Project 981 Cayman - NR Auto GT4 Front Bumper (Episode 13)

Project 981 Cayman - Build Series

We have begun the swap of the front bumper from the already good looking Cayman front end to the NR Auto GT4 Front Bumper. We love the look of the Cayman in all trims but really love the look of the GT4 front bumper. It brings a more aggressive look to the front end and we think it fits well with this build. 

Install Prep:

The folks over at Schnell Autosports put together a nice how-to guide you can reference here. The process is pretty straightforward and nothing complicated about the removal process. 

Unboxing:

The folks at NR Auto wrap this thing pretty good. The box is massive and must come via a LTL freight company, so something to keep in mind if you have a residence that isn't hauler friendly. 

Out of the box:

Out of the wrap:

Install Notes

Install time - We recommend removing the headlights and using painters tape to reduce the risk of any scratches to your paint or bodywork. 

Here is the front end with the bumper cover removed. Do note that if you keep the bumper foam and factory ducts, they will need slight modification/trimming. The bumper foam can be swapped for the GT4 foam relatively inexpensively or simply removed. Being a cheaper part that isn't very functional, we opted to just trim it down a bit using a dremel cutting tool. 

We removed the factory radiator ducts and chose to purchase the OEM GT4 front ducts to improve the flush fitment with the bumper and preserve the efficient flow of air to the radiators. 

OEM Part Numbers:

• 981575321801E0
• 981575322801E0

The fiberglass was laid a little too thick to get the bumper around these supports on the corners. Instead of sanding the fiberglass we opted to use a dremel tool and cut the plastic trim as shown on the right side here. Please reference the video on where these are bolted to the car. 

If you opt for the OEM DRLs, NR Auto supplies OEM harnesses with the kit. Unfortunately those harnesses are not plug and play with the base model. I suspect they are with the GTS but not with the base or S. The wiring leads were the same color and format into the pins so we simply just cut our OEM connector from the harness on the vehicle and soldered the plug leading to the GT4 DRL to it. A very simple job!

All jobs, no matter how simple are usually enjoyed more with a fresh beverage (optional). This is also the benefit of doing the job from your home's garage. 

Testing the connectors/wiring to make sure they work before we fit the bumper. We've got lights!

Here is the bumper on. The fitment is solid and lines up nice after some small trimming that we pointed out above to those plastic supports. 

With the headlights in and the DRL's on:

Here's the look with the OEM bulbs (we don't have the HIDs on our base Cayman)

All the factory mounting points work well and we took the car for a quick spin. We did use a drill bit to bore out a little material on the bumper in order to get the OEM corner lights to fit snug as intended. 

We decided to go the extra mile and purchase the GT4 wheel wells to give the set-up 100% bolt-up ability. It has all the holes that match the bumper and also provides a slightly larger inlet into the brake ducting.  

OEM Part Numbers:

• 98150450182
• 98150450181

Next Steps

We are having the bumper painted! We'll have part 2 of this install after we get the bumper back and on. We're looking forward to the finished product. One note, we did compare to the OEM conversion kit. The OEM conversion kit is less hassle by a little but but does require about 50 part numbers to get everything working correctly. The cost quickly approaches $5K. The NR Auto solution is a nice all things included kit that just needs a few small tweaks to bolt-up and get rolling. Some of what we showed is optional as we plan to track the car more and wanted to enhance the car on track as well. For street application or light track use, the kit as-is will do a solid job. We may do the 3rd radiator conversion down the road but it requires a long part list and removing A/C lines. Stay tuned for the finish product. We also have some wheels and tires coming for the car to complete the look for now.