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To make a reliable track Cayman it seems that one has a lot of work to do. The chassis can take a lot of power but the parts that make the cayman are best suited for casual spirited driving and not hard abuse.
Reading this and other forums it seems that if you put on slicks you place the engine at risk of oil starvation on hard braking and turning left. High rpms can cause steering pump failure.
If you do increase power you risk ripping out suspension mounts.
So to make the car a reliable track machine quite a bit of work is required.
It makes sense why Porsche do not campaign the car in motorsports and why they dont support independant teams using the Cayman's platform.
You could end up with one heck of a car- re weld the body, drop in a dry sump engine, redo all the suspension mounts, redo the suspension , fix up the aerodynamics and the car will probably beat a GT3, but it will also cost more.
The best way to enjoy the car seems to be stock (small mods to improve torque and small gains in hp are fine). Anything more and it seems you reach the cars limitations very quickly.
Comments? Am I missing the point? BTW this is not a negative post, just an attempt at trying to understand what its all about.
Yes yes this has been discussed before....but Im just trying to pull it all together
I tend to agree with those on the hopped-up Cayman thread at rennlist who've been discussing the limitations of the Cayman chassis for reliably handling substantial power increases on track. I think Manis Sport, Mooty, CJ, CP, jumper, et al have accurately depicted these limitations, and some have tried to deal with them. It seems the faster one gets the CS to go, the more one chases one's tail in terms of correcting the various undesirable side effects.
I agree with you also; that the OEM CS can be tracked reliably with only track worthy tires, brake fluid and pads, but the need for more speed is hard to satiate.
[quote=Jim Michaels;250323]I bet I know where you've been reading recently. QUOTE]
But it is useful and relevant reading I think! I came to Porsche under the impression that one didnt have to do major body work on the car. In the E46 M3 one had to reinforce suspension mounts if you were going to seriously track the car (even if not increasing power output).
I thought the Cayman would settle my urge for a GT3 but I have come to the realization that its a stop gap. I still have some way to go before I max out this car and need to have something faster. But I am dismayed that Porsche do not recomend non street tires.
One could argue R compunds arent true race tires but it could also become a problem if after a spirited run (say at Road America turn 5) your engine dies and you have no support.
I was about to plunk money into Rcompounds but have decided not to. Once out of warranty, it might be easier to do those sort of things.
Yes, very interesting reading. Could be entitled "Cayman Faces Reality." If one can't stand the truth, one shouldn't read that stuff.
On the other hand, I've enjoyed tracking and autocrossing the OEM car for over two years with no apparent problems. I've been using Michelin Cup tires on track, so you might reconsider using one of the tread patterned R-comp brands that doesn't have quite the grip that the slicks-with-grooves type of R-comps do.
Last edited by Jim Michaels; 04-17-2008 at 03:47 AM.
Like my friend Jim, I have done twenty some track days at VIR in the fastest run group usually, and holding my own speed wise, with no ill effects other than replacement of rotors, pads and Cup tires after about twenty days of DE.
Only "mods" beside the tires were PFCM pads and ATE fluid and tear offs to protect the windshield. Second set of rotors are frozen to hopefully delay the cracks at the perforations.
No issues with smoke, oil use, brake fade, etc. VIR has no real long high speed corners which may help avoid oil starvation issues? So I agree with Jim, as we have used our CS's they have been very reliable track cars, so far at least.
Like my friend Jim, I have done twenty some track days at VIR in the fastest run group usually, and holding my own speed wise, with no ill effects other than replacement of rotors, pads and Cup tires after about twenty days of DE.
Only "mods" beside the tires were PFCM pads and ATE fluid and tear offs to protect the windshield. Second set of rotors are frozen to hopefully delay the cracks at the perforations.
No issues with smoke, oil use, brake fade, etc. VIR has no real long high speed corners which may help avoid oil starvation issues? So I agree with Jim, as we have used our CS's they have been very reliable track cars, so far at least.
Guys, what planet are you from??? I don't care what stock street car you buy. If you want to go racing with it you will have to strengthen the chassis, improve brakes and suspension. Not to mention the go fast mods. Do you really think that the Porsche GT3 and the new BMW M3 that will be racing in the ALMS didn't have all this work performed? You should see all the work that is done to a Ferrari F430 in order to participate in the Ferrari challenge. If you want to go fast and you want the car to handle it is going to cost. Racing = chassis modifications.
Guys, what planet are you from??? I don't care what stock street car you buy. If you want to go racing with it you will have to strengthen the chassis, improve brakes and suspension. Not to mention the go fast mods. Do you really think that the Porsche GT3 and the new BMW M3 that will be racing in the ALMS didn't have all this work performed? You should see all the work that is done to a Ferrari F430 in order to participate in the Ferrari challenge. If you want to go fast and you want the car to handle it is going to cost. Racing = chassis modifications.
True. But the road going GT3 or the Elise for that matter dont have oil starvation issues. You dont need to weld them. You can slap on slicks and not worry that problems will occur.
No one is arguing that ALMS racers are worked on from the ground up.
But 10 hours labor to install an oil seperator doesnt make the Cayman particularly track friendly. It's a relative thing.
True. But the road going GT3 or the Elise for that matter dont have oil starvation issues. You dont need to weld them. You can slap on slicks and not worry that problems will occur.
No one is arguing that ALMS racers are worked on from the ground up.
But 10 hours labor to install an oil seperator doesnt make the Cayman particularly track friendly. It's a relative thing.
Actually, the Elise has oil/fuel starvation problems on long sweepers when running slicks. It also has issues with stock rear toe links if you run stickier tires than the A048s.
Cayman's are being tracked and raced extremely hard everyday with great success and in ever growing numbers. Some people here always are the first to spread fear and dread about changing the Cayman in anyway. These people are just bumps in the road. Some of the issues raised are minor problems with very real solutions. Other 'issues' are just fear mongering ( American's love this sport), or 911 elitists bashing anything about Cayman's in a desperate attempt to maintain the crumbling status of their old god-car.
None of these "Cayman Faces Reality" critiques have come from people who actually tried to compete with a Cayman in a serious way, and these people never tried to find the available solutions to any problems. The solutions to the problems have come from the real people who actually race and track their Caymans VERY regularly.
Ask yourself how many 1000's and 1000's and 1000's of hours of extremely hard and difficult track driving have already been completed by the membership here at CC with almost no problems? Look how many threads are filled about successfully tracking Caymans. In Europe they have a complete full and very successful race series of only Caymans!
A Cayman prepared and run by privateers Jürgen and Uwe Alzen finished fourth overall (of 220 entrants) in the 2007 Nürburgring 24 Hour race, ahead of two flagship Porsche 997 GT3 RSR's, a 997 GT3 Cup, and a 996 GT3 Cup. Another two privateer Caymans, entered by CSR and MSpeed, finished 22nd and 117th overall, respectively. Porsche disclaims support for the Cayman teams, while supporting some or all of the 997 teams.
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Actually, the Elise has oil/fuel starvation problems on long sweepers when running slicks. It also has issues with stock rear toe links if you run stickier tires than the A048s.
Where did you find the photo of the two yelow Caymans. Those look good. No wait, those look great. Now that is a body mod that I can talk my self into.
Until 
