Project Cayman GTS 4.0 – Introduction

Detailing and Protection

Drawing on my former detailer background, I gave the car a thorough refresh after the thousand-mile journey home. I used spray foam, wash, clay bar treatment, and PPF decontamination with light buffing. A three-stage paint correction using Status Detail products restored the finish. OzBraz applied additional PPF to the doors, roof, headlights, and rear quarter panels, leaving only the rear hatch and bumper exposed. The final step was ceramic coating with Gtechniq Crystal Serum Lite and Exo v5 as a sacrificial topper. Exo v5 must be re-applied yearly to maintain hydrophobic qualities and protection.

The Badge Debate

The rear “718 Cayman GTS” badging felt excessive. While complete debadging was tempting, the GT4’s centered badge aesthetic appealed to me. My PPF installer removed the original badges, but we discovered ghosting around the mounting points of the lettering. Light buffing couldn’t eliminate it, so we committed to color sanding and buffing the entire bumper. I’m very pleased with the results.

Technical Challenges and Solutions

I discovered a peculiar memory seat issue during the drive home – having both key fobs present while saving settings actually disabled the entire system. The fix was equally unusual: cycling the seat fully forward and back three times restored functionality.

The PCM (Porsche infotainment) system’s persistent message notification chimes required a phone-side Bluetooth settings adjustment rather than staying disabled in the PCM system. For whatever reason PCM keeps re-enabling the message chime enablement even though it has no problem preserving my treble settings.

Android Auto and PCM Updates

For whatever reason Andriod Auto isn’t available in this version of PCM. Apple car play is. I know iPhone users will tell me to just get a real phone but that’s okay I can think for myself. Rather than use potentially unreliable adapters to trick the system, I explored the MIB firmware route. No it’s not Tommy Lee Jones with the flashy thingy to wipe your memory. The MIB firmware allows you to unlock Andriod Auto by flashing the PCM firmware. The all-in-one update not only enabled Android Auto but also unlocked navigation and the track precision app. The existing GPS antenna made this a plug-and-play upgrade, though cars without it would need the additional hardware. The update also exposed advanced audio and diagnostic capabilities through the PCM.

Looking Ahead

Up next, Project Cayman GTS 4.0 will receive further customization with the Launch diagnostic tool. The nice thing about Khiem going first in this adventure into Porsche’s is he’s done the homework already. Thanks buddy!