Good writeup, and glad to hear you're enjoying the Cayman! Owning a MR car is on my bucket list, so I'll probably end up buying a used 987 Cayman S or Elise/Exige in a few years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ganthrithor
Just out of curiosity, do you feel that your Cayman and the BRZ have a similar overall driving feel in terms of difficulty / sense of occasion? Or are they both just sweet-handling, easy to drive, modern cars? I ask because I remember driving a Boxster at MRLS at one point and I was shocked how easy it was to drive (I remember it being a lot like my BRZ, actually... super forgiving with great handling, but down on power).
I'm currently really conflicted about my own BRZ: it handles wonderfully after some suspension work and it's a lot of fun to drive, but in some ways I almost find it boring. With the suspension tweaks and a set of Super Sports the car just grips and goes in a pretty drama-free fashion. It's very quick for what it is, the handling is there, and I don't necessarily mind the lack of power-- I think it's plenty quick for the street, although some more torque would be nice-- but it's almost too easy to drive. It feels like the car doesn't really call you out for driving sloppily and doesn't really demand much of the driver, which usually wouldn't sound like a criticism, but is becoming a point of criticism for me.
Anyway, I've always loved Porsches and am considering trading my BRZ for one, but I'm really not sure if I'd like a water-cooled one at all. I autox'ed a 997 at one point --years ago-- but can't remember clearly what that drove like (just that it rotated nicely under trail-braking). I'm concerned that if I were to get a recent Porsche I might end up similarly bored with it, as modern ones just seem so fast and capable that I suspect they might feel a little too straightforward on the street. Do you feel like your Cayman is as easy to drive casually to drive as your BRZ was?
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I've noticed the FR-S is very forgiving with stock suspension at the track, even on moderately sticky tires. The limits are pretty high, but once you overstep that limit, it's relatively easy to recover. I've always attributed that to:
1) Less weight in the rear (FR layout, 54/46 weight distribution)
2) Camber curve (i.e., front mcp struts and rear multi-link)
3) Light hp/torque
I've driven the Cayman S and it feels setup by Porsche to be pretty forgiving, but I would guess the Cayman would bite harder at the limit than an FR-S, given:
1) More weight in the rear (MR layout, 45/55 weight distribution)
2) Lack of camber curve (rear mcp struts)
3) Greater hp/tq
Just my guess though. I haven't had the chance to flog the Cayman S at the track yet, only backroads.