Hello enthusiasts,

most of you already formed an opinion on the cayman etc.,.

My question to you is simple: Did porsche do the right thing or not offering the cayman to fill the void between the people that cannot afford a carrera but can afford the boxster?

Is the cayman some kind of a test porsche is putting the market through to see how many people are willing to modify their own cayman to a 911 tt competitor?

I drove the car and it is nice.. but the power is just not there and any RPM level. Then I read about the turbo and supercharged options and I am wondering , if someone decided to do this on their cayman, what are the ECU tuning options? Or do I have to go to a MOTEC system for example?

My 1992 civic is 1000 lbs lighter and makes 100whp more on a dynojet so maybe I just need to get a 911 TT and forget about the cayman, but really I want to know what you experts/enthusiasts think?

Is the cayman going to stick around for the long run?

Nikos

 

Let me get out my crystal ball....

I don't know how you're comparing a tuned Civic to a base Cayman to a TT. I really don't.

 

I'll take a base cayman over a civic any day! I don't care how much power the honda has.

 

I dont get it either i have a 08 cayman s, and its pretty fast. In fact, i drove both carrerra s, and cayman s and the difference in power was very small. I even tested the new M3 V8. I was up in the air between those three. M3 was much more powerful, but drove like a sedan and i didnt like the hydraulic clutch. Between the carrera s and the cayman s, power carrera s was slightly more powerful but handling and feel...wow the cayman s blew it away.

I dont understand how your are comparing an honda civic to a cayman base. And i certainly dont understand why your even testing a cayman base if you say you can afford a 997 turbo? its about twice the cost of a cayman base....and its about 200x the cost of the civic.... you have the largest price range for a car shopper or maybe you havent looked at the sticker prices. I dunno.

 

Got a Cayman for the platform...fully being able to afford a 911...so i think your logic is flawed.

Would rather have a bone stock 5 year old boxster over a tuned civic.

 

well first off you can buy a lot of other cars that are much faster the a Base cayman for even less money ,The new Camaro ,Mustang, Pontiac GT and the list goes on and on .So One does not buy a Cayman or a Cayman S to out dual other cars on the road in a drag race.If that is what you want then this is NOT the right car for you.
The Base Cayman can be tuned to somewhere around 35 HP increase Max with a ECU ,Exhaust,air filter and Plenum .Thats about it unless you do a TPC Turbo .The Only Solution worth doing not only for the 100 to 150 Power Increase but the quality of the product .
I would not Trade my 2.7 Liter cayman for most any car out there . I simply Love driving this car and working on it on the weekends .
You dont Buy a Porsche to be the Fastest car on the road you buy it Because its a Porsche . I have owned more the 15 cars mostly American with tons more power and ego attached to the HP number I can Boast to people that ask but I can honestly say .
THIS IS THE BEST CAR I EVER OWNED .. Hands Down

 

I bought a cayman because in the price range I was looking at, it was the funnest car in my opinion. It's probably one of the slower cars in it's price range, and I came from areasonably modded 996 Turbo with upgraded turbos. Could the car use an extra 100 hp? Absolutely, but it's the combination of the mid engine platform and handling characteristics that sold me. It may not turn the fastest lap out there (although it holds its own for sure) , but you will have a hell of a lot of fun doing it. It also holds 2 sets of golf clubs in the back, and you can still pick up 3 full bags of groceries on your way home.

 

i agree..its a dawg

 

I had a fully customized 1967 Volvo Wagon two tone Turquoise and white Lowered with Crager wheels and it had a whole 134 HP !!! after tuning
Now thats a dawg but you know what It was a real cool car to drive and own . Everyone loved that car even without a HP badge pinned on my sleve..

Porsche is Just the best Quality and Engineering out there .
The lines on the Cayman just alone make it worth owning and the power is Plenty if you know how to drive it right

 

Thank you so much for not immediatelly assuming that I am a ricer with some suped up civic etc etc...not at all.

Growing up in greece, I remember ever kid in the coffee shop talking about the 959 vs f40 and the 80s to 90s 911 turbos etc etc So a 911 carrera is the trademark for the porsche that I grew up knowing. I am short of the kid in the commercial that goes and ask for the card of the salesman so that he can come back in the future to get his porsche.

So that time is now and I never really read much about the cayman other than the top gear video..

so like 99% of people on these forums , the word porsche has a lot of weight and history that taiwan, china or even japan will never be able to match in my opinion of course.

The honda civic is not mentioned for the body or the suspension, but for the power that can be had when you have direct access to some of the best in the industry. By any means, I am not trying to sell anyone a 300whp civic 2.4 L all motor but when I drove the cayman it made me think about what exactly is the purpose of having the base model for a few grand less than the S. What is the point? Is the economy so hard that we have to create sub layers 10K apart? I dont get it/

THat is why I am wondering if porsche indirectly wants us to build these cars.. I just do not see how a porsche executive can sell the base cayman with a smile on their face... maybe I am being hard on porsche and who really cares since I dont really own one yet what I think.

Reading some reviews is refreshing is this is why I came here to read more about thisbecause you guys are enthusiasts and not elitist snobish jerks.

Of course if could afford the 911 turbo, why even make this thread.. I understand. All I am basically asking your opinion on is:

do you think 5-10 years from now the cayman will be around?

if I fab my own piping and rotrex supercharger setup, what can I use to tune it? What kind of software?Anyone knows?

With access to fabrication , championship winning teams and tuners along with a crew that charges 1.5 million per person for support during the dakar race,if we want something done,it can be done.

What I am trying to ask you is, do you think it is a waste of time and money to try to buy a used base cayman and pump around 500whp out of it.

My latest project, we got 520whp dynapack out of a 2.2L 4 cylinder engine with a rotrex supercharger and so far he has 20k kILOMETERS on the new motor. Needless to say the trip to 9000 RPM is very exciting and there is no boost lag. I am basically wondering what porsche tuners you recommend. In any market, before I decide what to do in it, I look for experts and ask advice not to copy them but to decide if it is worth reinventing the wheel or paying someone a lot of money for a box full of parts that are supposed to fit.

Cheers to all the porsche fans and the dreamers like myself,

thank you so much

Nikos

 

Very few build up the base model. IMHO

 

Nikos:

As others have mentioned, the ideal platform for serious modding would be the Cayman S due primarily to the extra displacement. Most I believe would opine that TPC racing has designed and built an excellent, solid, reliable turbo kit. There are quite a few out in the field and many are tracked regularly. Do a search on planet-9.com if you need more feedback.

Regarding your question "will the Cayman be around in 5 years?" - let me answer based on two interpretations:
1. if you mean will I get bored with it and dump it - that depends. Being a serial car-a-holic myself, I've been through a lot of cars. So far the Cayman S is incredibly satisfying to me and short of a GT3, I will not consider selling anytime soon. YMMV.

2. if you mean "will the Cayman be a viable modding platform", I would say hell yes. '06 cars here in the states are starting to break the $30K price barrier. When you consider you could spend around $20-25K on a turbo kit and suspension and destroy most any car out there for under $50K, it's a VERY appealing platform.

Best of luck in your search. I hope you find the car as fantastic as many of us do.

 

Thank you so much.

Does the Cayman has some kind of traction control that can be turned on or off? I didnt have time to look for that option.

Any experience with cayman in the snow? I hate to say it but this past winter was the only year that my audi quattro v6 6speed made sense..because for the past 3-4 years, my quattro has been nothing but problems.

I also have 3 kids and having phantasies about a plasma cutter and adding a 3rd seat on the panamera :P

 

with summer tires it goes nowhere in snow

 

OK, is $10k so much money? That's over 20% of the value of a base Cayman. Yes, that is significant.

The Cayman might not be the fastest car, but its very competitive in its class

Audi TT-S = 265hp
BMW Z4 = 255hp
MB SLK350 - 300hp
Corvette = 430hp
Lotus Elise = 190hp

All of those, except for the Elise, weigh more, and the only one that is also rear mid engined is the Elise also. The Elise is a very niche vehicle due to its pure and raw nature, so in a way, the Cayman is in a sort of class of its own. It's the only rear mid-engined sports car in that price range that carries the same refinement and usability as a BMW or Audi.