RB93

Hey,

I am on the hunt for my first Porsche. I live in Hong Kong have narrowed it down to either the GT4 or Cayman GTS. I prefer the look of the GT4 but my only concern is the stiffness of the suspension as I am looking for this car to be a daily driver. Unfortunately, there are no tracks in Hong Kong for track days so this is purely for public roads. If anyone that owns a GT4 lives in Hong Kong, or experiences similar quality roads on a daily basis, I would be very keen to hear your thoughts.

Thanks
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c1pher

I think either are fantastic daily drivers. You may want to consider the GTS with the 10mm option to give you a bit more clearance without softening the ride too much.

DC021

Lived on Lantau (Mui Wo) for a few years, I think my car of choice would be a 981 Spyder for a few reasons when compared to a 982 GT4…

Softer suspension
Better Sound
Top Down

Now, if you were to bring the car out to ZH for some track work, then I would 100% back a GT4.

Good luck with your search, hope all is well in HKG!

c1pher

Are there places you can actually drive in a spirited manner there? It seems really congested and very few high speed roads.

DC021

I found lots of cool driving roads on Lantau Island where I lived, and had friends bring me out to their favorite spots in Kowloon as well. I had a 997TT during my assignment in HKG and it was entirely too much car for the roads.

HKG isn’t all people and skyscrapers if you know where to look!

RB93

Ahh ok, I got a bit worried when I saw how many 718 Spyders and GT4s are on the second-hand market relative to the GTS. Although that could be because I'm filtering only for manual transmission and not many people seem to spec the GTS that way.

RB93

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I seriously considered the Spyder but I think the manual roof operation doesn't make much sense in HK, at least for me - once you hit the road, it's hard to find convenient places to stop and adjust the roof.

KingSize.Hamster

Hey There,

sent you a PM on the side.

I think you will get many different answers. Franky only you would be the only person to tell. there are certainly roads you might want to avoid and/or need to slow down due to road conditions. I actually let others pass me on some roads because I just can’t get through the road fast enough without feeling my car is gonna fall apart. I never hesitate to stop in a car pass area to let those with bigger egos or ***** to go first.

anyway, having owned an S2000 in this city previously, I personally find convertible to be less of my thing here due to the pollution, humidity and temperature. I was only able to enjoy top down in my old car for very limited time (and that was a daily driver). The interior just gets very dusty, and I had to put the roof up before going into tunnels … and I just really dislike humidity (>65 or 70pct) or driving top down at above 26-28C. So that filters out a lot of days in a year. The manual roof will become a nuisance as a daily driver. HK roads are designed differently compared to some of the roads in North America. I used to drive 18km to work every day each direction on the HK Island, and that route had only 4 traffic lights each way. The roads here could really leave a driver very little chance to fiddle with things when something goes wrong … Even tho we all think “it’s just driving in a city”

As far as track goes, one option is going to China now that boarders are open again after years of COVID restrictions, but it definitely is a lot more work compared to how regular track days work in the US.

personally I would just go all the way to GT4 if budget permits. The depreciation will be so much more as well on the GTS. By no means I am mocking the GTS, just that the diff isn’t a night and day when it comes to comfort.

one of the biggest issues with GT4 vs GTS was that only manual was available for the 981 generation. There are many who do not want a manual transmission in this city — however, personally, i find these newer cars very easy to drive even on hilly roads in HK in traffic. The torque and some the electronic assistance (hill-hold and the hidden clutch pedal switch) really help. The buckets also provide a lot of support if the seating position is right. That said … with 982, one could get an auto transmission (thou this isn’t something of your concern anyway). Plus PAG continued to manufacture these things for much longer for the 982s, so allocation wasn’t an issue either. So for 982 generation, other than budget, I feel the GT4 just makes a lot more sense

i have an old 981, which is (much) harsher compared to the newer 982s supposedly. And even so I actually never found the 981 jarring as long as I don’t go try to race down a poorly paved road against some Toyota HiAce. I simply slow down and let those guys pass me. It won’t be a Lexus for sure, but the PASM isn’t doing nothing either (plus I have a DSC and that helps a bit as well)

the GT4 will definitely be stiff, and so will the GTS be. These cars are stiff to begin with, in terms of both the “frame” and the suspension setup. That said, it’s a high quality stiff. I would categorize the Porsche cars to be stiff in nature, but far from being rough. My R56 Mini Cooper is probably a lot less stiff comparatively speaking, but then the ride is certainly rougher compared to my Cayman.

The roads here are certainly not the greatest, as I have to let others pass a lot on certain roads just because I want a more comfortable ride rather than trying to break my car speeding down a crappy road with some other driver even when I am driving a 7seater van. In fact my driving speed is either limited by the city’s (at times outrageously low) speed limit or due to poor road conditions that are breaking my car, rather than limited by safety concerns.

DerekHK

Going down carparks in HK would be an issue with the GT4. The front splitter scrapes easily. Also, you can drive around the city with only the first two gears. Other than that, I love my GT4.

CUGTS

I feel HK's roads are actually a lot better than those in Midwest of USA (previously drove a viper there for over 20k miles in 3 years), so a GT4 should be fine actually. I have a GTS to be delivered mid of this year, but if I can get a new GT4/Spyder, those will be my first choices. As for enjoying the car, below legal speed limit, there are few if any roads here for you to explore full potential of either GT4/spyder or GTS. But as others have suggested, you do have other options, such as bring the car to Mainland China for track days.

P31M156

I can't speak to HK's roads, but I live in Pennsylvania in the States and the roads are horrible. My GT4 is fine on these pothole ridden and rutted roads, a touch stiff, but not so much that I would pass it up.