First track day in the Emira, at Road Atlanta, previously have 20+ days in a modified 2011 Cayman S manual.
First, the cars:
Previous: 2011 Cayman S manual (320 HP/270 lb-ft) with $10k in suspension (MCS 2 way remotes, Tarett etc), racing seat, stock engine, sport mode, 3rd radiator, Pagid pads, on RE71RS or Yoko AO52s.
Now: Emira V6 automatic(!) sport/cup2, PFC 08 pads and Castrol brake fluid, antigravity battery, otherwise stock including alignment
Lap times: Cayman best - 1:42.6. Emira - 1:43.5, much closer than I expected!
top speeds: Cayman - 138. Emira - 144.
Note that I'd say I was pushing the Cayman at about 9, Emira at about 8.5 since the Emira is much more precious! Cornering speeds were all lower in the Emira but the HP made up for it. The MCS suspension is sublime on track, but the Emira wasn't far off.
Positives:
The engine and gearbox are legit. I've attached a plot of acceleration on the back straight compared to the Cayman. Y'all can poo-poo the IPS automatic but it's lightning quick in track mode (see the dips where I'm shifting the Cayman) and almost always got the right gear. It felt better on the track than it does on the street. Only issue was occasionally in turn 5 it would stay in 4th instead of dropping to 3rd. Engine stayed strong throughout the warm afternoon, whereas the Cayman would start to lose power as it got hot out, even with a 3rd radiator.
Track mode was great. I started in Sport for a few laps and I hit understeer pretty quickly. Track mode felt invisible.
Cup 2s felt pretty good, best at 30-32 PSI F, 32-34 PSI R for me. I didn't play too much with pressures but they definitely got slick above 35. I did not drive in the brief rain.
The Alcantara seat was "good enough" though I was definitely sore from bracing myself on the steering wheel. Leather would not have been good.
Even at the track, the Emira gets way more attention than any Porsche and it looks great with a number on it!
Negatives:
The brakes. A slight brush is OK (turn 5), full on mash is great (turn 10a), but anything in between is hard to get right (turns 1, 3, 6). They feel very digital which really hurt turns 1 and 6. I don't think pads will fix it, probably need a different master cylinder. I do wonder, the manual mentions that Hydraulic Brake Assist is active in all modes, so maybe that's an issue.
Oddities:
The tow hook is reverse-threaded! Weird. Also, that rubber cover for the threads was immediately lost upon removal.
The in-car G-meter lies big time. It was saying 1.5, reality was 1.1, maybe 1.2.
All in all, it was a great day out! I'm not sure how many more I'll do since it's a long haul for me to most tracks, but it was fun to see how it would compare to the Cayman on a track I know well.
First, the cars:
Previous: 2011 Cayman S manual (320 HP/270 lb-ft) with $10k in suspension (MCS 2 way remotes, Tarett etc), racing seat, stock engine, sport mode, 3rd radiator, Pagid pads, on RE71RS or Yoko AO52s.
Now: Emira V6 automatic(!) sport/cup2, PFC 08 pads and Castrol brake fluid, antigravity battery, otherwise stock including alignment
Lap times: Cayman best - 1:42.6. Emira - 1:43.5, much closer than I expected!
top speeds: Cayman - 138. Emira - 144.
Note that I'd say I was pushing the Cayman at about 9, Emira at about 8.5 since the Emira is much more precious! Cornering speeds were all lower in the Emira but the HP made up for it. The MCS suspension is sublime on track, but the Emira wasn't far off.
Positives:
The engine and gearbox are legit. I've attached a plot of acceleration on the back straight compared to the Cayman. Y'all can poo-poo the IPS automatic but it's lightning quick in track mode (see the dips where I'm shifting the Cayman) and almost always got the right gear. It felt better on the track than it does on the street. Only issue was occasionally in turn 5 it would stay in 4th instead of dropping to 3rd. Engine stayed strong throughout the warm afternoon, whereas the Cayman would start to lose power as it got hot out, even with a 3rd radiator.
Track mode was great. I started in Sport for a few laps and I hit understeer pretty quickly. Track mode felt invisible.
Cup 2s felt pretty good, best at 30-32 PSI F, 32-34 PSI R for me. I didn't play too much with pressures but they definitely got slick above 35. I did not drive in the brief rain.
The Alcantara seat was "good enough" though I was definitely sore from bracing myself on the steering wheel. Leather would not have been good.
Even at the track, the Emira gets way more attention than any Porsche and it looks great with a number on it!
Negatives:
The brakes. A slight brush is OK (turn 5), full on mash is great (turn 10a), but anything in between is hard to get right (turns 1, 3, 6). They feel very digital which really hurt turns 1 and 6. I don't think pads will fix it, probably need a different master cylinder. I do wonder, the manual mentions that Hydraulic Brake Assist is active in all modes, so maybe that's an issue.
Oddities:
The tow hook is reverse-threaded! Weird. Also, that rubber cover for the threads was immediately lost upon removal.
The in-car G-meter lies big time. It was saying 1.5, reality was 1.1, maybe 1.2.
All in all, it was a great day out! I'm not sure how many more I'll do since it's a long haul for me to most tracks, but it was fun to see how it would compare to the Cayman on a track I know well.
