Cayman vs Supra tracking cost

[Superooo]

Does anyone have experience or knows someone that has tracked a Cayman? How does it compare to the cost of tracking a Supra?

Does anyone have numbers on how much each costs per year/track day?

Sponsored

 

[Rocksandblues]

Consumables are about the same.
Porsche parts are more expensive- like suspension, rotors or upgrades.

If you do the oil changes, maintenance yourself they are about even.

 

[jchadwell]

Well, there is the cost of admission factor. I mean the extra $50,000 or more it takes to acquire the P-car will certainly buy a lot of consumables…

 

[Rob_SER]

depends which cayman... I have owned and tracked a Cayman S for 2 years , a Cayman GT4 for 5 years and now the Supra this year.

Ball park: Cayman S < Supra < GT4.

Tires and brakes are expensive on a GT4.

On a Cayman S, you can downsize to 17 or 18 inches tires if you'd like, brake rotors have plenty of options in the aftermarket for cheap. Break pads are also a lot easier to swap than on a GT4 (you can swap them from the top of the brake calipers, like the Supra, but on all 4 wheels).

On a GT4, you can downsize tires to 19 inches at best and a proper set of 19" wheels is not cheap. 19" tires are not cheap either. Then, options are limited when it comes to brake rotors and they are all expensive. You can also factor in depreciation, Porsche buyers are very picky, a tracked GT4 with higher milage will loose a lot more value. Also, the Porsche tax (especially on the GT4) is quite a thing when it comes to mods. Everything is expensive to mod.

The Supra is right in the middle. You can downsize to 18" tires with a lot of options, Brake rotors are not as cheap as the Cayman S, but there are affordable aftermarket options. Good selection of track pads for decent prices, pads are easy to change. Good selection of aftermarket parts as well, not cheap but not horribly expensive either. One thing to consider on the Supra, it's much softer than both Porsches, so you might need a fair bit of upgrades eventually if you want it to feel more like a track oriented car.

Unfortunatly, I don't have much numbers for you as I live in Canada and prices for everything and not really comparable to the prices in the US.

If you got any other questions, feel free to ask.

 

[Rob_SER]

Well, there is the cost of admission factor. I mean the extra $50,000 or more it takes to acquire the P-car will certainly buy a lot of consumables…

For me, that argument has always been somewhat invalid because the Porsche holds a pretty good value, so you are gonna get your money back when you sell it. I always look at the cost of a car in terms of "cost of ownership". Bought my GT4 in 2018, sold it in 2023 for 15k more than I paid in 2018. Yes the car did cost a lot more than other options, but the cost of ownership was much lower in the end.

 

[jchadwell]

That’s fair. I can’t fathom paying more for a 5 year old car than it cost new. That just baffles me. Unless it’s a garage queen with few miles purchased as an investment. To each their own I suppose.

 

[Rocksandblues]

Ball park: Cayman S < Supra < GT4.

Tires and brakes are expensive on a GT4.

That is very accurate. I have driven a base cayman, S, and a GT4 on track at 8/10th effort. Even the previous gen GT4 is better than a stock Supra in almost every way.
The current GT4 is other worldly- Have ridden in one as passenger at 10/10th effort and it is ridiculously amazing, visceral and deliriously fun. No one has been brave enough to let me drive one.

But the other good point this poster made was the resale. A friend with a 987 GT4 has almost stopped tracking it all together for resale reasons. He bought used for 115 in 2019- it has ceramic brakes, manual - and he could probably sell today for 105 -120

 

[Rob_SER]

That is very accurate. I have driven a base cayman, S, and a GT4 on track at 8/10th effort. Even the previous gen GT4 is better than a stock Supra in almost every way.
The current GT4 is other worldly- Have ridden in one as passenger at 10/10th effort and it is ridiculously amazing, visceral and deliriously fun. No one has been brave enough to let me drive one.

But the other good point this poster made was the resale. A friend with a 987 GT4 has almost stopped tracking it all together for resale reasons. He bought used for 115 in 2019- it has ceramic brakes, manual - and he could probably sell today for 105 -120

that's partly why I sold mine, was tired of thinking about resale value continuously.

 

[Superooo]

Thanks for the replies! The reason I ask the question is because I’ve been considering either getting a mid engine car or going all in on some proper suspension mods for my Supra. Trying to weigh the pros and cons. 15k can get me some MCS 3 ways and after market arms but 15k will barely cover transaction costs on a different car.

 

[FLtrackdays]

If you take the GT4 out of the equation, the Supra doesn’t take much to get her up to passing most Caymans imo. Sway bars, camber plates, pads, tires, possibly 10mm spacers, rotors are cheap. I’d buy an extra set of tires for any track car. But I don’t think the full Vorschlag or SPL parts are needed. Same with coilovers. Do those things 1st and see how you like them. I think you’ll be quite surprised how well you’ll do with that alone.

We have tons of Caymans down here. The Porsche guys can’t believe how well these new Supra’s keep up. It’s pretty amazing….

Lastly, a good friend with a Supra bought a track Miata. He really got the track bug. He had all the goodies on his Supra. After driving that MX5 for a while, he got back in his Supra. His times drastically dropped.

Another guy drove a full stock Supra except sway bars and tires. He’s drastically faster than most Cayman or Supra guys with crazy mods. So just another thing to consider. Track time and forced momentum driving goes a long way.

 

[Rob_SER]

If you never tried a mid engine car, I'd say it's something to try once in a lifetime at least, especially a Cayman.

If you want my advice, unless you are doing 15 track days a year and are super experienced, avoid super expensive suspensions like MCS, you'll waste your money on something that you don't really need. There are plenty of good options that will be a massive upgrade on stock suspension for a lot less and most will raise the ceiling much higher than what most drivers can deliver...

Personally, I'm glad I experienced the Caymans, I would have missed out if I didn't, but I also sold them to replace with a GR86 and Supra ?

 

[Rob_SER]

If you take the GT4 out of the equation, the Supra doesn’t take much to get her up to passing most Caymans imo. Sway bars, camber plates, pads, tires, possibly 10mm spacers, rotors are cheap. I’d buy an extra set of tires for any track car. But I don’t think the full Vorschlag or SPL parts are needed. Same with coilovers. Do those things 1st and see how you do and like them.

We have tons of Caymans down here. The Porsche guys can’t believe how well these new Supra’s keep up. It’s pretty amazing….

I'll see with my GT4 friends next summer, but I think with a proper set of coilovers, good alignment, wider 200TW tires with wider wheels, brake pads and fluid I should be on par with them.

Ajustable sway bars will be on the list as well eventually.

 

[FLtrackdays]

I'll see with my GT4 friends next summer, but I think with a proper set of coilovers, good alignment, wider 200TW tires with wider wheels, brake pads and fluid I should be on par with them.

Ajustable sway bars will be on the list as well eventually.

I edited my response above, lol. You’re right. Those things will help for sure!! But tons of seat time and a good private (pro preferably) instructor would be make a world of difference as well ?

 

[bushido]

I'll see with my GT4 friends next summer, but I think with a proper set of coilovers, good alignment, wider 200TW tires with wider wheels, brake pads and fluid I should be on par with them.

Ajustable sway bars will be on the list as well eventually.

few encounters with GT4s, i always argue i simply haven't met a decent driver, but never been passed by one at any of my three local tracks. pads, fluids, 300tw, alignment

joined a local seat time club and there are definitely insane P drivers around though.. insane..

 

[Rob_SER]

I edited my response above, lol. You’re right. Those things will help for sure!! But tons of seat time and a good private (pro preferably) instructor would be make a world of difference as well ?

Of course and that is a reason why I bought the Supra and sold the GT4, with a lower running cost and lower entry point, I can afford more seat time

That being said, we all have 10+ years of experience. I'm far from a pro driver, but in the amateur category, I'd like to think I'm somewhat decent hehe. Had a quite few praises from less experienced Mach 1 and Camaro drivers earlier this summer when I could somewhat hang with them in my 230hp GR86 with 300TW 245 wide tires hehe

Sponsored