New Porsche Cayman GT4

[Rschreckhise]

"THE HOT CAYMAN WE’VE BEEN DEMANDING GOES ON SALE IN JULY"
http://autoweek.com/article/geneva-moto ... motor-show

[John Straub]

Cool video! Thanks for posting...

John

[ttweed]

It's only available initially with the 6-speed manual. After sucking on the PDK crack pipe for 8 months now, I'm not going back to a stick. I'll wait until they offer it with the dual clutch 7-speed. Everything else about the car appeals to me, except for the Mustang side vent scoops.

TT

[John Straub]

Tom...real men use a "Stick Shift"...

John

[ttweed]

Tom...real men use a "Stick Shift"...

Oh yah, and I used to be one of those guys--spent years perfecting my heel/toe rev matching and took great pride in it. Then I saw how a computer program and some electronic controls can handle all that busy work with a precision and speed I could never match, over and over again, upshifting and down, without ever upsetting the car.

And then there are those Real Men who have done the "money shift" and zinged their valve train, and those who will....
BTDT,
TT

[John Straub]

LOL...oh yeah, Steve and Mark love those guys.

John

[Jad]

Just drove the GT4 around the Circuit de Catalunya. Unfortunately, it was just in an app called Real Racing 3. Actually a pretty fun driving simulator and once you get the feel of things, it really gives you a decent idea how the various cars drive. Surprise, I do the best in a 911 GT3RS.

[pecivil]

hey Tom! I will be joining you soon back at AutoX in a pdk Cayman next event! Just got a 2010 Cayman~! I did stick for 30 years too, now time to let the car do the work! it also has the sport steering wheel with the flappy paddles, so should be really fun (and weird). How long did it take you to get used to the PDK in autoX?

[c4s4pcs]

Sounds great about the new car - is it going to see the big tracks?

[pecivil]

hey Phil! My back is (hopefully) ready to go a year after the surgery. The plan is to restart AutoX and see how that goes......

[ttweed]

hey Tom! I will be joining you soon back at AutoX in a pdk Cayman next event! Just got a 2010 Cayman~! I did stick for 30 years too, now time to let the car do the work! it also has the sport steering wheel with the flappy paddles, so should be really fun (and weird). How long did it take you to get used to the PDK in autoX?

Welcome back, Monte! It took me two laps to figure out that using the paddle shifters was not necessary at all. There is too much happening in a hurry in an autox lap and your attention is better spent on the line and braking points--the computer is better at shifting than you are! I push the Sport+ button, put the shifter in D, put my hands at 9 and 3 on the steering wheel (being careful to not brush the paddles accidentally with my fingers at any time), brace my left leg on the dead pedal to keep my body from sliding in the seat, and GO when the flag drops. The mid-engine driving dynamics probably won't be much different from your Lotus, but it is a bit heavier and won't respond quite as fast. I'm sure you'll adapt quickly and have fun with it.

It may be useful (and more fun) to shift manually on the big tracks, as things aren't as busy and there may be more times you want to short shift in a lapping session (when in Sport+ mode, the engine will run to redline before every shift).

Cheers,
TT

[pecivil]

Tom!
I was wondering if the way was to leave it in D and just go, thanks for that verification. I just love the car. I couldn't swing an S and was a bit worried the 265hp would leave me feeling a tad underpowered after a 996, but it totally does not. It feels quite quick and I am really looking forward to flogging it around the Q. Hopefully autoX'ing does not tweek the back too much and if so, I will try the big tracks again.

I cannot wait to get back to driving (semi) fast and seeing everyone again.

[Jad]

Even on big tracks, I have not found the semi manual mode to be better. Just put it in D and sport+ and let the car do everything, at least the newest versions I have driven (991 GT3) know a lot more about the available traction, shifting and transfer torque better than any driver, let alone us amateurs. Never figured out a full manual mode anyway. Always seems to downshift if you floor it whether you want it to or not. Maybe there is a way, if you push just the right buttons while standing on your head, but I have not figured it out, nor is there a reason to as it shifts so fast and so well anyway.

[pecivil]

Thanks for that info Jad. The longer I drive it (on the street at least) the more the pdk does seem to know exactly what to do and when. It is SO much better than the SMG my old E46 M3 had! I am looking forward to being able to just focus on line and braking and leave shifting to the car. Unfortunately my car does not have the sport button, but I see it can be added after the fact for 1k plus dealer install cost.

Sounds like you and Tom seem to think its worth having......

[ttweed]

Always seems to downshift if you floor it whether you want it to or not...

Yah, there is a "kickdown" switch on the throttle pedal that senses when you floor it, and if your RPM is not already too high for the next lower gear, it will downshift for you immediately. The only way to avoid this is to be slower and progressive on the throttle and "not-quite" floor it until reaching the higher RPM range.

Unfortunately my car does not have the sport button, but I see it can be added after the fact for 1k plus dealer install cost....

The Sport mode remaps throttle response and shifting characteristics for the PDK to increase performance, allows wider parameters in the traction control system, and if you have the PASM suspension, it also changes the damping rates of the shocks. In the new GT4, Sport mode is standard, and it includes an "auto-blip" function on the manual downshifts. The "Sport Chrono" option in the GT4 is nothing more than an analog clock in the center of the dash and a fairly "beta-mode" performance data recording app, which has been pretty much panned by the 991 GT3 owners who have it.

TT