Cayman vs 911 ride quality

Please excuse the new thread, I read several 911 v cayman threads that did not address this issue but rather focused on handling, track performance, value, etc. I have a base 981 Cayman 6MT. I love the car. It looks amazing, sounds great, turns heads and is a lot of fun to drive. I use it mostly to drive around town when the weather is not abysmal. The roads in Northeast Ohio (go cavs!) are bad. Sometimes, driving around this area in a car with a stiff suspension and 20" wheels feels like perpetually driving over rumble strips. The sensation can be unpleasant and I've gotten out of the car after a longer drive actually feeling sore. I try to memorize which routes take me down smoother roads with some success. Without inviting the ire of the 911 drivers of this forum, I recently read an article suggesting that, compared to the cayman , the 911 has turned into a touring car. This made me wonder if the ride quality of a 911 isn't better. I've never driven a 911 and would like the input of our readers, especially those who have owned and driven caymans and 911s for extended periods. Does the 911 offer the fantastic look and feel of driving a Porsche with a softer ride than the cayman or is this wishful thinking? Cheers

The ride quality of the 991 and 981 is virtually the same.

Funny the OP should ask that because I just traded in a non- PASM BS for a new 991.2. The ride quality in my Boxster was fine to me with the 19s. Stiff but fine. The 991.2 I drove, rode slightly better with 20 inch wheels probably because of PASM . In the new 911 , it is supposed to tuned a little softer than the first gen 991. But not a huge difference. I think the more open cabin of the 911 gave me the feeling of a touring car than my Boxster with the top up.

Never believe everything you read, Lots of conformation bias. You need to compare apples to apples. What is your suspension? And you can't compare numbers between cars either but here is some kind of comparison on spring rates AFAIK: 981 steel (25nm and 38nm) 981 pasm (28 and 44) 981 x73 (30 and 47) GT4 (45 and 80) Obviously a GT4 is much stiffer sprung that a Steel 981 and significantly more than X73. Here is the 991.1 991 Spring Rates 991 Steel (24nm and 48nm) 991S PASM (28 and 62) 991S SPASM (33 and 108) I cannot speak about a 981 but from a Steel 987CS to a SPASM 991S, the difference is night and day, To my butt, with SPASM on, you know it and, I can agree its unusable on urban roads if you care about your butt. So yes, this fairy tale about 911 being a touring car is more about size and having a tiny rear seat with no leg room than actual data (IMO). OTH, a steel suspension might be a lot softer. Compare apples with apples.

I can compare a 2016 Cayman S with standard suspension (no upgrades) to a 2017 Carrera S with standard PASM. When in standard mode set in the Carrera, the ride is MUCH softer and well damped in the 991.2. When stiff mode is selected in the 991.2, the ride quality is identical to my butt as the Cayman S. I recently traded my Cayman for the Carrera and immediately drove the Carrera to Austin, TX from California. A 4000 mile trip in total. The Carrera was so comfortable and not at all fatiguing on that trip.

Your post brings to mind that you just can't make a generalization about the ride quality of a 981 vs 991 since there are so many iterations. For example there's no doubt that a GT4 will not have the ride quality of a base 991. My last 911 was a 997S with sports suspension. My 981 S with PASM provides a much more comfortable ride than did my 997S. If the identical configurations of each model are compared, I expect that the ride quality of each car will be very similar.

For me, the smaller cabin of the Boxster really amplified the noise and claustrophobia when I drove the car with the top up. The car seemed to have a Jekyll & Hyde peronality as I mentioned in a separate thread. Top down, the ride felt softer which obviously can't be true. Top up, it felt like a penalty box. A stiff ride and noisy cabin with the SE. More to do with my perception than reality. It really seems to depend upon what you can tolerate and/or enjoy. I really liked the much more open feeling I perceived in the 911 with the glass sunroof and having those tiny backseats added to the sense of space.

I think there are too many variables to make a definitive statement about Cayman vs. 911 ride quality. In addition to what Chows and fast1 have said, even if vehicles are equipped the same there are additional variables to consider: Tires on the vehicles, their age and PSI Weight of driver and passenger(s) Temperature (air and road surface) The road itself Alignment specs Fuel load When I had both a 911 and a Cayman , I would often go back and forth from one to the other a few times in a week. (These were a 987.2 and a 997.2 . The situation may or may not be entirely different comparing 981 to 991.1 and 982 to 991.2.) After 4 years, I can't say that one or the other had better ride quality; some days, on some road surfaces I'd favor the 911 while other days it would be the Cayman . The one thing I can state definitively is that "for me" the 911 is a better road trip tool as you have access while moving to stuff in the back seat area, and with my 60+ hearing (loss in the high frequency range, but "the hearing of a 5-year-old" in the lower ranges according to my audiologist) less annoying low-frequency cabin noise makes it to my ears in a 911 compared to a Cayman . Cabin noise, in my view, can color perceptions about ride quality; quieter cars are generally perceived as being more comfort and luxury oriented.

2013 Boxster with PASM 19". 2017 C4S 20", PASM standard. No quantitative difference in ride with the standard 20" or my 19" Winter wheel/tire on the C4S If you are coming from a 981C without PASM , better with the 991.2. Remember that the 981 wheel base is shorter than the 911 . Either vehicle on short choppy road features will be harsh and there is nothing you can do about it! PASM or not. The 991.2 has a much higher road noise than my Boxster even with the 19". (Bigger tires) But on an Interstate, the 991.2 cruises like a Cadillac. Cayman is much noiser in the cabin than a 911 because the Cayman cabin encloses the 981 engine. I drove one and the drone was awful. No way I would purchase one.-Richard

I traded my 2016 Cayman GTS for a 2017 911S . The cayman was beautiful and nimble but the drone sound on the highway was too much for me. When comparing the ride between the two cars, I find the ride quality better in the 911 . The 2017 911 seems more nimble than my previous 2006 and 2013 911 's although they were cabs where my 2017 is not. The new 911 feels lighter. The low end torque even in the 911 non S is much more satisfying then I had with the Cayman and previous 911 's.

That's a result of the turbocharger. I expect that if you drive a 718S, you'll find that it has an equal amount of low end torque as a 991.2.

The new 911 I drove had a better ride than my ex BS without PASM . PASM is a very good option, now standard in all the 911s . I would certainly opt for it in the Boxster / Cayman if I had to do it again. There are many things I learnt from my Boxster experience which helped me pick options on the 911 including colors.