Popular Post crafty1 Posted March 3, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted March 3, 2017 (edited) So I have a confession to make, for too long I'd been a 'A 911 is the only Porsche to own' kind of guy, I'm very happy to report I was wrong... So after having previously owned a 911 2.7 RS recreation when they could be bought for £12k ! and for a short while a 996 GT3 Mk.II I thought it was about time to get back to Porsche ownership after a few other 'different' cars. I initially looked at 987 and a 981 Boxster as I do like to get the roof off however a quick drive of the above car and various reading up on the net and the fact that I wanted to do a few track days the deal was done with Ashgood, the car is a manual 2009 with 57,000 miles it has Bose, PCM3, sports seats, dark blue interior, Xenons and the 19 inch Carrera II wheels which I think suit the car well. Ashgood were good to deal with, whilst the car is not immaculate but it has FPSH, it did however need a new clutch shortly after I purchased it but we came to an agreement and all is fine now. My plan is to slowly try and evolve the car into a fast road / odd track day car, so far I have had the master cylinder upgraded to the GT3 item and braided break lines fitted. As others who have done it will know, it really improves the brake feel to how Porsche brakes should be imo, the only downside was the local specialist I used really struggled to bleed the air out and labour cost me more than I hoped. Initial impressions of the car are very good, I like all the primary controls and it's analogue enough to keep me engaged whereby you have to drive the car to extract it's performance, so many new cars are fast but you are detached from the action, it's definitely a car that gets under your skin and whilst the engine doesn't dominate, it's such evocative noise that no matter how good a 718 might be it could never do it for me. More pics and suspension mods/exhaust to follow ! Edited March 3, 2017 by crafty1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob63 Posted March 3, 2017 Share Posted March 3, 2017 Well, from the above pics it looks pretty immaculate to me! I'm picking up a 987 S Gen 2 tomorrow, this will be my first Porsche having previously been a bit of a Z car devotee. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed my last 370Z I can't imagine I'm going to be disappointed with the Cayman, undoubtedly there will be certain pros and cons but overall I reckon on the Cayman coming out on top. Like you, I'm banking on that 'involvement' feeling and having informed the wife that 'this one will remain standard' (yeah as if) I can't wait to start modding it! Good luck and keep me posted on the progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liongolfer Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 Very nice. Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 That looks great in Silver with those wheels! They were the wheels I wanted when I was looking for a Cayman, and I settled thinking I would buy some at a later date, then I realised how much they're worth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty1 Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 Thanks, it would look even better with Cayman R ride height which is what I hope to get when I get around to the suspension upgrades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 They do look much nicer when sat a little lower IMO. Where in Sunny (or wet today) Essex are you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty1 Posted March 8, 2017 Author Share Posted March 8, 2017 In the sticks just outside Great Dunmow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewL Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 Hi, Nice looking car , congratulations and alloys were the same ones I went for on my first Porsche a 987, 2.9 gen II, best choice in my opinion for the car at the time. The rear spoiler for me was the one thing That needed a more dramatic and sporty look you get by having the Cayman R fixed spoiler added. Sadly did not get round to that, but well worth considering to enhance you cars looks even further, I'm not much into other types of mechanical upgrades myself. I've no such issues with my 981, as Porsche sorted out the rear end look and did a great job in re-styling in my opinion. As for the further changes to the rear end on the 718, I'm still working out whether I like it or not........guess I'll wait till next refresh in about 2 years to see what evolves.......... Happy driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty1 Posted March 11, 2017 Author Share Posted March 11, 2017 Cheers Andrew, 10 years ago I would probably have agreed with you on the Cayman R wing but I must be getting old and pref the cleaner look tbh. 981 is a good looking car and agree something not quite right, at certain angles, around the rear on 987 but other bits I really like. I do like to mod cars so it won't stay standard for long, suspension changes more for getting the car to perform on track but another upside being lower ride height it will look better Imo. Love the 917 emoj, my all time favourite car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty1 Posted May 22, 2017 Author Share Posted May 22, 2017 Just did a 3 day trip to Spa to watch the classic, car ran faultlessly and whilst en route stopped of at Carnewal, so is now sporting a modded exhaust and new tips, I'm pleased with he result, not too loud and no drone but just a bit more growl, as others have mentioned he's also a pleasure to deal with. Had some fun with my mates who were on quick bikes, Cayman held it's own on the twisties and I can confirm it's a 170+ mph car... Next month will see Ohlins R+T suspension being fitted which I'm a tad excited about. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kai Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Hi Crafty1 let me know how you get on with the Ohlins. I'm thinking suspension atm but want to hear people's thoughts first. Cheers Kai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty1 Posted June 12, 2017 Author Share Posted June 12, 2017 Will do Kai, they are being fitted by Centre Gravity on the 30th June along with some Elephant racing adjustable top mounts for camber and their full geo including corner weighting and fast road set up. This weekend I changed the rear discs (brembo) and also fitted EBC yellow stuff pads all round, so begins the bedding in process... I also fitted some modified (by me) 997 turbo brake ducts to the rear suspension arms (picture below from Planet9 thread) to add some cooling and some front GT3 ducts which just clip on. I also fitted the DesignTek 15mm rear and 7mm front wheel spacers that I purchased on here from Andy. Also fitted a Sprint Booster, have to say on this I was a little sceptical but I was not keen on the standard throttle pedal delay and sluggishness. After a bit of playing around I actually like the difference, on the lowest green setting it makes for a nicer drive with improved throttle response, more akin to an old school cable throttle response imo. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty1 Posted June 29, 2017 Author Share Posted June 29, 2017 Ohlins are going on today, interestingly they don't come with springs which have to be ordered separately Chris at CG looked at the Ohlins 'recommended' spring rates of 70nm Fr 80nm R and was a tad concerned maybe too stiffly sprung front for the road and may induce understeer for comparison: GT4 981 - 45nm / 80 nm (35nm difference) Cayman R - 30nm / 43nm (13nm) Cayman S 987 - 27NM / 37NM (10nm) KW Clubsport - 70NM / 120 NM (40nm) PSS9 CS - 50nm / 114NM (64NM) Ohlins - 70NM / 80NM (10NM) We've decided to go for 50nm / 80nm (30 nm difference) so about the same as 981 GT4. Here's hoping ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Tom Posted June 29, 2017 Administrators Share Posted June 29, 2017 Interesting, wouldn't mind hearing your thoughts on these. Can't be many that have fitted them to a 987 yet. Do do keep us posted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kai Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 Yes - let us know how it feels. I guess you can always fiddle with the shock settings once the springs are fitted. Kai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty1 Posted July 3, 2017 Author Share Posted July 3, 2017 From this To this 2nd pic looks a bit stretched after I reduced size but you get the idea... Ride height 4-6mm lower than R spec but 10mm higher than Ohlins recommend! (clears speed bumps no problem) dampers 12 clicks from full firm on front and 10 clicks on rear, I think for 'B' road it needs to be less and will try tomorrow, it's firm but not uncomfortable, deflects bumps well and very planted, has the feel of a Porsche GT product now as opposed to out of the box standard set up, early signs are very encouraging but needs some adjustment. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty1 Posted July 3, 2017 Author Share Posted July 3, 2017 (edited) Further to my previous post, last night I just reduced the dampers another 4 clicks and had a 'proper' drive on roads I know well with a real mixed bag of crests, mid corner bumps, compressions etc. All I can say is the Ohlins are the real deal, the 4 clicks off allowed he car to really flow, the rebound stroke on these DFV dampers is impressive and very well judged, the faster you go the better it seems to get. The Ohlins manual says 20 clicks available from full firm, and suggest track 2-7, Winding road 5-10, Street 10-20, I'm currently on front 16 and rear 14, next time out I'll add 2 clicks back on, spring rates seem about right, glad GC suggested the lower front spring rate. Edited July 3, 2017 by crafty1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Doc Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 Sounds good. Can I ask where you purchased them and what was the rough cost of dampers and springs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty1 Posted July 3, 2017 Author Share Posted July 3, 2017 I went through Centre Gravity as I heard great things about them and their Porsche chassis set up. I think the purchase price for springs and dampers were approx £2.5k including vat. My install was quite expensive because my car has covered 60,000 miles and all the drop links had to be cut off as they had seized on, so more labour and replace the links added a fair bit to my bill, GC also do a full corner weight set up and tailor the chassis set up to suit your needs, I asked for fast road / occasional track day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty1 Posted July 8, 2017 Author Share Posted July 8, 2017 Today I refitted most of the interior and plastidiped my Cayman S badge, also added a few Pegasus decals to front wings for that James Dean / retro racer look, jury still out on them, wife and kids predictably took the pish! l Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now