TRSCobra

Last year I bought my first Porsche, a 2021 GT4, and since then I've gotten bit hard by the HPDE bug. I've upgraded wheels, tires, brakes, exhaust, and some suspension (DSC controller, toe links, and camber plates).

Well I feel I'm soon to reach the limits of the current build and wondering whether I should drop another ~$30-40k on seats, harnesses, rollbar, MCS dampers, aero, headers, tune, etc, or just enjoy this as is for a bit, then get into something like a 991.2 GT3 to really go fast and not need as many mods.

I really like the GT4RS, but it seems that would need similar mods and still has the same ultimate chassis limitations of the GT4.

sgreer78

Will dropping $40k make you a better driver?

TRSCobra

Nope! But I can't help but plan the next round of mods. I suppose it would be a similar situation regardless of which vehicle I'm in. Just wondering if I should get into a more "motorsports" oriented platform is all...

sgreer78

To me, that's a never-ending chase. If you get a GT3 you'll soon think you've outgrown that and a GT3RS is needed. Then a GT2RS... Now if you just want a GT3 or whatever, that's fine, but don't confuse the reason.

IPSA

Time for a Clubsport.

AWDman

You can be fast, fast because of the car, or, fast despite the car!

Gt4rs gt3 s are neither fish nor fowl to me….too capable for road yet not equipped for serious track duty due to lack of comprehensive safety. After you leave hpde1 it’s my belief that you’re best served with full cage, halo seat, Hans, fire suppression, full safety gear, 5/6 pt harness.

Generally the seriously bitten track rats end up in wheel to wheel racing. Where do you see yourself going in 3-4 yrs? Might it make sense to just get a suitable platform now to hpde slowly building it out into an major sanctioning body approved competition vehicle? Research and pick your class before deciding platform.

Doesn’t have to be a Porsche!

Ksdaoski

How many times you tracked it?

mgordon18

Since it sounds like you're getting faster, start thinking more about safety. Seats, roll bar, harnesses. With all due respect, there's no way you're exceeding the limits of what this car can do out of the box with less than 1 year of track time. My 981 GT4 had the LWB seats, so the first mods I did were to add a roll bar and harness. I added the DSC controller, toe links, camber plates, and a Softronic tune later. You DON'T need better brakes (other than pads, maybe). The brakes are already GT3 spec! Turns out I didn't really need most of the other mods because one DE event into using them I crashed and totalled my car. I believe I walked away without a scratch because of the roll bar, harness and HANS device.

Safety, first. In your case, second, I guess...

vantage

I'm always in favor of doing harnesses, so do that regardless of which car you are sticking with.

$40k in go fast mods is probably a waste unless you're in the top echelon of drivers. What are your lap times at a few popular tracks? That should tell us how close you are to extracting all the performance the stock car has to offer. That said, stickier tires is the best bang for buck in terms of lap time.

TRSCobra

Valid point. I'd love to hold on to this one for a long time. Just don't want to be pushing a platform too far past what it was designed to do and end up spending more money in the long run.

If they were street legal I'd be all over it! Did the race car and trailer thing before (although it was drag racing) and that whole aspect took the fun out of it for me.

RDCR

What's wrong with that? A faster car has always ended up in faster lap times for me, maybe not immediately but better is usually faster ultimately. There is no way I'd ever want to go back to tracking the Cayman R or 981GT4 and I remember how much I liked them when I first got them and what an upgrade they were over my previous car.

Don't overlook the GT3 experience either, they are special cars.

TRSCobra

I've been doing events with the local racing school that also offers race licensing programs for amateur racing like spec miata, Pro3, etc and if I continue to stay with this hobby and can get a few others on board, that may be an option in a few years.

I've done 12 track days and 26 autocross events in the past year with the car.

TRSCobra

I'm running a Simpson Hybrid S, but still on the 18 way seats. I've been looking into the seats, harnesses, and roll bar setup which kind of made me wonder if I should get a car that came equipped with buckets in the first place.

While I loved the stock brakes, I outgrew them after about 6 track days. I'm running girodisc rotors and DS3.12 pads now that give me consistent braking throughout the entire sessions now.

I'm not saying I'm holding record laps or anything, but I'm doing pretty well at local events and already running in the advanced groups. Only 2 tracks I've done are Pacific Raceways with a 1:30.61 and The Ridge Motorsports Park at 1:48.80. I know there's still a few seconds in there at both tracks with better lines and no traffic.

Ksdaoski

Seems like you're going in the right direction. I was going to suggest that exact brake setup.

GT4rs or GT3 will all need the same things as your gt4. Maybe not the seat, but the bar/harness. Will have a higher ceiling but at a higher cost.


Older post on aftermarket seats https://rennlist.com/forums/gt4-spyd...at-fits-4.html

needmoregarage

1. Spend money on safety (1/2 roll cage, harnesses, head-neck restraint)
2. Spend money on private, professional coaching
3. Get more seat time.

You can become VERY fast VERY quickly in these incredibly capable cars. But you don’t know what you don’t know. You don’t have enough EXPERIENCE to know what to do to avoid a serious crash (or try to minimize the outcome).

I have a friend who got VERY fast in her 981 GT4. She spent money on safety, but she kept going faster and faster but hadn’t had coaching and didn’t have a ton of experience. She lost it in the Esses at the Glen. Car was totaled. She was injured (passed out cold) and fortunately came back from it, but she was going far too fast for her experience level. It’s not known whether it was driver error or mechanical, but no mechanical explanation was definitely discovered.

Twelve track days is nothing. And no disrespect, but I don’t count auto cross as being relevant in any significant way to driving on a road course at triple digit speeds. There is so much to learn and it takes a lot of track days (for which there is no substitute). Maybe driving on a SIM is helpful to some degree, but you need to embed proper habits and truly learn your car, your tires, your limits before you actually need a new car.

Maybe racing is in your future and maybe plenty more cars. But after 12 track days, my suggestion is to get whatever safety upgrades are possible and to spend some money on a good coach. Once you’ve done that, and once you have more experience and are truly reaching the limits of your equipment, then you could consider what is next.

One of the problems instructors face is exactly this situation. The cars make people really fast. The cars save people (and most of the time the driver has no idea the car intervened). I’m not saying you are unaware of your car’s electronic safety equipment, but a lot of drivers are clueless. A good coach in the right seat, and/or with the right data acquisition can inform you of where you need to improve so you can be fast and safe.

I speak from some experience as I started in a high horsepower car and went progressively lower until I truly learned how to properly drive it (went from 600 to 550 to 505 to 350 HP). It was the 350HP, manual car that kicked my @ss when I wasn’t in the correct gear, or when my heel/toe work wasn’t excellent. That car taught me MORE than any prior car. And I was doing on average 25-30 days per year (I live 30 min from a track). Only when I truly was consistently reaching the limits of my car did I consider going “bigger” (more HP/torque/capability). That was after few years and many track days.

And oh by the way, I was also on staff at the track teaching car control clinics - sometimes 3x/week over the winter. We did skidpad work along with swerve to avoid and all the classic car control maneuvers. I got a ton of time at the wheel (demonstrating every drill for my students). This helped with developing a “butt-o-meter” that had decent sensitivity so I could really feel what my car was doing (or about to do). Harnesses also help to be “one” with the car.

Best of luck on this incredibly fun and rewarding journey!