New owner - 718 Cayman S

[gtipirelli]

hi all

i picked up the above car on Saturday and it is a year old with 8k miles and one previous owner

great car and very happy but have a few questions to those of you experienced owners

- I notice a lot of oil, rubber, mechanical smells from the car when I park up after any sort of gentle run, is this normal given there are side vents right near the doors and the engine is closer to you when exiting the car compared to a Traditional front engine vehicle

- I have noticed lots of little stones in the side air vents near the radiators, I have to put my hand in to pick them all out, is this normal and will the recent recall by Porsche to fit mesh grilles solve this

- it has the option where you do not need to insert the key to start the car, can this be disabled by the dealer to enable me to use the key to insert and start like traditional cars, I just do not like the fact that thieves can read your key signals and nick the car. Not sure I have explained thT particularly well

thats about it for now, will start to use it as my daily driver from today onwards so will no doubt have more questions over the coming weeks

thanks

 

[AndrewT]

Welcome to Cayman ownership.

I'm not a 718 Cayman owner so cannot speak from experience, however........

The smells you mentioned are normal on my 987.2 Cayman - more noticeable in the colder weather as a burning rubber smell. A sure sign that you've enjoyed your drive.

From what I've read Porsche are only fitting grills in the vents behind the doors. There is no 'official' solution for protecting the radiator grills at the front. There is a company called Zunnsport who sell grills you can fit yourself but there are discussions on the forums over whether your OPC will say they invalidate your warranty.

I don't know anything about the keyless ignition.

 

[Motorhead]

Alan,

If you're referring to the side air intake ducts then I'm not sure that the grilles Porsche are offering as an update will stop small stones entering:

https://www.porscheclubgb.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=1005945#1006174

I agree with Andrew's comments re smells after a run and the desirability of a/c condensor and coolant radiator protection.

Have fun driving your new car.

Jeff

 

[Fudgie]

Hi, yep mine has a 'smell' after a run of anything more than say 10 miles, it is more noticeable in colder weather as I've only just started noticing it again now we're into the first chill of winter...

Pre-side grills I use to get loads of small stones and god know what else up-inside the vent areas, I just vac'd them out with a long nozzle attachment. I'm sure the new grills will minimalist this but are 'removable' so might only have to do this once in a while, which is probably best as they look pretty flimsy...

Haven't got keyless start on mine but had a loaner that did, the switch thingy you have to turn to start the engine looked a bit weird and I wouldn't spec it out of choice as I quite like using the key in these common 'press to start' days. Didn't know it could be disabled by the dealer if desired, I'm assuming you still keep the keyless entry?

Anyhow enjoy the car, they make a great & interesting daily driver, I should (& need to) change it for a more practical car but I'm currently evaluating every alternative option in order to keep it !

 

[gtipirelli]

Thanks all for the comments

i have the car booked in to Leicester OPC in a few weeks for the side air vent recall so hoping it will be harder for small stones to get close to the radiators and be easier to vacuum out

also noticed today the terrible front tyre scrubbing/crabbing at very low speeds when setting off and turn hard on the steering wheel. I guess the tyres are cold and because they are wide and it is rear wheel drive. Pretty low rent though on such an expensive car

i know it has been said before about the 718, but it sure sounds like a real bag of nails for the first 5 mins after cold start up. Once up and running it is fine but not the most pleasant sound in the world. My Golf GTi I have just sold sounded lovely compared to this with a real meaty exhaust sound when cold

still love the cayman though and it is a real event to drive. The last owner spent nearly £20k on extras so it is not wanting for much which is nice

will keep on updating you with observations in the coming days and weeks

Alan

 

[Motorhead]

Alan,

I wish I had a pound for every time the tyre scrubbing issue has been raised on the forum, especially now temperatures are heading downwards..! Very wide cold tyres and ackermann steering geometry are the cause.

Unlike your I4 Golf in which the engine is vertical and well ecapsulated, the sound radiating downwards from the F4 boxer mid-engine layout in your 718 is reflected off the ground and out the sides; and close to your ears too.

All part of the Cayman experience I'm afraid.

Keep us posted.

Jeff

 

[gtipirelli]

Thanks Jeff, assumed that was the case

another question, I still have a number of Bluetooth devices stored from the previous owner. Any idea how I delete them. I have held my finger on each of the entries to see if a delete option appears but no luck. Strangely, the PCM fails to find my own phone when I do a Bluetooth search

would it help if I connect my phone by cable in to the centre armrest USB slot on the first occasion. I currently have an old non sim iPhone 5 as an iPod connected to the armrest USB. Is this confusing things

thanks

alan

 

[gtipirelli]

Noticed again today quite a lot of tyre noise across different motorway surfaces. I know it is a sports car and will never disappear but has anyone found fitting other tyres than the standard fit Pirelli P Zeros makes much of a difference

managed to get apple car play going today from my iPhone 5 iPod so I can listen to my offline amazon music. It’s the small things early in the ownership cycle

 

[Motorhead]

Alan,

The latest Michelin PS4S tyres seem to be flavour of the month for both ride and handling and noise. If you’re due a change they might be worth a punt even though they’re more expensive than the P Zeros. As always though, tyre choice is very subjective.

Sorry I can’t help with your Bluetooth issue but hope you get it resolved.

Jeff

 

[AndrewT]

I still have a number of Bluetooth devices stored from the previous owner. Any idea how I delete them. I have held my finger on each of the entries to see if a delete option appears but no luck. Strangely, the PCM fails to find my own phone when I do a Bluetooth search

Alan, as I recall on my previous 987.2 I couldn’t pair my phone because the maximum limit of (6?) devices had been reached. I had to perform a PCM reset (can’t remember whether that was the whole thing or just bluetooth devices) to remove all devices because I couldn’t delete individual devices.

Andrew.

 

[fasterthanlight]

Alan, as I recall on my previous 987.2 I couldn’t pair my phone because the maximum limit of (6?) devices had been reached. I had to perform a PCM reset (can’t remember whether that was the whole thing or just bluetooth devices) to remove all devices because I couldn’t delete individual devices.

Andrew.

I agree with this approach. I had to do a PCM reset on my 718 Cayman GTS to fix various Bluetooth / Apple CarPlay issues. Solved everything for me. The dealership should have done this for you on a secondhand car though.

 

[gtipirelli]

Ok thanks, is a reset easy to work out from the main menu on the PCM somewhere. Might have a look this afternoon

 

[gtipirelli]

Unsurprisingly the 718 CS FAILED The teenage daughter test this morning

i picked her up from the station whilst the car was still very cold and within 30 seconds she turned to me and said ‘this car makes a real strange chugging sound’ !!!!

it must be said that I thought for the first 10 mins that it sounded pretty dreadful and was making a real loud tappety sound like my old 1970 something vauxhall

am I right in thinking that the tappet sound when cold is down to the dry sump taking a bit of time for the oily bits to get oiled ? And the fact that it is a flat 4

thanks

Alan

 

[Fudgie]

I wouldn't worry my 7 yr old daughter hates getting dropped off / picked up from school in the 718, nothing to do with the sound just that its 'embarrassingly flashy daddy' as she ducks down so no one can see her... She'd rather I take her in the works van... no accounting for taste!

 

[gtipirelli]

Some more observations I would be interested in people’s opinion of -

the car car seems to clonk into 1st gear when coming to a halt when the car is fairly cold and when I am pottering around town, is this normal

i also seem to get bit of a gearbox whining sound after a long journey when I am driving slowly through a built up area, like when you are pottering around in 3rd gear about 20 mph and take your foot off the gas to let the engine brake for you. Very low sound but there still the same

it is the first time I have had a sports car with auto box and still getting used to the various sounds. It is so very different to my old manual Golf GTi as there are so many more little noises

it is the second car I have purchased in an October and I vowed never to do that two years ago with the last one, it is forever cold and dark and not a particularly nice time of year to enjoy your new car

thanks

alan

 

[Brian_Innes]

Alan,

The 1st gear "clonk" when coming to a halt when cold is normal. The transmission oil is cold and viscous when cold and this symptom disappears when everything is warmed up.

In the Cayman its normal to hear some transmission noises as the the engine and transmission bulkhead is right behind you.

Brian

 

[gtipirelli]

Brian

thankyou for your insight

i thought of assumed it was all ok but you do notice all the little sounds your car makes and wonder when it is new whether they are normal or not. I had my GTi for over 9 years and knew every little sound

i wanted to make sure all was ok before I take it to the OPC next week for the grill fitment else I would be trying the get them to diagnose issues that do not exist

i will do another 200 miles in it next week taking my total to over 700 in 4 weeks so still getting used to it. All going very well except Apple car play being tempremental. I think it may be the USB socket in the centre armrest as have played with vario cables and phones. Technology aside, it a wonderful machine

looking forward to your GTS experience

 

[gtipirelli]

Now that we are seeing some proper cold weather here in the UK, how embarrassing is it for your passengers to witness the terrible front wheel crabbing and annoying as an owner

apart from that, the car is standing up to the daily grind exceptionally well and reinforcing my commitment never to own a manual car again with our congested roads

 

[Brian_Innes]

Alan,

The wheel crabbing on full lock is a very common complaint. Road surface, tyres, wheel alignment geometry, and suspension spec, all contribute to this symptom to a lesser or greater degree depending on the car.

My 718 CS does not suffer from this "problem". My previous Caymans all had issues with occasional wheel crabbing when reversing or turning on full lock.

Whether it is my maxed negative camber geometry settings, the 20mm lower sports PASM, and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S N0 tyres, it is difficult to say.

I wouldn't worry too much about it Alan. Just explain to your passenger that your Cayman is set up for performance, and not slow speed manoeuvring.......

Enjoy your new car.

Brian