I couldn't get the Porsche Code to load to verify if it was correct, some sort of issue I guess with Porsche's Website. But here is my thread from May when I ordered it, it has render pics:

Pete's GT Silver Macan Thread

Yes, that's right - I paid PTS money to get GT Silver for the Macan. What can I say, I love GT Silver!

I know from a money perspective it makes zero sense, and per the thread I struggled with it. I looked at a lot of other PTS colors under the premise if I was going to pay PTS money, get a "real" PTS color. But at the end of the day I just wanted GT Silver - it looks great with the Black/BR interior, and in the Winters really hides the dirt and salt. I don't care for Dolomite on a Macan or with Black/BR, it has a hint of Blue that ruins it for me.

As far as non-PTS colors that match the Black/BR - Black, Volcano Grey Metallic, Chalk, either of the Whites. If you are a little more brave, Gentian Blue, Night Blue or Carmine Red. I considered those last three, and Volcano and Chalk.

Now that I have decided that I am selling the Boxster 25, I am even more happy with the GT Silver/BR spec of the Macan, I feel like a bit of the spirit of the B25 lives on for me in the Macan.

 

Ok as it's been driving me nuts, searching, the only thing I have found that the 718 GT4 has part 98155674304 'Sound Absorber' on top of the engine panel https://www.lllparts.co.uk/catalogs/...9/8/807/807800 ; whereas the 718 GTS/S have parts 98155674302 'Sound Absorber' and also 99157252501 'Foam part fuel tank'. https://www.lllparts.co.uk/catalogs/...0/8/807/807080 I wonder is this is the difference to cabin volume?? I actually thought the 'sound absorber' foam was part of the carpet trim and not separate?

 

Got the GT4 on the track yesterday. It was great! On the first session I shifted myself, knocked about a second off my Personal Best on the North Track at Autobahn (versus the Boxster 25). Did a second session and let the PDK shift for me in PDK Sport mode, shaved off another .8 seconds. But I was still getting used to everything, and didn't exactly have the cleanest braking and turn speeds and lines.

At it again today, between sessions now. Today so far I am not going for lap times, instead focusing on learning the car differences more and cleaning up the braking, corner entry and exit speeds and lines.

My shop didn't quite finish all the mods listed on the first page. I asked them to prioritize the Exhaust, VC, BMC Air Filters and the AWE Wind Diffusers. They got everything done except the Rear Toe Links, Front Shims and Track Alignment, the Brake Fluid upgrade, and the Wing Risers. So I am still on the factory alignment, until next weekend.

I ran yesterday with the stock Suspension Controller, and then I upgraded to the DSC with a custom GT4 image that @tdlondon loaded for me. Wow, the DSC makes a big difference on the street, MUCH more compliant, both in Comfort/Standard Chassis and in Sport Chassis mode! It felt better on the track today too, it felt lighter in feel on the steering, and more precise.

The Kline exhaust sounds good. It is the known tradeoff for me (see my huge thread on that from the last two years), the Kline has ZERO drone/bassiness, but sounds a lot more tame at less than ~4K RPM, while the JCR with aftermarket OAPs sounds more ballistic and more Motorsport, at all RPMs, but has some drone/bassiness in the typical RPMs (1800-2400 and again around 3000). I might try the JCR also, I am not sure yet. I might just stick with the Kline and add Headers and a Tune over the Winter. At high RPMs on the track, the Kline sounds pretty epic, with the BMC Air Filters.

I am really loving the car, both on the Street and at the Track. I am also glad I got the PDK. At this point I am not really in anguish anymore about the decision to sell/trade the Boxster, this GT4 is a great next step for me in diving headfirst into tracking being the top priority, in my Porsche Journey.

 

What time are you running on ACC north?

 

Glad you're liking it. Mine (PDK) has been a blast both on the street and the track.

 

2:30 B. I will look for Bright Orange wheels!

 

I don't have my Track Alignment done yet, but holy cow I am SHOCKED at how much the rear end moves around under heavy braking.

I have read the many threads on the topic, so I knew to watch out for it. But still, experiencing that at full tilt in a brand new car is unsettling, especially when the Boxster 25 didn't do that, with lap times only a second or two slower. I will be working to get that resolved this week with Rear Toe Links (my shop recommended the Tarett ones), shims, etc. and a Track Alignment this week. Will report back on progress on that next weekend.

 

To reduce it I've got the TPC rear toe links, 305 rear tires, run Ferodo 3.11's in the front and 2500's in the back, stiffer springs, and a bigger rear wing. But really you can stop it by being smooth on your brake application, and not just hammer them.

 

Thanks for the tips!

With regards to the comment "But really you can stop it by being smooth on your brake application, and not just hammer them" - Yes, I tried that for my third and last session of the day and I didn't as much look at the lap times, and it was much more enjoyable. And somehow in that session I had the fastest lap of the day. LOL, it's funny how that works!

 

I have moved from a GTS 4.0L Cayman to the Spyder and also notice the chassis is more lively - so far I don’t perceive it as negative but I also have not pushed the car very hard. The GTS chassis is no joke!, it stuck to the road very well IME, even on bumpy and uneven surfaces.

 

That is very interesting isn't it. Why would they make the GTS more composed than the GT4. I have never driven a GTS in anger, but if what you say is true, I just don't get their damping curves on the GT4, it just gets so unsettled when you work it hard when the roads are not perfect, or when you are hard on the brakes.

It obviously isn't just PASM software settings either, the whole internal valving is probably different too.

I guess they just decided to set the GT4 up for smooth track roads only and ignored any compliance and composure when things get busy. When you tighten up a damper and springs too much, it just loses the ability to stay composed on less than perfect surfaces and I guess PASM just doesn't have the range to compensate.

 

It is interesting - getting the GT4 after 40+ sessions in the GTS was enlightening with regards to how good a GTS is. Only mods re handling were 255 Front and 285 Rear 19" Tires (per Apex Racing Fitment recommendations) on 19" HRE Wheels, and the DSC.

That said - Even bone stock with the factory Alignment the GT4 is superior in feel and grip on the track, by a decent margin. I felt like I was at the limits of the Boxster 25 with regards to the Chassis and Tires with regards to grip and handling. Other than this odd behavior (which is well documented here and it seems is for the most part solvable) with the rear instability under heavy braking, I have much more confidence in the GT4, it feels like I now can progress more on skills and lap times. Just need to get the suspension dialed in more and improve the hard braking issue.

The steering feel on the GT4 is to die for. That in and of itself is a huge difference from GTS to GT4 IMO. It is so quick and precise and provides so much feedback. It actually to me feels like it exposes weaknesses I have in the turns with regards to turn-in, apex, etc. - it will force me to up my game in that regard, and will make me a better driver for it. Which is awesome, I welcome that challenge.

Also, you can feel the difference in the Aero. At 110-120+, the GT4 feels MUCH more planted than the GTS.

 

Providing another update here on a few things. @jwr9152 's advice above re "But really you can stop it by being smooth on your brake application, and not just hammer them" was indeed spot on, I had a great day yesterday, kept that in mind and all was well, even without a Track alignment yet. The Boxster 25 has been glorious on the track for what it is - but the GT4 takes it up a few notches with a significant improvement in grip, handling and confidence, even with a bone stock suspension and alignment. Well, I did have the DSC installed for the last 2 of my 3 Track Days in the car, that provided an improvement. But point being no Track Alignment.

I have shaved about 2 seconds off my lap time at Autobahn North, and also have become much more consistent. Yesterday I had 8 consecutive laps all in the 1:10's (with a new PB in there), which is something I have never done before with regards to consistency, with the Boxster. I attribute this to the confidence and capability of grip, and the superior chassis and feel. As I was pushing the Boxster, I was often reaching the limits of the chassis and grip, and getting some washout understeer that would cost me that lap with regards lap time. With the GT4, that doesn't happen hardly at all, and when it does it is less severe and much more easily recoverable more quickly, it transitions very quickly from that understeer to oversteer and the capability to hard power through and out of the turn. (I do leave the Nannies on, and they are working constantly to keep the car on the track. I am admittedly nowhere near a level of skill where I would consider turning those off.)

I look forward to getting the Track Alignment done this week, and hopefully (weather permitting) getting out next weekend to check out the incremental gains from that. (Will be on the South Track though, so not a complete Apples to Apples comparison, but still I can compare to gains versus the Boxster.) On another note - I did read through the 75 page 718 GT car alignment thread over the weekend. That convinced me that perhaps there is an advantage to the TPC Rear Toe Links over the Tarett ones. So I grabbed a set of the TPC's from @tdlondon (thank you!) yesterday and will be getting those installed with the work this week. I am going to start with TPC's recommended 3/4 Track setup. Thank you to everyone here for all the great information on dialing the GT4 in for the Track - without this place, I would be completely lost and no doubt would be very frustrated with the experience. With all this great information, it is just stuff that needs to be dialed in, with very little stress or drama.

More on the PDK on track - yes, I am definitely loving that! I have been putting it in PDK Sport and letting it do the shifting. That has been great, one less thing to think about, for the most part. I would say 90% of the time it is in the gear I want, but there are idiosyncrasies where it doesn't downshift coming into a turn like I want it to. But I have noticed that some of that may be my fault, if I overcooked optimal entry speed for a turn, it doesn't give me that last downshift. Almost as if to punish me.

Another aspect related to the PDK - it helps a lot with stability for me for the 18 Ways. I set up the seat as low as it goes, and then adjust the seat front/rear travel to have an optimal bend in the knee for leveraging the dead pedal for stability, and then adjust the wheel from there. As I mentioned previously, the combination of the fact that the RaceTex is much sticker than the Leather in the Boxster and the fact that now with the PDK that my left foot never leaves the dead pedal, I am getting a lot more stability with the 18 ways, I am finding that pretty manageable so far, MUCH more manageable than in the Boxster with the slippery Leather Seats and all the Manual Shifting. Longer term I may get a roll cage and aftermarket racing seats to further improve the car in that regard. No regrets at all with regards to not getting the Carbon Buckets (which I very seriously considered), I just don't get along with that very upright seating position with those, to each their own on that topic.

Actually one of the big things for me with regards to further investments like a roll cage, racing seats and Headers, etc. - have you seen how long I keep my cars before moving on to something new and exciting? For full disclosure I am on some lists right now, including for a GT3. I am going to run the GT4 through the end of the season and see what the Allocation Gods have in store for me for 2023, before investing a ton more into this one. I would like to longer term get to a street optimized Porsche sports car and a dedicated Track Porsche (which I would just leave at the track and go all-in on Track Alignment and sticky tires, Roll Cage, Harness, Seats, etc.), plus the Macan for the family and winter driving, but that will take some time (and significant investment) to achieve that and get it dialed in just right. (And yes, I feel very fortunate and privileged to even consider that as an opportunity.) I am pretty certain I would prefer a 718 of some sort for the street, but I would be open to the 992 GT3 for the track longer term, if the stars align for me with regards to an allocation at some point. I drove one in December of last year at PEC Atlanta, and it was like an out of body experience, incredible...

I drove the Boxster 25 home yesterday, to leave the GT4 there for the work this week. It was bittersweet. I have no regrets on getting the GT4 and deciding to trade the Boxster 25 in, and I am very happy with all aspects of the GT4 spec, I really nailed it for my preferences. It is exceeding expectations for me on how much I am liking it on the Track, and on the Street. Still, that Boxster is just the classic Porsche Manual Roadster, and there is nothing like that on a warm sunny day, it is just epic. I will miss it dearly and cherish the memories with it, but onwards and upwards to this next chapter of this amazing journey.

 

Sweet thread, Pete. Awesome build as well. My GT4 is coming in with the 2 ways, and I will see you down at Autobahn in the Spring. Looking forward to reading some more updates.

 

That's great, glad it helped.