Prospective new owner - from Porsche to Honda…

[m3bs]

GT4 to FL5. No regrets.

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[gtimportfanatic]

Pretty interesting, hope you get in on s good one. Funny enough i’m looking to get into a 981 cayman S at some point, a friend of mine swapped cars with me for a little and i want both lolol, the CTR is perfect, and the 981 was glorious to drive.

in your searches, you’re prolly more likely to find yourself in a better position buying one new at sticker as opposed to used, i know when i bought mine, the prices were the same whether it had 15 miles or 1500 miles, so i got new. Either way, you will absolutely enjoy this car, even stock.

 

[HondaHoon]

Just do this, best of both worlds.
https://tuningbynick.com/pages/cayman-boxster-purchase-guide

 

[marcusm86]

I have zero problems working on my vehicles. I’ve done everything from suspension work to replacing clutches, to changing differential gear sets, wiring. You name it I’ve done it. Trucks, sports cars, new and old. I’ve had it all!

the fl5 seems to be quite easy to work on.. this is dangerous once you start upgrading parts imo

 

[MooMoo]

You will miss the cayman for sure, however the FL5 is an excellent platform and a great car.

 

[CG13]

Former 991.2 GT3RS owner. I love the FL5. The only similarities to modern Porsches is that each feel special and well built. FL5 manual feels pretty good and up there with the 991 era Porsche GT3 manuals.

 

[optronix]

I did the same thing; except it was a string of Porsches and I did end up with an Integra Type S. I have a few thoughts but not to change anyone's mind, just for context.

Let me do the usual thing that gets me called out for humblebragging and recite my extensive list of Porsches I had before landing on the DE5:

981 Boxster GTS 6MT > 991.2 Carrera 2S 7MT > 718 Boxster GTS 2.5 PDK > 718 Boxster GTS 4.0 PDK

That doesn't include the 3 Macans I've had for the wife.

Anyway, in a similar sense I landed on the FL5 as being the closest thing to a Porsche money can buy that I can also fit my very large dog in. That is a critical factor for me, and I didn't want to have to borrow the wife's Macan every time I wanted to take him somewhere. So it was either buy another sedan as a daily... or figure something else out. After watching reviews and hearing testimonials from very trusted car people, I was in the same boat as OP and had my mind virtually made up. Paying full tuition for 2 kids plus all their living expenses helped seal the deal.

I ended up with a DE5 just simply because I didn't want to pay a markup. I still maintain to this day that people need to drop the comparisons between the FL5 and DE5; they're virtually identical cars. There's enough different about them to allow personal preference to factor in, but if there isn't a distinct pull for one or the other then just get the car you can get the best deal on. Anyone who tries to tell you one is "more special" than the other or what not is just pushing their own preferences on you. Simple as that.

As for "did you miss having a Porsche"? Simple and honest answer: no. The car did everything I asked from it for 3.5 years, which is much longer than any car I've had since I was a broke junior enlisted sailor with two young kids.

But do these cars have compromises? Yes. They're practical, and can be relatively comfortable to live with... but they're loud, and the overall refinement is good but not great relative to most "luxury" brands. Depending on what you want out of a car, that can actually be a good thing. But for me where I ended up 3.5 years later, is I personally couldn't live without having a car I could put the top down in so bought an ND3 MX-5. Since having that car I realized I don't actually need 2 "raw" driving experiences (or 2 manual transmissions). I traded the DE5 in for an RS3 last week... and am pretty happy with the change.

BUT. I will still maintain that had I never bought the MX-5, I'd still be very happy with my Integra. Eventually I may consider finding another Porsche to replace the Mazda, but they're just getting too expensive to justify at this point (also I could go down a rabbit hole talking about how good the Mazda is but that's beside the point).

Maybe that helps, maybe it doesn't. We all want different things as car enthusiasts, is my main point.

 

[dkhm3]

FL5 is rewarding to drive at the haggard edges. It is well sorted from the factory, chassis feedback is excellent. It is light and nimble and very predictable.

Lots of Porsche owners here.

19 GT3 RS
25 Macan GTS (daily)

 

[MTN]

I have zero problems working on my vehicles. I’ve done everything from suspension work to replacing clutches, to changing differential gear sets, wiring. You name it I’ve done it. Trucks, sports cars, new and old. I’ve had it all!

The Cayman is pure sports car. Loud. Bumpy. Glorious.
I have a feeling a near 20 year newer Civic type. R is going to be a bit more refined than the Cayman.

But even if it’s not, that’s OK. I like that experience. I’ll swap in the Integra control module to have some additional comfort. I like adjustable drive mode. I came in has the sports suspension so at the push of a button, I can stiffen it up as well.


I’m pretty much 100% decided on the type R. I’ll list my Cayman for sale probably next week and I assume it was all relatively quick. I won’t be asking much for it so somebody should get a pretty good deal on a pretty amazing sports car

I owned a 987.1 Cayman S similarly to yours for about 4 years. You're spot on regarding the CTR being more refined being 20 years newer. The Sport mode in the CTR is about the same as activating the PASM button on the 987.1 Cayman S or my stock suspension on my 981 Boxster Spyder and GT4 (Normal mode) which is perfect for me to daily. The 200lb weight disadvantage of the CTR is offset by the additional power and torque compared to your Cayman S. I find that the CTR also handles better given the 20 year newer suspension setup. The same goes for the transmission. The CTR transmission is the next best transmission that I've driven with my Boxster Spyder being the best.

Good luck with the search and I'm partial to Championship White

 

[antwon412]

Cool. Thanks for the tip

I owned a 987.1 Cayman S similarly to yours for about 4 years. You're spot on regarding the CTR being more refined being 20 years newer. The Sport mode in the CTR to be about the same as activating the PASM button on the 987.1 Cayman S or my stock suspension on my 981 Boxster Spyder and GT4 (Normal mode) which is perfect for me to daily. The 200lb weight disadvantage of the CTR is offset by the additional power and torque compared to your Cayman S. I find that the CTR also handles better given the 20 year newer suspension setup. The same goes for the transmission. The CTR transmission is the next best transmission that I've driven with my Boxster Spyder being the best.

Good luck with the search and I'm partial to Championship White

This is exactly what I thought might be the case and am happy to hear. Thank you!

I would love to go into a 981 or a 997/991but just don’t feel the value is there for me currently. One day I’ll be back in a Porsche. But paying $50/$60k for a 12-13 year old car isn’t what I want to do currently.

Really looking forward to the change. Love experiencing new cars!

Guess it’s time to officially put the Porsche online for sale!

 

[BryanCO]

The CTR is a fantastic daily driver and weekend car. Have fun shopping!

 

[BuntaTypeR]

Here is my friend at the track. It's his modded GT4 RS going up against my modded FL5:

 

[ModJPB]

Here is my friend at the track. It's his modded GT4 RS going up against my modded FL5:

Love the video! Amazing how much a front wheel drive has improved over the years. Funny, it seems like the Porsche driver was falling asleep until your friend came up on him the first time, then he started pushing it.

 

[RedCarrot]

Love the video! Amazing how much a front wheel drive has improved over the years. Funny, it seems like the Porsche driver was falling asleep until your friend came up on him the first time, then he started pushing it.

One can never tell from these types of videos. The others could be taking a warm up or cool down lap. Or maybe he just want to chill for a lap or 2 during a 15-20 minute session to allow things to cool down (as it's often the case with Civic Type R). Or he's letting another driver test his car etc. Or maybe none of those and he's pushing to his and the car's limits. Maybe the car is stock or maybe it's modded. No way to know so it's hard to put full weight on it.

 

[MTN]

Might be safe to assume that at 1/4 the cost, the CTR driver has much more than 1/4 the fun

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