XYZ Racing Top Sport Coilovers — Porsche CAYMAN (981) (Cancellation Kit for Electronic Damping) 2012-2016

The 981 Cayman’s mid-engine layout gives it a weight split close enough to 50/50 that Porsche leaned on PASM’s electronic damping to manage body control rather than raw spring rate, which is exactly the system this cancellation-kit variant is built to bypass. Fit XYZ Racing’s Top Sport coilover here and you remove that electronic control loop entirely, replacing it with damping and spring rates set by hand.

That matters because a 981 that came from the factory with adaptive dampers has no mechanical fallback once you unplug PASM – this kit supplies one. Top Sport sits between a fast-road setup and a dedicated race kit, aimed at owners who split their time between the road and occasional track days and want the Cayman’s natural balance sharpened rather than masked.

What this coilover does for your 2012-2016 Porsche Cayman (981)

With PASM’s electronics out of the loop, damping and ride height on your Cayman are set mechanically and stay consistent from cold start to hot lap, nothing recalibrating itself mid-corner. XYZ Racing’s Top Sport setting runs 30-50% more damping force than a street-biased kit, or roughly 2kg/mm more spring rate, which keeps the 981’s rear end from squatting under power out of slow corners and controls the nose-dive under braking that a mid-engined car with well-distributed weight can still generate at pace. On a B-road that balance shows up as less pitch over crests and compressions; on track it shows up as a front end that loads progressively instead of diving. The increase in damping force also suppresses shock body movement across sharp inputs, so the tyre stays in contact with the road instead of skipping across broken surfaces, useful on the UK’s patchier B-roads as much as on a circuit kerb.

About the Top Sport coilover

XYZ Racing’s Top Sport kit increases damping force by roughly 30-50% over the brand’s street-oriented setting, or adds around 2kg/mm to the spring rate depending on which route suits the car, and both routes are drawn from XYZ’s own Top Sport racing experience rather than a generic off-the-shelf valve. The extra damping force is there to absorb the impact of uneven pavement and soak up the jolt across larger bumps without the shock body kicking back at the chassis, which is what actually costs you tyre contact patch on a rough surface. For the 981 specifically, that translates into a car that holds its line under load instead of skittering, and the stated aim of the type, track day and aggressive driving, lines up with a mid-engine chassis that already rewards a firmer, more controlled setup once PASM is out of the picture. This is a fixed-rate mechanical kit, not an electronically adjustable one, which is precisely why the cancellation kit exists alongside it for cars ordered with factory PASM.

Fitment for the Porsche Cayman (981) (2012-2016)

This kit is built for the Porsche Cayman 981, covering the 2012-2016 production run, in the cancellation-kit configuration for cars specified with electronic damping (PASM) from the factory. If your 981 left the factory without PASM, you do not need the cancellation-kit variant, so check your original spec before ordering.

What buyers also search for

• Porsche Cayman 981 coilover upgrade for road and track use
• Porsche Cayman 981 PASM delete coilover kit for electronic damping cancellation
• Cayman 981 Top Sport damping built to hold up across repeat track day sessions
• Porsche 981 coilover kit for cars ordered with factory electronic damping
• Cayman 981 suspension setup for occasional track days and daily driving

Spring rate, damping, ride height and the cancellation-kit fitment for your 981’s electronic damping all get set at the point of order, so configure yours below.