Okay, I have been looking around for a base model Cayman S, some miles, ultimately to do some reliable track mods to it.

My Goal is to get into a more stable car then my 996tt ( in terms of balance, consistent power and modulation and repairs) and continue learning more driving skills through DE events and possibly make my way into a couple stock class entry level club races.

Recommendations along with pros and cons of each if any:

From my research and past experience, i am going to be looking for Seats, Bar/Harness, Wheels/Cup Tires, H&R springs, Wing, Flash, Plenum, Exhaust, Pulley Reduction, Alignment ( specs -1.3 front and -1.7 rear ? ) Possible LWFW ( are they less noisy then the 996tt's, stalling ? )

Has there been any weight loss threads as well, things to lighten up the car ?

Thoughts ?

Thank you for the all feedback !

Dean W

 

Hey Dean,

Have you driven one at length?

You are more then welcome to swing by the shop and take ours for a spin.

Shoot me a PM or give me a call.

-Tony

 

go to cayman club. a lot of guys seriously tracking caymans over there, including some club racers. There are some serious issues with tracking a cayman: air-oil seperator, power steering, ABS....those topics have been discussed on CC at great length and there are fixes, but not necessarily cheap, or EZ. My own shameless plug/hijack is to tell you to buy the Cayman underdrive pulley I have for sale....

 

Gotcha, i read about that pulley, great information. I will try to find the threads there ( i am newly registered on that site ) pertaining to the issues about tracking the car. Air/Oil separater and ABS ? have not heard that one . . .

 

I am just finishing up an install of the heat wrapping on the power steering lines in the engine bay and also installing a pretty large front-mounted power steering cooler. I have pics posted of the heat wrapping, but no pics posted of the cooler yet. It looks very nice, and will sit in the air stream in the front center grill area. Should work great.

 

I think the Cay S has extraordinary potential as a track monster. Mantis Sports of Canada has a pretty well developed Cayman program with two seasons of racing. A good source for battle tested mods.

How much competitive track time do you have now? If less than 2 years most instructors would suggest you will probably develop your driving skills faster in a stock car on street tires. Once you dominate all of the stock class... then build your race car and you will already know exactly what you need to do. Build exactly to the rules in the class you want to run.

PS cooler is a must. Penske coilovers. Big fat sticky tires with 3deg neg. camber. Cage. Lower stress bar. Lose about 400lbs. Very fast track car.
LWFW=track only with shortened engine life, PITA street car to me. Unless you are Scott Pruett or Andy Lally it's probably not worth the trouble in terms of sheer lap times.

Good luck. Drive safe!

 

I have been tracking my 996tt for three years now, do about 15 or so events a year, 20-30 track days per year. Just had a first time run with SCCA, love it ! no bureaucracy. got there for the afternoon session, four runs at 20 min a piece, by five was out. no need to spend the whole day and wake up at 5am for PCA ! But scca costs a bit more, and is less structured, so PCA definite safer and more organized.

 

Great. Sounds like you have lots of driving experience. I wish I could get in 30 days a year.

Now figure out what class you want to run in and build your Cay S to maximize performance within the class rules. You should end up with a very fast, very balanced, very predictable car you can run for a long time.

 

What class would you recommend that is fairly safe and balanced ? Assume I will do no engine mods ( just exhaust and h&r springs, okay maybe ecu, plenum, pulley, PS Cooler as everyone mentions to do )

 

PCA "D" class would be a good place to start. Tires, suspension, exhaust and moderate weight reduction is allowed. Stock motor. This is where Mantis Sport has been running with success. They have lots of experience building and club racing with 914, 911sc, and 944. Their website has a good writeup of their build and early experience in the Cay S. Here is the link: http://www.mantissport.ca/

This would be a good place to shake down the car and see if you want to develop it further in time trials and club racing. If you like SCCA or NASA just get a rule book and see where your best fit would be. Sounds like fun.

 

nice, i will try to find a Eastcoast company that is into caymans perhaps ( besides Farnbacher )