[gatorfast]

After many years of driving BMW M cars I finally picked up my first Porsche! I am the proud new owner of 2018 Cayman in night blue metallic over chalk interior. 6mt of course

Looking forward to many years of enjoyment and participating in this community. I was pretty active on bimmerpost (for any of you current/prior bmw owners) and cant wait to contribute here.

 

[Silversword]

Looks great. May it bring you many miles of smiles.

 

[Naptown]

Enjoy it.

 

[RotorOver]

Welcome and congrats! The 718 is a fantastic platform and handles like no other! You will no doubt enjoy it. I was pretty active on the 2addicts for awhile, but spend most of my time here now. Good group!

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Excellent, welcome to the family. Enjoy the ride!

 

[TK718]

Congratulations and welcome!

I made a similar switch. I have been a big BMW enthusiast for years (have tracked, autocrossed, or raced an E30 M3, plus 4 other E30s, 3 E36s, Z3M Coupe, 1600-2, e28) and dailied various of those, as well as an E39, E46, and F22. This 718 Cayman is my first Porsche.

I have driven a few old (vintage?) 911s in the past, either at Autocrosses or on backroads, and I am surprised at how the "driver effort" for steering and pedal input is so similar between the 718 and those cars. They all feel similarly high effort, but also full of feedback. Even my highly modified BMWs felt more boosted. Some had equally good steering and brake feel, but not typically without a fair amount of modification first.

That said, this chassis stiffness is bananas compared to everything I have had before, and the braking performance is out of this world. I can't believe both the ridiculously short stopping distances, and the resistance to fade! I am constantly over-braking for corner entry. New learnings... So fun!

Enjoy the new car!

 

[HooosierDaddy]

Great looking car, congrats.

 

[gatorfast]

Thanks everyone. It seems like there is a strong connection between bmw owners ultimately moving to Porsche.

So far I am loving the 718 but haven’t had a chance to drive it as much as I normally would. But the overall rawness and mechanical feel of the 718 compared to my last M3 is truly something special. Everything is just more crisp, firm, mechanical in the Porsche compared to the bimmer. I wasn’t expecting the difference in feel to be so stark but I’m thrilled with it. Gas and brake pedal are more firm and direct, clutch is stiffer and more engaging, and the shifter has a much more solid and mechanical feel to it compared to the rubbery and soft feeling of the bmw. This is not to say bimmers arent fantastic cars as they certainly are and I will certainly own one agin someday. But it’s not until you drive the 718 that you realize how soft and easy the bmw really is.