My 718 CGTS 4.0 PDK

[Brian_Innes]

Following a flat battery problem on my return from a winter sun holiday, a faulty C-Tek charger proved the prime culprit. Thankfully all sorted now with a replacement battery charger/conditioner purchased.

Continuing my periodic reports on touring, earlier this week I took a drive east from Nairnshire on the Moray Firth coastal route. This delightful route on the A942 along the sea shore passes through the boat building and fishing town of Buckie, followed by the villages of Findochty and Portknockie, the latter locally known as "Knockers". The charming village of Cullen lies a couple of miles to the east with is golden sands and quaint colourfully painted cottages. At this time of year the beaches and local trails are quiet and peaceful. A new feature on the beach is a sauna cabin which was doing good business on this decidedly chilly day. A group of hardy souls were taking a dip in the North Sea followed by a warm-up in the sauna cabin. Before you ask I was not tempted to join them.

The nearby Bow Fiddle Rock at Knockers is reached by a pleasant coastal trail. The cliff top vantage point provides spectacular seascape vistas. This part of north Scotland is not on most people's destination list and is all the better for it. The main appeal apart from the scenery, are the traffic free roads at this time of the year. They are a joy to drive, and with local POI's having much to offer in the way of historical and cultural interests.

My CGTS 4.0 continues to impress and is going faultlessly. This is the best Cayman of the six that I have had the pleasure of owning. The PDK gearbox suits the 4.0 engine perfectly with its shorter gearing and instantaneous gear shifts. I have some cosmetic work to do on the car in the coming months which I shall report on in due course. Meantime, it is so good to back on the road again with this amazingly capable car.

Brian.

 

[BrianJ]

Wow! Beautiful photographs which match your splendidly descriptive prose, as always. Glad you are still enjoying your driving and your car Brian.

 

[Wollemi]

The Moray Coast looks a lot more being than when I was last there, in February 2022.

Delighted to hear how much you are enjoying your car.

 

[Mcmikey62]

Which wheels and offsets did you settle on please - I'm looking to do the same

Hi, I got MAK Monaco D alloys off E-bay, an Italian company and they come direct from Italy which caused some issues with import taxes, down to the courier FedEx rather than the supplier. They actually look pretty good on the car but are, I think, a bit heavier than the standard Porsche wheels even allowing for the increased sizes. They were listed as being GT4 wheels and also suitable for GTS. I was worried the 11's at the rear would hit the track control arm but they are no where near and they are clear of the wheel arches with 295-30-20 tyres. Fronts were fine. I spent ages agonising over the offsets because there is a difference GT4 to GTS but it didn't make any difference it seems. Ive looked at the wheels and the original order but cant see any information that gives the offsets.

 

[Motorhead]

Ive looked at the wheels and the original order but cant see any information that gives the offsets.

You may find that the wheel spec will be given on the inner side of one of the spokes.

Jeff

 

[Brian_Innes]

So far, I've covered 1700 miles in my CGTS 4.0 PDK since taking ownership at the end of October '24. Apart from the flat battery issue now sorted, two chassis cosmetic jobs await to be done.

First up is repainting the disc bell hubs due to lack of attention by the previous owner. The grey paint coating on the hub bells has become discoloured and unsightly. That is a job I've done previously on all of my Caymans.

The second cosmetic job is more involved and features to two steel braces extending rearwards under the engine - transaxle unit. These are corroded with surface rust and will require refreshing. Following a brief chat with an independent Porsche knowledgable garage owner, who has recommended removing the corroded braces and having them electroplated.

I may add that I have never before experienced corrosion of this nature on previous Caymans. Diligent underside hosing of suspension and chassis components during the salty roads winter months proved effective in preventing this unsightly corrosion getting established. It is evident the previous owner didn't do this.

I would welcome any other owners experiences of surface corrosion on these exposed chassis items, and particularly of electroplating the corroded braces as a permanent remedy.

Brian

 

[ralphmusic]

Guess it's been kept outside, also see the "bloom" on Alloy components. Although garaged, I have the underside and front rads and lines sprayed each year with Scott Oiler, AFC 50 or similar. Maybe Scrounger and Twinfan will be along with their experiences.

 

[MrDemon]

Cars are fine outside, mine live outside, that's salt and why I never buy a Scotish car or a car near the seaside.
I use mine all winter now 2 full winters, it's on 12k miles and it lives outside. I don't even wash the car to be honest maybe 4 times, and never washed under it.
just been and taken a pic of mine, was quite shocked it looks so good really. that one is shocking :-(
Also if you use the car as a daily like me a garage is a worst place to keep a car, outside the wind drys it all off.
I have seen many cars rot in a garage when they are used or washed and then put back in the garage wet.

Very sorry to see that Brian. But like I said that's Scotish or seaside cars all over.

 

[Brian_Innes]

I completely agree with Ralph and Mr D regarding seaside cars. The previous owner lived in Aberdeen and clearly never took proper care of the underside of the car whether parked outside or in a garage.

In my ownership this car is garaged in a new build warm, lined, and tiled building. After washing the car I always take it for a drive to dry the brakes and blow away any moisture left in the nooks and crannies. This procedure has served me well on all my previous Caymans, the majority of which were bought new.

The photo of the underside of your car Mr D, is how my previous Caymans looked underneath. With diligent care and attention, coastal environment ownership doesn't necessarily mean corrosion takes off. Living in the north of Scotland with the copious amounts of winter salt and grits sprayed on the roads, is definitely a negative factor. The flip side of this is the traffic free roads following the contours of the land which ideally suit driver's cars such as a the CGTS 4.0. Where we chose to live is always a matter of compromise.

Thanks for your advice meantime. I'll report back on my efforts to rectify this unsightly corrosion on the underside of my car. Knowing it's like this underneath is unsettling and needs sorting.

Brian.

 

[Twinfan]

My GT4 lives outside and is used all year round, and while it doesn't look as clean as Mr D's it's not even close to how bad yours is, Brian, and it's 5 years old with 21k on the clock. And I don't give it any special attention, it gets washed or valeted as and when I get round to it or when my OPC or my detailing guys do!

I hope sorting it out is reasonably simple.

 

[MrDemon]

To be honest I was expecting mine to look much worse. Was a nice shock to see it so mint. Sell it

On another note Brian, I have sold my GT4 RS, the 4RS is so under developed the car just could not cope in oem form with 500HP on that platform and suspension, very hard choice to sell what I thought was going to be my dream car and was a lot of money :-( it's now for sale £30k under list if any one wants a really nice GT4RS. But it needed at least £20k spending on it, just to make it work and then a warranty fight if you mod it, and for a bit more £££ you get the real deal.

So last week I swapped it for this, and so far after 5 days it's blowing my mind, it's amazing how much better a car is when Porsche make the time to get it right.
I'll keep the 718 GTS for a bit longer, but the new toy is just amazing. What a proper bit of kit this is to drive. I thought my 991.2 GT3 was good, but this thing is on another level.
I did not want wings, must be getting old, and I always said a GT car has to have a wing.! I have gone for buckets and PDK, this one has the RS shifters already fitted. It's PTS Nato Olive with every carbon option and orange stitching every where.
But the way it drives and turns in is just out of this world. I feel so lucky I am able to own and pilot such a machine. I think I might just daily it just because I want to be in it as much as possible. The 4RS I just did NOT want to drive it which was very disheartening and it's just been in storage for months.

 

[Scrounger]

You need one of these. I use it every time the GTS gets a wash. No corrosion on the underside of mine and it lives outside but like others have said if it’s a seaside car then the salt will eat it alive.

 

[Scrounger]

I’ve also just bought some Bilt Hamber Dynex UC. Not necessarily for my car but for my daughters Picanto but if there’s any left I’ll use it on mine.

 

[glenn duval]

The best thing to cure this problem would be bead blasted then hot dip galvanised, and then black powder coat to the top cross member to keep it looking OE.
when I fabricated our outside architectural iron work this is what I did. after 10 years no corrosion.
I live on the Yorkshire east coat

 

[Scrounger]

For the cost of 2 new ones I’d be more inclined to buy new and replace them coat with Dynax or wash regularly

 

[Mcmikey62]

You may find that the wheel spec will be given on the inner side of one of the spokes.

Jeff

There is quite a lot of info there, they are currently off the car so I could see, but nothing that looks like the offsets. There are serial numbers on there and the size but none of the vital information.

 

[Scrounger]

Here you go Brian.

3 years old and 20,100 miles

 

[Motorhead]

Very impressive Dan!

That undercarriage pressure washer looks like a useful bit of kit.

Jeff

 

[JohnCRS]

Those cross support bars (8) are a really c*!p (poor) design, with the two open 'gulleys' guaranteed to catch dirt and stones. I took mine off and refinished them, but they were not as badly corroded as yours Brian. I think in your situation I would purchase new ones and protect them from the get go (along with some of the chassis bolts). It is such a shame as, on the 987, they are an solid aluminium extrusion.

6 months or so I reported on a 17,000 mile 981 that was bought from a reputable dealer down south. It was meant to be mint and an addition to a small collection. The detailer spotted bubbles under the paintwork on the outside of the rear arches which proved to have rotted through from dirt collected on the inner lip. The underside was horrendous with every metal surface, nut and bolt corroded. The purchaser got a refund. This proved to have been a north east car that had obviously done many shortish trips and put away with wet, salty, crud sticking to it.

It is sad to see yours like it is Brian, but I am sure you will have it looking pristine fairly soon.

 

[Brian_Innes]

Thank you guys! High quality information as always.
Your comments, photos, graphs, and undercarriage care tips (pardon the expression), are all gratefully received. This is what the forum is all about and my heartfelt thanks to you all. Great!

I had already considered replacing both cross support bars rather than spend money refurbishing. Dan and John, I'm pleased to see you have the same opinion, so that's going to be my plan.
Good also to receive your comments Twinfan.

The main corrosion problem here in the north of Scotland, is not the seashore salty air, it's the winter gritting c**p the roads authorities insist on spraying on the roads from December to March. The rock salt grit is not that of table ware salt cellars, rather more like petit pois frozen peas. If you happen to meet a gritting spreader coming in the opposite direction, the hopper centrifuge peppers the car like a Guyson bead blaster. Then to add injury to misery, chipped paintwork and windscreens are a common occurrence. Autoglass Inverness do a roaring trade during the winter. months. That explains why I do much less miles in the CGTS during the winter months.

Mr D, your new 911 looks awesome. It looks all the better without the wings. I can fully understand why you swapped the GT4RS. Glad you have retained the 718 GTS 4.0 PDK.......for now.

I'll report back in due course regarding the undercarriage refurb.

Brian.