Cayman like performance?

[EAGLE5]

Bah. Cayman has the engine in the wrong place. Engines in the front. Party in the back.

[Shadetree86]

After 9years of daily driving, two months ago I traded my 01 Boxster with 124,000miles for a 2013 FR-S with 3,000 miles. Forme, a great decision. Bone stock, bothcars weight about the same, but the FRS feels lighter and more nimble. I can’tspeak for Caymans, but my base Boxster was smoother at slow speeds than theScion, which made it feel heaver. The type of test driving allowed when buyingwon’t enable you to fully understand a Porsche. After 9 yrs, I was still learning about the lowly Boxster.

Forhard driving, the FRS needs better brakes & tires. I’m used to Porsche brakes that stop you likethe hand of God reaching down. Greatbrakes instill confidence.

The Boxster lets youthink you’re a better driver, since you must drive insanely fast on publicroads to find its limits. Third gearwinds out over 80 mph. After two months with the FRS, the one thing Idon’t want to change is its balance. It’s just too much fun. In afairly tight uphill clover leaf circle I do every day, I’m only 3 miles an hourslower in the FRS before the tires screech. That’s 57 vs 60. The FRS rear breaksslowly leaving you in control. In thisturn, past 60 the Boxster’s front end plows and the fun’s over. Even though the FRS could not keep up with a 2001base Boxster on any road, the FRS is more fun. And it feels like it could be so much better. So where to start, tires, wheels, breaks,sway bars, coil overs, control arms, drop links, etc.

[EAGLE5]

Put on some MPSS tires and you'll take that corner at the same speed as the Boxster, but you'll also still get to wag the tail.

[nyc]

Originally Posted by Shadetree86

So where to start, tires, wheels, breaks,sway bars, coil overs, control arms, drop links, etc.

My whole problem is that once you buy all that stuff plus some forced induction you could buy a nice cayman s. The Cayman would still have more power every where while having a much nicer interior and all the other upgrades. I guess it comes down to preference

[Captain Snooze]

Originally Posted by nyc

My whole problem is that once you buy all that stuff plus some forced induction you could buy a nice cayman s....... I guess it comes down to preference

This.
Also depends where you live. In Australia the cheapest cayman s I saw (just now as I am posting this) on a popular car sales website was 2006, $53k, 108,825kms, auto. New, they are $155k, no options. When I was short listing cars to buy my shopping list for all of them was the same: Front brakes, dampers, exhaust, light weight battery,wheels. I am close to having the car I want with all my wish list. I couldn't afford to do that with a cayman.

[stonenewt]

Originally Posted by nyc

My whole problem is that once you buy all that stuff plus some forced induction you could buy a nice cayman s. The Cayman would still have more power every where while having a much nicer interior and all the other upgrades. I guess it comes down to preference

Problem is you buy a 5-7 year old car & you have no idea how well it's been treated or not. Even if it has a full service history that doesn't mean it's been looked after properly.

[Model Citizen]

Originally Posted by stonenewt

Problem is you buy a 5-7 year old car & you have no idea how well it's been treated or not. Even if it has a full service history that doesn't mean it's been looked after properly.

^

I enjoy working on an frz at home.

I've got a feeling i'd rather slam my balls in a tool chest drawer than work on a modern pcar at home.

Let alone replacement part/consumables cost.

[Sleepless]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Challenge accepted. Oh wait, Challenge busted

For me the term handling includes the feel of the car and it's chassis dynamics. So, while I'm sure it is possible to get the same handling performance as the Cayman, there is no way to get the same feel and dynamics as a mid-engined car.

[stonenewt]

Is the Twin mid-engined (e.g. the engine between both front & rear axles ) all ready? If it isn't it can't be that far off.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by Model Citizen

Let alone replacement part/consumables cost.

This.

I learned long ago that an expensive car isn't just expensive to acquire, it's expensive to own. I was young, and that came as a surprise. lol

[Poodles]

Originally Posted by nyc

My whole problem is that once you buy all that stuff plus some forced induction you could buy a nice cayman s. The Cayman would still have more power every where while having a much nicer interior and all the other upgrades. I guess it comes down to preference

Until something breaks and you can't afford to fix it.

Originally Posted by dradernh

This.

I learned long ago that an expensive car isn't just expensive to acquire, it's expensive to own. I was young, and that came as a surprise. lol

Bingo. You should see how many used Mercedes I see that are clapped out because they can't afford the repairs... There's a reason they're cheap to buy used.

[nyc]

Originally Posted by Poodles

Until something breaks and you can't afford to fix it..

I'm not sure after putting all the money and upgrades into the brz that it's going to maintain its reliability. Forced induction problems are expensive to fix as well. Plus the fact the Cayman is on another level everywhere. A CPO cayman has a longer and better warranty as well. I wasn't aware of subarus being known for reliability and their is already issues with this car. I'm not saying the cayman would be cheaper but after following the car for 6 years I've realized it's not something I couldn't afford. I think if you factor in your upgrades and especially if you had to pay for install the Cayman is a cheaper price tag with a much better resale. When owning a car you have to factor everything regarding cost to own. Buying the pcar used is gonna save you on the resale. I wouldn't want to try to sell a modded brz, it's hard and you usually spend time and money removing the upgrade parts because you'll get no value if they aren't parted out. It comes down to preference and I just couldn't see myself spending $12k on parts for a $23k car ( grand total $35k plus install) when you can get a lightly used cayman s with 20k miles. Just my opinion

[stonenewt]

If we're comparing like with like we need a known good Cayman, that basically means new, at the spec of a BRZ SE a Cayman is £22k more than a BRZ. A Cayman S is £28K more. I'm not convinced it's going to take £22k to build a BRZ into something of the same performance & handling ability.
A complete 280bhp supercharger kit - £5k fitted
Ohlins suspension - £3k fitted
Big brake kit - 3.25k fitted

At £34.25k that's 5k shy of a base Cayman without decent headlights or rear parking sensors (lets face it both of these cars need them due to rear visibility).

[Poodles]

Originally Posted by nyc

I'm not sure after putting all the money and upgrades into the brz that it's going to maintain its reliability. Forced induction problems are expensive to fix as well. Plus the fact the Cayman is on another level everywhere. A CPO cayman has a longer and better warranty as well. I wasn't aware of subarus being known for reliability and their is already issues with this car. I'm not saying the cayman would be cheaper but after following the car for 6 years I've realized it's not something I couldn't afford. I think if you factor in your upgrades and especially if you had to pay for install the Cayman is a cheaper price tag with a much better resale. When owning a car you have to factor everything regarding cost to own. Buying the pcar used is gonna save you on the resale. I wouldn't want to try to sell a modded brz, it's hard and you usually spend time and money removing the upgrade parts because you'll get no value if they aren't parted out. It comes down to preference and I just couldn't see myself spending $12k on parts for a $23k car ( grand total $35k plus install) when you can get a lightly used cayman s with 20k miles. Just my opinion

Sure, if you're not mechanically inclined and have to pay for people to build your car for you, you obviously go for the car that is done right off the showroom floor.


Cayman has a 50K mile warranty and there's people nearing that on FI on the twins already.


You're also missing the point that after all those mods you'd actually be faster than the Cayman...

Originally Posted by stonenewt

If we're comparing like with like we need a known good Cayman, that basically means new, at the spec of a BRZ SE a Cayman is £22k more than a BRZ. A Cayman S is £28K more. I'm not convinced it's going to take £22k to build a BRZ into something of the same performance & handling ability.
A complete 280bhp supercharger kit - £5k fitted
Ohlins suspension - £3k fitted
Big brake kit - 3.25k fitted

At £34.25k that's 5k shy of a base Cayman without decent headlights or rear parking sensors (lets face it both of these cars need them due to rear visibility).

I would think you could get a Cayman cheaper over there than we can get them here, so the numbers don't exactly apply outside of the US for what people are saying (as a general rule).


Headlights on the BRZ are HID and excellent. Rear visibility is fine and if needed, a back up camera is cheap...