BMR CS Power Steering Cooler
The Cayman S is a great car from the factory. However, when we begin to push them at the track we can begin to notice flaws in some areas of the vehicle. Now part of this is because the Cayman was never intended to be a track car; that right has always been reserved for the 911. Therefore some areas of the car have not been bolstered to deal with the rigors of aggressive high performance driving that often occurs on track. One of these areas that have come to light is the power steering system. The pump has been known to over heat and seize with the additional strain experienced on track. Bodymotion has since developed a Power Steering cooler which helps alleviate the strain on the system. We tap into the system and route the fluid to an external cooler which alone helps by being a heat sink, but because of it's location it also is open to airflow which further helps extract heat. This allows the system to operate at a much more manageable temperature preventing over heating and seizure. This is much more of a reliability upgrade than a performance upgrade, but as you all know reliability goes a long way in racing, because you can't win if you don't finish. This upgrade is a must for any dedicated DE driver or Club Racer and comes standard on the BMR CS, or can be had as a standalone upgrade to any Cayman or Cayman S.
BMRCS Transmission Cooler
Engineered and built much the same as our power steering cooler, the BMRCS Transmission Cooler upgrade helps maintain correct operating temperatures of the gearbox. The nature of the position of the gearbox does not provide for optimal cooling. To combat this we tap into the gear box and install an inline pump that pumps the gear oil through a cooler, providing an extra outlet for the fluid to flow through and keep cool. This is a great reliability upgrade for club racers and ensures trouble free operation of the gearbox preventing against costly wear and rebuilds.
Braking Upgrades
The stock brakes on the Cayman S are very capable in their own right. Featuring 4 piston Mono-bloc calipers front and rear with cross drilled and vented discs. Because of the design of these cars and to maintain balance as well as be compliant with sanctioning bodies requirements we do not install larger brakes. However, regulations do allow an upgrade to the 6 piston front calipers featured on the new Cayman S.
Pads: To gain the best possible performance out of the stock brake system we upgrade the components to more track and performance oriented parts. We swap the brake pads for Pagid RS29 "Yellow" pads in the front and rear. These pads offer great initial bite and a higher coefficient of friction than the RS19 and retain the higher wear rate of the RS19. These are the pads commonly found in Grand AM cars and GT cars.
Brake Lines: We replace the standard brake lines with stainless steel braided lines. This is done to help firm up pedal feel by preventing expansion of the brake lines under braking. They are a great upgrade for street cars and a necessity for track cars.
Brake Fluid: Castrol SRF is used exclusively with these cars. It is unmatched in its performance and we use it in all our customer race cars and in our own as well. With a 518°F wet boiling point and a 590°F Dry boiling point it is widely considered the bench mark for brake fluid. We use this to ensure that there is consistent performance while on track. This fluids provides the best performance and protection against "boiling the brakes" which causes a "spongey" or soft brake pedal. A soft or "spongey" brake pedal is very unnerving while racing and will prevent a driver from driving on the limit.
Solid Engine and Transmission Mounts
Missed shifts and unsure shift selection can often be attributed to the engine and transmission shifting under hard braking and acceleration. The movement that occurs though very small can be enough to make shifting unsure. Also this movement prevents the engine and transmission from transferring the power right to the wheels and to the ground where it is needed. And since these cars are not big horsepower cars, we want the power transfer to be as direct and instantaneous as possible so that no time or energy is wasted. To combat these two issues we replace the soft rubber engine and transmission mounts with solid units that firm up the entire driveline. These mounts help ensure proper and precise shifting as well direct power delivery. It is an optional upgrade but one that is sure to make a big and noticeable difference. It is the final step in stiffening the chassis and making sure that the inputs the car gets from the driver are as precise and direct as can be.
Pro/Club Sport Limited Slip Differential
Getting power to the ground is perhaps one of the most important things when t comes to racing. You can make all the power in the world but if it doesn't get to the pavement you are not going to get anywhere and you certainly aren't going anywhere fast. The stock differential in the Cayman is an open type, and as such is prone to spinning the inside wheels coming out of turns and also does not allow for power to be delivered to both wheels at the same time on acceleration and deceleration. To make sure that you get all the power down all the time, we offer two limited slip differentials. The pro limited slip differential and the club sport. Both differentials have the same internals and are built by Guard. The differences are the materials of the casing, making for differences in weight and strength. These differentials have been known to increase lap times by 3-4 seconds a lap in DE cars without differentials. Also because of the added grip that the differential alone provides we are able to better tune the suspension of the car because we are not trying to use spring rates to help get the power down. This really is a must have for anyone going racing with these cars. The Cayman responds incredibly well to the differential over a 911 and really transforms the car and makes it fast and so much fun to drive. You can visit our Library section for more info on Guard diffs and how they work.
The LSD really is something worth emphasizing. The way that it transforms a Cayman racecar is really quite amazing. The gains people are seeing with the LSD on the Cayman are definitely more pronounced than on an equivalent 911 chassis racer, which is a little strange given the rear-engine design of the 911's. However, it's what we are seeing in practice, in both the Interseries cars and the teams we work with at the pro-level in Grand Am and SCCA World Challenge. -Matt Monson, Gaurd Transmissions.
