987 Cayman S Track Tyres

tcreswick · Jun 1, 2017

Hi All,

I have a Gen I 987 S on 18" wheels which I track quite a lot. I've been running Michelin Pilot Sport 2s on it, but those are now ready to be replaced.

I'm looking for a better track tyre, but struggling to find an appropriate choice. I've had strong recommendations for AD08 Rs, however the two sizes I require 235/40 R18 and 264/40 R18 appear to be of different construction (http://www.yokohama.co.uk/Tyres/Car-Tyres/Summer-Tyres/(product)/AD08R). Can anyone comment on whether that's likely to be an issue?

An alternative option would be Pilot Sport Cup 2s, but they don't appear to have a 265/40 R18 tyre (http://www.michelin.co.uk/tyres/michelin-pilot-sport-cup-2).

What's the best plan here? Should I be considering switching to 19" wheels? I've generally preferred to be on 18s, especially since the car doesn't have PASM.

Brian_Innes · Jun 1, 2017

I've tried various tyre combinations on my Gen 2 987 Cayman R on 19" wheels, and the best by far were the Michelin Cup 2's. With 18" wheels your tyre choice is limited.

I don't think 19" wheels were an option on the Gen 1 Cayman so I'd check wheel arch clearances at the front before committing. I would also not recommend tyres of a different construction front and rear on the Cayman. Toyo R888's medium compound are also good track day tyres but very noisy on the road.

Hope this helps.

Brian

tcreswick · Jun 5, 2017

Thanks for the reply.

I was trying to remember why I thought 19s were an option and remembered that I'd seen it on the door-sill card (see below).

Interestingly, I note that the ZR18s are shown as XL for the rears (and not for the front), so looks like the reinforced tyre was a default even with the factory tyre.

More importantly, I can see that 19s are an option (also shown here https://www.stuttcars.com/technical/option-codes/cayman-987.1/) and the sizing was 235/35 and 265/35.

Am fairly tempted to see if I can get my hands on some 19-inch wheels and get some AD08-Rs or Cup 2s on there.

There must be someone running these wheels on a gen 1 car? Why would that be any different to the Cayman R? Wasn't that the same platform, just about 25mm lower?

[attachment=987-tyres.jpg]

alastairp · Jun 5, 2017

My 2006 Gen 1 987 S runs on 19" Carrera Classic wheels which I believe were factory fitted options.

Steve Brookes · Jun 5, 2017

As you've found, tyre choices are limited by the wheel sizes. So a set of 19s will open this up for you. Mich Cup 2s are then available and definitely the best performers for dry tracks. Personally I run Mich super sports on my track wheels. They don't have as much grip as the Cup 2s in the dry but are more forgiving in the wet. For me the super sports are the best compromise for road and track. Much better than the pilot sport 2s.

If staying with the 18s I'd forget about the AD08Rs because they won't be much better (it at all) then the Pilot sport 2s.

tcreswick · Jun 5, 2017

Thanks Steve, that's helpful advice and I was coming to the same conclusion myself.

Do I take it you've tried the AD08Rs?

Anyone have advice on where I can get a good price on some Porsche 19s?

MrDemon · Jun 5, 2017

Porsche wheels are £5k

so you may as well go OZ for about £1.6k

I would NOT go semi slicks on a gen 1 Cayman it only has 1 oil pick up point, so if you add a load of G you will get oil starvation !!

can you get some PSS ?

Steve Brookes · Jun 5, 2017

tcreswick said:
Thanks Steve, that's helpful advice and I was coming to the same conclusion myself.

Do I take it you've tried the AD08Rs?

Anyone have advice on where I can get a good price on some Porsche 19s?

A friend tried them on a 964. From the passenger seat on track they felt no better than any other performance road tyre. Very squirmy after a few hot laps. Michelin seemed to have achieved something extraordinary with the super sport...a road tyre that is very capable on track. Michelin now also have the pilot sport 4 (available in the required 19 inch sizes). This is no doubt a step up on the old pilot sport 2 but initial findings are that the 4 is not as track friendly as the super sport. My mate Kevin has them on his Cayman R and after a couple of track outings he's seen excessive shoulder wear at the front whereas my front super sports have survived 10 track days. There's not much you can do with Cayman geometry to limit the shoulder wear hence I'm sticking with the super sports after Kevin's experience.

For wheels I have the OZ HLT ultraleggeras that David mentions above.

tcreswick · Jun 5, 2017

MrDemon said:
I would NOT go semi slicks on a gen 1 Cayman it only has 1 oil pick up point, so if you add a load of G you will get oil starvation !!

I was planning on getting a deep sump kit installed at the same time (also making a few suspension modifications) so I'm not too worried about that.

Steve Brookes said:
A friend tried them on a 964. From the passenger seat on track they felt no better than any other performance road tyre. Very squirmy after a few hot laps. Michelin seemed to have achieved something extraordinary with the super sport...a road tyre that is very capable on track. Michelin now also have the pilot sport 4 (available in the required 19 inch sizes). This is no doubt a step up on the old pilot sport 2 but initial findings are that the 4 is not as track friendly as the super sport. My mate Kevin has them on his Cayman R and after a couple of track outings he's seen excessive shoulder wear at the front whereas my front super sports have survived 10 track days. There's not much you can do with Cayman geometry to limit the shoulder wear hence I'm sticking with the super sports after Kevin's experience.

That's helpful feedback, thanks. Pretty much decided that I'll get a set of 19s with either the Cup 2s or the Super Sports. Since I don't really use the car for much else, the Cup 2s are probably going to be more fun, albeit that the one advantage of the PS2s was that I have done some very wet track days in them and they were really quite decent in those conditions.

Steve Brookes · Jun 5, 2017

I used to run with Toyo R888s on my 964 but got fed up with tip toeing around the track when it was very wet. Hence deciding to go with super sports when I changed to the Cayman R. The Cup 2s are supposedly much better in the wet than the Toyos and the original Cup 1. Saying that, if it's going to be wet ChrisW always puts on his super sport wheels on his GT4 instead of his normal Cup 2 wheels.

ChrisW · Jun 5, 2017

Kev was at Anglesey which is notoriously hard on the front near side tyre shoulder.

Gen 1 Cayman ... deep sump will not remove the risk of oil starvation ... my race engine lasted 1800 miles with all the bells and whistles.

Gen2 is the place to be ... IMHO ...

ChrisW · Jun 5, 2017

David, do the 19" Oz Superleggera fit in the arches with Cup2's on ?

They are lovely wheels for the money ...

I had to go for P 20" on the GT4 to clear the PCCB's ... and still had the odd stone try to bridge the gap between the calliper and the rim !

Steve Brookes · Jun 5, 2017

ChrisW said:
David, do the 19" Oz Superleggera fit in the arches with Cup2's on ?

They are lovely wheels for the money ...

I had to go for P 20" on the GT4 to clear the PCCB's ... and still had the odd stone try to bridge the gap between the calliper and the rim !

Yes, Ian Reynolds has the Cup 2s on his Oz wheels. Sizes for the 19s are exactly the same as original fitment. The Oz wheels have a couple or so more millimetre offset than the spyder wheels.

MrDemon · Jun 6, 2017

ChrisW said:
David, do the 19" Oz Superleggera fit in the arches with Cup2's on ?

They are lovely wheels for the money ...

I had to go for P 20" on the GT4 to clear the PCCB's ... and still had the odd stone try to bridge the gap between the calliper and the rim !

On the GT4 it's the Racing Leggera 20" wheel for the GT4 seems the best fit and is a light wheel for a 20" unless you have Manthy BBS wheel only at £7.5k but only 17 lbs a wheel for 20"