If by peaky, you mean linear powerband yes :)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y75...ps24f09d17.jpg

Or, how about turbo?

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE-9TJbs1Sw"]760 whp S2000 dyno pull, Tuned by UMS Tuning, AFI twinscroll turbo manifold, Q16 - YouTube[/ame]

Thanks MIke, I knew you'd be here ;)

Fact is, N/A engine vs. centrifigual engine, the N/A engine will almost always be more "linear". (Linear in my mind being a flat torque curve, like a vette) This gives the advantage of a larger power band, which is very useful for a DD or around lower speed bends.

I mean, the cayman S dyno looks like a stock FT86 dyno, with the torque moved up ~75 lb. ft.

Just saying, because the OP obviously likes N/A engines.

In comparison here's all 3 cars stock dynos

FT86

http://www.tune86.com/sites/default/...n-frs-dyno.jpg

Cayman S

http://www.planet-9.com/attachments/...ay-bt_base.jpg

s2000

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...00/S2kDyno.jpg

Why are you so concerned with dynos? How often are you WOT from a stop or driving around town? If you're not WOT, you're not making that torque...

I'm not concerned with dynos. I'm concerned when they help my argument.

I'm just trying to provide data to OP. He can interpret how he wishes. I'm not looking to argue with you, I fully agree with you that a blown s2000 is faster, I'm just pointing out some of the differences where a stock N/A cayman S is better.

There's plenty of others as well...

1) Beautiful flat 6 sound track
2) COG & handling
3) Interior

Just to name a few.

s2000 benefits in my eyes

1) Higher RPMs
2) Cheaper (both maintenance, and to make faster than the cayman as well)

torque is a function of displacement, and while it'll feel faster, it's not always the case. What you really feel is "jerk" or the change in acceleration.

I do have a lot of seat time in a Cayman R, which is fun :)

Seat time in a Cayman R sounds amazing. I'm planning a trip to vegas this year and thinking about doing Exotics racing with cayman s (or turbo s not sure), new c7, & gt-r as my 3 cars. That should be interesting :D

Also sorry about outright shooting down the s2000, I didnt' read the entire OP and thought he was considering selling his FRS for a supercharged s2000. I just didn't want him selling his FRS for yet another s2000 and being unhappy again :)

Glad you got the car you want in the end OP. You should post some pictures I love the look of a Cayman.

Why go to Vegas when you can do it in California in Fontana ;)

Ironically enough a low mileage used Cayman S may have fallen into my lap :)

2008 Cayman S, 33K miles, 6-speed, blue, 1 owner (older gentleman), never tracked, no accident, clean Car Fax. $29K :)

The story is rather sad. The owner and his wife are clients of my brother-in-law (financial advisor) and the owner passed away unexpectedly (in his late 60's). My brother-in-law has developed a relationship with them over the past 15 years and the passing was sudden. They often chatted cars and would have lunch together over the years. The widow has offered to sell the car to my brother-in-law below dealer trade-in value as she wants the car to go to someone who is an enthusiast and will take good care of it.

My brother-in-law just bought an expensive vehicle and told the widow about me and that I have been wanting a Cayman S and my love for cars. I spoke to her on the phone and she is such an amazing woman. She clearly loved her husband and wants the car to go to me so that I can send her pictures from time to time and keep her updated on the car.

Problem is the car is in Florida and I am in Minnesota :) My brother-in-law has offered to take the car to his previous Porsche mechanic to get it checked out thoroughly and then keep the car garaged for me until I can come to retrieve the car.

I don't like making impulse purchases, but this may be too good to pass up and I have already started lining up financing (plan on putting at least half down).

I am going to think about it this weekend and decide on Monday what to do. The money is not the issue, but too be honest, I have three young kids and I really don't know if this is the best way to spend $30K right now. My plan was to have my WRX paid off in two years and then buy something fun and my wife was onboard with the idea.

So I am going to take the weekend to think it through and decide Monday morning. I won't lie. I want the car. But the practical side of me doesn't want to be selfish with a young family and spending $30K on a car that I really will only drive occasionally and 6 months out of the year.

Decisions..

Really hard choice there. Have you driven a cayman? If not try to do so. If you love the car, want it, can afford it, do it!

Yes, I have driven one. It ranks up there as one of the cars I would love to own. Lotus Elise would be right up there with it for the price. I think the Porsche is a little more practical :) And this seems like a good deal. If I bought the car and decided to sell it, I doubt I would lose anything.

I sold my s2000 for the BRZ and the Cayman was on the short list when I was car shopping. After driving one I wasn't nearly impressed enough to spend ~30k on a 8 year old car.

I've always loved them so when I knew they were in my price range I had to drive one. Handling is amazing and the power is fantastic, but holy hell that gear box is probably the worst manual I've driven. I know I was coming from an s2000 at the time but going from 2nd to 3rd felt like complete guess work, once it was out of gear it felt like it was in this void and you kind of just had to hope you found the slot for the next gear. The salesman told me the newer models had a much better feel and they had a short shift kit for the older ones that made it much better.

I ended up with the BRZ because I could buy it brand new, in daily driving it's fun and sporty (which is 95% of the driving I do) and it had a lot of creature comforts I was hoping for. I've had the BRZ for 3 months or so now and I'm very happy with it. I could see being let down by the power if you were a track junky I guess but it hasn't bothered me one bit, it has enough to be fun on the roads

People use superchargers because they are NOT peaky... but even smaller turbos spool up pretty fast and are pretty linear nowadays. Some still prefer superchargers for time attack style racing though, because of a smoother/more linear/similar to NA feel. They don't have a sudden wallop of torque.

That's a tough spot to be in, though that Cayman is a screaming deal! I'm legitimately jealous:mad0259::D

Let us know what you decide.

And just to clarify for some people that (maybe?) didn't read the whole thread; I've owned an S2000, then BRZ and now a Cayman S. This thread was meant to offer insight for others that are maybe thinking about any of these 3 cars, since they are compared all the time.:thumbsup:

Centrifugal blowers are quite peaky as they build boost with rpm. Vortech supercharged S2000 is peakier than stock:
http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php...mg=213806&md=1

Thill... There will always be some kind of car deal out there.. Some may seem to good to pass up.. But in reality.. There is always another good deal around the corner. You might not get to enjoy this one if you get it.. As your conscience will always get the best of you..
I waited till I was an empty nester before I got my Z06.. This way I didn't feel guilty about spending money on such a frivolous purchase..
Seems like your a descent kind of guy who's guilt might get the best of you and keep you from enjoying your purchase.. Might want to wait a few years so you can enjoy all aspects of the experience...
Make that 30K work for you and make some money from it.. Then your exotic car buying experience will be even sweeter...
Just my .02 cents worth..

Feels like summers in MN are only 4 months long lol. Your WRX seems to be the most practical summer/winter car. I don't like storing cars for half a year anymore. Been down that route. Complete waste of money IMO unless it's some limited production car.

Great review @WolfpackS2k :thumbsup:


Another comparison here...


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17rRm4L0dtw"]BRZ Review: After BMW M3 and Porsche Cayman S... is the Subaru BRZ still any good? - YouTube[/ame]

Thanks guys. Well the fates have intervened... Apparently there is a big family fight over the car now as the owner had a son from a previous marriage and he wants the car even though it sounds like he has had DUI's and been to rehab for drug/alcohol abuse.. Jeesh..

I don't need the drama and don't want to be involved in a legal dispute and the widow just wants this to be over with so she is going to give the car to the son.

I think it was just not meant to be for me this time :) Mikem53, I think you make a lot of sense. I am going to keep the money invested and will go from there. I am an old dad with young kids :)

Ayau, believe me I agonized over whether or not it is worth owning a garage queen in Minnesota. I have a three car garage and the Porsche would be three, with not much room left for bikes, riding toys, snow blower, etc... Having a third car with kids is not very practical right now in my life.

As a consolation I am going to spend some money on upgrading the suspension/handling of the WRX but I wold be lying if I said I was not disappointed. The WRX will be paid off in 24 months or less.. Maybe I will buy a new STI and have the best of both worlds once they put a more modern engine in it....

Sounds like the best possible outcome. It wasn't up to you so there shouldn't be any regrets!

@thill Sometimes its nice to have the decision taken out of your hands - less to worry about and no potential for regrets down the road. Hopefully that car gets the respect it deserves but in the mean time, it sounds like you've got plenty of fun for yourself lined up. :p

Just fi and your first post will change

He was FI on the BRZ.

No shit huh
My bad

No worries. I can tell you the WRX advertised HP and torque numbers are underrated by Subaru. There is little difference at the dyno between a stock STI and stock WRX.

Sort of, a belt driven turbo is different than a real turbo. I can't help but think a turbo BRZ would have it ranking closer to the Porsche and I am sure he wouldn't have lost the mpg. Turbo + DI is a bit magical, its the future. Recent article is that Porsche has plans for a DIT 4 cylinder boxer.


If the OP had owned a Lotus Elise he would have covered all the bases. We need to get him behind the wheel of one.

Haha well I don't have any plans to buy one and I don't know anyone in the area that has one.

The have become rare birds. Another missed investment opportunity, I think they will be the collectors car of the 2000's in a couple decades. Last pure raw sports car. A BRZ is a Cadillac compared to an Elise.

WolfpackS2k -- off topic sorry, but besides the hp is there a big difference between a regular cayman vs. cayman S , coz i am looking at a regular cayman

phenoyz, it depends which model year you are looking at. Regardless of MY the difference is 50 hp. However there are several other differences as well. Several people have said they like the base model because it forces you to work harder to go fast, and given the engine's smaller size it's a bit more rev happy and needs to be kept high in the rpm band. On the other hand the vast majority of Porsche-philes will recommend always purchasing the newest model year S you can afford (that advice is as old as time).

The 987.1 (MY 2006-2008) Cayman has a 2.7 liter engine with 245hp. The Cayman S of that vintage has a 3.4 liter engine with 295hp. The Cayman has a 5 speed manual transmission - the S model a 6 speed manual. The base Cayman has 17" wheels standard, the S 18"s. The S also has considerably larger brakes with red painted calipers and a "dual" exhaust outlet.

The 987.2 (MY 2009-2012) Cayman has a 2.9 liter engine with 265hp. The Cayman S of that vintage has a 3.4 liter engine with 315hp. The base Cayman still had a 5 speed transmission standard, but I believe the 6 speed box was an option. And everything else I stated above applies to these model years, AFAIK.

While doing research for a potential Cayman purchase I would recommend the online community over at www.planet-9.com

OP probably wanted a car that worked most of the time and was actually comfortable.

Thanks.

BTW I was slightly off on the hp figures...The 2009+ Cayman S has 320hp, not 315. Sorry about that.

I think the 315 was the rating of the 987.2 Boxster S, if I remember right.

Yeah I think you're right. Though I thought the difference between Boxster and Cayman was bigger than 5hp, more like 15? Eh whatever :P

Those numbers are all BS anyways. I had the Cayman R which was supposed to have 330 hp, but the dyno results didn't show that.

The 330 is specified at the crank, so unless you know the drivetrain loss, you can't really say whether it was BS or not based on a dyno graph.

You can when you compare it to Cayman S dynos.

Fair enough (though it is always possible that the S is underrated and the R is accurately rated).