Cayman handling vs e30

[havand]

What would it take for an s50 powered e30 to keep up with a stock cayman during spirited driving? I drove my friend's the other day. Biggest thing I noticed was pretty flat through the corners. My e30 leans pretty good with bilstein sports and h&r sports. I remember looking up the spring rates for the cayman and they seemed pretty soft to me. Is it the low cog because of the boxer engine? Just curious what your thoughts and experiences are.

[Hick]

canoe

[scottinAZ]

What would it take for an s50 powered e30 to keep up with a stock cayman during spirited driving?

A Miracle....

[noid]

A euro s50b32

[havand]

What good is more power going to do? I thick handling is where this needs to go.

[Bimmerman325i]

E30 needs:

rear suspension that can put power down and control power better.
Better balance (50/50 min)
way better shocks/springs
good brakes
trick diff
good driver
more power
better gearing
better aero
ability to stuff proper WIDE tires

i.e. buy a used cayman.

[Wh33lhop]

What would it take for an s50 powered e30 to keep up with a stock cayman during spirited driving? I drove my friend's the other day. Biggest thing I noticed was pretty flat through the corners. My e30 leans pretty good with bilstein sports and h&r sports. I remember looking up the spring rates for the cayman and they seemed pretty soft to me. Is it the low cog because of the boxer engine? Just curious what your thoughts and experiences are.

Good engineering. Cg is close to roll axis.

But to answer your question, a competent suspension, amazing tires and an insane driver.

[Holland]

Good engineering. Cg is close to roll axis.

But to answer your question, a competent suspension, amazing tires and an insane driver.

Agreed, but I like to think a more raw car like the E30 is plenty capable with decent suspension and a competent driver, at least the Initial D within me tells me that.

[Emre]

The Cayman has you beat on a number of levels: more power, better balance, better suspension, stiffer chassis, much more rubber, and far better brakes. It's also very easy to drive at the limit. Very potent package. Your only real advantage is lower curb weight.

You can start by making your advantage bigger: ditch all unnecessary items to get the weight down as low you possibly can. Try to move the weight back in the chassis as much as possible.

Then, it's the typical stuff. H&R Sport and Bilstein Sport is fine for a street car, but there are much better suspension options out there. Ground Control comes to mind. Bolt on a BBK from Massive or UUC. Bolt on some fender flares to fit some real rubber under the car. If weather conditions permit, use R-compounds.

Even after all that, a stock Cayman would probably still leave you for dead...but at least you'd be able to put up a fight.

[havand]

Driving it showed me at least one thing. Shock rate is too high on my car. Springs felt too soft. My car is harsh then leans.

[Holland]

Driving it showed me at least one thing. Shock rate is too high on my car. Springs felt too soft. My car is harsh then leans.

Bilstein sports are better paired with H&R race than H&R sports, as far as rates go, but you will probably want to go coilovers to have a fighting chance.

[TurboJake]

Much better, wider, lower profile, and stickier tires than the E30 has stock.
A bit more power.
and a much better suspension.
Then? Maaaaaaaybe

[Wh33lhop]

If you really want an E30 to be on par with a Cayman with equal drivers, you are going to have to throw a lot of money at it. Brakes, ASTs, fender work/some light wheels wide enough to fit ~245s, awesome tires, weight reduction and probably a cage if you want the chassis rigidity to be comparable. Then as far as the engine's concerned, something with around 300hp and a good powerband.

If you want to be able to keep up with the average Porsche driver up a windy road with an S50, you need balls of steel, a good suspension, track pads and some great tires. I have slowly left E46 M3s with my M50 car on an occasion or two, but mainly because I was wringing the absolute piss out of my car and the other drivers were not as comfortable doing so with a $30k car.

[havand]

If you really want an E30 to be on par with a Cayman with equal drivers, you are going to have to throw a lot of money at it. Brakes, ASTs, fender work/some light wheels wide enough to fit ~245s, awesome tires, weight reduction and probably a cage if you want the chassis rigidity to be comparable. Then as far as the engine's concerned, something with around 300hp and a good powerband.

If you want to be able to keep up with the average Porsche driver up a windy road with an S50, you need balls of steel, a good suspension, track pads and some great tires. I have slowly left E46 M3s with my M50 car on an occasion or two, but mainly because I was wringing the absolute piss out of my car and the other drivers were not as comfortable doing so with a $30k car.

Well, i realize i wont keep up on a track. I just want to be able to keep up while having fun. I wanted race springs, but i was afraid if the extra drop with my oil pan. I have 205/45/16 on the car. I would need different wheels to go wider. or big spacers. I have borbet type c's. I believe 35 offset?

[Bimmermeister]

put a turbo S50 in the rear footwell + coilovers + insanely wide tires = done.

haha