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I went and test drove 2 Cayman S's at the dealership on Saturday. I love the looks of the Car but I don't know if I can become acclimated to the shifter/clutch. My most recent car an 02 Z06 had a hurst short shifter that literally had no wiggle to it. When I was driving them around I couldn't tell which fricken gear I was in at a stop light. I was afraid of accidentally putting it in reverse and on 2 ocassions it was in 3rd when I went to get moving. My second issue is that the clutch was rather stiff and I kept depressing it too far, does it loosen up with time?
I went and test drove 2 Cayman S's at the dealership on Saturday. I love the looks of the Car but I don't know if I can become acclimated to the shifter/clutch. My most recent car an 02 Z06 had a hurst short shifter that literally had no wiggle to it. When I was driving them around I couldn't tell which fricken gear I was in at a stop light. I was afraid of accidentally putting it in reverse and on 2 ocassions it was in 3rd when I went to get moving. My second issue is that the clutch was rather stiff and I kept depressing it too far, does it loosen up with time?
Most of us have driven all types of "hot cars". I have not heard too many complain about the clutch play or operation. I am aware of clutch problem that prompted a recall.
If you don't "feel it" with the CS then don't buy it. If the emotions don't convince you to "learn to learn/live" with the clutch then keep your $$. Nobody on this board can convince you to be happy. We will just give our opinion.
Honestly I can't imagine anyone having such severe problems with the shifter in the Cayman? I've driven all kinds of cars and it just feels natural to me...
same here, i find the shifting to be precise and the clutch perfect. And accidently in reverse? i find it to be the opposite if anything my car is a little too hard to get into reverse.
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-06 Cayman S Guards Red
Thank you to the old people who put no miles on their porsches and trade them in.
The transmission of the Cayman was actually the very first thing that really struck me about this car. I have never driven a car with such a seamless and easy transmission to shift. And to me it doesn't feel soft or "wiggly".
I have heard a couple people say that they were afraid of shifting into reverse instead of first. But I have never had that problem. I kind of gently slap it to the side to drop into the reverse notch and just shift normally and let the car guide it into first. Maybe others muscle the shifter more than I do?
In all honesty Porsche shifters are good, but there are better ones. The factory short shift is better than the standard IMO and comes close to some of the best from Honda and Acura. Either of the Porsche shifters is piece of cake to use though, I can't immagine anyone having trouble with it with some seat time.
I'm not sure if it was just the individual model I test drove. There was no resistance what so ever when pushing the gear shifter to the left. When I was sitting in a floor model(turned off obviously) I tested it and it was much more difficult to accidentally hit reverse, there was a noticeable sticking point that I had to push through. Maybe it was just that one.
Another question I had. Do these cars loosen up a lot after a few hundred miles in terms of engine horsepower and sheer mechanical drag from the drive train? I noticed that when I left it in first gear and let off the gas the car slowed rapidly going from stop sign to stop sign.
Another question I had. Do these cars loosen up a lot after a few hundred miles in terms of engine horsepower and sheer mechanical drag from the drive train? I noticed that when I left it in first gear and let off the gas the car slowed rapidly going from stop sign to stop sign.
The slowing isn't from mechanical drag, it's from engine compression. The effect is called engine braking. Odd that you should call this out, because Corvettes with a manual transmission do this too.
I found that the CS needs about 5K on it before the transmission is "butter smooth". Finding reverse is a real hard left, don't understand why people have a problem with this. Also has one of the best clutches I've ever driven. You just need to get used to the way it grabs.
Oh, I'm aware of what engine braking is. It just seemed a lot more pronounced in the Cayman than my Z06. I could go from 15-20 to 0 in like 30-40 feet just by letting off the gas. I was just wondering if that is the norm for the Cayman or an effect of the tightness all new cars exhibit until the gears/engine loosen up.
Oh, I'm aware of what engine braking is. It just seemed a lot more pronounced in the Cayman than my Z06. I could go from 15-20 to 0 in like 30-40 feet just by letting off the gas. I was just wondering if that is the norm for the Cayman or an effect of the tightness all new cars exhibit until the gears/engine loosen up.
Whatever differences there are could be due to a lot factors, but it won't change after run-in. Less rotational weight, a lighter flywheel, or different gearing could all make engine braking more pronounced in the CS, but I never noticed it as unusual or worth calling out. BTW, we owned an '03 Z06 for several years, so I'm familiar with the C5. It does sound like you're looking for reasons not to like the CS.
Regarding shifters, you'd probably like the sport shifter in the CS better, but it's tough to find one to test drive.
I went and test drove 2 Cayman S's at the dealership on Saturday. I love the looks of the Car but I don't know if I can become acclimated to the shifter/clutch. My most recent car an 02 Z06 had a hurst short shifter that literally had no wiggle to it. When I was driving them around I couldn't tell which fricken gear I was in at a stop light. I was afraid of accidentally putting it in reverse and on 2 occasions it was in 3rd when I went to get moving. My second issue is that the clutch was rather stiff and I kept depressing it too far, does it loosen up with time?
I agree with at least one other poster that suggested ordering the short shift kit if you decide to go the CS route. You may have experienced an anomaly as far as not having much resistance between 1st and reverse.
I've been driving a stick for 30+ years and did experience about a one month learning curve getting really comfortable starting from a stop.
There's nothing wrong with you if you ultimately decide the shifter is a show stopper. Thanks for reaching out and have fun in your search.
I think a lot of it is just getting used to a different style of car, but I can't seem to find anyone in southern La that has a Cayman and 10 minutes of test drive really isn't enough for me to commit 5 years of my life and 55k to. I kinda wish the dealer had a used one I could borrow for an hour.
Until 
