sbmackie

A guy in our region had a manual Cayman S. He was pretty quick. He traded it for a PDK. He was much quicker, like class champion (S03 I think) and also our club champion using a PAX like handicap system.

I'd like to see all PDK cars bumped up a class. It's that good on an AX course. He downshifts to 1st effortlessly.

Cheers

sjfehr

I liked his (and I'm paraphrasing from memory here) "It's rated at 385hp, on a hot summer day, on a mountaintop at 10,000feet" quip. Certainly explains Porsche horsepower ratings. Sometimes I wonder just how underrated our cars' power actually is, especially when they lay down times way faster than similar power:weight cars and rear traction alone doesn't really seem to explain it.

There's a GT4 subforum in the 987/981 forum with a lot of good info, too.

edfishjr

I've always wondered how much "gaming" manufacturers can do, especially in Europe, wrt the modern horsepower regulations. Supposedly, they must rate within 1% of tested value (I think) but under what conditions? I saw a paper describing real-world testing that indicates that the European method of correcting for temp/humidity/altitude is less accurate than the SAE method. Whatever the method, there's room to play games, if someone really wanted to, for either under-rating or over-rating. Such as choosing test results from particular weather conditions, testing at altitude, adjusting the test-cell temperature to skew the correction, etc.

cretinx

This answer depends 100% on how the two cars are classed.

Mini George

First you said you were competitive and want the PDK for quicker lap times, and then you said it's not a competition and that you do it just for fun? Hmmmm... I would hope that the GT4 would be faster on pretty much any track over the GTS, otherwise it's not doing its job. For me it'd be GT4 10/10 if you can get your hands on one.

Earlydays

+1 for the GT4......in addition to what has already been said, it's also got 3-way adjustable anti-roll bars front and rear

cretinx

it's not like you can't add aftermarket adjustable bars.

The real bonus for the GT4 is the power - but I don't know if that changes the classing, or what the GTS is even classed as . . . . . SS is a brutal class including the GT3.

Earlydays

Well, that's obvious....but it's nice that Porsche provides the "whole" package

sjfehr

What's sad is that Porsche doesn't put adjustable bars and another 3/8" of strut slot on all their sports cars as standard. What, is it too difficult to drill a couple extra holes so people can go a bit stiffer?

sdillon

Boy, now the decision got much more urgent. Even though I am #2 for a GT4, my dealer got no GT4 allocations this round. The Carmine pdk GTS with sport suspension I ordered will be here in two weeks. Buy it and be done? Or pass and hope for an alloc next fall or winter?

I won't buy the GTS, drive it for 6 months, then sell it at a $10k loss to buy a GT4. I don't have the wealth that many others on this forum do. I get one shot at this!

mopar bob

The GT4 is the car I would want but the question is, can you get a GT4 in 6 months? Good luck with the choice you make.

upshift4

What are you crazy!? Get the GT4, sell it and buy two GTSs!

They waiting list for the GT4 is done and speculation is already high!
Rumors were at one point unless you had a 918 your couldn't get one,

Plus it's MUCH MORE car than a GTS !

XPC5

Buy a used GT3 while you are waiting for the GT4. They will not depreciate much at all in the 6-8 months you may have to wait, and would be a good competitive choice in the meantime.

sdillon

Bought the GTS. Still waiting (like the majority) on a GT4 allocation. Will compete in the GTS this year but will not make any mods, no new wheels, nothing that I won't get back when I hopefully sell it for a GT4 next year. GT3 would be a good idea except I'm in a very remote location and would have a very difficult time finding, much less selling a used GT3. Thanks for the input everyone.

perfectlap

The GT4 will be much quicker. And it's more involved because it's not an automatic PDK. If you're an older driver or sit in traffic a lot I guess the GTS's auto has appeal.
That being said, for autocross, the new Boxster Spyder will be quicker than the Cayman GTS or GT4. More or less the same power to weight as the GT4 with a lower center of gravity which his huge. More grip and easier to drive at the limit. For autocross, No weight on the top of the car is a much bigger advantage at each corner than millisecond advantage of PDK for that one shift at the start of the lap.
Some reviewers at R&T were complaining that despite GT3 bits on the Cayman GT4 it still had more understeer than anticipated. The 981 Spyder with a 911S engine will not have this issue while being lighter overall. Honestly for track or autocross the Spyder seems like the best handling option between all the non-GT/Turbo Porsches. I've long believed that if you put the same engine in the Boxster, Cayman or Carrera, they will finish in that order on 99% of autocross courses or tight track layouts where the emphasis is on grip and handling. The 987 Cayman R vs. 987 Boxster Spyder test in Excellence magazine with J. Van Overbeek doing the driving pretty much made it an open and shut case (the title of the article). What struck me was how the Spyder was quicker than the Cayman R over every lap without the picnic table on the back of the hood, just the duck tail. And partly explains why they left the GT3 suspension and steering off the Spyder, that would put it well ahead of Carrera and Cayman non-GT/Turbo variants.