Wow…. This thread is going everywhere.
Background: My first CaymanS was Jun07. After putting 200 track miles in green (novice) run groups on the car, I decided to order a second CaymanS without every option or custom leather. I decided to build a dedicated track car. My track CaymanS now has 6000 track miles on it in the past 8 months, I progressed in this car from the Blue group (intermediate) to now the White (most advanced) Run group.
First I can’t stand this myth – You cannot drive without
PSM or ABS -
Most 986 Boxsters have no
PSM, Cup cars have no ABS – Yes, lots of people cannot drive these cars. Maybe YOU are one of them. But I no longer have
PSM in my track CaymanS and I can drive it pretty fast. But the car no longer drives like your stock Cayman. It drives more like a Cup car. But if you want to learn to actually drive a car to the limits, the
PSM is an obstacle to learn total feel and advanced recovery.
Can you drive the CaymanS on the track successfully with no mods?
YES
Then why did I spend over $30K in mods?
Most of the money was NOT spent on performance mods.
$8K was driver safety and comfort – Built-in cool system, seats, harnesses, roll bar, harness bar.
$8K was on esthetics – Fikse FM-10 wheels, graphics, sound from the Tubi Exhaust
Lets talk about the rest of my track mods and why I did them.
#1 - I have a dedicated track Cayman S that I will drive 8K+ track miles per year.
#2 - I want to drive as fast as any White Run Group driver in a GT3.
#3 – I don’t enjoy being slower than a GT2
To meet my goals, I have to exit faster in the corners than anyone, because a 996, 997, GT3, GT2, Turbo can all accelerate faster than me in the straights.
I have enjoyed experimenting on my Cayman. But the truth is that not one of these mods was required to track the car. But, each of these mods was done to just get more out of the car than possible without these mods. With each mod I had the option change my driving techniques to reduce or eliminate the impact of the performance limitation. You have to do this with EVERY car. Even LMP2 Porsches have to be driven specifically to overcome some performance limitations.
Suspension mods and sticky tires - Both to increase lateral grip, to go faster in corners than a stock Cayman. – Totally unnecessary, unless you want to out corner a GT2/3.
997GT3 front and rear brakes – Totally unnecessary, unless you want to brake later than a GT2/3. But there are benefits of longer pad and rotor life, quicker braking, better heat dissipation and comments at the grid.
Power steering cooler and underdrive pulley – Maybe necessary if you drive lots of track miles in summer on high speed Rovals (like Texas World Speedway). But you can just modify your driving - short shift to keep the RPMs lower.
Sump extension – Unnecessary until you are an advanced driver AND pushing the car’s absolute cornering limits. If you are advanced, you can modify your driving. Just keep the left turns under 1 G. But the sump extension also has an advantage of more oil, which means somewhat lower oil temperatures.
MotorSport Oil Separator – Don’t do this unless you are getting excessive smoke, burning a quart of oil a day on the track, and/or engine bogging down in the corners. But its not necessary, you can modify your driving to take the corner in a higher gear. This also makes the problem go away. But it makes you a little slower at the corner exits.
Lightweight Flywheel – Totally unnecessary. But it’s a way to accelerate faster without modifying the engine.
LSD (not
TBD) – Totally unnecessary. But if your goal is to match a GT3 then it becomes necessary to increase the braking limits and increase corner exit acceleration. (I am waiting for Guard to deliver.)
PSM removal –(I did this with a Yaw Sensor kill switch). This is also unnecessary. To compensate for the PSMs limitations, just brake slightly softer and a little sooner.
ABS removal – Totally unnecessary. I have no intention of doing this at this time. Tire are expensive. I compensate for early ABS by being careful of the pedal pressure. I also installed a proportioning valve on the rear circuit. ($150 for valve and custom lines) This has reduced the early onset of ABS in my situation.
The Cayman is really FAST and very reliable withOUT any mods. There is no reason to make any mods to this car. When you reach a car's limit (ANY CAR) you can accept it and just drive the darn thing, or you can tweak it. Its a personal choice.
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LSD - Limited Slip Differential
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A limited slip differential (LSD) is a modified or derived type of differential gear arrangement that allows for some difference in rotational velocity of the output shafts, but does not allow the difference in speed to increase beyond a preset amount. In an automobile, such limited slip differentials are sometimes used in place of a standard differential, where they convey certain dynamic advantages, at the expense of greater complexity.
The main advantage of a limited slip differential is found by considering the case of a standard (or "open") differential where one wheel has no contact with the ground at all. In such a case, the contacting wheel will remain stationary, and the non-contacting wheel will rotate freely– the torque transmitted will be equal at both wheels, but will not exceed the threshold of torque needed to move the vehicle, thus the vehicle will remain stationary. In everyday use on typical roads, such a situation is very unlikely, and so a normal differential suffices. For more demanding use however, such as driving off-road, or for high performance vehicles, such a state of affairs is undesirable, and the LSD can be employed to deal with it. By limiting the velocity difference between a pair of driven wheels, useful torque can be transmitted as long as there is some friction available on at least one of the wheels.
To see the installation of a LSD style unit Click Here -> Article Forthcoming Stay Tuned |
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PSM - Porsche Stability Management
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While it can’t overcome the laws of physics, the revolutionary Porsche Stability Management (PSM) system does lend an added degree of balance and control to the Cayman’s mid-engine driving dynamics, inspiring surefooted confidence in corners and extreme situations.
A standard feature on the Cayman and Cayman S, PSM continuously monitors steering input, road speed, yaw velocity and lateral acceleration to calculate the actual direction of travel. If the car begins to steer off line, PSM instantly intervenes with precision brake inputs on individual wheels to help bring the car back onto the driver’s intended path.
If braking alone isn’t enough to correct the vehicle’s cornering line, PSM then calls on the Cayman’s engine management system, adjusting engine output as needed to help stabilize handling. PSM can also compensate in an instant for mid-corner changes in load resulting from deceleration or braking. When Sport mode is selected with the optional Sport Chrono Package, PSM’s threshold for intervention is raised, allowing for greater driver involvement. If you prefer driving without automatic PSM assistance, the system can be set to standby at any time. In this case, it will only intervene under heavy braking, where both front wheels exceed the ABS threshold.
For all of its technical ability, PSM goes virtually unnoticed in everyday driving situations, preserving the Cayman’s natural agility. |
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