jhun

Hi, does anyone know where to buy original/2nd hand 718 gt4 bodykit??
Dying to make the conversion.

Archimedes

You would need to do the entire treatment, wing, diffuser, underside, etc. or you’re going to mess up the aero balance of the car.

donR

I believe Suncoast is interested in selling the front bumper/conversion kit but are yet to work out exactly what is needed but say maybe $5k or $6k just for the front.

I think many people are doing these changes for asthetic improvements so perhaps the aero balance is not so important and IMO you really need to being going 100mph or so to start getting the aerodynamic benefits aside from being a very good driver on the track.

I've read, for the 718 GT4 Porsche quotes "At the car’s maximum speed, there is a total of 122 kg of rear downforce." So that's 180mph, so not much happening for street driving, but certainly some benefits on the track, although I think GT3 or GTE race cars are getting over 500kg or more rear down force, so 122kg is not a lot from what is really a little wing, but very nice to look at.

However, I like the idea of a GT4 touring for a bit more subtlety.

I know some people are going with the Techart rear wing which might be a bit more cost effective and another owner was able to fit the GT4 rear diffuser by re-welding the positions of his exhaust outlets.

Archimedes

It’s not just a matter of overall downforce. It’s balance. If all you do is thrown the front splitter on a 718, without the rear wing or, more importantly, the diffuser, you are going to seriously unbalance the car at high street speeds. It won’t matter at driving to cars and coffee speeds, but railing in the canyons it will have an effect on the handling.

martopoulos

NR Auto (LA) said they'd be interested in adapting their 981 GT4 mold for 718s, but would need a pool of people willing to make a deposit. I actually like the styling of the 981 GT4 front bumper more, but it is a little strange to go backwards, I suppose.

They told me they'd need maybe 10 people for the 981 GT4 => 718 adaptation, but I'm guessing they'd want even more people to justify starting from scratch on a completely new bumper (the 718 GT4 one).

Outside of waiting on NR Auto and Suncoast, there are already numerous FRP options you can buy now on alibaba.com, but man is that risky, quality and fitment-wise. Examples:

Example 1

Example 2

My wife knows Chinese so I was thinking of asking a few probing questions about their bumpers to see if that instills any more confidence, but even if it did, they'd still be crack-prone FRP instead of ABS, which might be a deal breaker for a high wear area like a front bumper.

donR

I'd be interested to hear what you find about the Chinese Front Bumbers. I'm not sure as there are so many little parts in the front bumper like parking sensors, lights, washers, grills, vents, etc., that I also wonder if it will be like OEM.

Otherwise I think other parts like fenders, side skirts and rear spoilers should be ok.

martopoulos

Okay, I'm taking a chance on the Chinese bumper. Just ordered one. They said they'd make it in ABS for me and cut holes for the parking sensors. I don't think it'll have whatever the sensors actually mount on, but after talking to my body shop about their willingness and ability to improvise and fabricate things as necessary, I feel a bit better about gambling. I paid $2000 shipped, which includes a spare spoiler lip (my request).
​​​​​
It'll be a good 6 to 8 weeks before my body shop has it. Since I skipped the carbon fiber lip overlay option (a bit too much gloss for me, though it does look nice), I'll ask my body shop to fill in the "GT4" text embedded on the lip and smooth it out before painting since that bothers me.

Another reason I'm in a gambling mood: my OEM GTS bumper is out of alignment and somewhat bent in one spot thanks to an E-scooter that blew through a red light and right into my driver side fender / bumper, so yeah, it's hard to imagine this new bumper looking much worse. A replacement OEM bumper is $2500 + shipping, which also motivated me to look into other options...

As for aero balance, I already have a replica 981 GT4 rear spoiler installed, FWIW.

donR

Great to hear you are trying out the Chinese bumper. My experience is their carbon parts have come along way and finish is usually very good. I'm sure the bumper will be fine, just all the intermediatry pieces that you might need.

Anyway, look forward to seeing any photos as the build progresses.

obx_jk

Good luck with NR Auto. I bought a GT4 rear spoiler from them last year for my 718. I called to ask if it was in stock and was told yes. I placed my order on the spot. 2.5 weeks later and I didn't have a tracking number or package. After multiple calls trying to find out where my order was, I was told they had a bunch of orders all at once and they were being made "in-house." Took about about another 2.5 weeks to get the part in the mail. Item arrived damaged, and needed professional work to fix. Item was also missing hardware for installation. No one was interested in helping after purchase.

About a month after I had the item professionally installed, someone on the FB 718 page found out the NR Auto wing was also the $300 wing sold on ebay. Obviously with significant markup.

MTB_KAB

Thanks for taking the plunge, I can't wait to see it. Will have to make sure to make one of the local runs as soon as you get it installed so that I can see it in person.

c1pher

Isn’t that what the GTS is for? You get the flat six with the look of the regular 718.

c1pher

But why? Trade in your 718 and buy a GT4. By the time you get all the body parts, wheels etc and then have them painted and installed properly, you could have paid for a GT4 and gotten the flat six engine.

DC021

This.

Please don’t.

Archimedes

An yes, I remember when I bought race bodywork for my track bike out of China to save a few bucks. Especially vivid is my memory of stuffing it in the trash bin when it didn't fit, cracked when drilled, looked like ***. Nothing like throwing hundreds of dollars away and then still having to spend what you should have in the first place to do it right.

c1pher

This is true. You might get lucky or need a lot of body work to make the panels work. I’m not sure why but the panel gaps seem even tighter on the GT4/Spyder than they were on my 17 Boxster. Tighter tolerances leave less room for error.