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After 8 months of ownership

delboy225

delboy225

New member
After 8 months of ownership, I'm loving my 981S.
In the past I have had 'fairly' hot Renaultsport hatches (remapped megane 225, remapped clio 200T), so mainly turbo cars.
I was not sure about going to NA engine, but I bit the bullet. I'm glad I did.
The Cayman is such a nice car to drive, you can drive it slow or fast and the noise!

I had a deposit down on a new base 718 manual, but decided to go for Porsche approved 2.5 year old PDK 981S in yellow, with a nice spec I think.
(does not have PSE, which I would like now though) and saved 6k in the process over new. But you can't beat getting a new car though.

OPC could not tell me when I would get the 718 (back in Oct. 2016), so I went for secondhand. Looking at the prices now and what I paid at the time, I'm pretty sure I can sell (not that I will) it now, without making a loss. The 718 I think is doing the 981 a lot of good on depreciation.

Derek
 
I think you're right Derek. The introduction of the 718 seems to have firmed up prices of the flat-6 cars, including my own Gen2 987 CS, as customers seek out good examples of the naturally aspirated cars.

Mind you, I'm not sure how long this will last as the older cars accumulate higher mileages.

Jeff

 
Make hay while the sun shines you 981 owners.

The strong residuals on the 6-pot 981's will surely fade in the not too distant future. As Jeff correctly points out, mileage will be critical.

Following 9 years owning Caymans, I am a convert to the 718 CS PDK. It is a consummately better car than the 987/981 in every department except one.........the sound emitting from the exhaust pipes. Over time you get used to the 4 -pot burble.

The 718's supreme chassis, the big brakes, the 420Nm of torque from 1900 - 4500rpm, the 350 bhp, the quicker steering rack, all serve make this car a track day natural. It also happens to be an ideal daily driver and tourer. The best of both worlds.

I also considered a used 981 GTS but took the gamble and ordered a new car to my spec. I have no regrets at all.

Brian

 
BJ Innes said:
The 718's supreme chassis, the big brakes, the 420Nm of torque from 1900 - 4500rpm, the 350 bhp, the quicker steering rack, all serve make this car a track day natural.
Click to expand...

Chassis is almost identical to the 981 bar a few minor tweaks, brakes are the same as the 981 GTS, the only real difference is the steering rack which does make the car very pointy and would be good on a track.

BJ Innes said:
Make hay while the sun shines you 981 owners.

The strong residuals on the 6-pot 981's will surely fade in the not too distant future. As Jeff correctly points out, mileage will be critical.

Following 9 years owning Caymans, I am a convert to the 718 CS PDK. It is a consummately better car than the 987/981 in every department except one.........the sound emitting from the exhaust pipes. Over time you get used to the 4 -pot burble.
Click to expand...

Maybe, but last of the breed may well keep prices up. A lot of us can't love the turbo'd 4-pot nor want to so I think there will always be a following for the NASP 6. The GTS model in particular will likely keep its position between the 987 CR and the 981 GT4. CRs are steady so I think GTSs will stay in the £50k bracket for a while - I can't see any way they'd drop below the CR and they'll always have lower mileages than those on average.



 
David,

The 718 brakes are not the same as on the 981 GTS. The 718 CS discs are larger diameter and also thicker, also the brake callipers are of a different design and larger.

The suspension tweaks on the 718 may be subtle in your opinion, but I can verify they are significantly effective on both road and track. The -20mm Sports PASM is also new.

Some just don't like the 718 because of the 4-pot turbo, and their head is so set against it that they don't want to know anything good about the car.

I am not banging the drum for the 718, just giving my opinions following 9 months ownership. The 981 GTS is an excellent car, but a sporty specced 718 CS is a better one in my opinion. Other opinions are respected.

Brian



 
According to the Porsche website the 718 and S both have 330mm/299mm brakes discs so it looks like they're the same size as the old GTS. The caliper design and pad area is certainly different though (larger) so heat dissipation should be better on extended track use. I looked at the paper specs and assumed they were the same, but they're not. Apologies [:)]

I've driven a 718S for a couple of days and I absolutely hated it. I'm not alone in my opinion, so I don't think people will in time believe the 718 is the better car. The unavoidable turbo characteristics will never be warmed to by dedicated NASP engine fans. It's a totally different engine experience.

 
981/718 brakes:

Both the S and base 718 versions have 330mm front and 299mm rear discs.

The 981 base had 315mm front and 299mm rear, the S had 330mm front and 299mm rear

The 718S front caliper is from the Carrera (still 4 piston) and the 330mm disc is 4mm thicker than the 981S.

So diameter are the same, thicker front discs on 718S and different but still 4 piston caliper.

I can't be bothered with the NA v turbo stuff.

Ralph

 
My original post was not intended to start the usual 981 718 thing. Just my own personal feelings after 8 months.

Theres always going to be good things and bad things about any car. I'm just very happy that I have a Porsche.

 
Quite frankly, I'm finding the whole N/A flat-6 vs flat-4 turbo thing rather tiresome. Each approach has its proponents and opponents - we've had them trotted out endless times on this and other forums.

We are where we are, and having commited themselves I can't see Porsche backtracking and trying to squeeze a flat-6 turbo into the back of the Cayman/Boxster unibody, let alone reverting to a N/A f-6. We know that the company believes in continuous development and improvement - just look at the 911!! - so I'm sure that they're working hard to improve the soundscape of the f-4 turbo engine. It's a difficult task because 4-pot engines just don't sound great (it's the harmonic mix) and the turbo doesn't help either, but I know from experience that, engineered correctly, audio enhancement can work really well - just ask JLR.

Speaking as someone who has a foot in both camps - I run an old Mk5 Golf GTi as well as my 987.2 CS - I can appreciate both sides of the coin. It's great to spin up the Cayman on track days and to enjoy its soundtrack; equally I can appreciate the low speed torque and flexibility provided by the Golf's I-4 turbo engine for every day driving, even though it has absolutely no sound quality.

As usual, just my tuppence worth.

Jeff

 
I totally agree with you Jeff, I also run a second car preferring to treat my Cayman as a long trip and holiday car for the most part on the more fun type drives but in my case my second car is also a six pot being a 2.2 Z4 and the first BMW I've owned having picked it up just because it came available and I wanted something interesting to tinker with... I have long been a fan of six pots for the sound and torque whatever size of engine but I also like turbo engines from my days of driving my 944 turbo and wish I hadn't sold it!

I have driven a 718S and as with all things, there were things I liked and things I didn't, as with the Z4 I didn't like the electric steering but otherwise thought the car excellent, once warmed up the sounds are ok, turbo is noisy until warmed up but these are mostly things which we get used too. I did very much like and commented on the brakes but others said they were the same as the 981, apparently not.

 
Just wanted to chip in and say I concur with the OP.

I've had my 981 S for about 3-4 months and it is the best car I've owned (coming from various M3s and my last, the V10 M6). It isn't as fast as the M6, but that was a deliberate decision by me in order to get something that was more fun to drive, more of the time. I love the sound, the way it drives, the handling characteristics (of which I'm still getting to understand having just got some new boots on her) and how it is put together. Basically the whole package.

I'm sure the prices of the 981 cars will be very much dependent on their mileage (as it seems to be with most, if not all, Porsche cars) but mine is a daily drive. I'm sure if you wanted, you could trade it in for the new 718, using the 981 as capital in the deal. Of course, you would have to decide yourself if the 718 was worth the extra. I won't get into the debate. I have not driven a 718, but I am sure they are fantastic cars.

Glad you're enjoying the experience of owning the 981S OP. Enjoy!

 
Yes Kevan, you've reminded me of all the fuss when Porsche introduced EPS not so long ago. Most of the detractors appear to have disappeared (MrD excepted, of course!) and I think it's accepted generally that Porsche's system is one of the best around, and still improving.

As memories fade and the f-4 turbo engine is further developed I'm sure that even the journos will gravitate to a grudging acceptance, by which time everyone will be complaining about the odd-feeling regenerative braking system due to hybridisation..!

Jeff

 
There's a big difference between two types of steering 'feel' and a complete engine change though isn't there?

Anyhoo, I'm sure the debate will rage on for a while yet! :p

 
Quite so David, but my point is that things move on and with time comes a (grudging?) acceptance.

Also, as we've seen during the "debate", some people rate chassis dynamics above engine sound.

Jeff

 
With respect to the OP ... start a separate thread on the `differences / preferences` between the various Cayman models ?

 
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