GT4 RS Driving Impressions
04-09-2024, 10:50 AM
#466
I just drove a 992 GT3 and gotta say the front end is quite nice! WOW. Small part of me thought to trade the 4RS..but I was curious if there were other recent thoughts on the comparison from those who have owned both or gone back and forth? Also part of me felt that the 4RS is much more rare and it would be silly to trade since my local dealer had several GT3s on the lot. Zero 4RS.
Thanks for insight.
Thanks for insight.
For me, GT3 was too large, but the front end was amazing. I like the way the 4RS moves around. Based on your concerns of GT4 balance above, GT3 may be a good fit for you, though. It is far more planted and stable. Not sure I'd keep a car because it's rare. Both are great, get/keep the one you want. I highly recommend Porsche Experience Center if you want to try GT3 on track.
04-09-2024, 11:02 AM
#467
Rennlist Member
Kept my ‘23’ 992 GT3T for about 5 months and traded it for a GT4 RS. The GT3T wasn’t that engaging to drive. The GT4 RS is like that hot girl in high school everyone wanted to date.
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04-09-2024, 11:32 AM
#468
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Had my 992 GT3 and tracked it. I drove a 4RS at Porsche Experience Center and have one on order.
For me, GT3 was too large, but the front end was amazing. I like the way the 4RS moves around. Based on your concerns of GT4 balance above, GT3 may be a good fit for you, though. It is far more planted and stable. Not sure I'd keep a car because it's rare. Both are great, get/keep the one you want. I highly recommend Porsche Experience Center if you want to try GT3 on track.
For me, GT3 was too large, but the front end was amazing. I like the way the 4RS moves around. Based on your concerns of GT4 balance above, GT3 may be a good fit for you, though. It is far more planted and stable. Not sure I'd keep a car because it's rare. Both are great, get/keep the one you want. I highly recommend Porsche Experience Center if you want to try GT3 on track.
04-09-2024, 12:08 PM
#469
On bad roads I agree, but on track I had opposite experience. I rode in GT3 on Nurburgring and the way it absorbed bumps and put power down was incredible. At our local track my GT3 was extremely stable and had none of GT4/4RS bad habits. I still enjoy 4RS more, but GT3 is a step beyond in chassis/suspension at the limit.
04-09-2024, 12:49 PM
#470
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On bad roads I agree, but on track I had opposite experience. I rode in GT3 on Nurburgring and the way it absorbed bumps and put power down was incredible. At our local track my GT3 was extremely stable and had none of GT4/4RS bad habits. I still enjoy 4RS more, but GT3 is a step beyond in chassis/suspension at the limit.
04-09-2024, 01:53 PM
#472
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04-09-2024, 02:14 PM
#473
Same expeience on 981. 4RS much better, not as much tail wag under braking and more front end grip. I liked it, but felt it was more challenging than 992 gt3.
04-09-2024, 02:53 PM
#474
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That's the fun part, at least for me. I drove a 992 GT3 hard in the Malibu canyons and it just felt too easy, the car was doing most of the work so it didn't feel very raw or engaging. 4RS struggles over the bumpy canyons in putting the power down for me which makes it more fun.
04-09-2024, 03:00 PM
#475
That's the fun part, at least for me. I drove a 992 GT3 hard in the Malibu canyons and it just felt too easy, the car was doing most of the work so it didn't feel very raw or engaging. 4RS struggles over the bumpy canyons in putting the power down for me which makes it more fun.
04-10-2024, 02:11 AM
#476
Rennlist Member
I LOVE the mid-engine handling characteristics. Sure when it lets go, it does so much quickly than a front engine ( I have no experience with a rear-engine) but if you leave all systems go, it will keep you safe.
The cornering speeds you can carry in a mid-engine platform is very additive. It's even better after you add a motorsport suspension to it. I can carry speed in corners that I have never seen before and with zero drama. The limiting factor are the grip of the tires. I have seen 1.49 lateral G's on mine with a -2.5F -2.1R camber alignment on my local on/off ramps.
The cornering speeds you can carry in a mid-engine platform is very additive. It's even better after you add a motorsport suspension to it. I can carry speed in corners that I have never seen before and with zero drama. The limiting factor are the grip of the tires. I have seen 1.49 lateral G's on mine with a -2.5F -2.1R camber alignment on my local on/off ramps.
Wonder who will go faster, me in my 'inferior' GT4RS suspension or you in your Corvette🤔
Is there somewhere where the GT4RS is slower than a Corvette?
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04-10-2024, 02:54 AM
#477
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Just traded in a 992 GT3 for my freshly delivered GT4RS. I'm exceedingly happy.
A word about my use-case. I have a fast Taycan, a fast Cayenne, an SLS, and a GR86. The GT3 didn't fit in well. For getting somewhere on the street quickly, the SLS, Taycan, and even Cayenne were equally effective but more quiet without the tire noise, assuming I didn't want to go to jail for my driving.
For back-road fun, the GR86 is hard to beat. It's a stick, it's slow enough to really need you to flog it, and it is comparatively disposable. The GT3 was too big, too fast, and too quiet, although I never found it as stiff as the media said it was.
Enter the GT4RS.
I'm really surprised by two things- How much of a hooligan this car is- others have said 458 Speciale, but it bears repeating along with the 430 Scud comparison. The engine behind you is very much living and breathing. The GT3 cabin was oddly insulated from the engine, though the clacks and clunks of the throw-out bearing were kind of fun.
Secondly, even though I had a Spyder before the GT3, the GT4 is far more stable mid-corner. The more cornering G's, the more it settles into its suspension. The suspension punishes me on bad roads more-so than I recall the GT3 did, but this mid-corner stability is worth the tradeoff. It's glorious.
Porsche built a little Ferrari of their own- an emotional, temperamental dance partner with beautiful sharp edges. I'm very pleased to have it instead of the 992 GT2, and it fits into my garage so much better.
I look forward to the requisite adjustments, a couple motorsports bits, and then a long schedule of track days. As others have said, unless you have a fragile ego, a really good track car is more fun than a really fast track car. I don't care if the GT3 was a second faster, or if it isn't. I'll be having just as much fun.
A word about my use-case. I have a fast Taycan, a fast Cayenne, an SLS, and a GR86. The GT3 didn't fit in well. For getting somewhere on the street quickly, the SLS, Taycan, and even Cayenne were equally effective but more quiet without the tire noise, assuming I didn't want to go to jail for my driving.
For back-road fun, the GR86 is hard to beat. It's a stick, it's slow enough to really need you to flog it, and it is comparatively disposable. The GT3 was too big, too fast, and too quiet, although I never found it as stiff as the media said it was.
Enter the GT4RS.
I'm really surprised by two things- How much of a hooligan this car is- others have said 458 Speciale, but it bears repeating along with the 430 Scud comparison. The engine behind you is very much living and breathing. The GT3 cabin was oddly insulated from the engine, though the clacks and clunks of the throw-out bearing were kind of fun.
Secondly, even though I had a Spyder before the GT3, the GT4 is far more stable mid-corner. The more cornering G's, the more it settles into its suspension. The suspension punishes me on bad roads more-so than I recall the GT3 did, but this mid-corner stability is worth the tradeoff. It's glorious.
Porsche built a little Ferrari of their own- an emotional, temperamental dance partner with beautiful sharp edges. I'm very pleased to have it instead of the 992 GT2, and it fits into my garage so much better.
I look forward to the requisite adjustments, a couple motorsports bits, and then a long schedule of track days. As others have said, unless you have a fragile ego, a really good track car is more fun than a really fast track car. I don't care if the GT3 was a second faster, or if it isn't. I'll be having just as much fun.
You did basically the same as me. I had a 992 GT3, and while I like the car, I don't love it, primary reason being it is a giant whale of a car. It doesn't matter how nice the front end is, it's still basically driving a very agile whale.
Like someone mentioned, this is the 7th generation of the GT3, with the 8th coming very soon. But there will only ever be 1 generation of GT4RS.
I also had a 458 Speciale, and the comparison is that the GT4RS is more raw than the Speciale. That one is a gentleman racer in a tuxedo suit, the GT4RS is more like one of those Red Bull extreme motorsport racer. The Speciale engine is a gem, but it's all about the exhaust note, but it loses to the even better 918 V8, THAT exhaust note is literally unbeatable. The GT4RS howl in a different way, the intake roar, before being processed by the engine, can't get any more raw than that.
I do runs up and down the Sea to Sky highway here with all my cars, the Speciale was very enjoyable, the Ferrari computer sort it out very nicely even if I get it a bit wrong, like, night time 5 degrees and raining wrong. Do I have the same trust with the GT4RS? Honestly no. Even when I kept a GT4CS as a track car that I ran a lot and I know how Cayman handles. The GT4RS can and will bite. Which makes it the most raw car Porsche made since, well, forever. It rewards capable drivers. Unlike 911s, the car doesn't need crazy trail braking, it mostly is about brake, turn in, hold the throttle and dance with it then exit, the car WANTS to rotate, so the job is to keep it from over rotating. Porsche tuned the suspension very well, lots of feedback, but skill is still needed.
Ferrari dialled back the rotation in the Speciale, it's more or less neutral or understeer that way, Ferrari knows their clients, and their skill limitations, if Ferrari didn't do that, half their clients will be all dead. Well, half of those that actually drive the car.
Now onto the 992 GT3. Well. Hmm. The car is way too big to have fun in the twisties even with a great turn in. a corner is much more than just the turn in. It's also about precisely placing the car where you want after. I simply can't have the confidence to place the passenger front where I want it to be. It feels completely foreign to me. That front passenger corner is literally in the next zip code. And the passenger rear fender is another 2 zip codes over. I am just not enjoy driving it. After I got mine, I went over to Europe to do a Porsche driving event in the Alps, Dolomites. In a 992 turbo S. Man that was a struggle. I drove those same roads every year before in a 991 turbo S and I am just not enjoying my time in a 992. it is WAY TOO BIG. Case in point, for my Porsche trip, a couple clients banged up the passenger rear fender on the side of the road against a wall and another with a road marker. I sold my 992 GT3 not long after I got back.
While I did took delivery of my 992 GT3RS a while ago, I find the 3RS even more comical to drive on the street. Very likely it won't stay for long. Even when it is the best riding 911 ever. (the adjustable shocks do wonders). Outside of a track, the 3RS isn't happy. The whale size plus the wing means I really can't go everywhere with it.
The Dakar, which I just did European delivery with, is the only 992 that make sense for the body size. The Dakar is not about precision but about fun so the body size is not a hinderance. I can't wait for it to get back.
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04-10-2024, 07:43 AM
#478
I also had a 458 Speciale, and the comparison is that the GT4RS is more raw than the Speciale. That one is a gentleman racer in a tuxedo suit, the GT4RS is more like one of those Red Bull extreme motorsport racer. The Speciale engine is a gem, but it's all about the exhaust note, but it loses to the even better 918 V8, THAT exhaust note is literally unbeatable. The GT4RS howl in a different way, the intake roar, before being processed by the engine, can't get any more raw than that.
I do runs up and down the Sea to Sky highway here with all my cars, the Speciale was very enjoyable, the Ferrari computer sort it out very nicely even if I get it a bit wrong, like, night time 5 degrees and raining wrong. Do I have the same trust with the GT4RS? Honestly no. Even when I kept a GT4CS as a track car that I ran a lot and I know how Cayman handles. The GT4RS can and will bite. Which makes it the most raw car Porsche made since, well, forever. It rewards capable drivers. Unlike 911s, the car doesn't need crazy trail braking, it mostly is about brake, turn in, hold the throttle and dance with it then exit, the car WANTS to rotate, so the job is to keep it from over rotating. Porsche tuned the suspension very well, lots of feedback, but skill is still needed.
The Dakar, which I just did European delivery with, is the only 992 that make sense for the body size. The Dakar is not about precision but about fun so the body size is not a hinderance. I can't wait for it to get back.
Dakar looks like another fun ride, jealous of that one!
04-10-2024, 08:56 AM
#479
Rennlist Member
Call me crazy. But I think Porsche will continue on with the ICE GT4 and RS alongside a BEV 718 for at least another decade, even beyond/indefinitely if they can get the economics on the synthetic fuel. BEV's are DOA and everyone with a IQ above room temp understands how impractical large scale adoption/implementation is for a myriad of technical and economical reasons.
04-10-2024, 11:15 AM
#480
Call me crazy. But I think Porsche will continue on with the ICE GT4 and RS alongside a BEV 718 for at least another decade, even beyond/indefinitely if they can get the economics on the synthetic fuel. BEV's are DOA and everyone with a IQ above room temp understands how impractical large scale adoption/implementation is for a myriad of technical and economical reasons.
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