987.2 Cayman PDK track upgrades - Page 2 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

I’m going to be picking up my first Porsche in a week which is a 987.2 Cayman PDK with PASM, sport chrono, PSE etc It is approaching 80k miles however has been well maintained through the Porsche main dealer network and on warranty. I chose a slightly higher miles car as I will be doing as many track days as possible, time limiting this should be 7-8 this year. Spa booked in March which I need to prep the car for. I’ve spoken to a well renowned specialist who has advised a Wavetrac LSD, Girodiscs, RS29’s, GT3 MC, lines + fluid and alignment. I like the idea of an LSD, the brakes however are pricey. Are girodiscs worth it? Anything else I should be considering? The current tyres are 19” Goodyear Eagle F1s.

Enjoy they are great fun on track! I have a 987.2 track car similar spec but without PASM. I have changed all suspension arms, fitted coilovers, bigger anti roll bars, Inlet plenum, throttle body, remap, manifolds & exhaust, GT3 MC, lines. Pretty much most off the shelf upgrades. Its been built for endurance racing next year so adding all the options! LSD- Your biggest issue here will be cooling, the PDK can overheat and go into limp mode, its made worse by adding a LSD as this generates more heat. If you haven't got a factory LSD gearbox you will have to add Diff/gear cooling. BGB motorsports in states do a kit for this. If you have a factory LSD box you may be able to get away without a cooler. Giro disc- wouldn't bother for just TDs. Just do fluid (Castrol SRF), GT3 MC, Lines, RS29's front/rear & GT3 brake ducts. Rear ducts have to be cut slightly to fit but will work. The GT3 MC buy the TRW one. TRW build and supply it to Porsche and they then up the price. TRW part number is PMN166 If only used for TD would look at some semi slick tyres, personally run 18" Trofeo R.

Great input there Pothole, I had no idea regarding the different gearbox sizes. Do you run an LSD in yours and do you feel like they need one? What brake rotors would you advice as replacements? The ones on the car are coming up to 12k miles old and slight inner face corrosion as noted by Porsche at its last inspection. (Out of interest I thought I remembered your username and realised that you used to run an MR2 MK3 which I also have.)

No worries, I didn't either till started researching the LSD options! I am going to be running a LSD at some point this year, the guys who race Cayman's in States swear by them, after testing different ones in the MR2 I also swear by them! I'm likely going to be running a Guard LSD and cooler. I have a non LSD box so cooling is a must. Only reason I'm choosing Guard over Wavetrac is they have been used in PDK race cars in US without issues, where as Wavetrac are a bit of an unknown in a PDK for racing. Currently have standard discs and they work fine for TD use, the face corrosion is a common issue with drilled discs, after some heavy braking they clear. I did have the MR2 Roadster, sold it early last year. It was a shame to let it go but it couldn't keep up with the competition anymore without a lot of custom development so have moved to the Cayman as its the perfect base. Is your MR2 for road or track?

I have a PDK cayman R which is by no means a dedicated track car but has done the odd day. I'd highly recommend Giro discs with a pad upgrade and cooling ducts. GT3 MC will help with pedal travel. Go for a more aggressive geo and add GT3 split arms for more camber if you desire. One annoyance I find is the TC cannot be fully disengaged only the ESP. It can make the car a little unpredictable and wears the rear brakes but overall it's great fun.

Babw said: Great input there Pothole, I had no idea regarding the different gearbox sizes. Do you run an LSD in yours and do you feel like they need one? What brake rotors would you advice as replacements? The ones on the car are coming up to 12k miles old and slight inner face corrosion as noted by Porsche at its last inspection. (Out of interest I thought I remembered your username and realised that you used to run an MR2 MK3 which I also have.) More can be found on the CR PDK overheating issues here : https://rennlist.com/forums/porsche-cayman-and-cay... I'd go Guard Transmissions (GT) if planning heavy track use, they're about as good as it gets.

Quite worrying reading if I’m to be honest and quite tempted to get the car on track with an open diff to see how it handles first. I don’t want to create a track/race car but a road car that will handle the increased workload of tracks such as Spa/Ring without major issues. I won’t be going coilovers, slicks etc as I’m not chasing lap times but coming from front engine rear drive cars I expected an LSD to improve things. It’s Ninemeister who advised the above upgrades and they mentioned they had installed Wavetracs on a number of 987 PDKs without major issues, one being an R that gets regular track work.

Babw said: I’ve spoken to a well renowned specialist who has advised a Wavetrac LSD, Girodiscs, RS29’s, GT3 MC, lines + fluid and alignment. This sounds like a good start, especially the Girodiscs as the RS29 pads will probably crack/overheat the standard rotors. I'm not convinced about the LSD though, I never found the 987 needing one, even in the wet. Having said that, yours is PDK with shorter ratios compared to the manual (I think) so it might work the rear end more. I'd be tempted to try it without and see how you get on.

I fitted a Wavetrac LSD in my manual 987.2 and whilst not night and day different you can definitely tell when it's doing it 's job and on a manual car seemed to take the slack out of the drivetrain and improved throttle response. I do prefer it but that's not to say the car was bad without it on track. The one thing I would do for track and considering your car has done 80,000 miles is fit a new engine mount and perhaps gearbox mounts. I used the Function first yellow engine mount on mine, they tighten everything up without having too much increase in NVH. http://www.function-first.com/products/engine-tran... http://www.function-first.com/products/engine-tran... Brakes others have covered, eventually I will go Girodisc also. I have Michelin PS4s which are superb on a wet track and still pretty good in the dry and roadable all year round, but I'd buy Cup 2's if it were more track car than road. Edited by Rocket. on Friday 21st February 17:45

You need bigger disks 100% and GT3 type Lower control arms and adjustable rear low links minimum. Other wise you will just get brake fade and wear tyres at rates which are daft. MC is a mask for over heating brakes, if you fix the brakes you don’t need a GT3 MC , that’s a forum sheep thing. You need modulation on the brake pedal to avoid ice mode which is a pitter on this model, so learning the threshold brake is also key. Cayman R rear arb also a nice cheap upgrade. Edited by Porsche911R on Friday 21st February 19:00

sounds like you should skip the LSD. I'm also keen on a 987S with PDK for track work. If heat is the enemy then I think the focus should be solely on suspension and brakes plus removing surplus weight. I'd look at AP/Alcon/stoptech to provide upgraded brakes. switch to 18 " rims, ohlins/intrax/kw for suspension + roll bars and toe-links and decent lightweight seats plus harnesses before even thinking about LSD or power of any kind. At 10 years old, the radiators and condensers prolly need checking too.

Interesting that Ninemeister advised with stock suspension running stock dampers, it would be unnecessary to have adjustable lower arms and tyre wear would not be an issue on track with a more track orientated geo setup. They also advised the GT3 MC for a more positive pedal feel so quite contradictory to your findings 911R. The LSD and Girodiscs are what I need to decide over. I’ve almost convinced myself that I need those as my other sporty cars have aggressive diffs and aftermarket brake kits which have improved the sportiness considerably. I’m not looking for an out and out track car so no plans for buckets, track spec tyres etc Edited by Babw on Friday 21st February 21:14

Babw said: Interesting that Ninemeister advised with stock suspension running stock dampers, it would be unnecessary to have adjustable lower arms and tyre wear would not be an issue on track with a more track orientated geo setup. They also advised the GT3 MC for a more positive pedal feel so quite contradictory to your findings 911R. The LSD and Girodiscs are what I need to decide over. I’ve almost convinced myself that I need those as my other sporty cars have aggressive diffs and aftermarket brake kits which have improved the sportiness considerably. completely depends on how hardcore you are and how you drive. The factory plus setup suggested by ninemeister will be enough for 90% of drivers but if you continually rag the car and if you drive it hard, it won't be.

sounds like you answered your own question. just have a good geo. max out factory camber. put on a good set of tyres. some decent pads and girodisc. forget the lsd. LESS understeer without the LSD anyway.

Was an LSD ever an option on the 987.2 S? It’s standard on an R so I would have thought so. The GT3 MC won’t make you stop faster it just changes the brake pedal feel.

I think the R was the first time it was available on the Cayman. Don’t think it was an option for any other 987. It then didn’t make a return until the 981 GTS included with PTV, at which point it then became an option for S as well. I think..... but happy to be corrected.

HokumPokum said: sounds like you answered your own question. just have a good geo. max out factory camber. put on a good set of tyres. some decent pads and girodisc. forget the lsd. LESS understeer without the LSD anyway. Wavetrac is a torque bias diff it doesn't make the car understeer like a plated diff.

Babw said: Interesting that Ninemeister advised with stock suspension running stock dampers, it would be unnecessary to have adjustable lower arms and tyre wear would not be an issue on track with a more track orientated geo setup. They also advised the GT3 MC for a more positive pedal feel so quite contradictory to your findings 911R. ] Stick to that then. ;-)

Has anyone experienced any overheating on track whether engine or diff/gearbox? Reading some of the American forums, it seems to be a regular occurrence however their ambient temps will be higher.

I just stuck a set of ohlins coils on my 987.2. Car is nothing short of amazing. Each individual click makes a difference. Just getting into track work now and only negative is that after a wet day lapping at Silverstone, the outer edge of the tyre is now virtually bald. Michelin ps2. This is with max camber at the front. As said I would go with a suspension refresh first. Top mounts, bushes and a nice geo. See how you get on and go from there. At 80k a lot will be sloppy, so best to feel your way through imo. My next mods will be rear toe links and GT3 Lowe arms with geo redone. Simple cheaper mods like gt3 ducts and fluid etc will come after I’ve started to max out my current abilities and go from there. Lovely balanced car though. Not at all scary to drive hard in the soaking rain on the track.

Suspension wise I’m going to go with a DSC Sport controller for the oem active dampers, I’ve got the same setup on my GTR and it transformed the breadth of the suspension ability plus ability to upload custom maps to the suspension controller. I always thought tyre shoulder wear was due to toe (toe in inside wear and toe out outside wear) rather than a camber issue? I’ve spoken to a 987.2 PDK owner who runs a Wavetrac with very good results so I’m still tempted.

To update this, I went and had the following carried out on the car at Ninemeister in Warrington. Wavetrac diff PDK service and oil change Girodisc, ti shims, RS29 pads, Goodridge lines and new fluid GT3 master cylinder New control arms (stock) with track biased geo The car is transformed to be honest. The diff has made the car more composed and predictable, this maybe because I am used to driving cars with an LSD and my driving style is accustom to this but I feel fare more comfortable pushing the car than I did before. The GT3 MC has reduced the travel of the brake pedal, when I drive PDK/DCT type cars I only left foot brake so again it suits my driving style. With a manual I expect the lack of travel or the now large discrepancy between brake - throttle would make heel toeing more difficult. I've also ordered a DSC sport controller to see what the stock suspension is capable of as I have had very good results with one on my GTR. The car is a joy to drive and although over 30% of the purchase cost of the car, the upgrades are a welcome addition.

Nice work getting all the upgrades done! Any track time booked in to test them? Be interested to hear any feedback with the Wavetrac diff after some track time.

Pothole Racing said: Nice work getting all the upgrades done! Any track time booked in to test them? Be interested to hear any feedback with the Wavetrac diff after some track time. With the current climate I'm not jumping at any track days but I do have a couple of Circuit days credits I need to use up so hopefully in the near future. Will report back after more use but the diff has really improved the rear end of the car IMO.

Hi Babw, just checking in on your LSD PDK install. Wanted to know if your workshop had any difficulty swapping out the bearing on the original differential without damaging it? Did they use any unique tool to do so? Also Wondering if you have had any gearbox heat issues with the new LSD fitted. Thanks