986 Boxster vs 987.2 Cayman a comparison
 

As many of you know I owned, drove, and competed in a 2.5L Boxster for 10 years and participated in discussions here for nearly as long. I sold the car to my insurance company after I lost her in an accident and used the proceeds to fund a 2009 2.9L Cayman PDK. I have owned the Cay since April and will offer a brief observation of the similarities and differences for those considering a similar move.

The Boxster- A one owner creampuff when I bought her, she was a lightweight strippy with very few accessories. A pure sports car with no nannies yet had just enough creature comfort to drive all year in SoCal. Heater and AC were excellent and while fun in stock trim, several performance and reliability enhancements were added along the way:

PSS9- good choice for my purpose
M030 Sways- Excellent sport balance. Recommend for a street/track car.
New top with glass window- LOVE- My favorite mod of all.
GT3 and Tarrett sways- Very good but maybe overkill considering the tires I ran.
Underdrive pulley- Saved my PS pump
X51 pan- 100+ track days with zero oil starvation issues. Highly recommend.
Racing seats- Must have for TT competition.
IMS retrofit- Good peace of mind while doing the clutch.
Shorai 5lb Battery- finicky care and feeding but shaved 35 lbs off the car.
BK Roll bar extension- I recommend for anyone running on a race track.

In the end she was a street legal track rat. I enjoyed competition but also canyon runs with the top down and my brother running just behind. Certainly this was the most fun car I ever owned and I have owned probably 80 cars over the years. A lotta bang for the buck.


Enter the 2009 2.9L Cayman PDK. The first questions that come up are "Why not an S model and why PDK?" Quite simply an S in that year is another $10k and it is more car than I really need. I drove a bunch of them including a Cay R. Too much car and too much $$ tied up in my weekend joyride. As to the PDK, I drove several and was intrigued by the technology. My heel toe is still pretty good but I wanted to own one of these for now. I may not keep it another 10 years but it's pretty fun and way better than I am.

This car is more fully optioned with full leather int and lots of electronic gyro-wizardry. I find most of the electronics interesting but unnecessary. My phone talks to the car and it charges, the Nav is pretty good but so is mapquest. Too many nanny controls to protect us from ourselves.

The drive is sublime. This car is really good at what it does. Highway, city streets, canyons, or race track, this car is ready to go and performs brilliantly. I do notice the bump in HP but also the extra 300 lbs so it's not that much faster around a racetrack. (about 1 second at AAA speedway so far bone stock) A few suspension tweaks and weight reduction are in order but I don't want to lose that marvelous ride everywhere off the track so I have to be careful here.

This is a lot more car than my 2.5L Boxster with more creature comforts and it is a great deal of fun to drive. Is it more fun than the Boxster? Nope, it isn't any more fun than Lil Red was. Just newer, less miles, more sophisticated, and ever more refined. An excellent look at how Porsche makes gradual changes over time but retains the sports car pedigree.

Thanks for sharing. I've wondered which Porsche I would buy next when the time comes to upgrade/update my ride too. I've thought about the 987.2 Cayman or Boxster. I don't track (yet), so any of these car is plenty for road use. Why did you get the 987.2 Cayman but not Boxster? Is a 987.2 a lot more comfortable than a stock 986?

A good question as to Cay vs Box, I considered both. I owned the 986 for a long time and got a lot of joy from top down canyon romps. I found that I was driving top down a lot less lately and there is a clear safety benefit with a hard top on a racetrack. Essentially I wanted to try something different. So many cars, so little time...

My original Box was pretty bare bones so it was the least creature comfort available in a 986. The newer Cayman has more of everything. Great seats, less cabin noise, good climate control and a bit more headroom. More refined interior.

Great write up! We were all sorry to see your 986 go out to pasture but congrat's on the Cay!

I'd be interested in your thoughts about the difference in driving experience in terms of;

1. Handling differences (987 stiffer chassis, corner turn-in/rotation/exit, do you drive it the same, etc)
2. Suspension differences (987 stock vs PSS9, stock vs adjustable, etc)
3. Transmission differences (PDK vs 5-speed manual - street, track, fun factor, involvement)

I just recently did the same thing except I bought a Gen 1 Cayman. I wanted to take the time and really see the differences between my 03 box and the 06 cayman. I plan on selling both for a gen2 or 3 Box/Cayman. A three year MY difference is huge in overall finish and handling. My box is still a great car for it's age but I have to admit I am leaning toward the Cayman.

Just curious about your bar choice: M030

Would this promote a sharper turn in upfront?

Well, the 986 suspension was developed and tweaked over about 6 years and it was very balanced and point and shoot. It was also mighty firm on the street. The Cay is still bone stock so it feels great on the street and in the canyons but it's pretty fluffy and imprecise with R-comp tires at the track. I suspect I will firm it up with Cay R struts and sways to get where I want it without going too crazy. PSM still intervenes while trail-braking so we will tweak the threshold a bit or just disable it.

So far the PDK is pretty cool. It definitely reduces driver workload and involvement but the technology is stunning and I am learning to make the most of it. Corner entry is awesome... tap tap.... GAS! I have driven a stick all my life and this is the first "no left pedal" sports car I have liked. I am not sure it is forever though. We'll see.

I ran Tarrett sways for 3 years and then ran M030 for 2 years due to a change in competition class. Running NT-01 tires there was little difference between the two in terms of turn-in or balance but I prefer a softer setup than some. If I were running A7 or RR tires I probably would have wanted the Tarrett sways for better control of the contact patches at higher lateral G forces involved. The more tire grip you have, the more sway bar you want.

On street tires or NT-01s, the M030 is the cats meow IMO.

I own both. A 2001 986 Boxster S and a 2007 987 Cayman S, both with manuals, stock suspensions.

I too love the top down experience at times. The Box feels a little retro in a good way compared to the Cayman. The Cayman feels SO much stiffer in the twisties! I should mention that the Cayman came with optional big wheels and tires.

The shifter on the Box felt like a truck to me with it's long throws but after the installing the Schnell short shift kit it now feels much better and more modern. The Cayman was already adequately short but the clutch is heavy. Either car with the manual just makes it very busy in the cockpit in the twisty canyons we have here but also exhilarating. My next Porsche will probably have a PDK.

Welcome to my world!
 

:dance:

I love my 987.2 (2009 Boxster w PDK) because it is fast and easy to drive. How do you like the stomp and go PDK? I love that I can cruise along in 7th gear, then lift my foot for a second, slam it down and it’ll downshift to third to give me the power I want. I would never have the nerve to downshift to third by hand, but the car makes that decision for me, and it’s correct.

Have you felt the PDK adapt to you yet? Or was the previous owner also a speedy driver? When I first got mine, it idled pretty low, it didn’t transition gears quite so quickly, and the startup was quiet. Now it roars to life, idles a bit higher, and the gears are ready to go.

What options are on yours?

it's very hard to beat a 2.5 for the money. IMS can typically wait until the clutch needs replacing. The 986 gear box works best with the 2.5. It's light, and with some well spent modifications you can get the car down to ~2,600 lbs. which is just a stone's throw from spec racer. When it comes to cars that will see some track or autocross on mid-engine platforms, I'm convinced that roadsters allow for the best handling. If you're actually racing then the fixed roof with roll cage is safer but its a tradeoff on handling. A roadster with a roll cage is the best of both worlds -- no more weight on top than necessary. And the 2.5 986 still looks current despite being a 23 year old design. That means its going to age well and the transmission can be serviced easily.

Great write up Dave. I was wondering how the Cayman was working out for you. I know how much you loved "Red". I have no doubt you will get the Cayman dialed in

Dan is ok with "I enjoyed competition but also canyon runs with the top down and my brother running just behind" LOL Are we going to see a new team, the Cayman bros?

If I don't see you before, Ill see ya at Chuckwalla in Oct, maybe the fall PDS as well

I tend to use the flappy paddles for downshifting. I still like choosing when and where, and the shifts are instant and flawless. After 3 days on the Fontana IRL course we have gotten to know each other pretty well.

Options? Full leather int, multi adjustable heated seats, Nav, mid-range sound system (not Bose), simple climate control, no Sport Chrono or PASM. Plush by my sports car standards and those heavy seats gotta go on track days.

Hi Jay,

Yes Dan is looking at Caymans now too. :) We had a ball running TTs in the same class together for 5 years so he might have one by October. We may get down to the Q for AX this summer now that two of my kids live in SD Co. See you soon and hope to get some more right seat time with you.

Sounds like a plan, most likely Chuckwalla and hopefully I'll get signed off for TT. Im looking forward to a ride in your Cayman as well, just a different end result

Hopefully Dan won't go through the same process to get his Cayman. At least its off my bucket list now :eek:

Update on my transition from 2.5 Boxster to 2.9L Cayman PDK.

She is fun, she is pretty, with all the bells and whistles but she is a fat lady. 300# heavier than my well developed Boxster and so far not much faster. I have 3 track weekends on the car now with GT3 LCAs and much better alignment. I like the balance and turn-in, I like the torque, but going nose to tail with my brother on the same tires he can corner faster. I am throttle steering at the limit while he is pulling away a bit. This week we go on a diet to get 150# off the car and restore dignity in the corners. I am also fairly annoyed with PSM that is sticking it's nose in where it doesn't belong way too often. We are going to snip that little guy and get him out of my business.

Buttonwillow in 2 weeks and the development continues... A benevolent donor offered up some Toyo RR tires that we will be exploring as well. If we like em we will be running on those next year and shooting for a PCA championship. This is a development year. More to come...