[ronaldvetteron]

As Ihave noted in another thread, I am in the early stages of ordering a 718 Cayman to replace my 2016 Cayman 2.7L. I have owned an 08 CS, Cayman R, 2014 Cayman 2.7L and now the 2016 Cayman 2.7L. Clearly, engine size/hp is not the primary determiner for what I order (nor is price, per se). I will be test driving a 2.0L and 2.5L PDKs as part of my research. I am interested in hearing from both owners on this forum. I am interested in how you experience turbo lag or lack, thereof in the two iterations. What I will be evaluating in the test drives is how the cars respond to throttle input vis-a-vis what I have today in the NA 2.7L. Torque curve to torque curve, it would seem that either of the 718s would not experience as much 'lag' in acceleration as the 2.7L (it has never bothered me particularly by the way but it is there a bit under 2,000 rpm).

 

[Viffermike]

Moved to the General Discussion forum, since the question is really not about ordering; it's about driveability and throttle response. Thanks!

 

[panda]

Turbo lag in the 2.0 under normal is very apparent. Sport mode makes it better, but not a night and day difference. You get used to it, but when I actively try to notice it, it'll always be there. Street driving versus track is very different.

On the track, I would notice and hate it during very specific turns. Not an issue on other turns where it was already holding a higher RPM. Do you plan to track the car or only do street driving?

 

[JakiChan]

When I did my test drives I drove a base and an S back to back on the same route with the same settings (Sport mode). The lag in the 2.0 was apparent. There may have been lag in the S but I didn't feel it.

 

[Porsche2018]

Clearly, from what you stated, price not being an issue then I would go with the "S" and to this day (8 months later) no lag that I can perceive.

 

[TheLip]

When I was test driving cars I was only looking at the 2.0 and didn't test drive the 2.5 (didn't want to spend that much so I didn't want to try it and fall in love). The PDK really made apparent the lag in the 2.0 that I had read about in other forums. I got the manual transmission 718C and it is my daily driver. Over the last 4 months I have done a lot of back-and-forth commuting as well as a fair amount of spirited driving in the local canyons, but never have I felt that the engine lagged. I don't track my car, so it is possible that some lag would be apparent when on the track. I also test drove a 981 with the manual transmission. There was so little low end torque that I felt that I had to pin the accelerator to get the car to move when coming out of turns. The 982 is nothing like that; it jumps when you hit the accelerator hard.

 

[GregW]

<snip>The PDK really made apparent the lag in the 2.0 that I had read about in other forums.

There is indeed a small lag in the 2.0 PDK--but I think much of that is the PDK being asked to downshift in auto mode when an upshift has been pre-selected. When no downshift is called for the boost comes on quickly at anything around or above 3000 rpm.

When I downshift the PDK manually in preparation for a corner or passing, the lag is barely noticeable compared to the lack of torque and power in my previous vehicles (all manuals). I don't track.

 

[Sonny]

I have a 2.0 manual transmission. I notice no lag above 2000 rpm, some lag below 2000 rpm.

 

[ZuffenHouseRules]

Required reading -- see links in this older thread.
http://www.718forum.com/forum/engine-technical-discussion/7058-718-engines.html

The Forbes/KBB article (last link) esp. relevant to the question posed by OP.

I can only speak from personal experience of the 2.5/VTG, but to quote racing/test driver Randy Probst: "I wouldn't have known it was a turbo...". And irrespective of how the factory arrives at peak power rating for turbo engines, since power is as power does, the 2.5 does acceleration consistent with the n/a 3.8 (rated 400hp) of the 991.1 Carrera S*. Which is to say, it's a responsive, tractable, eager-to-rev Li'l Beast.

*per C&D track sheets, both cars PDK

 

[aeronca65tl]

I just drove the car an hour ago and was thinking of this post: sometimes in Automatic mode, the PDK will balk, especially at slow speeds. But that’s pretty normal and it’s not turbo lag.

I drove a classic Devin-Corvair Turbo just recently. That thing had insane turbo lag. Like punch the throttle at 2000 in first, count to three and then hold on!

And I recall driving an old Merkur XR4Ti that had pretty bad turbo lag. It would “bog down” unless you feathered the throttle until it was over 3500.

But my 2.0 Cayman seems pretty linear from about 2000 rpm on up. It definitely comes “on the cam” at around 3000 and combined with the turbo spooling, it seems to lunge forward with increased alacrity at that point. But even if it’s at 1500 rpm in first gear, the car responds well to full throttle.

As for a choice between 2.0 and 2.5….

There is an old saw that driving a slow car fast is more fun than driving a fast car slow. Not that a 300 horsepower Cayman is slow.

 

[Porsche2018]

There is an old saw that driving a slow car fast is more fun than driving a fast car slow.

Man can't say I subscribe to that adage........I'll take the faster car every time.

 

[ronaldvetteron]

Test drove both 2.0 and 2.5 yesterday. I did a brief review in another thread. I put together a configuration for a 2.5L that is very similar in equipment to my current 2016. Only real change is PASM Sport (my 2016 has X73).

 

[Andros X Thomson]

I would do the 2.5 if I could do it again. The extra power and VTG alone make it a better option if money isn’t an issue. I would also to pasm and Sport chrono as well as a few other little things, but I got a good deal.