Planned Upgrades

Hi All...I have a small list of upgrades I do plan on installing on my 2008 987.1 Cayman S (DE1), and I am curious about the idela "order" in which to install them: Fabspeed Porsche 987 Boxster / Cayman Maxflo True X-Pipe with Dual Tips (2005-2008) <-- shame in a way because I like the look of the fluted tips that came with the car 987.1 Cayman S 3.4L 74mm IPD Plenum ('06-'08) | Part #87174-3.4 Softronic Performance Tune Software The tune I think is the bigger question. I have never done a tune on any of my prevous cars, and unsure if this is done at the end of upgrades, or sequence doesn't matter? Based on internet figures, the above (3) upgrades would yield an approximate MAX increase of 42HP (8 + 20 + 14 in order above) and 34TQ (5 + 12 + 17 in order above)...don't shoot the messenger, just quoting figures from their respective sites.

I have same model. Softronic adds power and makes the engine drive in a much more linear and enjoyable power delivery. I blew up my engine and moving to a 3.8 big bore(long story/ big invoice!). In talking with Scott at Softtronic the tune reacts to exhaust , induction changes and maxes their impact. Will your Cayman be the fastest car in the world? Nope. But it will pull and sound awesome. What is a smile worth? Pull the trigger…..probably get north of 305-310hp.

I would first do the Softronic tune . I’ve been exceptionally pleased with mine. One of the benefits of Softronic is that it can dynamically take advantage of any subsequent changes. You don’t need to keep reprogramming the car as you add hardware. It’s also the best bang for the buck out of the three upgrades. I would recommend the exhaust second. The exhaust can transform a car. Yes, the power is great, but the visceral change in how the car feels to you body thru the vibrations and sounds makes it come alive. The last would be the intake. I’ve heard mixed reviews on doing the intake. The folks who say positive things about it mention that having a free breathing exhaust is critical for any benefit from the intake. I also read that there is a redesigned version which improves the power curve over the previous one. If you go this route, I’d be curious on your take. Good luck. If you are like me, you will enjoy the process as well as the end result.

Thanks for the insightful reply PorscheGreg...I had a hunch the tune might be the best place to start...especially since the 987.1 3.4L has that power dip around 3500rpm, and have read it will smooth it out. I agree one step at a time...will be nice to "observe" each stage, but also as finances become available of course.

I am doing improvements on my 981 and following that same sequence. I did the Cobb tune first and then cat back exhaust . Seems faster and sounds much better, did not check the performance yet. The Cobb unit has a 0-60 timer you can use. I’m going to do headers and intake next , but may do the intake and then the headers and retune each step. Headers and cat back exhaust are really expensive. Having Flat6 in Sanford, Florida doing all the work except for the first tune which I did myself. Good luck.

The real question is “ How fast do you want to get to the store for milk?” Most street activity is MORE than covered by the stock car and all systems.

Oh for sure, I hear you on the "how fast" do we really want (read: NEED) to go on street travel, LOL. I am not looking to track the car...just a more connected feel I guess. I will go step by step and I bet wil probably be tickled pink with just a tune. The stock on it's own already give me more smiles per gallon that expected (just the power dip at 3500rpm is noticeable).

If all he wants to do is get milk, he doesn’t need a Porsche at all. At the practical level all Porsches are a waste of money because the total cost of ownership on a per mile basis is very high. Even true for the Macan which is quite pricey for picking up milk compared to a RAV4 or something. It’s about the journey. And spending boatloads of funds to make the journey more fun is why a Porsche , as well as Porsche upgrades, are such a delightful way to squander money. 🤣

I have my Camry to get groceries and milk, LOL. That said, what's wrong with going for a milk run in a delightful car!

I'm with you. I take my Cayman out almost every Saturday morning on a grocery run. It's a great time to drive it because everyone else is asleep and I tend to wake up early whether I like it or not. It gets almost every mile I drive that's well suited to it leaving long interstate trips and awful traffic drives for other vehicles. What is the saying? Life's too short to drive boring cars.

Would also highly recommend having a competent someone look at your suspension and have a conversation with you concerning your intended use for the car.

Based on my car I'd say 20 HP is a more reasonable expectation. Most of it up high. Can't really feel much on the street but it can improve track times when you rev the wee out of it. The only mod that give a good midrange bump it headers

Well, since you asked……. if you are planning to do some track driving, you need to focus on the following in order, safety, longevity, and Performance. i’m shocked that nobody on this forum asked you what you’re planning to do with the car. It appears you plan to do DE events so I’m going to make that assumption. If all you are planning to do is street drive the car then Shore, go ahead and do any of those upgrades but none of those things are necessary for a track driven car. In terms of safety, brakes first. High-performance brake pads, high-performance brake fluid. Brake flush at the beginning of track season brake flush at the end of track season. You might even consider upgrading your rotors to slotted rotors from Sebro. in furtherance of safety, consider replacing your seats with Racing seat seats, a roll bar, and six point harnesses. You don’t have to do this, but think about it. in terms of longevity, before you start adding Performance parts to your car, make sure that your car can handle multiple hours on a race track. That means upgrading your cooling system, perhaps add a third radiator and a lower temperature thermostat. Add a power steering cooler. Consider using a motor sport AOS . And definitely get a deeper sump that holds more oil. Look, it’s a very simple analysis, if you blow up your motor, you end up with a very expensive paperweight. Spend money on longevity first so that all the money you spend on suspension components is not wasted. once you’ve addressed those items, then you can begin to move on to performance items. Things like you described before plus suspension upgrades. You definitely need to get track tires and a track alignment done in order to maximize grip at the track. I could go on and on, but I think I’ve made my point. Figure out how you plan to use the car first then you can decide what performance enhancement you need to make. But most important, understand that these cars are quite capable on the track already. And what you want to do is make sure that you don’t screw things up. R

If you get the Softronics tune, get the race plenum pkg (might be called something different now). It's the tune, 996 alum plenum and a 80mm or 82mm throttle body. Scott of Softronics will tell you that for a 987.1 (non DFI) the 80mm TB is plenty whereas the 987.2 (DFI) can handle the 82mm TB. Get sport headers (with 200 cell cats) or better yet catless headers if smog legal isn't an issue.

Hi Kyle, I have a '15 981S 3.4L and started "upgrades" with a similar list. Kline headers , Borla cat-back exhaust , IPD plenum , and FVD Brombacher tune. All this done together, the result was stunning. One caution: the Borla exhaust is LOUD, and removes the Porsche engineered DRONE reduction. My wife hates it, so beware. I've also completed the GT4 exterior changes, all except the outside mirrors. No more front end lift at speed, so safer and the look is, well, like a GT4 and no longer sounds like an electric car. BTW, that IPD plenum was a PITA to install. I could not find a shop that would do it, so this (then) 75 y.o. crawled into the back and DIY along with installing BMC air filters . I would be remiss not to mention the DIY. Many shops will not do this kind of work. One shop told me I would get CELs (check engine) with my 100 cel cats etc. - I've gotten none in 2 years. All shops want to order the parts. It took me about 6 months to assemble all parts, mix of Porsche and after-market (thank you Design911, Guidon Porsche Las Vegas, FCP Euro , Eurospares, etc) - lots of fun, but I caught an ear-full from the shop owner who completed the GT4 look and changed the radiators to CSF (all 3 front). Cooling can be an issue with stock radiators (I was getting oil temps in the 250s with outside temp 72 - much lower now with the 3rd radiator and all CSF). As mentioned by others, stock brakes are great on these cars for light canyon work, but if you want to track or Nurburgring or Dragon Tail in a spirited fashion, you might want brake and suspension upgrades as well. Enjoy!

Opps my mistake, not listing the intended use of the car. 100% daily in the summer months only (April to November-ish) and not intending to track the car. There may be a chacne I try it on the track once or twice, but not looking to venture in to normal tracks days. List of upgrades purely to help with a more enhanced driving experince (seat of pants feeling and smiles), and not at all worried about lap times, 0-60 times, or drag racing from light to light. Aisde from upgrades, my biggest worry is oil...and how to prevent the whole bore scoring issue. Tons of literature to read on this, and debating whether to swtich from LM Leichtlauf high tech 5w-40 to Driven DT40. Debate is still real.

Street use only, as a daily in summer months only. No intention of tracking the car (competively anyway). But 100% understand what you're saying about suspension as it would greatly enhance perofrmance on a track.

[Image-only or quote-only post; no author-written text.]

I have a 2008 Cayman S with a TPC turbo, about 400 hp, and Ohlin suspension. Quick and nimble.

I had a bespoke tune rather than an off-the-shelf package, perhaps it varies between the two but they recommended other mods are done first before the software is looked at, as each mod will influence what an optimal tune would look like i.e. a better breathing engine will handle a different tune to a standard breathing engine, if that makes sense! I certainly noticed a difference with mid range surge/talk, and smoothed out a hesitation zone when progressing through the upper rev range. May have improved cruise economy just a little, but this is very much a non-scientific opinion! I did throw the car on a couple of Dani's afterwards, and both came back with 305 to 310 HP at the wheels.... apparently there is a bit of variation across stock engines.

I’d recommend exhaust and the tune, but not the intake, after speaking with someone at Softronic . He said you’re going to get 370ish crank hp with stage 2 tune and headers and that’s about it. Any gains with a plenum would be negligible and not felt by the seat of your pants. I would recommend a “touring” exhaust . My Soul Performance is loud and drones. It does sound amazing though. Just a bit too much cruising around town. I installed the X73 suspension and it does handle great but is very stiff on anything but good roads. My 981 came loaded with options but had the base suspension. Leaned too much. Perhaps coilovers if you don’t mind the cost. The X73 kit was only ~1,800 plus an alignment. Quite a job to do yourself though so it’ll be a good bit of coin to have a shop install it. Just my two cents. I have had mine almost five years and it just keeps getting better. Amazing cars.

Thanks for this! I have heard mixed feelings about the plenum and it's actual "effects" on the engine. I will likely start with the tune and see about adding an exhaust , whether cat-back or just x-pipe at the tail. Again, not looking to track it, or anything crazy...just fill in the loose ends a bit within reason. I didn't think a stage 2 tune was avaialable for the 987.1 ?