981 Cayman GTS - Schwarzes Ferkel
Discussion
My entire car history, three trip reports from Euro road trips and and a tale of love and heartbreak featuring an R8 can be found in my previous thread:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
My wife, the Beautiful Blond Ballast (BBB) and I got paid out from the insurance for the R8 reasonably quickly (£2k more than we bought it for). The plan was to buy an NC MX5 for the winter (with heated seats!) and wait for interest rates to maybe have an impact on sports car pricing. We went to look at one that was various shades vibrant green and called up about a few more but it was all getting hard. We didn't have any car to drive and with constant train strikes it was Ubers to go to look at them and they all seemed a bit scabby. I was starting to feel trapped at home with no car so my plan went back to a proper replacement.
In order of importance, must haves were:
The test drive was in the pouring rain and the wiper was essentially useless. Within a couple of minutes I'd managed to hit a large puddle (which I couldn't see because of the wiper) and had a heart stopping aquaplane towards the verge. But the steering was out of this world amazing - like a Mk2 Escort but assisted. I have no idea why no other manufacturer can seem to get this right? They wouldn't budge on price or recognise the tyres so we went away to think about it and declined.
Which leads us inevitably to Porsche. BBB has always objected to the brand - whenever I'd bring them up she'd always say she didn't like the looks and "all Porsches are driven by knobs"
. This is despite two of our female friends (who are not knobs!) being long-term 911 owners. But maybe there was a chance with the Cayman? I just showed her some pictures of one without stating brand and she gave a "oooh, that's nice" and we were in!
I started looking at 981 Cayman S but the inevitable scope creep led me up to looking at GTS. The 981 GTS are an S with all the optional chassis extras thrown in (PASM, PADM, PDLS, PIST, Sports Chrono) a few more horses and a few interior lashings.We went to see a bunch of them, I drove a few and then I got a comprehensive inspection before purchase and haggled many thousands of pounds off the price. This was the first we saw, I fell in love and put a deposit down before even driving it. 
Some pics from the dealer:
As it's a Porsch-AH, we need to discuss options - besides the all important "residuals" and ROLEX ownership it's all we Porsche people ever talk about. I wanted heated seats for my old-man's back, didn't want the optional extra sporty suspension because of the aforementioned speed bumps and wanted the sports exhaust (although maybe they all came with that?). I was in two minds about the carbon buckets in this one - I was concerned they'd be uncomfortable and make egress in the inevitable tiny Spanish parking garage more challenging but on the other hand.... SHINY! I didn't want another black car (oops) and I didn't really like the Turbo wheels, I wouldn't choose 20 inch but all GTS have them. BBB didn't hate the seats and said she really liked the wheels so
It was clear from the pot holed, speedbump strewn test drive that it actually rode really well. We pushed the exhaust button and made it to 6k rpm and it sounded really good. I was grinning like a loon! Steering wasn't very feelsome (as expected) but the gearing wasn't noticeably long.
The dealer gave it a fresh MOT and it was noted that the front discs were past their best (I had noticed there was a small lip but thought it would be OK) so he put new discs and pads on it too. I picked it up on Monday and drove home with 5pm M25 traffic. Everything worked as it should and I got a small gap to make some noise a couple of times. After pulling off the motorway I discovered the "child button":
This makes the exhaust even noisierer (a seriously filthy noise) and gives all sorts of amusing light arms fire noises on the over run. It was exactly this noise on this Sutcliffe video that upgraded me to a GTS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxXrDIevmlY
We spent an hour sitting in it outside in the dark and going through the billions of menus (1 minute Welcome Home lights and 30% ambient interior lighting in case you're interested). And that's where we are until a trip down to the New Forest this weekend. And we've already started planning two weeks to Portugal!
Sorry for the long first post.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
My wife, the Beautiful Blond Ballast (BBB) and I got paid out from the insurance for the R8 reasonably quickly (£2k more than we bought it for). The plan was to buy an NC MX5 for the winter (with heated seats!) and wait for interest rates to maybe have an impact on sports car pricing. We went to look at one that was various shades vibrant green and called up about a few more but it was all getting hard. We didn't have any car to drive and with constant train strikes it was Ubers to go to look at them and they all seemed a bit scabby. I was starting to feel trapped at home with no car so my plan went back to a proper replacement.
In order of importance, must haves were:
- 6+ cylinders.
- N/A or supercharged.
- Manual.
- Luggage space and comfortable enough for 7 days.
- Able to deal with the ubiquitous Surrey speed bumps.
- ULEZ compliant.
The test drive was in the pouring rain and the wiper was essentially useless. Within a couple of minutes I'd managed to hit a large puddle (which I couldn't see because of the wiper) and had a heart stopping aquaplane towards the verge. But the steering was out of this world amazing - like a Mk2 Escort but assisted. I have no idea why no other manufacturer can seem to get this right? They wouldn't budge on price or recognise the tyres so we went away to think about it and declined.
Which leads us inevitably to Porsche. BBB has always objected to the brand - whenever I'd bring them up she'd always say she didn't like the looks and "all Porsches are driven by knobs"
. This is despite two of our female friends (who are not knobs!) being long-term 911 owners. But maybe there was a chance with the Cayman? I just showed her some pictures of one without stating brand and she gave a "oooh, that's nice" and we were in!I started looking at 981 Cayman S but the inevitable scope creep led me up to looking at GTS. The 981 GTS are an S with all the optional chassis extras thrown in (PASM, PADM, PDLS, PIST, Sports Chrono) a few more horses and a few interior lashings.
Some pics from the dealer:
As it's a Porsch-AH, we need to discuss options - besides the all important "residuals" and ROLEX ownership it's all we Porsche people ever talk about. I wanted heated seats for my old-man's back, didn't want the optional extra sporty suspension because of the aforementioned speed bumps and wanted the sports exhaust (although maybe they all came with that?). I was in two minds about the carbon buckets in this one - I was concerned they'd be uncomfortable and make egress in the inevitable tiny Spanish parking garage more challenging but on the other hand.... SHINY! I didn't want another black car (oops) and I didn't really like the Turbo wheels, I wouldn't choose 20 inch but all GTS have them. BBB didn't hate the seats and said she really liked the wheels so
It was clear from the pot holed, speedbump strewn test drive that it actually rode really well. We pushed the exhaust button and made it to 6k rpm and it sounded really good. I was grinning like a loon! Steering wasn't very feelsome (as expected) but the gearing wasn't noticeably long.
The dealer gave it a fresh MOT and it was noted that the front discs were past their best (I had noticed there was a small lip but thought it would be OK) so he put new discs and pads on it too. I picked it up on Monday and drove home with 5pm M25 traffic. Everything worked as it should and I got a small gap to make some noise a couple of times. After pulling off the motorway I discovered the "child button":
This makes the exhaust even noisierer (a seriously filthy noise) and gives all sorts of amusing light arms fire noises on the over run. It was exactly this noise on this Sutcliffe video that upgraded me to a GTS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxXrDIevmlY
We spent an hour sitting in it outside in the dark and going through the billions of menus (1 minute Welcome Home lights and 30% ambient interior lighting in case you're interested). And that's where we are until a trip down to the New Forest this weekend. And we've already started planning two weeks to Portugal!
Sorry for the long first post.
Glad you're back in a 2-seater and this is a great one. These are really great cars and yours is a lovely spec.
I'll be interested to see how it compares to the R8 (I followed that thread too). I'd imagine the Cayman to be more practical/useable given the two boots and better visibility and be easier to place on the road as it is a smaller car (I think). I'd also expect the Cayman to cost less to run with the smaller engine and less cylinders. Probably just as fast and fun to drive.
Look forward to the updates - I hope this gives you lots of fun and puts a smile on your face.
I'll be interested to see how it compares to the R8 (I followed that thread too). I'd imagine the Cayman to be more practical/useable given the two boots and better visibility and be easier to place on the road as it is a smaller car (I think). I'd also expect the Cayman to cost less to run with the smaller engine and less cylinders. Probably just as fast and fun to drive.
Look forward to the updates - I hope this gives you lots of fun and puts a smile on your face.
can't go wrong with a car from ashgoods! congrats on the purchase! looks like a lovely spec!
have you got any ideas of modifcations you might do to it or will you plan to keep it standard?
do you mind me asking who you used to have it PPI'd? i was under the impression Ashgood prepped their cars to a very high standard...
have you got any ideas of modifcations you might do to it or will you plan to keep it standard?
do you mind me asking who you used to have it PPI'd? i was under the impression Ashgood prepped their cars to a very high standard...
Thanks to everyone for the positive vibes! 
Some other nonsense I forgot:
I thought some comedy Deutschen was in order. Das ist ein schwarzes Ferkel:
Yeah, I didn't actually get a PPI. I just walked in, saw the seats and red rev counter and dropped a deposit like a chump. All the cars there seemed really well turned out and they do seem to have a really good name.
Some other nonsense I forgot:- It's at 39k miles currently, the interior looks brand new and I couldn't see a blemish on the paint. It's almost a shame for us to park it outside, never wash it, drive it through Europe to tiny parking garages, kerb the wheels and generally trash it.... Is what everyone else must be thinking.
- It also has the PTV or Porsche Torque Vectoring option - so an LSD combined with computer controlled braking to help turn in.
- BBB is concerned the seat is going to be a little loo low to drive in so we'll bring a cushion on our first trip for her!
- BBB has pointed out that her luscious locks are slowly turning back to her natural auburn hue so she may soon be referred to as BGB. Stay tuned for these exciting developments!
- The stereo was a noticeable step up from the Audi - Apocryphon by The Sword as the ceremonial first tune drowned out the comparatively louder tyre roar admirably.
- The navigation system was surprisingly good. You can get the map and direction on the third dial which is pretty cool. Sadly that also means you must remove the temperature displays which kinda sucks. On the upside, RED TACHO IS LIKE A RACE CAR!!!
Northbrook said:
Very good! All the best with this one.
You have installed the bazookas on your drive, though, right?
Thank you! Home security, surveillance and protocols have all been beefed up. You have installed the bazookas on your drive, though, right?
Oneball said:
Glad you’ve got another thread going. Will be interesting to see how the “baby” Porsche compares with a “supercar”
PS You’ve failed at the first Porsche ownership hurdle, you mentioned options but didn’t list them with their codes ;-)
PPS might be me but Ferkel
Gah! I'll never fit in with my new chums down the golf club whilst lacking an encyclopaedic knowledge of option codes.PS You’ve failed at the first Porsche ownership hurdle, you mentioned options but didn’t list them with their codes ;-)
PPS might be me but Ferkel
I thought some comedy Deutschen was in order. Das ist ein schwarzes Ferkel:
BrettMRC said:
Looks very nice!
How does cabin space compare to the R8?
It doesn't seem like it's got as much storage in the cabin but it's got more room in the frunk and boot. The parcel shelf in the Audi was surprisingly commodious. You are pretty much forced to move the carbon buckets all the way back to enter / exit in the Porsche which means you can't store anything back there. The cup holders in the Porsche are a carbon-fibre clad engineering masterpiece and their budget must have been triple Lotus' entire R&D for the year.How does cabin space compare to the R8?
DanG355 said:
Glad you're back in a 2-seater and this is a great one. These are really great cars and yours is a lovely spec.
I'll be interested to see how it compares to the R8 (I followed that thread too). I'd imagine the Cayman to be more practical/useable given the two boots and better visibility and be easier to place on the road as it is a smaller car (I think). I'd also expect the Cayman to cost less to run with the smaller engine and less cylinders. Probably just as fast and fun to drive.
Look forward to the updates - I hope this gives you lots of fun and puts a smile on your face.
By the numbers it's going to be a lot better on fuel and tyres seem ~ the same price. But I'm a little terrified by parts prices so let's just pray nothing goes wrong, eh?I'll be interested to see how it compares to the R8 (I followed that thread too). I'd imagine the Cayman to be more practical/useable given the two boots and better visibility and be easier to place on the road as it is a smaller car (I think). I'd also expect the Cayman to cost less to run with the smaller engine and less cylinders. Probably just as fast and fun to drive.
Look forward to the updates - I hope this gives you lots of fun and puts a smile on your face.
SarlechS said:
can't go wrong with a car from ashgoods! congrats on the purchase! looks like a lovely spec!
have you got any ideas of modifcations you might do to it or will you plan to keep it standard?
do you mind me asking who you used to have it PPI'd? i was under the impression Ashgood prepped their cars to a very high standard...
I'm going to get rid of the Cayman GTS badges to make it slightly less of a target and because black badges on black cars should be punishable by 30 rounds of golf. I might swap to a shiny brand badge at the same time, because PORSCHE. Besides that I'm going to see how we go with the navigation system as it is - you can replace it with an aftermarket Android Auto / Carplay module - mainly this is really useful for plotting a multi-point road trip from the comfort of your couch so you can take the twistiest roads, not just the quickest..have you got any ideas of modifcations you might do to it or will you plan to keep it standard?
do you mind me asking who you used to have it PPI'd? i was under the impression Ashgood prepped their cars to a very high standard...
Yeah, I didn't actually get a PPI. I just walked in, saw the seats and red rev counter and dropped a deposit like a chump.
All the cars there seemed really well turned out and they do seem to have a really good name.Edited by seefarr on Wednesday 11th January 20:05
Looks a nice car, a friend actually sent me the link to it he was thinking about buying it. Another mate also had a gts and loved it.
Regarding expensive bills, are you aware you can put a Porsche warranty on it? Take it to a Porsche dealer, they do an inspection and if it passes you can get a 1/2/3 year warranty. I had one on my old GT4, a gearbox mount went (fancy adjustable £1600 things or something) the next day Porsche Wolverhampton got me in and the issue was sorted quickly and without question. The warranty can also be transferable to the next owner.
Enjoy the car the carbon seats are stunning.
Regarding expensive bills, are you aware you can put a Porsche warranty on it? Take it to a Porsche dealer, they do an inspection and if it passes you can get a 1/2/3 year warranty. I had one on my old GT4, a gearbox mount went (fancy adjustable £1600 things or something) the next day Porsche Wolverhampton got me in and the issue was sorted quickly and without question. The warranty can also be transferable to the next owner.
Enjoy the car the carbon seats are stunning.
One of my friends has recently acquired a similar vintage of GTS, albeit with PDK and without the fancy seats. He's really pleased with his & the supplying Porsche specialist fitted the necessary gubbins to allow the Android compatibility before collection. They are a rare car when you look at how many are for sale.
keo said:
Regarding expensive bills, are you aware you can put a Porsche warranty on it?
I was not aware of that so thank you! We'll look into that next month when hopefully we have a touch more liquidity. stevethegreek said:
Congratulations! they are a great steer and that looks to be a very nice example, enjoy!
Here's mine...
Love that colour! Kinda wish I had held out for one in a different shade but on the other hand, I don't look at it when I'm behind the wheel and I'm an instant gratification sort of guy!Here's mine...
Edited by stevethegreek on Thursday 12th January 13:31
Court_S said:
That’s lovely and looks like a suitable replacement.
When is the first road trip booked?
Nothing ye....wait, no, I just booked Spain and Portugal in October.When is the first road trip booked?
In the last two weeks we've been on two trips to try to get the measure of Ferkel.
We went to stay down in the New Forest two weeks ago. The drive down was in fairly biblical rain which the Porsche shrugged off. I found a few nice wide, emptyish, wet roundabouts to get a sense of the on limit handling too! Probably should have warned BBB before I started though....
BBB drove back from lunch and the car developed a pretty heinous brake squeal in traffic.
I gave it few hard stops the next morning which cured it for a while but it has started again in traffic.
I attempted to plot a course back via some interesting roads through the South Downs. Sadly it was 9:30 by the time we got in the car and the roads were already full of miserable minivans doing 40mph. We had a few fun moments but most of the time was spent dodging the diabolical potholes and the enormous pools of standing water.
This weekend we were up in Norfolk toshow off visit the outlaws. The drive up was pretty non interesting save for some nice post roundabout 2nd gear punting. We stopped at St Peters brewery on the way through and put our newfound extra luggage space to the test! 
I took the FiL out for a quick hoon around dusk - the car was moving around a lot even in a straight line in 2nd (damp and cold) but we both enjoyed it!
Filthbag!
The plan had been to get up early the next day and do a Proper Drive by myself. A local PHer Rene Soufle had provided a nice route to try (thank you!). Sadly it was -4c with fog when I woke up so driving quickly was not on the cards.
In fact just driving was a bit of a stress! The tyres were not very happy with the ice. Our windscreen washers had frozen up too so by the time we made it to a motorway the dirty screen went from irritating to downright dangerous. So that's why you put that big warm engine at the FRONT of the car?! We stopped a couple of times to manually clear the screen and try to top the reservoir off with warmer water. It eventually came good but pretty annoying. I've got some mega strength anti-freeze wash coming this week, which should guarantee warm weather for the rest of winter.
And in other thrilling news, BBB thinks calling the car "Piglet" (Ferkel) is unkind so she's called him Fergal. When we got back on Sunday afternoon I was happy to let him luxuriate in his salty filthy protective coating but BBB bullied me into getting the pressure washer out.
We went to stay down in the New Forest two weeks ago. The drive down was in fairly biblical rain which the Porsche shrugged off. I found a few nice wide, emptyish, wet roundabouts to get a sense of the on limit handling too!
Probably should have warned BBB before I started though....BBB drove back from lunch and the car developed a pretty heinous brake squeal in traffic.
I gave it few hard stops the next morning which cured it for a while but it has started again in traffic.I attempted to plot a course back via some interesting roads through the South Downs. Sadly it was 9:30 by the time we got in the car and the roads were already full of miserable minivans doing 40mph. We had a few fun moments but most of the time was spent dodging the diabolical potholes and the enormous pools of standing water.
This weekend we were up in Norfolk to
I took the FiL out for a quick hoon around dusk - the car was moving around a lot even in a straight line in 2nd (damp and cold) but we both enjoyed it!
Filthbag!
The plan had been to get up early the next day and do a Proper Drive by myself. A local PHer Rene Soufle had provided a nice route to try (thank you!). Sadly it was -4c with fog when I woke up so driving quickly was not on the cards.
In fact just driving was a bit of a stress! The tyres were not very happy with the ice. Our windscreen washers had frozen up too so by the time we made it to a motorway the dirty screen went from irritating to downright dangerous. So that's why you put that big warm engine at the FRONT of the car?! We stopped a couple of times to manually clear the screen and try to top the reservoir off with warmer water. It eventually came good but pretty annoying. I've got some mega strength anti-freeze wash coming this week, which should guarantee warm weather for the rest of winter.
And in other thrilling news, BBB thinks calling the car "Piglet" (Ferkel) is unkind so she's called him Fergal.
When we got back on Sunday afternoon I was happy to let him luxuriate in his salty filthy protective coating but BBB bullied me into getting the pressure washer out.Edited by seefarr on Monday 23 January 21:09
Long time since the last update and I'm sure everyone has been missing it!
Anyway, the weather warmed up a bit in February and as we got hit with a roasting 12c one Saturday, I decided I really needed to get that Proper Drive done. So out early and did the back way through to Sevenoaks. After 15 mins or so the oil was nice and toasty and I assumed the tyres would have some heat in them but the first vigorous attempt at a roundabout had me understeering towards the gutter.
Maybe we need more temp, so onwards for the M25 schlep, down the A22 and I'm trying a bit harder. Sadly I was getting the same results: early ABS intervention and understeer = sadness. I figured the tyres must be hating the temp or something and pushed on whilst driving within the limits. I got to the B2042 and picked up a 928 / 968 (hard to tell in the rear view mirror). We had a good little play and I hope I didn't hold him back too much - I think he knew the road and was taking chunks out of me on the corners I couldn't see but I was getting him on corner exit and the straights.
Next week I had a brain wave and belatedly checked the dates on the PZeroes: rears were 2021 but fronts were 2016 (!) and on closer inspection starting to crack around the corners. That'll be it! I remember checking the condition on the rears when I bought it but clearly not the fronts.
So a set of 4 X 20 inch Michelin PS4S at £1038 fitted. I didn't go for the Porsche specific (N-rated) ones as someone on the Internet said the N-rated ones weren't ideal for the 981 and Michelin rate the non-N-rated ones better wet weather grip.... and I live in an island stuck out in the North Sea. Both dry and wet grip seem loads better as you'd hope. It's also cleaned up some of the nervousness I'd felt at motorway speeds which is good.
Besides that it's been doing mostly normal car stuff - shopping runs and trips out to country pubs. We've filled it with beer in the boot to stock up a for a birthday and BBB took it out to the garden centre and vigorously tested the limits of the frunk capacity.
It had a low battery warning when I started it after a few weeks - I suspect it was the usb charger that I had in the armrest which had a little blue light on it so I've removed that when not in use and got a solar trickle charger. We've been away in FcknStraya! for a couple of weeks so we'll see if that's done the business next week when we're back.
Anyway, the weather warmed up a bit in February and as we got hit with a roasting 12c one Saturday, I decided I really needed to get that Proper Drive done. So out early and did the back way through to Sevenoaks. After 15 mins or so the oil was nice and toasty and I assumed the tyres would have some heat in them but the first vigorous attempt at a roundabout had me understeering towards the gutter.
Maybe we need more temp, so onwards for the M25 schlep, down the A22 and I'm trying a bit harder. Sadly I was getting the same results: early ABS intervention and understeer = sadness. I figured the tyres must be hating the temp or something and pushed on whilst driving within the limits. I got to the B2042 and picked up a 928 / 968 (hard to tell in the rear view mirror). We had a good little play and I hope I didn't hold him back too much - I think he knew the road and was taking chunks out of me on the corners I couldn't see but I was getting him on corner exit and the straights.
Next week I had a brain wave and belatedly checked the dates on the PZeroes: rears were 2021 but fronts were 2016 (!) and on closer inspection starting to crack around the corners. That'll be it! I remember checking the condition on the rears when I bought it but clearly not the fronts.
So a set of 4 X 20 inch Michelin PS4S at £1038 fitted. I didn't go for the Porsche specific (N-rated) ones as someone on the Internet said the N-rated ones weren't ideal for the 981 and Michelin rate the non-N-rated ones better wet weather grip.... and I live in an island stuck out in the North Sea. Both dry and wet grip seem loads better as you'd hope. It's also cleaned up some of the nervousness I'd felt at motorway speeds which is good.
Besides that it's been doing mostly normal car stuff - shopping runs and trips out to country pubs. We've filled it with beer in the boot to stock up a for a birthday and BBB took it out to the garden centre and vigorously tested the limits of the frunk capacity.
It had a low battery warning when I started it after a few weeks - I suspect it was the usb charger that I had in the armrest which had a little blue light on it so I've removed that when not in use and got a solar trickle charger. We've been away in FcknStraya! for a couple of weeks so we'll see if that's done the business next week when we're back.
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