Ed's modded 987.1 S

[Edmundo2]

As I've owned the car for nearly a year it's probably time I posted here to give you a bit of background to it and update on the latest work I've had done..

 

I'd previously owned various TVR, Lotus and then sold up to go hillclimbing in a little single seater which I really enjoyed with my old man for 10 years. Having decided to give that a break i needed a fast road car again and having always been a Porsche fan i set out to buy a modded 996 which nearly happened but for a tip off re a nice Cayman that might be for sale..

 

I bought the car from the fastidious owner who'd brought it up to a nice spec. He'd originally purchased the car due to it having had a high quality/documented engine rebuild by PARR motorsport which included all six cylinder liners being replaced, ( I believe Westwood engineering steel items )..

 

The car is Lapis Blue with charcoal leather, xenon lights. It's reasonably high miles, ( currently 93k ), but it's been really pampered with bills for all sorts of items such as new lights, completely overhauled brakes and steering with every nut, bolt, clip, bearing recently replaced. In addition it had received various subtle mods to improve it inc seats, trim, short shift, coilovers, wheels, exhaust etc..

 

 

Since purchase I've really enjoyed it and have continued to improve any areas I thought would benefit from attention, all the while trying to keep it feeling OEM in a GT/motorsport way..

 

I don't want to go as far as stripping it right out but I'm keen to make it as good as it can be whilst retaining enough comfort/useability that initially you'd not notice how developed/capable it is.. Porsche GT vibe essentially..Obviously these are relatively expensive cars to upgrade and I soon found that chasing horsepower is a pretty fruitless task so I've continued to focus on making it more responsive and visceral. Spec now as follows,

 

2006 Cayman 987.1 S

Lapis Blue

Top gear stainless 200cel manifolds

Carnewal GT exhaust

AWE stainless x tips

BMC filter/desnork

Chipwizards remap

Aasco lightweight flywheel/Sachs

Low temp thermostat

964 RS gearbox mounts

Bigger/baffled billet sump

Wavetrac limited slip diff

GT3 short shift

Cobra Nogaro seats

Door cards/gaitor/wheel retrimmed

Rennline throttle pedal

KWV3 2 coil overs/custom valving

Eibach lower suspension arms

R geo set up at RPM technic

GT3 master cylinder

Braided brake lines

Performance pads, ( unsure spec? )

GT3 Brake ducts

718 S 19" wheels/spacers

Michelin PS4

 

 

 

Needless to say it goes well and sounds great. I've only just had the LWFW and LSD fitted so looking forward to getting to grips with those once lockdown lifts..

 

Further small jobs include a set of black Zunsport outer grills to go on,( will see how they look ), poss a very small 996 gt3 chin spoiler if I can make it fit...I also need to look at further weight reduction. I think the seats, coil overs, LWFW will have shed a good few Kg's but in each case the weight reduction has been a secondary benefit behind the performance gain..I'll look at where else I can go but not easy without starting to slip towards race car territory. An Antigravity battery would be a start but expensive considering it's a road car. The wheels are probably not the lightest but I really like them and would prob only swap for BBS split rims or similar, ( if anyone has any 19 inch BBS E88 they want to donate to a good cause please get in touch ! )

 

Aside from that there's just one Elephant left in the room...., ( in the voice of Jeremy Clarkson )..POWWWER!

 

In some ways I realy enjoy it as it is as you can ring it out and enjoy most of the performance most of the time..However it's generally above 5k that it really starts to rip and now the car is so well sorted I can't help think that a bit of extra power and particularly torque would turn it into something really great. 

 

I did try an 82mm TB with IBD plenum but to be honest it felt worse in the lower rev range so I removed it. Regardless of whether it was or wasn't it's clear that its not going to bring proper grunt..

 

Therefore the long term plan has to be a big engine conversion..Hartech 3.9 is the obvious answer.. possibly with cams and an aftermarket ECU to allow a slightly more agressive map and keep some high end fireworks to go with the extra torque, ( not sure and would need research). Clearly it's a bloody expensive conversion and I dont have those funds currently but it would be a hell of a thing. Granted if I took the plunge the car would stand me at Cayman R money and many would say thats the way to go due to rarity, value, cache etc..but that would be missing the point I think as it's about the build and it would likely be a much quicker and capable car than an R not to mention the fact that I can enjoy driving it without worrying about mileage etc..😏

 

There is the option of Turbo charging and the latest twin turbo MRN kit that's in development looks really interesting but I'm not sure I can move away from the purity and noise of NA..

 

So there you go. A nice little thing that I think hits a real sweet spot in terms of visceral, analogue, fast road cars.

 

 

 

 

I'll update as and when I do anything further and add a few more pics.

 

Cheers,

 

Ed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2021 by Edmundo2
Typo

[Lennym1984]

I have nothing of value to add but it's a lovely car and [whispering] I think a hot rod like this appeals to me far more than a Cayman R

[Windymiller]

She looks lovely and that’s a fantastic list of mods you’ve got / done there. 
 

These ladies do become labours of love for sure - but I think they’re worth it 😉🥰

[Edmundo2]

Thanks for the comments. I'm really enjoying developing it from where the previous owner left off. Just want to get out and drive it now..! It felt great on the short snowy drive home with the LWFW and GT3 MC making very noticeable differences,  ( the diff less so but that will become clear in due course )

 

As well as the Zunsports and GT3 chin/lip I've also got a stick on front plate to fit, ( and decide if I like ), which should collectively make the front end look slightly cleaner and just a tad more purposeful but still OEM ish..

 

On the mechanical front I've got the powerflex yellow engine mount insert to go in too. I was going to get it fitted when the LWFW/LSD and RS mounts went in but I was worried I could spoil it with too many changes all at once that all had the potential to add NVH...My expectation when first firing it up after the work was of a "chinngg" from the flywheel and some gentle vibration through the chassis...As it turned out there was nothing of note , it felt surprisingly similar to before and although on the move it now revs more readily and the diff can be detected, it is still really smooth so I think I can poss try the insert after all..

 

 

[Hunter]

I spoke to my local indie about engine conversions, and they actually suggested buying from Hartech a reworked 3.8L M97.01 (997) engine and providing the existing 3.4L M97.21 (987) engine as a part-trade, rather than having a big-bore conversion. The conversion puts you in the low-mid 300 hp range, whereas the 3.8L 997 Carrera S engine sits at 350 hp stock.

 

They reckoned it would be a similar price, too, depending on the condition of your current unit (I seem to remember a knackered unit would net you £1000 or so).

 

Worth keeping in mind in any case.