I don’t know. I’d think most 135i owners, including myself, would say the stock sport suspension is pretty much terrible, although, after a driving a buttoned down Cayman for a while, I must admit the twitchiness of the 135i is pretty fun on the street, so I haven’t bothered to improve it.

Have you tried a credit union? I was just offered 3.1%, and that was on a used car, which has higher rates than their new car rates.

Oil starvation, yes. Bore scoring, no.

Crack pipe! For $3700, you’d better be talking about Ferrari.

Yeah, I tend to like most Porsche coupes, and I’ve owned a couple, but I currently drive a 135i despite never particularly liking most BMWs since the ‘70s-’80s.

Sure vinyl made a comeback. The larger amount of vinyl available today vs. 15 years ago tangible, and, while it’s not a huge seller, it’s apparently popular enough for them to press the things. That’s all I’m saying. Sports cars themselves, either DCT or manual, aren’t all that popular, so it’s a bit strange to…

Exactly. It’s one thing if we’re talking about world beating speed, like hypercars, but with a 330 hp car with an auto? It’s not beating anything but fun.

I’m not. As I mentioned in the music analogy above, it’s a fun vs. practicality thing, and there’s room for both. These ICE cars that are numb with electric steering and auto-transmissions are basically today’s tweener Compact Discs.

Weird, because vinyl has made quite a comeback compared to other physical media. The way I see it, our family will eventually have both an electric car for practicality (Spotify) and a manual ICE car for fun (vinyl.)

If we’re talking speed, DCT>Manual. If we’re talking fun, Manual>DCT.

Absolutely. In everyday driving, it’s absolutely about fun, and I have zero fun with a DCT or high end auto. May as well just go full-on electric.

Yeah, it really just depends what you want. Since I’m not spending a ton of time at the track, I sometimes even wish I got a 128i over my 135i. It’s just a bit more fun to me to have an engine you can actually wring out a bit on public roads in the US. I practically don’t even have to shift my 135i.

2003 with a 3.6L.

Sure, it can happen in the 997.2, just like IMS failure can happen in the 997.1. I’m simply pointing out that, generally, IMS is the thing to worry about in the 996, and bore scoring is the thing to worry about in the 997.1.

You still have to deal with oil starvation on the track, and bore scoring is a big issue with the 987.1 Cayman S. You’re still better off saving for the 987.2, even just a base model.

As a former owner of an ‘08 987, I’m not sure I’d call it negligible, but certainly less common. I was just looking at a 987.1 for sale the other day with a replaced 2.7l engine, due to IMS.

Agreed. I think the base 987.2 is the right compromise in terms of performance, fun and reliability.

I went from an ‘08 Cayman to a 135i. The Cayman is certainly another level in terms of out of the box handling and feel, but I found the 135i to be a better compromise in terms of utility, due to the back seat and trunk. Admittedly, I also feel better in the more incognito 135i. The Cayman is an attention getter,…

I traded a 996 for a base 987 Cayman, and I found the Cayman to be more fun, FWIW. You can rev the heck out of the little engine.