I tried doing a search with some combination of the following terms:

cayman
cayman s
versus
differences
comparison
2.7
3.4

But I keep getting the following message: "The search term you specified (s) is under the minimum word length (3) and therefore will not be found. Please make this term longer."

I'm trying to find out more on the subtle differences and the drive feel of the two cars. I've already put the cars side by side on paper and studied the comparison, but variable options and stat differences in aren't going to tell me much. Sure, Porsche.com states that the Cayman does 0-60mph in 5.8 where as the Cayman S does it in 5.1, but does that difference in time contribute to the driving experience (non-track and non racing) for each car?

Over Labor Day weekend, I was able to rent a Cayman S for 24 hours. I drove the car the way I would want to drive it--on the freeway, PCH, open toll roads and not so great areas. I got a great feel for the car by driving it 200 miles. I've never driven a car before that had my heart pound from sheer excitement and joy. I am totally in love with the car to say the least. Since my current car is a 6 speed and had a fair share of suspension work performed on it, the Cayman S was easy to fall in love with. Bringing it back to the rental agency was almost as painful as breaking up with a long term girlfriend.

While my experiences with the S are still somewhat fresh in my mind, I plan on test driving the Cayman sometime this week. However, I don't know how much of an impression and feedback I'll get from a simple test drive.

For those of you that had ample experiences with both cars, could you please elaborate? Here are my specific questions:

1. Asides from the options and stats for each car, what did you think of the Cayman in comparison to the S? Was something lacking? Was there anything equally gratifying?

2. Are there any readily available options, modifications or packages that will make the Cayman feel more like the Cayman S? (I know it won't be equal, but anything that could get it somewhat close)

Otherwise, could some of you veteran members please link me to threads where my exact questions were answered?

Why am I going through all this hassle to find these subtle differences? I'm probably more financially challenged than the typical Porsche enthusiast, but I'm looking to buy a used Cayman early next year. Just wondering if I should pull the trigger or stop daydreaming all together. And sorry for the long post.

IS Pro,

Here's a good thread with lots of opinion and generally reasoned argument.

http://www.caymanclub.net/cayman-cha...-c-extras.html

I suspect the search engine didn't like the "s" hanging off of your Cayman S. I reckon if you omitted both Cayman terms and tried again you might do ok.

IMO, this is a religious discussion. Both cars are great; of course, I have a CS. That might not have been the most rational choice, but I'm happy as a pig in slop.

Oh, and here's another thread:

http://www.caymanclub.net/cayman-cha...-cayman-s.html

Drive them and then you will know.

What I dont get is a lot of people here tend to say there is little difference when its a 50 hp delta or a 20% increase, but yet a lot of carrera S owners say there is a big difference between the cayman S and the carrera S when its same 20% difference.

Welcome to the club, and thanks for trying to search.

The search engine doesn't like strings that contain less than 3 characters. When you type 'Cayman S' it sees that as two words, 'Cayman' and 'S', the second being only one character. It also doesn't count punctuation symbols as characters, so even though '2.7' is truly 3 characters, it sees it as 2.

So, I suggest you try this. Search for any of the following, and make sure you select 'Search Titles Only'. Enter these searches exactly as you see them below:

+"Cayman S" +"base Cayman"
+"Cayman S" +"versus"
+"Cayman S" +"comparison"

Explanation:

Adding quotes to a phrase makes the search engine treat everything inside those quotes as a single word. So when you type "Cayman S" in the search box, it looks for an 8 character string that must contain the space between 'Cayman' and 'S'. This is a good way to get around the 3 character limit with the 'S'.

Adding a '+' to a search string tells the search engine that the results MUST contain that string. If you left the '+' out of my first example, the search engine would return every thread that had "Cayman S" in its title OR "base Cayman" in it's title. By adding the '+' to both strings, it will only return threads that have both "Cayman S" AND "base Cayman" in the title.

Here are some threads I came up with using those techniques:

Cayman S, non-S, base etc.

http://www.caymanclub.net/cayman-cha...se-cayman.html

http://www.caymanclub.net/cayman-cha...f-dessert.html

Base Cayman, Cayman S, what to do??

Cayman S Now or Wait for Base Cayman?

http://www.caymanclub.net/cayman-cha...se-cayman.html

FWIW: RHD Cayman 2.7 PASM6 Sport Chrono 230km perspectives

http://www.caymanclub.net/cayman-uk/...-thoughts.html

http://www.caymanclub.net/cayman-cha...fferences.html

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You may also want to take a look at this for some side by side differences. It's a FAQ that I started and never finished: Click Here

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Much thanks to all of you. I read all the posts in all the threads linked in this topic. And also thanks for the tutorial on using the search function to better find the info I need.

I won't re-state any of my opinions, as I'm sure they appear already in those posts, but I will add two things.

Mileage - I have now done 12k miles in my 2.7, and there is no doubt that the engine continues to get stronger and more flexible with the passing miles. This is important, cos I don't think a box fresh 2.7 gives you the full story of how good this engine really is.

Other opinion - The respected UK journalist Chris Harris bought a 2.7 and wrote several very perceptive articles about it. I have copied them here if you would like to have an other opinion.

John H

I'm in agreement with John H; my 2.7 is also freeing up as its passed 5000 miles. I use 'all of the available performance' when safe to do so, and love the howl as it runs past 5000rpm. However, I also have to point out that with a 6speed 'box 7300rpm is over 100mph in 3rd.

As for making it feel like a 'S', if you spec. PASM on a 2.7 the spring/damper/rollbar/bushes are identical to the 3.4. I also have 18" wheels, so i'd be very surprised if there significant differnce between that and a PASM equipped 'S'.

SS7
PS Note my use of 'S', not 'CS'. I'm afraid in my Porsche lexicon 'CS' will always stand for ClubSport.

__________________
Carrara white pauper's 2.7
Snickers wrapper in the door bin
Flies on the number plate
Church's scuffs on the kickplate
'Goodwood' umbrella in the back

It really comes down to budget. If you are looking at this car, you are a car nut. If you are a car nut, the extra stuff the S has, you'll want (6spd. extra horses and bigger brakes with those oh so cool red callipers). If you are going to keep the car for any length of time, the extra money (if affordable) will be worth it. My local dealer says they sell S models 3:1 over non Ss of all cars; Carrera Cayman, and Cayenne (actually, the Boxster is around 1:1) because the added value of the additional equipment and the HP. Having laid all of this out, if I was going to buy a Cayman as a daily driver, I would buy a non-S with a Tip. Go figure.

I'm on the same boat, i've driven both and the S has a WOW factor much more then the base model. Even though the base model is a awsome sports car, I came from a modded Evo 8 and I want something that can be just as quick if not quicker then that.

So for me its wait longer till a 06 S comes into my budget.