Dizzy1127

I just installed the madtrace magnetic shifter paddles, its really nice, like upgrading to a great mechanical computer keyboard from a cheap keyboard. Has slightly more volume and maybe a bit more "clack" on paddle return than the 992 gt3rs paddle shifter, but the feel is very similar, which i am happy with. It greatly enhances the driving experience. Very easy diy.

Eric5280

I have some 4RS impressions to share. Just finished break in. Drove a 4RS at PEC track a few months ago and will take mine to track soon.

My Porsche ownership experience is 981 GT4 which I loved and tracked a lot for 6 years. Moved to 992 gt3 which was best car I've ever driven, yet was just too large and a bit too easy to drive. Sold gt3 and got 718 bgts 4.0 for wife to do ED which I still have and love. After some car ADD, I got in line for 4RS early 2023 and got a 718 gt4 in meantime while waiting, which was great but still didn't quite do it for me. All cars were 6MT manual and this is first pdk.

The 4RS arrived late May and since then I've had a lot of time to learn the car. Spec is loaded, WP, mags, pccb.

Engine: Same as gt3, but so much more theater, noise and intensity. 8-9k rpm is incredible, but also very loud at peak, as noted. Up to 7500 rpm, car is not extremely loud. Feels just as quick as my gt3. 7k rpm did not do it justice, 7-9k is a different experience.

PDK: I was concerned about the transmission as I love and race (NASA) manuals. However, the manual mode with center shifter and paddles is so much better than expected. You have full control of the gears, which I didn't realize. In manual, the transmission will not shift unless you shift it, you'll just bounce off the limiter. Also, with the ratios so short, I figured I'd shift a little more, but in reality I shift 2-3x as much as a normal manual. You can zip a few gears and not be doing insane speeds. I never drive in auto and it feels like a manual most times to me, including rolling backwards on hills, etc. The shift speed and intensity add to the engagement. Having a BGTS 4.0 with GT4 shifter satisfies that manual need on the street. For this car, I am a pdk believer now.

Handling: At PEC, I was surprised at how well the car handled compared to my previous GT4 that needed mods for track. Instructor was in a GT3 in front of me and I'd reel him in under braking and to mid-corner where the GT3 would put better power down on exit. We traded laps like this and it was a blast. For my car, I'll do a mild alignment as it will do a few track days per year mainly since I still race another car. I expect a little understeer, which is fine. The suspension is what you'd expect, very stiff, moves around and requires your attention. GT3 was on another level here, but I'm ok with 4RS handling.

Size: Perfect for me and fits on my lift, unlike GT3. I just love the 718 size for whatever reason.

Brakes: First time with pccb and I went down the rabbit hole of if to track with them. I found a lot of evidence saying it looks like this generation is much better so I'm going to track pccb and see how it goes. PCCB was on the PEC cars and Ive really enjoyed street and track use. Nothing wrong with steel, but the pccb feel and modulation is next level. This is one of my favorite parts of the car. Easy to trail brake right into an apex with confidence and consistency.

Looks: Car is Guards with WP and hood stripe. I think it looks great and am so happy it has the stripe. Nothing I've driven gets attention like this, though. Feels like constant recordings, photos and comments. All 100% positive and mostly younger people. Surprised at how many know what the car is. I always let them sit in it and it's been a positive experience every time.

Interior is all I want and nothing I don't. Love the dated interior more than my 992 gt3. Just easy and I know where everything is.

Summary: Objectively, my GT3 was a superior car in every way, I just didn't bond with it. The 4RS is deeply flawed as mentioned on here many times, it's all true and is as advertised. I wouldn't change any of it. The excitement it gives every drive can't be matched and I've bonded with it. It's angry, stiff, loud, and breaks free if you are too heavy with inputs. It will go very fast if you put the effort in and that is the best part. It wants something from me and rewards good inputs. At slower speeds it barks on shifts and is fun to toss around. Car is a blast, any speed, anytime, but is not a cruiser. 10/10 for what I want from it.

Hope this helps if anyone is on the fence. So much criticism of all cars lately as we have so many choices, which likely will change soon. I feel this is one of the greats and a special experience. Not for everyone, but worth a try if have the opportunity.

Avera

Nice write-up . . . glad you are enjoying your new ride.

Perhaps you can clarify what you mean in stating . . . “You have full control of the gears unlike my BMW street cars. In manual, the transmission will not shift unless you shift it, you'll just bounce off the limiter.” No ///M car I have owned with DCT or ZF8 shifted on its own in manual mode except, as you state, bouncing off redline.

Avera

VRShader

Really the only flaw is dynamic suspension geometry. You trade that with better engine location, lighter, smaller, cheaper. You can mask suspension geometry, you can't mask engine location and size.
I still think there is a general bias against 4RS. 911 people bash on it to make you think it is worse. 4RS is certainly not "deeply" flawed and GT3 is not superior is "every" way.

Manifold

The most unbiased impressions/opinions should come from people who have both cars at the same time.

I drove the 4RS and 992 GT3 back to back today, in that order. I liked the 4RS, and I liked the GT3 a lot more. This is a personal preference, and it's just as valid for someone else to have the opposite preference. The GT3 is a more technically sophisticated car, but the 4RS can pretty much keep up with it on track, which says a lot about the benefits of a mid-engine layout. I wish the 4RS was just as sophisticated as the GT3, but then it would be faster than the GT3 and cost more, and that might upset the pecking order in Porsche, since the GT3 is sort of an iconic crown jewel for Porsche.

I think I figured out why the GT3 feels faster than the 4RS, but they both have similar acceleration times. The GT3 pulls harder at low to mid revs, but the 4RS feels like it pulls a little harder at higher revs. To be honest though, both of them feel a bit slow compared to a 570, 991.2 TTS, 992 TTS, etc.

Regarding PDK, the DCT in my E93 M3 holds the gear in manual mode just like PDK, it feels like it shifts just as fast as PDK, and DCT has the advantage of having five different levels of aggression to choose from.

mwar99

I get it, but he could have done it without sounding the way it came off. When you state twice that your Harvard educated it comes off as pretentious and will not get taken well. If you’re smart enough to be Harvard educated then you should realize that and adjust before posting. Not saying he’s not a nice guy, but don’t belittle the experience of others and try to make it ok because you went to Harvard. But what do I know I only went to a state school.

Manifold

If someone was testifying in court as an expert witness and made a point of noting, more than once, that they were trained at Harvard, as though that automatically makes them more qualified than others trained elsewhere, they would likely lose credibility with the jury, not gain it. The most expert experts tend to be humble because they have the best sense of how much they don't know.

alcc

If you went to an elite school it is considered tacky to name the school -- unless in the company of fellow alums. Most of us stick to generally accepted euphemisms, like "I went to school in Boston."

TRZ06

It didn't need to be that way though. There is an outfit somewhere that was able to create a multi-link for the rear of the 718 GT4 chassis. Porsche COULD have done it, they chose not to. For what Porsche charges for the GT4 and 4RS, that is a fail IMO and I lose respect for Porsche because of that.

If it was a $60K - 80K car, I could overlook it, however it is not, they are really expensive cars for what you get. Almost NOBODY (except Alpha on the 4C) sticks struts on the rear of a high end sports car, not even lower tier sports cars like the Miata MX-5. Lotus stuck double wishbone both front and rear on the Emira, Corvette the same.

I didn't know any of this before I purchased my GT4, nor did I even know what that meant then, but having gone thru it first hand and experiencing the deficiencies, it has opened my eyes and what I now know and have learned really disappoints me. Porsche prices them as a premium GT product, but they do not live up to that IMO.

VRShader

come on, stop beating on its suspension, it is already dead….

We all acknowledge it is a flaw. But it is not that bad. Track time speak for itself, many people have also spoken to like it, even prefer it to 911.

With the same logic, why not beat on 3RS? A 480k car having "nherently flawed" rear engine layout.

TRZ06

Because I hope Porsche reads these forums. People who blindly accept deficiencies are part of the problem. So, it is ALWAYS worth repeating. It's my right as a consumer and these are Porsche forums after all and I will continue to speak up.

I have no experience with a rear engine car, but at $480K (that is just a stupid market for people with too much money) that isn't a Porsche issue per se.

Snowy999

This is the multi-link suspension kit that Autoquest created for the 981 GT4 that has been referenced above.

https://www.autoquestcars.com/custom-09

Second chart down shows - really nicely - why everyone is recommended to set up at least 2mm toe in at rear each side (equiv to 0.23 degrees) on standard struts to avoid the Cayman wiggle and therefore stick on motorsports toe links.

Also shows better camber gain under compression vs struts but it is not massive until really high compression (IIRC the chart is mm deflection). 4RS has v high spring rates and so there will be less compression and - I suppose - less variance.

Would welcome comments/thoughts from others who actually know what these charts mean - (but need not necessarily be Harvard educated.....but my oldest friend did his post doc there and was part of the teams that brought us global statins and better cardio vascular health so GO HARVARD MED team).

Manifold

People who can easily afford a $480k car rarely think they have 'too much money'!

Porsche does read these forums, but they're more swayed by aggregate demand for their products, rather than complaints here and there about one thing or another. Porsche is as good at business as engineering - quite good at both.

Mr. Adair

You're kidding right? You really posted this again? Why don't you go back to American product?

Manifold

Someone who has only ever owned one Porsche (981 GT4), never driven any variant of a 911, and never tracks his cars will not be someone whose complaints Porsche cares about.