tqevo

I wish the RS came with a manual. If i had a .2 GT3 i would not move to an RS, but once you do, it's hard to go back to a GT3

RudyP

Thanks. And you’re not wrong that they aren’t cheap but it’s all relative - they are cheaper than a 992 RS if you aren’t on the VIP list!

Fastboy

This is a “bump” of a thread I started a while back when I was deciding if to sell my manual 991.2 gt3 and buy the 991.2 RS
I wanted to follow up by posting my observations now that I’ve had a bit of time in the RS- noting pluses and minuses ​​​​​​-
GT3-
I do admit I miss the manual. The auto blip on downshifting is intoxicating
The ride in the GT3 is a bit softer so wife liked it more

RS
Its faster. The PDK is as i understand even quicker than if I had PDK in the GT3 (I had manual) so that adds to the speed but there’s something else that makes the car faster- 20 hp seems like not enough to feel but..all I know is that it’s faster, likely the pdk
Also - the car is vastly more stable in corners- have yet to track it but already I notice big differences- I assume it’s the wider track bigger tires and downforce
Finally, for what it’s worth I just love the way it looks like a real race car. It’s wider, has a more aggressive splitter and skirts with lots of black holes all over the place. Oh, and a lot of wing in the back. Looks like a predator creeping along the road. Went by a McLaren 720 and thought “nice looking but I like the RS much more”

Anyhow - there is my observation for others considering the same issue

I have no regrets on the change all in.

gravedgr

I’ve had much the same thoughts, but in reverse order. I briefly had an ‘18 GT3 (PDK), then 570S, and now GT3 RS. The RS *is* faster than the GT3, but as noted not by a lot. The gap between the two is closely tied to the driver skill level (most of us will never drive either near the limits).

Right now, I’m really considering selling or trading my RS to get a 6MT GT3 because I miss the engagement with the car and I haven’t done any track days since getting the car, unless I’m instructing (ride along or lead/follow). But … every time I look at it, or drive it, it is so much more special than the GT3 that it invalidates a lot of the comparison by catchpole unless you’re not enchanted by the car. For someone who drives cars for a living, I can see where it’s hard to really fall in love with a car. Not for me.

I still want that manual, though, so the deliberations continue since I can’t afford both.

Fastboy

One way I resolved the desire to drive manual gt3 was the fact that my daily is a Subaru WRX STI with manual and 310hp, hand brake, decent suspension and some pretty amazing engineering for a $40k car (no longer made - only the lower spec WRX now)
So the PDK is a novelty for me- I’d recommend anyone with an RS have a second lower priced fun car with manual - VW GTI, Honda Type R, Acura, and a few others make similar choices. Then you have both!

gravedgr

My son has a NC Miata he loves and it admit it’s a hoot to drive, even with an automatic. I remember how much I loved my small manual cars, even when they only had 130-150hp. I’m thinking of an ND3 Miata with a stick, lowered on big rubber and maybe a LS swap later as a fun cheap car to hoon around in.

ParadiseGT3

Going on 2 yrs with both in the garage, I would miss some defining elements of the RS on track, but .2 6MT is the keeper.

Dguth

Here is another way to scratch the manual itch. Keep the RS and picked up a manual ZR1. Holy **** that car is insane. Best of both worlds.

Fastboy

Now that’s a nice garage!!
My buddy had the same Z06- very fast and IMO way better looking than the “try too hard to look like a Lamborghini” new ones. To me the new vettes are fugly - And the last gen, like you say it’s available in manual.
Curious re your lift system- what brand and cost are they?

Dguth

Thanks, yeah to find a manual version of the ZR1 variant are very hard to find and values will keep climbing since they won’t make another manual 750hp/720tq car anymore. The lift I got was the Tuxedo 8,000 lift. Cost of these are around $3,600 plus factor in additional $750 for install. Also will need about $2,500 to reroute your garage doors higher with top side scroll opener. My garage ceilings are 11 foot tall so plenty of height to stack the cars.

348SStb

@Fastboy

Thank you for circling back on this.

I am a former 991.2 GT3 Touring owner and current 718 Spyder RS owner; and I have been bitten by the 991.2 GT3 RS bug recently and trying to piece together the extra quarter mil to get into one; and I’m wondering if you could expand a bit.

Can you talk more about ride quality and compliance 991.2 GT3 vs 991.2 GT3 RS? I thought GT3 practically rode like a regular 911 — I thought ride quality was terrific for what the car was. Gun to my head, I’m guessing the RS is very good and not harsh as some would suggest. Porsche really made huge leaps forward with 991.2 across the board.

Also — what about those VIOLENT (and wonderful) downshifts in PDK Sport while braking hard into a corner? My Spyder RS does that, and since it’s essentially a 991.2 wearing a 718 badge, I’m wondering if your RS also downshifts the same way. I test drive a 992 GT3 with pdk, and that pdk was no RS pdk.

Lastly, can you comment on steering feel? I’d imagine it’s the same and wonderful. I despise the steering feel (which doesn’t exist) on 992 GT3.

Fastboy

ok: Ride quality 991.2 gt3 was a little softer for sure but not like the RS will destroy your back or anything. It IS a track car, so it’s part of the appeal

Doenshifts: funny you mentioned that because the manual GT three I had had this wicked auto blip thing that was definitely more exciting sounding than the PDK- that said when you were going hard and then jamming down to a lower gear, the downshifts are plenty violent sounding. I don’t think you can beat the manual for that but it does it quicker and it’s a faster transmission so again you want the fastest you get the RS.

Steering: perhaps my imagination at work here, but I have found the RS steering miles ahead of the GT three. Perhaps it’s just a suspension or they’ve changed something about the ratio, but it seems to have a tighter turning radius. It seems to just feel so much better turning a car in on a corner. that is one thing I found that was definitely a big bump up from the standard GT three. The handling is definitely better and I do think it’s because of those rose joints.
Hope that helps

348SStb

Thank you! I do imagine the steering would be different due to different front end hardware on the 991.2 RS. I also believe I read somewhere that the steering was recalibrated for the RS.

Drifting

Oddly enough Henry catchpole said he preferred the 991.2 GT3 steering over the 991.2 RS steering when he compared the two cars.

ParadiseGT3

I agree with this.

RS is bigger, feels bigger, sits taller, larger tire contact patches = less initial responsiveness and more steering numbness. (I run the same tires and alignment specs on both, and both have iron discs.) Base feels more road connected, responsive, nimbler at street speeds.

For me, under 100 mph, everything on the street, prefer GT3. Over 100 mph, especially under braking from 100+, RS. Not to oversimplify, but that's where the RS was really engineered to excel and differentiate itself, and that's basically what it does in my view.

RS also responds favorably to strong driver inputs on track, make seemingly impossible demands of the systems, engineering, brakes, aero and it says ok. It's a brute. Base requires more measured, deliberate (and continuous) inputs to get the best of out of it.

I enjoy and appreciate both, but for quite different reasons as I use them.