Baggerdude

I've had more than a handful of 911s going back to a 1967 911T that literally rusted away. I couldn't afford a new 911 for some time, but over the years ... and several pre-owned 911s ... I got to a point that I could afford a new Porsche.

Recent cars include a 2007 997 C4S, a 2009 997 TT cab, and most recently, a 2015 991.1 coupe. All my cars have been MTs except the 2015 TT ... which obviously was a PDK. I resisted getting a PDK car just because MT sports cars seem the obvious reality. But, I am apparently wrong.

I built all the cars and had Porsche put them together. All were amazing. The next one more than the last. But .... altho the PDK TT was brutally fast, it was not all that exciting to drive. I mean, heck ... put it in sport mode and push the go pedal. Not much driver involvement, just sit there and use the right pedal. Fast? Yeah, that is a given. But, not interesting.

Sooooo ... when Porsche showed that they would offer a GTS car with a MT, I was quite interested. I ventured onto the Porsche site and started to build one.

I chose a Targa 4 GTS with MT in Lava Orange! Wow! I loved the wide body, the AWD, and ... of course ... the manual transmission! Dial me in.

The allocation process is interesting. Not every dealership has allocations for a Targa 4 GTS car. But, my dealership (whom I've dealt with for some time) came thru after calling in some "favors" and we got an allocation for a 2018 Targa 4 GTS. I built the car to my liking and it arrived mid August.

I have about 1700 miles on the car. I did not "break in" the car. I drive it normally and fast. I drive it to work most days, but only have a 18 mile round trip. However, I do enjoy just driving the car and often find a longer way home, or some excuse to take the car out for a couple hours .... just to drive it!

Believe me ... I have zero regrets for moving from the 991.1 TT PDK to the 991.2 Targa 4 GTS MT. Even with the loss of about 70 or so horse power. ZERO!

This car is much more interesting and driver involved to drive 'normally', and very exciting to drive FAST! The torque is down low, the MT shifts very smoothly, the car turns in much faster than the TT, steering is improved, and the ride is more compliant in every mode. The PSE is nice, too. Not as loud as my aftermarket full Cargrafic Loud on the TT, but that'll change with the sport cats going on this week. It's just a better driver's car in every facet than the TT IMO. I'm sure others will not think so, but drive a GTS MT car and let me know how you feel after that.

The Targa top being 'full auto' is very nice, too. Gives me some cab effects without the whole cab enchilada. And, I think the Targa has a better rear, 3 quarter and side silhouette compared with the coupe and cab. Just my opinion. Plus, adding some carbon fiber bits outside and inside ... deviated stitching in LO over espresso, some white gauges, and performance bits ... well, you'll be hard pressed to choose (in my opinion) a TT PDK over this car.

9ELOVIN

Waiting on pictures....

Baggerdude

I posted some initial photos a month or so ago. But, this post has nothing to do with photos. It's about how the car 'feels' to drive compared to the TT. Photos won't show a feeling. The post is just about a comparison between the 991.1 TT and the 991.2 Targa 4 GTS.

If you want photos of my car do a search. They are pretty rudimentary compared to the staged photos that often grace these pages, but that's just me. It's a DD and I only wash it when I feel like it.

Dennis C

Congrats! Glad you’re loving the Targa.

Boulder Mike

Would love to hear your thoughts on the sport cats once installed.

Baggerdude

They are going on tomorrow. I'll let you know my tho'ts.

I'm sure they will make a difference to some degree. Should add a bit more power (maybe 14 ponies), and should increase the sound of the PSE.

I've listened to several YouTube vids and manufacturer vids that show case them. The German cats are all the same, just different folks wrapping them for the Porsches and, of course, different costs.

I'm always interested in more / better sound without cabin issues.

randr

Great write up Photos - should be stunning in lava

R_Rated

Which cats are you going with?

Baggerdude

200 cell HKS .... the cats are all the same / same, just different companies making the shells / pipe connections.

Cost varies, as does stock. I went with SOUL.

quattr0

Will you have time to do a before and after dyno? Have heard great thing about Soul but still doubt on power gain. I'm very happy w SpeedTech also on my manual 991.2. Totally transform driving experience!!!

Thank you for this post btw. You also confirmed that I won't need a TT in my life, unless it's manual.

Baggerdude

No time to do a dyno, and no dyno close. But, my opinion is that the sport cats will be more free flowing than the oem's, and this may show (perhaps?) 10-12 hp crank, maybe at the rear wheels. However, any increase is fine with me. I'm interested in a more visceral sound from the GTS PSE.

Folks I spoke with at SOUL (and others) said that the rear can of the GTS exhaust is pretty much "straight thru" anyway, and that trying to improve on it for sound and hp increase did not result in much improvement in either.

I may 'flash' the car when that is available for the newer GTS cars. But, I have to tell you, you'll be hard pressed to go wanting for more power than the car has ... and, with a MT, you'll really be driving a potent sports machine. No TT required.

TorqueChap

Congrats and welcome to the club! The GTS is special. The Targa is special. A GTS Targa is doubly special

quattr0

Know what you mean as I'm very happy w my base.

Fyi, if you want to flash GTS now, you could. They might need to keep your car few days for logging/tuning. DimSport could do it through your local shop.

R_Rated

I agree - soul seems to have the right thickness pipes and quality welds. It's crazy to me the variation is cost for the headers...

Baggerdude

I dropped off my car a noon today to have the CF heated sport steering wheel installed (since I could not order it for some reason), the charging pigtail added to the battery for winter, the PORSCHE 911 removed from the butt of the Orange Crush Car ... and have the SOUL sport cats instaled.

I was given a Cayenne S loaner to drive until the shop got the stuff done. Surprisingly, I got a call around 4ish saying the car was all set. Great! So, I got out of work a bit early and trucked down to get my car.

The car was washed, vacuumed and all the bits installed or removed. Steering wheel is very nice (better than the sport wheel that came with the car) since it has the CF matching the CF interior bits on the espresso clad interior. The CF steering wheel on my '15 TT was nicer IMO.

Butt of the car looks better without all the 'business' of advertising what kind of car I'm driving. I took off the Turbo script from my TT, too.

Now, the cats. Yes, the CATS! Well, there is certainly a more visceral growl to the car at start up. I took the long way home and was able to push the car here and there along the way.

The sound is deeper, louder, and less high pitched with the PSE ... altho, the PSE alone is much better than the oem exhaust I had on the TT before I changed that out.

There is no interior drone at any speed. In fact, I drove with the driver's side window down about 1/2 way all the way home. The popping and burbling is more pronounced in a good way, too. Also, the turbo whirling is somewhat louder ... but, I always liked that in both TTs with the aftermarket systems installed.

Finally, there is an increase in power. The car is obviously quicker. I can feel the difference. How much more power? About what I shared before ... maybe 10-12 more ponies. But, the car is quicker, and that would be expected with the freer flowing exhaust gasses leaving the car.

The cats went on with only a bit of a s t r e t c h i n g to get the bolts lined up. No big deal. Charge was $299 since they didn't have to take the entire butt of the car off like the TT. 3 hours. No charge for the other installs / removing logos.

I don't think anyone would be unhappy with the sound and small bump up in power of these Sport Cats from SOUL on your GTS PSE car. I'm quite pleased all way 'round. And, the cost is quite reasonable considering the full on exhaust systems I've had on the Turbo cars.