And if they reviewed the GT4 they would complain how stiff the ride is on the road

One is a brilliant road sports car, the other a brilliant track car. Cant have both in same package.

These guys sum it up pretty well:

 

Everyone is missing the bigger picture here. Reviews can most definitely change (even for the same model) when you put it against different/newer competition. The auto industry is not in a vacuum and MFG. offerings are getting better and better every year, especially in the suspension department. Suspension tech. is moving fast. PASM is a pretty slow active suspension by todays standards. More and more MFGs are moving to MRC, which is superior to the valve controlled active systems out there.

Also, both the GTS & GT4 suffer from a strut based front AND rear end.

The track width is also on the narrower side on the 718 chassis and that makes them a better lower speed canyon carver, rather than a high speed sweeper car.

I just put MCS 2-way remote dampers on my GT4 and while it is an improvement over stock PASM, it still falls behind my outgoing Camaro SS 1LE with MRC in certain areas (mainly high speed stuff on broken pavement and ride quality)

 

Also for some people, the GTS checks certain boxes that the GT4 /Spyder can't. I wanted a blue roof (chalk exterior) on my Boxster with a graphite blue interior. No can do with a Spyder, and it really bummed me out. I really don't plan to track it, so the softer ride and auto-roof works for me.

 

Motortrend is a pay for review company. They are known to make some very questionable reviews... like calling the 01 PT cruiser the car of the year. I believe they also said that about a 97 Malibu.

I could be wrong but those sound like the worst cars of those years to me.

 

Not sure why some people prefer the GTS over the GT4. I've had Caymans for 11+ years and never once considered getting a GT4. I learned of the GTS 4.0, started thinking about it, and ordered one within a month. I can rationalize it but there's really no explanation. One appealed to me and the other didn't.

Maybe it's because I will always think of the GT4 as a track car and I don't need or want a track car.

I will say I didn't pick the GTS because I wanted a softer suspension. I'd rather have the GT4 suspension. If there was a GT4 that looked like a GTS on the outside with the GT4 mechanicals and the GTS option list, that's probably the direction I would have gone.

 

How do you have the damping set on the MCS? Maybe you'd want to soften the settings a bit to better maintain contact with broken pavement. On an unrelated note, I highly recommend trying out a Taycan with air suspension if you want to see what's possible with the latest mechanical valved dampers. In soft mode, a Taycan rides smoother than my S class over bumps, and in firm modes and minimum ride height, it's still very compliant while also amazingly confidence inspiring through curves on bumpy/broken pavement, more so than any other car I've ever driven.

I was under the impression that the bump steer issues were more present on the GT4/Spyder than the regular base/S/GTS suspensions due to differences in geometry. I never noticed any rear instability on my 987.1 Boxster or on various 981 base/S and 982 base cars I've driven in the past.

 

Actually looks as if they testing the -10mm suspension, not the -20mm. Based on various reviews, there's a big difference in handling between the 2 heights. No idea why the majority buy the -10mm option?

 

This review is pure click bait.

At the end of the article:

“As features editor Christian Seabaugh said, "Other than the noted 'complaints,' it's an excellent car. Well balanced, poised, and easy to drive fast and find your limit. The steering is sharp and direct, and the brakes are pretty good."

 

It was initially set-up as 6 clicks from soft compression and 9 clicks from soft on rebound. Those settings were too stiff for compression and it was giving me a headache on our crap CA roads.

I have now adjusted Compression to 2 clicks from full soft and upped rebound by 1 click and the ride is smoother and the rebound composure happens quicker and more immediate, which keeps the rear end more stable when upset.

The issue though is that the GT4 being a relatively short width track car, doesn't like high speed crappy roads, even with a motorsport suspension on it. On smooth pavement, it feels great , even at 130MPH +, but you throw in crappy roads and it has its limits, which are below my SS 1LE MRC equipped car.

In the smooth, the GT4 destroys the SS 1LE, on crappy roads, the 1LE is the much quicker car and I am talked like over 20MPH faster when at triple digit speeds and with much less drama.

 

Maybe try softening the rebound a bit too (say 5 or 6 clicks from full soft instead of 10 where you are now), that may help maintain more consistent pressure on tire contact patches entering dips or after bumps.

In general, stiff suspensions feel great (in terms of precision and responsiveness) on smooth roads and tracks, and maybe help performance a little. However, stiff suspensions substantially worsen performance on bumpy broken pavement. The Taycan I drove last year did so well on crappy roads because it had a super soft suspension, but the very low centre of gravity, length, and wide track width still gave it minimal body roll and squat/dive. My comparatively stiff, narrow, and short Spyder can’t maintain the same level of tire contact over bumpy roads that a big and soft Taycan can. My ABC-equipped Mercedes-Benz CL550 is also quite good at bumpy fast sweepers, again due to its soft suspension, wide track width, long-ish wheelbase, and hydraulics counteracting body lean, but it’s not as competent as the Taycan because there’s still more weight shift to the outside wheels due to a higher centre of gravity than the Taycan.

 

Something to bear in mind is that initial reviews are usually from driving the car in isolation on a press launch, while these annual round-ups involve driving cars back to back with many others. Why would I give a **** if a GTS isn't as good in high-speed sweepers as Car X, which I don't own anyway?

 

Yeah, it is a trade off.

I don't want to loosen rebound that much though as it makes the rear-end less stable when upset mid-corner because of the excessive upward motion that isn't as controlled.

MRC gives you the best of both worlds. It is set-up soft, but reacts soooo quickly when you need it to and is adjusting like 1000 times a second. There is just no competing with it in a passive system for a dual personality car. I was hoping PASM would be just as good, but it just isn't on the same level as MRC.

Then like you said, you add in the longer wheelbase, wider track and that makes the gap even more.

I will live with it for a couple years, but I think the C8 Z06 is going to be better suited for me as a do it all sports car. Just will have to wait a couple of years for my place in line.

 

Reviews are always relative to the competition.

Anyway, I don’t really understand their criticism or claims of disappointing handling, there isn’t enough information in the article. Maybe the suspension on the car they drove was stiffer than what best suited the roads they drove on. In my experience driving a Cayman with the standard (-10mm non-GT) 718 PASM, I thought it handled bad roads pretty well for what it is. My 718 Spyder is a bit firmer and a bit worse on bumpy/cracked/potholes pavement through curves, but overall I’m happy with its compromise of size and firmness, given the agility and tactility it brings. For optimal grip though bumpy curves, you want a car that not only has wide tires and a suitable alignment, but also a soft suspension, wide track width, long wheelbase, and low centre of gravity, ie. a Taycan. The 718 with it’s smaller size and stiffer suspension was optimized to feel sharp, nimble, and grippy on more decent road surfaces.

 

I think the GTS 4.0 is a great option but I also think some in this thread are downplaying the differences between GTS and GT4. A member in another thread summarized it very well:



Entire front clip and mount is 991.2 GT3. Axle and ratio, brakes, suspension, etc. Obviously rear is ME unique but same GT3 suspension.



Brakes, wheels, tires, PASM, PSM, etc are different. One is a GT division car the other top range 718.



PDK, gets the GT specific programmed unit that comes in the GT4.



The engine makes more power, RL is higher, makes max HP higher, max TQ band wider as well.



The differences aren’t simply a softer suspension and lack of a wing. If you have driven them back to back, they feel like very different cars. Personally I feel the 4.0 being available in the GTS makes the two models appear to be more closely related than they really are.



This post is not meant to be disparaging towards the GTS in any way. I just wanted to point out the key differences so others doing research and be better informed.

 

All true, but Motortrend's criticism was: "It's the damping that surprised me; it doesn't soak up midcorner bumps as well as I expected, and it feels a little skittery at high speeds. Porsches are usually more locked down, and as a result, I couldn't carry as much speed through fast, bumpy sweepers as I could in lesser cars. I was 8 mph faster in the Subaru [BRZ]." In other words, the damping was too stiff for the roads they were driving on. The GT4 damping is even stiffer than GTS. On crappy roads, you can carry more speed in a GTS than a GT4/Spyder.