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987.1 Cayman Track Build Journey

48K views 114 replies 20 participants last post by  joshua@arcflash 
#1 ·
Hello everyone,

I recently bought 987.1 Cayman S, 6 spd manual, strictly for track use and eventually competitive racing. I thought this would be a good medium to document the build and track day information to share with others. I bought the car with 48,000 miles from a previous owner who only used it to get some groceries so it is fairly new for a 10 year old car. I did some research as to the challenges of tracking the first gen cayman and have taken some steps to band aid these issues.

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Before my first track day:
- Hawk DTC 70 F and Hawk DTC 60 R brake pads
- Stainless Steel brake lines
- Motul RBF600
- GT3 ducts
- TuneRS 3 quart Accusump system with remote oil filter
- Oil cooler
- Mantis 2L oil sump
- 996 oil-air seperators in sump
- Custom trans cooler with Tilton pump
- Custom exhaust and punched-out cats
- Motorsport AOS (996, removed secondary air pump)
- Enlarged the front bumper inlets and modified the radiator ducts to size
- Added 3rd radiator
- New OEM spark plugs
- New BMC air filter
- Wheel stud conversion

So it took me a while to get all these items installed in the car. Considering how absolutely frustrating it is to work near the engine in this car I feel like I did a pretty good job not setting it on fire. The accusump was mounted in the trunk along with the filter to have easy access to it. I made some custom lines to include a Setrab 25-row oil cooler in the rear bumper along with transmission cooler. I chose this location since there is plenty of space and an opening in the bumper relieve the air that flows through the coolers. Some obstacles with this includes the fact that the exhaust is sitting inches in front of them. Another issue I came across with finding the proper fittings to rig the custom trans cooler. There the ports used to drain and fill are used to pull and return oil. Installing the AOS was most likely the most painful part of this whole process. I opted to completely removed the air pump. This came with a check engine light and an idle that makes it sound like a 70's cammed camaro lol. However, once it warmed up it subsided. I used aluminum sheet metal and rivets to cut and enlarge the OEM ducts to feed more air to the OEM radiators.
 
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#3 · (Edited)
Once all that was done I signed up for a track day with Chin motorsports at Sebring in August. The shakedown actually went well. There were some minor leaks in the fittings I had to re tighten and the car went into limp mode one time after 2 laps (weird situation and never happened again). For the most part, it ran strong and cool which were my concerns. The suspension is incredible nice the road but on track, it feels like it going to roll over. Braking was fine the pedal feel was inconsistent however. Sometimes the pedal would feel long but still brake fine making it hard to heel-toe. Steering was direct and light, nothing like I have ever experienced in my short time doing track events. The day was cut short due to some rain, which pretty much happens daily here in Florida lol. The car went home in one piece and now I am working on the next set of items.


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#4 ·
To be done:
- Patrick Motorsport Underdrive Pulley (No AC)
- OMP HT seat w/ GMG sliding seat brace.
- Racequip 6 point
- Proper 3 inch brake ducts front and rear
- Gutting the rest of interior
- Removing AC (leaving the heater core in)
- Heat wrapping exhaust
- Adding fan pack to coolers
- Eccentric bushings for stock LCA
- Tarret Thrust Bushing
- Elephant racing camber plates
- Eibach lowering springs
- Powersteering line insulation
- Titanium brake shims
- debaffle intake
- GMG tune for 93 octane
- RSS Harness Bar

Any questions or comment let me know! Feel free to discuss your builds as well! I will update as I go!

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#5 ·
You might consider skipping the springs and go ahead and get a PSS9 or similar adjustable suspension where you can get proper and changeable spring rate with higher quality damping. I dont think you will be satisfied long with just slightly stiffer springs as far down the slope as you are :) Also having the ability to corner weight will be really nice if you are braking and cornering that agressively - which is my impression. In summary - I think you will grow out of the springs and be doing the work again in short order!
 
#7 ·
Great work so far! I just picked up a Boxster that will be taking a similar (though less extensive) path.

I would also suggest going right for coilovers... Get something with adjustable dampening and camber plates. I am very impressed with how well the stock suspension handles and lowering springs would probably get me close to where I want it. But I would constantly adjust dampening and camber setups for different tracks/events on my last car, I know I'll be doing the same on this one...
Thanks for the input guys. I'm trying to work on the car slowly giving me time to adjust the suspension without doing anything radical. it also helps that I am trying to save since coils for the 987 are pricey. I'm looking JRZ RS Sport two. At over 4 grand tho I have to save lol. I do want that adjustable of compression and rebound, however, it'll be a learning curve to optimize settings as I progress with the car. Anything else besides coilovers I can do to the suspension or drivetrain to stiffen it?
 
#6 ·
Great work so far! I just picked up a Boxster that will be taking a similar (though less extensive) path.

I would also suggest going right for coilovers... Get something with adjustable dampening and camber plates. I am very impressed with how well the stock suspension handles and lowering springs would probably get me close to where I want it. But I would constantly adjust dampening and camber setups for different tracks/events on my last car, I know I'll be doing the same on this one...
 
#8 ·
mgarcia048,
Nice build! Looks like Sebring from the pit stall photo.
You might want to add a link bridging the lower rear suspension carriers aka Pedro's strut brace (or something similar) to stabilize the rear suspension especially under hard braking. The GT4 added such a part as standard fitment so there might be something to it...
Best regards,
Croc'ed

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
 
#11 ·
Pedro's Technobrace is easy to install. I would torque that brace pretty high as just backing out of my driveway, I could hear it creaking. so I gave it a few more lbs of torque. It does prevent high speed rear brake wiggle, although if you lower your car, you may need adjustable bumpsteer toe links like Elephants rear toe links, which do a great job.
 
#12 ·
Yeah I might do that, however right now I'm braking at very high G's since I am on some worn Potenza summer tires lol. Mostly trying to modulate the brake to not engage the ABS. I think the pads have way too much bite for the tires. Also bumpsteer/ toe arms are on my list when I go with JRZ coils.



On a side note, does anybody have a good piece meal way of setting up an electric PS pump. I am not interested in the expensive Motorsport pump. I have heard of using the an MR2 pump with custom lines? Any insight on this would be awesome, thanks.
 
#17 ·
Update:

Setrab fan packs are installed and fit perfectly fine without modification of the bumper! AC compressor and condensers are removed. I think I've removed close to 300lbs so far! I really want to be at 2500lbs with cage and all. Is this a resonable weight? Also, auto-blip is installed so my father can drive (he doesn't know how to heel-toe :) ).
 

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#25 ·
The lines were purchased from a supplier (not sure who).

Also, the original belt-driven PS pump was left in place but it was gutted and hoses obviously removed. It is still driven by the belt but it does nothing and does not put a load on the engine. That seems to be the simplest way of dealing with the old pump.
 
#26 ·
Quick update!

- Car is stripped
- Seat is in with RSS roll bar
- Pulley is in
- Thrust and inner monoball bushings are in
- Camber plate and lowering springs are proving to be a pain in the *** lol
- ECU sent to GMG for tune

I have an update regarding the exhaust as well but I want the car to be up and running to provide more pics and videos of the sound!
 

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#28 ·
Hey guys, major update!

I'd like to thank Mike from Soul Performance for hooking me up with catless race headers for my cayman. I'd like to take a second to review the product.

Construction:
These headers are made with precision and accuracy. The welds were clean uniform and bolted right up to the car with my custom exhaust. No giggling, no force required to make it fit. Just slipped right in. The headers are also very beefy yet lightweight, from the flanges to the tubing I feel like they can withstand the rigors and heat of the racetrack. The inlets of the header ports are very smoothed match the ports on the block well. They also incorporated a merge collector, an important detail in header design to extract good power. The header is finished with a satin silver that looks amazing, it almost a shame I will have to wrap them in the future lol.

Power:
I can't comment on power as I didn't dyno the car and had alot of other modifications done to the car at the same time unfortuantely.

Sound:
Honestly, this is best sounding car I have ever had. It just sounds exotic, not like a V6 or the grunt of V8. Very aggressive and high pitched. The tonality of that sound changes with rpm. At low rpm it has it mean burble but as it revs it sings in high pitch. The most amazing sound is when turning out of corner 17, grazing the outside wall, the sound reverberates of the wall.


Overall these headers were a great buy and highly recommend them to anyone!

I have more pictures and videos coming!

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#30 ·
Update!

Went again to Sebring, this time on sticky NT01s. Best decision, I've ever made. Tires were perfectly predicatble, lasted all day long. However they kind of exacerbated the braking issue I have been having. My pedal is super long and I get uneasy slamming the breaks at 120 mph coming down for a hairpin turn. It equally long at the beginnning of a session as the end, however, I can feel some brake fade towards the last ten minutes. I ordered at GT3 Master Cylinder from porsche but could possibly take 6 weeks. Apprently they are sold out completely even the TRW ones. I will also be installing stainless steel lines and GT2 brake radiator ducts. I will actaully start a new post on how to install these liners. :)

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#31 · (Edited)
So here are the 996 GT2/GT3RS fender lines with radiator ducts. If you have any questions let me know. I will be creating a DIY tread on these in the modification section. Super cheap and effective mod. All in all it was about 350$ for the whole set. It takes all the air from the radiator and scoops it towards the brakes. Even 210 degree air feels pretty cool to a 500+ degree rotor. It is espcially helpful to just keep air moving in the wheel well since it is an insane amount of volume.

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I closed up the 987 radiator shroud so that air doesnt bunch up at the bottom of the liners.


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I also add some mesh to make sure the rocks and debris dont destory the radiator or fans. I used standard rivets to secure the mesh.



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#37 ·
Please let us know what offset you came up with to clear the inside fender and shock perch. I had rubbing on the inside fender with 9 inch running 255/35/18 RE71R on turnin until I installed the Tarett Cup LCA's. With 10 you may experience the same rub.
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#38 ·
Please let us know what offset you came up with to clear the inside fender and shock perch. I had rubbing on the inside fender with 9 inch running 255/35/18 RE71R on turnin until I installed the Tarett Cup LCA's. With 10 you may experience the same rub.
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Will do, I didn't know this would be an issue. I understand a certain amount of camber to clear the fender etc, but I never thought about it rubbing the fender liner.
 
#39 ·
Hey guys I have some pretty bad news.

I've been doing track days at Sebring almost monthly and yesterday my cayman blew its motor down the back straight after corner 16. Oil temperature was at 215, oil pressure was fine, accusump was working properly, oil recently replaced. I heard some strange noises which I proceeded to slow down then right before I could pit in I heard a very low bang and ton of white smoke blew from the drivers tailpipe and the low pressure warning light came on. I turned off the motor and got towed off the track. I was having a great time too unfrotauntely. The motor was running great and I was hitting lap times of 2:31 which was a personal best with car.


Moving forward, I want to rebuild the motor. I was hoping that many of you had some experience with different builders and companies. I welcome all advice. All i would really want is a bulletproof 3.4L. I don't want an over the top crazy build or anything. Just an updated crank for oil, rods, IMS bearing, and clyinder liners. And any other mods that would prolong the life of the motor.

Thanks all, i hope to be back on track by April!
 
#40 ·
Any post mortum would be helpful as to what exactly happened to your motor? Rod bolts, over rev, bearing failure from scaring, bore scoring, etc.? What motor oil used? How many hours are racing pace? Any evidence of aeration in heads causing excess foam during a typical long left hand high G corner? If no oil pressure gauge, no real way of knowing if you were experiencing reduced pressure from swirl pots trying to get the air out of the oil, assuming you were running 996 swirl pots.

Just trying to go backwards to figure out what happen so we can better protect our engines from the same issue.
 
#41 ·
So the previous owner did not track the car, and the car approx. had 14-17 hours of track use and 49,000 miles on the clock. I don't daily this car, it is a dedicated track so all the miles and use have been at the track. I have not cracked the engine open but hopefully I will have time soon. I do have an oil pressure warning light which goes off at 25 psi. It has never lit up until I pulled over and white smoke came out. THe oil used was 5W-40 Redline racing oil with high zinc content. I doubt it was the oil, redline has a great forumula, especially the racing version. I am almost positive, from the noises I heard coming from the motor and how it failed it was a bearing. I highly doubt it had anything to do with the swirl pots as Krokodil has been racing with them for 3+ years and he far more expereienced than me. I have had the swirl pots since day bascially. Weird part is the car had no symptom of potential failure until it just blew up. Oil temp was 215-220, water temp was the same. Oil pressure was far above 25psi and accusump was on. Oil was fresh with a fresh filter. There's really no reason for the motor to have failed unless it was due to the crappy components we have in this motor unfortunately.
 
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