Patrick3000

Yes buy the GT4, add pads and fluid, track the snot out of it and enjoy😀

drwuss

If you have not yet been to the track just take one of your current cars. Actually I say take both out at least once and develop you down opinions of what you want. Both of your cars are great and will have different strengths/weaknesses, so you should have a good idea of what you want/need moving forward. You are most likely the weakest link in term of performance (basing this on my own limits), and what works for someone else may not benefit you as much as something different. So figure out what you need to have a better experience based off your current cars and get whatever that may be.

Schmidts Cat

The gt4 would be great, no question. But I agree you could do at least a few events in what you have.... You can learn a lot by tracking a Camry! You could also buy a lower priced street/race car that someone has dumped money into. But I wouldn't do that at first. Do a season in what you have, then move up as needed. Gt4s will be out there, perhaps for less used... Or more!

Raghu

Drwuss,

I agree with you 100%. Would it be fine to just run the cars on standard OEM tires?

Schmidts Cat

You will be fine on street rubber for a while for sure. There is lots to learn before you are pushing your cars that hard.

drwuss

GO TO A CLUB EVENT WITH INSTRUCTORS! I regret not doing this sooner. Let the instructor drive your car first and let them take several extra laps than required so you can see what they are doing and get a better feel for "how it should be done".

If your car (either one) is stock with new/fresh/healthy consumables and you keep the run times somewhat short at first you should be fine. Short run times will keep the car from getting overly hot and most people are fading prior 20 minutes of hard driving anyway so you may benefit as well.


My opinion (and that is all it is) is run the car stock. I took my car 100% stock but with new fluids and it took me two days to thrash the tires and start to aggravate the brakes. Many will say upgrade pads, brake fluid, get an alignment, better tires etc and I can not say that they are wrong. BUT all the parts of your car are a system put together by one of the best in the business. Changing parts or settings in the system will alter the balance so I would advice sorting out what, why, how and the consequences of altering, before doing it. As others have said there is a lot of debris out there on the track (mostly chunks of hot rubber) so you may want to get some sort of paint protection.

There are may members here that have much more informed opinions than I do so you may want to hear what they say.

and just a thought, you could sign up for a porsche driving experience in alabama and get to use several of their cars...

drwuss

https://www.porschedriving.com/exper...driving-course

FWIW I was told that they use GT4 for part of this course.

red route 1

I was thinking about this question as I've driven them back to back. I have to say, for street use, the Spyder wins in my mind -- reasons are: love the burble on over-run that is for some reason missing on the GT4, steering feels more go-cart-like, not sure why, shifter is great but not as bank-vault notchy as the GT4, and less understeer, I suppose because of tire sizes and set up, and finally, the sport plus button that makes the car feel more lively than the GT4 where you really have to get into it to feel the power.

All that said, the GT4 takes me back to my first GT3, love the mechanical noise which is completely different sounding than the Spyder. As I mentioned, the shifter is like old gated shifters, just a pleasure. I haven't tracked either yet, from these experiences, I can see the GT4 doesn't really come into it's own until it's on the track.

User 41221

To the OP, iirc you must have edited your post where you were saying you weren't getting "solo'd" fast enough by the BMW DE events so you weren't going to run them anymore [UPDATE: as pointed out by another 'lister, I incorrectly attributed that statement to the OP]. Between that statement and some of the other statements in this thread, I'd like to make a couple of comments.

#1, if you are new to track events (I'd qualify "new" as 15 event weekends or less), any baseline Porsche, regardless of hp level has the capability to outperform your ability as a driver. Sorry, but its the truth. You need to focus on learning the basics of driving before you start worrying about what car you are taking on the track. Have you heard of the "circle of friction" yet? If you don't understand that, your focus should be on spending time learning *how* to drive, not learning *what* to drive.

#2, regardless of what you skill level as a driver is, you should *never" solo when you are doing DE's, imo. Having an observer watching what you are doing behind the wheel is some of the most valuable feedback you can ever get. Hurley Haywood probably wouldn't even turn down an "instructor" (even though that person would really just be an "observer") if he were driving a track in a non-competitive situation. If pro drivers aren't too proud to get feedback, why should you? DE's aren't an "ego" thing, its an opportunity to learn in a safe and encouraging environment. Put your ego aside and put an observer in the passenger seat and listen what they have to say. You'll learn FAR faster and you'll get faster much more quickly.

#3, if you are in a situation where you can afford a GT4 and a Spyder, hell yeah, go for it! Its in no way necessary, you can easily track your current cars (in a completely OEM configuration, the cars will be fine on stock tires and brake pads), but a GT4 would be a blast on the track. If you really want a dedicated track car, I'd seriously suggest an underpowered car like a 944NA, as that will force you to learn how to drive to the limits of the car rather than compensate for your lack of driving skill with horsepower, but its your money, spend it how you'd like.

#4, have fun. Getting on the track can be a slippery slope, just make sure you enjoy the experience.

gac1077

Well said, I have only done about 10 days of DE. Last event my instructor told me if I wanted he could ask for a check ride to be blue solo he felt I was ready an I believe I was ready but I had learned so much we him I said no, I have learned so much by having different instructors and getting rides with them in my car and theirs, I can't wait for my GT4 to get here to continued the learning process.

Pep!RRRR

I was the one (not the OP) who made a comment about not being soloed by BMW club. And it was in a different thread! Please understand that I was not saying that instruction is not important and highly recommended. Nor was I saying that BMW club does not run an excellent DE program, especially for beginners. The comment was made in response to a question whether a very tall person would fit into a 981 Cayman. In my case a 6'5" instructor did not fit very well and after a bunch of sessions with him squished into the passenger seat I thought solo might have been a reasonable option. I have 31 track days on multiple tracks and have been soloed many times. And let's be realistic driving by oneself without anyone holding your hand is also important to learning and progression. Sorry to Hijack the thread but we need to focus on the OPs situation, not someone else's.

Mark Dreyer

One of my best students was a woman. In a Volvo. A 4 door sedan. She passed most of the guys in their fancy high power rides. My point is as others have stated, track your daily driver as a novice. The car won't matter.

The reference to the gender was just for laughs. One of the guys in her run group didn't know it was her and came to the pits to compliment her husband (who was there as a spectator) on his driving and ask what mods he'd done to the Volvo. :-)

vantage

Yes, there are differences between the GT4 and Spyder that you could theoretically justify owning both.

I'm just not sure why you would want to unless you can afford to have a huge garage. Variety is the spice of life. I wouldn't want two 981s when there are so many other cool cars on the market.

JAM2

That's funny. I wish I could forward this to my instructor at Monticello. I used my Volvo the first time, as my car was stuck at the port. Let's just say, the Volvo experience was similar...

User 41221

Pep!RRRR, thank you for pointing out my error, I appreciate it and stand corrected that it was not the OP that made that statement. That will teach me to read Rennlist on my cell phone and then reply later. lol

However, I stand by my comments and to your point that we don't want to derail the OP's thread, I also agree, but given the nature of the OP's question, I believe they are valid for both the OP and others.

I'd be lying if I said that I wouldn't enjoy owning both a GT4 and a Spyder.