Hello all,
You regulars have probably noticed that I haven't been posting much lately. There are a few reasons for this: I recently moved to Alabama, I’ve been on a few mini-vacations, and I've been driving my car a lot. I'm at 5,000 miles already and I've had my car 1 month.
Firsts: Before I get into this mini-review I have some FIRSTS that occurred yesterday. I was driving back to Southeastern Alabama from Macon, GA and I got my first ticket since I've had my Croc. 83 in a 55. Ouch! I was really hoping the 'Active Duty' military plates would have gotten me some slack but they didn't. I also had to hand him my military I.D. due to the fact that my driver's license doesn't have my picture on it (I was in Iraq when I got it renewed). I was hoping/praying that he'd cut me some slack. Oh well, I took the risk by speeding and now I'll pay the consequences. The State Trooper (middle of nowhere on a two lane highway in Georgia near the Alabama border) didn't ask anything about the car and didn't even ask for my registration. He wrote the ticket and I noticed he just put Porche and 2006. He didn't put a model type (he left that blank). Notice that he also misspelled Porsche (Porche). Got the ticket. I don't know how much it is because I have to call on Monday to find out the price of the ticket and the address to send the check to. He said he got me by using stationary
radar (I never even saw him off the side of the road; I just noticed flashing lights in my rear-view and pulled over). Oh well, got the ticket.
Another first: I scratched my left rim coming out of an automatic car wash. I scratched it on one of the large metal tubes that run along the sides to keep you in the dead center of the carwash. They extended further 'outside' the carwash than I thought and I began my turn to soon and lightly scraped the rim. I prefer to hand wash my car but this was a touch less carwash, I was far from home, and I had bug-guts all over my car. I didn't want the bug guts to stay on the paint too long. I was depressed about the scrape on my rim for the rest of the day.
Does anyone know a good place that can make my rim look like new? I would think that it just needs to be sanded down a little and spot painted?
5,000 mile Review: Let me precede this with the fact that I have never tracked my car. This review will be done from the 'Daily Driver' on public roads standpoint (The Cayman S is not really my daily driver but, I've been driving it almost daily for the last month. My rule is that if it's more than a 30-minute drive, than I drive the Porsche). I have taken the Cayman S to the 'Tail of the Dragon' road in Deals Gap, NC. The 'Tail of the Dragon' is a very sporty road with 318 curves in 11 miles; so I have tested some of the performance capabilities of the Porsche.
So far I'm very happy with my purchase and have zero regrets. The Cayman S was a huge purchase for me. I'm only 27 and I'm in the Army so I don't make nearly as much as the average Cayman owner makes. In fact, the only reason I was able to afford the Cayman is due to the fact that I've spent two years in Iraq and saved my money. Initially I was debating between the Cayman S and the Corvette Z06. I'm extremely happy that I went with the Porsche for several reasons: More refined, more reliable, more daily drivable, and more exclusive. I see Corvettes everyday. I have yet to see a Cayman on the street. I drive a lot and have looked for over 4 months and have yet to see one outside of a dealer. I like being exclusive (I'm sure this will change within a year).
Complaints: My window eats the door-seal (getting it fixed Monday), I wish the car had a little more horse power (30 to 50 more), there is a slight hesitation before acceleration, and I've noticed that there is a small blind spot. The blind spot is only noticed when performing a certain maneuver. When I am pulling onto a road from a business (making a left turn onto the road), I realize that I have to cross the oncoming traffic lanes and move over to the right to get into the left lane of the traffic going the direction I want to go. While doing this I have a hard time seeing oncoming traffic coming up behind me while I try to merge in. The blind spot seems to be at my rear-right at the 4 to 5 O'clock position. I believe it's called the C-Pillar, which blocks my view. The rear-view mirror can't be used because of the angle the car is driving (45 degree entry into the lane). It's not a big deal, I'm just extra careful when performing that maneuver. Overall I'm very happy with the overall visibility from within the car. Most sport cars don't have as good of 'visibility' as the Cayman S. The Cayman has much better visibility than my brother's 350Z.
Likes: I love almost everything about this car. My overall favorite thing about this car is the immaculate handling. It handles better than I thought was scientifically possible. I also love all of the options that I got. I'm very happy with the sport seats. I like to drive the car somewhat aggressively and love to take turns quickly. The sports seats fit me perfectly (6' / 195lbs). I also love the feel of the sport steering wheel. The short shifter is great too. I recently sat in a car without the short shifter and ran it through the gears (car off). The throws seemed unbelievably long compared to my car with the short shift option. My favorite options are probably
PASM, Navigation, Climate Control, and the automatic rain sensor.
The
PASM is awesome! There is a very noticeable difference between
PASM Normal and
PASM Sport. I drive it with
PASM in the 'Sport mode' 90% of the time (I prefer a stiff suspension). I drive with the
Sports Chrono 'Sport Button' in the ON position 80% of the time while in the city and in the OFF position 95% of the time while on the highway.
I've never had a car with Navigation and I will never buy one without navigation in the future. It makes life so easy. It is also nice when choosing a restaurant in an unknown town. I just type in Points of Interest, Restaurants, and choose 'nearby'. It lists all the restaurants. Awesome!
The climate control is very convenient. It's a one-touch button that sets the temperature exactly where you want it every time. I have mine set at 70 degrees and never have to touch it again. I can drive 4 hours and never have to fiddle with the air temp. When the car is turned off it remembers your setting once the car is turned on again.
I also like the
TPMS (have had zero problems with it so far), self dim mirrors, rain sensor (love it), and Bi-Xenon. I would not buy a car again without these options.
Problems: So far I have had only one problem with the car. My passenger side window when rolled down eats the door-seal. It pulls the rubber flap into the window as it goes down. I brought it to Montgomery, AL on Friday and they ordered me a new door seal (I'm 90 miles from Montgomery). I have to drive back there Monday to get the seal installed (maybe I can get my rim fixed somewhere in Montgomery too?). I also had the right front fog-light replaced under warranty (it had developed a crack). While I was at the dealer I bought an oil filter and 9 quarts of Mobile 1, 0W-40. I plan on changing my oil sometime next week (myself). I also bought some touch-up paint.
Throughout my 5,000 miles I have accumulated about 3 or 4 little rock chips. One very small one on the hood, and 2 or 3 on the bumper. I plan on putting a little touch up paint on these later today. I personally don't like the idea of a clear-bra because it reminds me of putting plastic on couches to 'preserve' them. I can deal with a few little rock chips (if the years roll by and it gets too bad, I'll just have the front repainted).
Zaino: I bought the Zaino kit before my car arrived. So far I have put on 3 full coats of Zaino. So far I'm happy with the Zaino. I had a salesman randomly feel my car on Friday (in for service) and he commented how smooth the paint was and said, 'Boy, you sure take care of her.' I told him I spent over 8 hours putting zaino on a few weeks prior and that I had just driven 90 miles through bug-filled air. I told him after a fresh wash it's even smoother. I wanted to tell him to stop touching my car (I don't like when people touch my paint when my car is dirty. I'm worried it will scratch it).
Well, that's it for now. I know that I was all over the place with this review but I just wanted to share some of my thoughts and experiences with people who may be thinking about purchasing a Cayman or Cayman S. Hopefully this helped someone.
Shane[/quote] Edited by - Helo Driver on 06/18/2006 1:45:41 PM
Edited by - Helo Driver on 06/18/2006 6:41:13 PM
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PASM - Porsche Active Suspension Management
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This active damping system offers continuous adjustment of individual damping forces based on current road conditions and driving style.
The driver can choose from two setup modes, ‘Normal’ and ‘Sport’, using a separate ‘damper’ button on the center console. ‘Normal’ mode is designed for general road driving and circuits with uneven tarmac. ‘Sport’ mode is intended for smoother track surfaces, where the harder settings help eliminate pitch and roll.
In either mode, PASM continuously evaluates the current conditions while automatically selecting the corresponding damper rates from the respective set of mapped values.
A range of sensors are used to monitor the movement of the body under acceleration, braking and cornering maneuvers, as well as on poor road surfaces. The PASM control unit then evaluates this data and modifies the damping force on each individual wheel in accordance with the selected mode. The result is a significant reduction in body movement as well as a better grip on the road.
For example: if ‘Sport’ mode is selected, the suspension is automatically set to a harder damper rating. If the quality of the track surface falls below a certain threshold, the system immediately changes to a softer rating within the ‘Sport’ setup range. When the quality of the tarmac improves once more, PASM automatically returns to the original, harder rating.
Need more information about PASM? Click this link: FAQ for PASM |
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TPMS
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TPMS - The Tire Pressure Monitoring System provides early warning of any drop in pressure by continuously monitoring the pressure in each tire and alerting you in the onboard computer display in the event of a pressure deficiency. It communicates the exact pressure of each tire and/or their deviation from ideal pressure. This does away with the need for regular air pressure checks at the service station, which often prove highly inconvenient.
See the TPMS FAQ for more info. |
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