I rarely launch cars, so I'm not a good judge of this.


Your experience is similar to my own. We both suffered from a common misconception about what to expect from turbocharged engines.

Americans who grew up with pushrod V8s have it in their heads that "V8" means low end torque and turbo means "lag" and "spin the bejeezus out of it to get power". And maybe that was true in, like, the mid 1980s (for gasoline powered engines; diesels have long been turboed and are known torque monsters). But times have changed with modern turbos and overhead cam V8s.

Horsepower is basically torque times rpm. There are only two variables in that equation one can adjust to make more horsepower: make more torque, or spin the engine to higher rpm. For the normally-aspirated overhead cam motors, they get more power by spinning to higher rpm. For turbos, you get more power by cramming more air in there to make more torque. At the very low end of the rev range it is generally true that turbos have no grunt. But modern turbos start making usable boost fairly early. This is why looking at peak hp numbers can be misleading when evaluating a car's performance.

Based on power-to-weight ratio alone, an Evo VIII or IX seems underpowered when compared to cars with similar performance. But what an Evo has is "area under the curve"; it makes lots of torque all through the rev range. A 271 hp Evo VIII is a pretty good match for a 333 hp BMW E46 M3 around a road course despite giving up 60 hp. Why? Because an E46 M3 makes its horsepower by spinning to 7900 rpm while making its peak 269 lb-ft at a lofty 4900 rpm, whereas the Evo VIII makes a slightly higher peak 273 lb-ft at a much lower 3500 rpm.

Thus, while an E46 BMW M3 makes more power at over 7000 rpm, the Evo probably makes power at 5000 rpm and 4000 rpm and 3000 rpm (just guessing here without having dyno charts). So for most of an acceleration run an Evo is making more power. Hence an Evo VIII hangs with a cars like an M3 despite giving up almost 60 peak hp.

(Side note: electric motors make peak torque at zero rpm, which is why electric tools and cars and such seem to have so much grunt.)


To answer the question you asked about low end grunt, nothing about a Cayman's power delivery jumped out at me as being exceptionally strong or weak down low. With the Evo X, however, the one of the first things I noticed was how much more capable it seems down low. It will pull smoothly and quietly from 1500 rpm in 5th gear, whereas my VIII would vibrate and sound generally unhappy doing the same.

 

"The IX and the X are very, very different cars. The IX is more like a de-tuned rally car (because, ya know, that's basically what it is). The X is more like a cut-rate Audi S4. "

hm, i think that is not exactly fits in my opinion ...

 

I find it rather annoying when people compare a stock Evo to anything else.

even with just a tune these cars wake up so much its not funny...

yeah I know you can't compare stock to non-stock, but for $100-$300 you can get an OTS tune and the Evo will turn into a beast... I dont think any other car has that potential..

 

Not in ovall performance. Some cars and trucks can be a beast just with a simple tune or SS pulley changen but they still will lack the overall perfomance vs the evom also most car tune is much more expensive. So yes I agree with youm

 

Sorry blackberry small keyboarrd LOLn

 

I was able to drive the new 2011 Porsche Cayman S at speed at a recent Porsche Zentrum test drive where we were able to drive the full Porsche line up at full speed. I found the car to be excellent. Very sharp and precise, composed in the corners. It really is really rewarding to take corners at high speed and planted.

I also found it to be much more livable every day compared to the Evo X. Less noise at highway speeds (80mph) and more comfortable. It is less practical but I can see doing road trips in the Porsche being less tiring than the Evo.

Since I drove the Evo to the test drive event, I was able to run my car on the same roads and do a back to back comparison. The Evo carries the same amount of cornering speed yet pulls faster and harder when accelerating. The Cayman S seems to run out of grunt at the top end while having a lot of low end grunt. The higher center of gravity even with my coilover suspension equipped Evo makes it feel less nimble when darting through a slalom section with fast left-right-left transitions.

I found the Cayman S to be a very similar car compared to the Evo in terms of fun. The Cayman delivered a very exact driving experience - like a scalpel carving corners and required a more precise mathematical approach and loved smooth driver inputs. The interior was more refined, quieter and softer riding. Definitely more livable for me. The Evo felt more raw with torque, power but with more body roll and you can really man handle it. The Evo's interior is really unrefined and I hate driving it far distances. I really loved the Cayman S exactly because it was the opposite driving experience of the Evo yet it delivers the same results.

 

I was recently comparing the prices for a cayman S and the new bmw 1m coming out abd it is in a different class than the evo X. I own the evo X and its tuned the $hit out of right now (maybe uncomfortably) so there's no trade in value there, but my gsr and the entry level cayman S are about $20k difference. they can't be compared. thats like if i owned a cayman s and was saying how the GT-R just handles better and feels more prcise.......well of course it does, it's got $30 grand more in equipment to make it rightfully so. The evo X is a fun car to tear up and take on the turnpike fast and try and lose control of, i just wouldn't try that in the cayman, i honestly dont think it could perform at higher speeds or on tighter turns like my X does.

 

in Australia

EvoX GSR = 65k
EvoX MR = 75k
Cayman S = 165k

the choice is easy

 

Thank you for the interesting (and on-topic) observations!