These are some of my experiences with my
987.2 Cayman S
in the first 2 weeks of owning it. Having never owned a
Porsche
or a mid-engine car I ran into some quirks and things I didn’t experience with other cars.
All of these things have been discussed in these forums; however, you might not see them until you run into an issue. I think that it would be helpful to other first timers to know about them ahead of time, as it would have been to me.
I hope others will make additions they think would be helpful. Some of these may not pertain to you, depending on the model. Edit to add – I was exploring this site and found this very helpful as well -
Cayman Indiosyncrasies | Planet-9 Porsche Forum
Smog Checks – I found most smog shops won’t touch a mid-engine car, as they don’t have easy access to view the engine. In California they are required to visually inspect/verify all required emission equipment is there and could fail you if you have non-stock stuff, even if it doesn’t affect smog/emissions. This could include a software tune/change to the ECU.
What do you do? Search the forums for other owners' experiences. Laws have changed over the years and will probably keep changing. A few options;
Ask your local club members where they go. One person told me he removes the engine cover and drives to a specific shop. Club members are also a good resource for shops that don't flag your car for aftermarket equipment that doesn't affect emissions (i.e. cat-back exhaust).
Google search for smog shops that do Porsche or mid-engine cars
Call smog shops and ask before you go to one. I went to several shops and was turned away. I called a few and was repeatedly told no, until I found a shop that specializes in these cars.
Take it to the dealer, if they do smog. It will cost more (it is Porsche), but it’s an alternative if you have no other options.
Loud engine cooling fan – the passenger side vent (between the door and the rear wheel) has a fan that can turn on at any point,
even when the car is off
, to cool the engine. It is loud. I jumped a bit the first time it went on. It is normal.
The temperature gauge isn’t really a gauge. It starts at zero when the engine is cold, but when it warms up it hits 175 º F and just stays there. The actual coolant temperature could be anywhere higher or lower but will only show 175F. The stock thermostat is a 205º.
There is no oil dipstick. The oil level is measured and shown on a display on the tach gauge. The process is to have the car warmed up and running, sitting on a flat, level surface. Once you initiate the process, it takes a minute or so to register. If your used to checking oil with a dipstick, this is a bit unnerving.
You add oil and coolant to the engine from inside the car, via a small hatch in the back.
Air compressor – In the frunk there is an air compressor you can use to fill your tires. Use the cigarette lighter socket to power it. I’ve read if you connected it to the other 12V adapter it will blow your fuse.
The key/ignition is on the dash left of the steering wheel, and can’t be seen (in my case at least) while in a driving position. I’m not used to it and still make the motion of putting the key in the ignition with my right hand when I first get in.
Closing the rear hatch takes enough force that you have to push it closed, rather than swinging it down and having it close from the momentum. I have a black car and leave finger/hand prints on it when I push it down. However, if you crack open the drivers (or passenger) door or window, it closes with ease. Reach inside the hatch on the inside and there’s an opening to grab and pull down. You don’t need much more than the force of gravity and it will close without having to touch the exterior paint. An automated way to solve this problem is given in the next bullet point.
You can buy a tool that plugs into your OBDII port that allows you to do various things, like resetting the oil change light. Good for those who like to DIY. Some tools let you code, meaning you can activate or change things on your car. One of those things you can do is automatically make the driver, passenger or both windows go down slightly when the rear hatch is opened, then go back up when the hatch is closed. This would solve the problem mentioned above. Alas, I haven’t seen a way to do the same for the frunk, which also requires a firm hand to close. I push down on the Porsche badge to minimize fingerprints.
Tip for closing the back hatch. Load the little cubby behind the driver seat with microfibers.
Before you close it grab a microfiber.
Leave the cubby open. Leave the door open so it actually closes without slamming. Close the hatch. Wipe the hand smudge off. If any.
Tuck the towel back in the cubby and climb in.
Enjoy your black car
Remember. You don’t own a black car. IT OWNS YOU!!!!
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A few additions/annotations on different models....
BTW: Gotta love someone who knows how to create an unordered list INSIDE an unordered list posting..
next
thing you know, we'll be doing numbered paragraphs
:
The temperature gauge (analog idiot light) can indicate 175F with the engine only at 145F for real. I guess they figured that's warm enough to not damage anything by using the engine's full potential. The oil will be about 20-25F behind in temperature, depending on if the car has been run that day (the oil takes a long time to cool down..)
Porsche doesn't believe in owners slamming parts of their cars together to close openings. It's just a Porsche thing. Be careful pushing the frunk lid shut - it's aluminum and can be dented. I use the flats of my palm to push it shut on the Porsche emblem. I own a white Porsche - because of the reasons you're avoiding touching the paint on a black one (and other reasons - like it's faster..)
Checking the oil - Porsche likes to make this different on different models/engines. No idea why - they just do, I guess they're seeking perfection or something. On the earlier 987.1 - oil is checked after the engine temperature reaches an adequate temperature (90C) without the engine running. 987.2 as you mentioned - does it with the engine running.
Lol. I wrote it in Word then copy/pasted it in. What a mess it turned into! I'm not used to this forum functions and it took me a while to get it halfway readable.
I live in California and did my first smog just a few weeks ago with this car. I called ahead and made sure that the guy doing the checks was willing to do a Porsche (specifically mentioning it was a mid-engine) and he was OK with it as long as you make it easy for him.
What that means for him is that the engine cover should be fully exposed, he should be able to read the label on the engine cover and also be able to visually inspect the engine bay for any obvious signs of modifications.
What that means for
you
is that you'll need to spend about half an hour taking apart the trim, undoing the bolts, and moving things aside such that the engine cover is completely prepped and ready for easy removal. I left 2 of the T30 bolts in simply to hold it in place, but only tightened them barely hand tight. This will all be done before you go to the smog place. I pack a small step stool in the trunk so I can easily climb in to remove the engine cover once it's my turn to do the smog check.
I sympathize with the guy though, he basically works from open till close non-stop doing smog checks one after another so if your car takes a bunch of time to remove the trim / cover / etc, he's just taking extra time per car and certainly not getting any more money from you.
Long story short, it seems OK if you prepare everything beforehand. On another note, I had to do this same stuff with the vehicle verification at the DMV because they need to check the information on the engine cover.
Let's just say you end up getting pretty fast with this whole rigamarole after a couple times
LOL I got super lucky when I did my smog check (like the day after I got the car): I'd totally forgotten about the whole business of them having to clip to the
spark plug
wire (to get the RPM) and inspect the emissions hardware (to make sure it was there), and after the car and I went to AAA to start on the registration, they recommended a smog place a mile away, and it was like a half hour 'til closing, so of course I was all concerned about getting there before they closed and wasn't thinking
at all
about little details like "How the heck do you even
get to the engine
on this thing" (me: doh/n00b/shrug). Fortunately, the guy was able to look it up and/or figure it out and all went well.
Obligatory recommendation: Hesperian ARCO Smog Pros in San Lorenzo CA, $38.20 (IMO a good deal).
