you're in leisurely mood. However when I drive a 2.7 loaner (I used to have a 987 Spyder) I find it gets me more worked up, having to drop gears to try and access peak torque to get a bit of shove and thrashing the engine a bit more before changing up, for fear of losing all the poke if I do change up. With the 3.4 I was more relaxed. Then if I wanted to go for a blast you've got another level again by dropping gears and hanging onto revs and getting it going a bit ballistic. In the 2.7 I had to get all aggressive just to get the thrust I would want from a sports car. As MrD says, if I want basic performance i'd happily have a Golf rather than have it in a sports car shell.

But back to what I said before, if the 2.7 feels as fast as is comfortable for you when you press the loud pedal then that's ok and you still get a thrill from the sublime handling of these cars.

 

[Buddy]

The straights of the PEC Circuits are quite short and you find that while it feels fast the same car on the road where straights are much longer feels less so, when the 981 came out I tried the 2.7 at the PEC and it did feel pretty quick but then driving the S in both PDK and Manual on the road it was obviously a much more capable vehicle. Try an S at the PEC and the straights can be much shorter.

You would be better to try the 2.7 on the road before deciding and maybe try the S too both are good cars and on a trip to Stuttgart those driving 2.7 987.1's were not many minutes behind the 987.1S's when it came to pulling in for breaks at services, of course the real difference in performance is in the acceleration and braking, handling capabilities are a little improved too.

I still enjoy driving a manual gearshift which I do whenever not driving PDK as the older automatics always feel like a car with clutch slip! But I also like the PDK which some think is just an auto but driving it in manual is just as pleasurable. Again you need to try both in varying road conditions to appreciate the difference.

 

[Motorhead]

Have to agree with that 6.

I drove a base 981 PDK Boxster and found the performance a bit flat after my 987.2 S. The extra torque of the 3.4 DFI motor is definitely worth it in my opinion and I doubt that there's much difference between the overall fuel economy of the two engines in real world driving.

Jeff

 

[Buddy]

Totally agree with you Jeff but I know those who find the 2.7 & 2.9 engined cars to be what they want, I can't imagine there are any great economic reasons as servicing costs and probably even fuel use in the real world etc will be much the same but those who like them do like them. We have quite a few registered, it really is a case of try whatever a person may think they will like and to make an assessment of their likes etc for each. Having driven most types of Cayman the Gen2 3.4 is my favourite, the smaller engines don't have the punch and with chrono pack the 3.4 is very responsive the power steering has good feel over the electrical system of the 981 although that isn't so bad as some say it is effective but not the same feel, depends what anyone likes really. Any Cayman is a better driver's car than most.