Is getting 3.8 L w X51 worth the money and effort?

I am just curious about this option as I am currently exploring it. I amcurrently consideringin getting a 3.8 L conversion laterdown the roadas I am getting familiar with Cayman over time. Now I know I just ordered my Cayman S at dealer, but it hasn't been built yet, so I can change my order. The question is this Should Iorder a base cayman now and keep it as is until the OEM warranty is over (4 years), then get the conversion (in the mean time, I am going to get familiar with the car, handling, etc as it's practically the same)? Or should I order Cayman S and forget about it (meaning I will not do the conversion)? If I order the base cayman, the only option that differ from my Cayman S (besides the usual cosmetic stuff i.e xenon, etc)is the 6 speed + PASM ($2500, i think, since they dont have a standalone 6 speed option, otherwise i would get the 6 speed minus PASM ) that I am getting with the base to make it same as the S, which slash theprice difference between base and S to about $6000. I know the conversion costs like a new Honda Accord (like $25k+, i think), however I am curious if it's worth the price as I can get a brand new car for that. When you do conversion, do they take the OEM engine?Or we canjunk it (another extra $ for us)?When they quote the price ($25k+), that price is the same regardless of the engine you have in your car (2.7 or 3.4 L), right? So bottom line question is this Is 3.8 L w X51 really worth the money as if you see, I m going to end up putting more $ in the base later on?Willyou pay over $20k+ for the difference in performancebetween 3.8 w X51 and 3.4 L (basically it's $25k+minus the $6000 that I save earlier to order the base Cayman instead of S)? I don't like changing cars, as I am getting attached to it, so I want to keep it as long as I can. Maybe down the road there will be an even better engine (think the 997 GT3 can fit the Cayman chassis)? Just want to see what people say here. Thanks. Edited by - gameson on 09/09/2006 09:05:01 AM

Gameson, in my opinion you should just stick with your ordered CS. You would not be happy in a base cayman @ only 245 hp. Think about it. Do you honestly think you can wait it out over a 4 year period to 'get familiar with the car'? Doubt it. Although admittedly I'm a noob with the Cayman I'd be skeptical about this conversion plan to a 3.8L.

Personally, I think if you have to ask the question 'is it worth it?' means you really don't have any reason to do the conversion aside from the fact that you can. Honestly, have you stopped and thought about exactly WHY you want to install such a powerful engine? Are you planning to race the car on a track? If it's just so you can show off to people, well, that's a pretty expensive way to buy yourself some bragging rights. Whether the conversion is worth it or not is entirely dependent on the buyer. It will be for some, and not for others. Edited by - Interpol on 09/09/2006 09:04:19 AM

I am planning to learn how to track and race (that's why I am getting Cayman), if not, I would be happy with 3 series coupe as daily driver. The price quote ( $25k+ ) is just a ballpark figure from 6speedonline.com when someone convert their 02 boxster to the 3.8L. Edited by - gameson on 09/09/2006 09:09:37 AM

If you're just 'planning to learn how to to track and race', then you've got plenty of time and you don't need to worry about whether or not a 3.8L upgrade is worth it. Wait 3-4 years while learning with the stock 3.4L engine and then decide. In other words, I don't think the upgrade is worth it for you. At least, not yet.

I've never understood why some people spend so much money chasing horsepower. Porsches are not about horsepower! If you wanted that you should have bought a Z06 Corvette. Enjoy the car for its core competencies - handling and braking. Won't 0-60 in 5.0 make you happy enough? Put the money in your retirement account instead.

One of the sponsors Orton Performance does the convertion. They are in Georgia. The question if it is worth it that is a harder question. I decided to go K-Man S route with a Miltek headers, & exhaust an EVo air intake and a GIAC flash.This would put me on par or very close to a 997S for a lot less money. For everyday driving you will not miss the extra horsepower compared to the Mitek/EVO/GIAC. For the track you will, but remember the driver becomes more important than the car. With equal drivers you will definetely notice. For me no, I am no expert. I rather spend the money on track days, tires and brakes, you will need them if you track the car. http://www.ortonusa.com/porsche/caymansengine380.html R380 380hp 997 3.8Ltr Engine Reprogrammed Bosch Motronic ECU Upgraded Clutch Sport Headers with 100 Cell Catalysts Air Intake BMC Air Filter Price $21,200 inc Instalation The Orton R 380 3.8 S conversion transforms your Cayman S into a real 'Street-Fighter'. We install an original, brand-new Carrera 997 S 3.8 engine into your car in exchange of the original. We use a custom-made Header & Exhaust System bringing the Power up to 380hp.Every effort was made to keep as many OEM components as possible during installation. The conversion is very dealer friendly and can be serviced by your Local Porsche dealer .Guaranteed not to have any engine check lights as our maiden conversion was undetectable by a Porsche PST 3 scan tool.

Are there any numbers posted anywhere on this conversion? Dyno graphs, 0-60mph, 1/4 mile, etc.? Just curious.

If you want to track now then why not get a used track 911 car. You can find plenty of these for sale. If you want to do street and occasional track then the CS is the way to go. As many have said, driver skills is what makes the car fast around the track. A modified cayman will not be worth much in resale. However, this may not be important to you. If you want to do all the mods then why not buy a depreciated CS in about a year and fix it up to your liking. I would not destroy the resale of a new car unless you plan to keep forever.

You will never get your money out of the 3.8 mod. You will also never get the power from the less expesive mods that the 3.8 will deliver. I had thought about doing this too, but realized that it would be foolish to buy a new car with a warranteed engine and immediately swap it out. The only reason you are seeing this a lot of this (or at least talk of it) is that the car is new, there aren't used ones with 80k+ on them where a new engine would make sense. If you bought a 911 your power upgrade is available from the factory. (I know, I know, you can still push the turbo's power above 600hp). In 4 years the landscape will look different. If you buy a base car with your grand plan being to swap engines down the road, it will make for 4 years of driving a nice, but lesser car, then a decision of whether to dump $30k into a car that may only be worth $30k. By that time ther may be a Cayman GT3 or turbo. Certainly there will be a 380 hp (or more) option. It probably wont cost you that much more to trade your Cayman S in on one of these new models and have the factory version, than to do an engine upgrade that will be nice, but less nice than a new Cayman, There will probably be a few nick and dings that you will be happy to trade away for that new car feeling. You will not be disappointed with your "S", I'd stick with it.

I am planning to learn how to track and race (that's why I am getting Cayman), if not, I would be happy with 3 series coupe as daily driver. _______________ i dont think you have done much research. if you want to learn how to drive, buy a car with less hp, the less the better. slow car FORCES you to learn. fast cars make you lazy. we got plenty of SM drivers in CA who can post faster times than CS or some GT3's for that matter. it's the driver, nothing to do with cars. if you want to race, what club, venue, sanction body are you planning to run with. a 3.8L cayman will not fit into any class. unless you are running unlimited class. in those cases, a 3.8L cayman has no chance as most cars in that class are modded up to wazoo, nothing under $150k has a chance of winning.

My suggestion is to keep your order and go buy a 944 spec racer (under $10K complete) and learn how to race with that car. If you have never raced before...You do not want to start with such an expensive car. Baby steps, Baby steps.

thank your allfor all the opinion. after reading responses, I decided to keep my 07 CS order and learn from there. I learn a lot from this forum, i can't wait when we actually meet during the track course. as far as racing, i'll probably gonna gowith the stock class, that's where the driver matters as all cars are in stock form.

If you want to learn how to race, the 944 will break the bank when you get competitive with it. Try Spec E30 racing. It is a slower car; which is what you want when you start, and it will cost you around $10,000-$15,000 to build a complete car including all your safety equipment, buying the car itself, and your wearable gear (including Hans). Many of the old 944 racers in my area switched to the Spec E30 for two reasons: 1. Costs - they were spending money between every race to fix things. In two race seasons nobody has spent more than a set of tires with the Spec E30's. 2. Reliability - every race someone broke something in the 944 that stopped him from completing the race. In two race seasons, not a sole has been stranded for mechanical reasons. Learning should be done in a slower car. If you start off in a more powerful car, you will learn to be fast on straights and slow in corners.

I believe that the best performance bang for the buck for our Caymans is an exhaust ,header air filter, ECU upgrade mod. K-manS and others have used the Mill-Tek upgrade with significant results. Orton has a similar package that gets you about 320hp. For around $6-$8K installed these mods seeem to provide genuineresults with what I would think bereliable power and performance, but can be removed if you ever want to go back to stock. I'm still too early in the game (3800 miles) to consider a mod now and I also want to see what happens with Cayman power down the road, say 08. If no major power updates on the horizon I may decide to mod. I also want to give the various mods time to mature. I still have lots to learn about the handling and performance of my Cayman. Theres plenty of time.

stock class is not based on driver. in pca stock class you will be racing against other chassis. true they try to equalize them, but they aren't really equal. spec e30 or spec 944 are all nice, but REAL cheap racing (if racing is ever cheap) is spec miata. no other class has its field size (60+ car at laguna seca). you really drive door to door (or door into door in many cases).