Prospective 981 GT4 Owners Discussion Forum.
Discussion
ravon said:
Just dropped my GT4 off at Brookspeed in Southampton for them to do some set-up work on their excellent set-up facility. Four hard track days have taken a fair toll on the edges of the tyres, so some additional camber is required I think ?
Hi Ravon,Glad you are enjoying your car. Can't wait to get mine on track!
As a quick guide, I used to heavily track a 987.1 Cayman. I had it set up by Centre Gravity running PSS9's, adjustable topmounts, etc etc.
We ran that with -2deg all round and it made a HUGE difference to tyre wear. I would say at the very least you need to going for a set-up along those lines to start with.
It was still very useable on road too.
Let us know what you end up going for, please.
Jack
Time for PH to introduce an entry test, to determine if contributors realise that there are more important things going on in the World to stress about, than adjustable suspension, LWB seats, stitching colours et al and perhaps convince them that they may be better off joining a boxing gym, in order to vent their inner angst?
Used to be a fun, informative place, but sadly, seemingly not any longer?
Where are Phooey and Zyp when the mood needs lightening up a bit?
Used to be a fun, informative place, but sadly, seemingly not any longer?
Where are Phooey and Zyp when the mood needs lightening up a bit?
Hi Jackwood,
Thanks so much for that information, I've been tearing my hair out with Centre Gravity over bookings and gone to Brookspeed in despair ! Think CG are brilliant, and probably the best in the country, but the business side just doesn't work. Booked my car in, was offered a date towards the end of September, ( despite it being a Gt4 and despite it being a track car in desperate need of attention, and me being available at anytime for a cancelation ) two friends made bookings after me, one has already had his car dealt with by them and the other has a booking at the begining of September ! Frustration !!!!!
Thanks so much for that information, I've been tearing my hair out with Centre Gravity over bookings and gone to Brookspeed in despair ! Think CG are brilliant, and probably the best in the country, but the business side just doesn't work. Booked my car in, was offered a date towards the end of September, ( despite it being a Gt4 and despite it being a track car in desperate need of attention, and me being available at anytime for a cancelation ) two friends made bookings after me, one has already had his car dealt with by them and the other has a booking at the begining of September ! Frustration !!!!!
Be interesting to see the before geo
OEM spec should be -1.5 at the front.
-2 is a good all round geo which works on the road and in the wet still, better on track but still not there.
-2.5 is prob where it needs to be on track.
ALso depends how the roll is curbed with PASM on for track and the stiffer ARB the GT4 has.
Again they are road cars which can track so there is not one fit for all.
OEM spec should be -1.5 at the front.
-2 is a good all round geo which works on the road and in the wet still, better on track but still not there.
-2.5 is prob where it needs to be on track.
ALso depends how the roll is curbed with PASM on for track and the stiffer ARB the GT4 has.
Again they are road cars which can track so there is not one fit for all.
Thanks Porsche GT4, I think that 2deg. is about where we will start, should be a reasonable compromise for road and track. I have a light weight 944/968 track car which was brilliantly set up by Brookspeed and works really well that has 4deg all round, but this is not a road car. Interestingly it works very well in the wet with this massive camber setting ?
ravon said:
Thanks Porsche GT4, I think that 2deg. is about where we will start, should be a reasonable compromise for road and track. I have a light weight 944/968 track car which was brilliantly set up by Brookspeed and works really well that has 4deg all round, but this is not a road car. Interestingly it works very well in the wet with this massive camber setting ?
I ended up buying a race pyro and seeing what the car needed for geo and tyre pressures, it was the only way in the end, as any real advice was lacking , and I find track day goers either don't change pressures or run too soft.The other issue is the Dunlops, they have a tiny window, I just binned a full set which looked like new for the CUP'2
I find the cups stable out very fast, ie 4 laps let some out, wait 30 mins, 4 laps lets some out and then they stay stable all day.
Dunlops I was messing with pressures all day chasing my tail very frustrating tyre and they go off very fast also, so while you get 2 nice laps from them the 3rd is way off.
I will be very upset if I get Dunlops on my car having just binned £1.4k worth of those.
CUP 2's also heat up on the road and wet, My Dunlops when cold understeeed like a dog and I could spin up the rears in the wet in 3rd ! So again GT4 with Dunlops when we are going into winter will be a no go imo.
get the workshop to do 2 geo's so you only have to add a extra shim to get to -2.5, the issue is the toe will change so mark the toe arms and see how many turns it would need to bring the toe back into spec when you add a shim.
I have two full setups, and I can drop in 1 custom shim to goto -2.5 and I know it's 3 turns on my toe arm and some line up markers if I want to get the best at the track, then I run -2 for the road.
here is the gt4 oem setting if you need them
Front axle overall toe-in +2’ ±2’
Rear axle toe-in per wheel +10’ ±2’
Front axle camber -1°30’ ±3’
Rear axle camber -1°30’ ±5’
ps do you have the "Important notes on chassis setup are included in the separate brochure “DRIVING ON THE RACE CIRCUIT”.
I don't seem to have a copy of this extra brochure which is talked about ! do you have that extra book ?
Edited by PorscheGT4 on Friday 14th August 09:53
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Trawling back through my post history, again you are a sad little man. Contrast what you have just written with what MrD has posted above which is actually very informative. The thread is supposed to be about GT4's its not a platform for massaging your pathetic ego, ergo why don't you do us all a favour and p*** off. 
apparently, there isn't enough toe adjustment in the rear to get more than -1.5 degrees of camber without toe being out of spec. Some early german guys are running -2.7/-2.5 all round but needed to buy Cup toe links in the rear to get toe close to acceptable levels.
I intend to try for -2.5/-2.3 as a first attempt.
I intend to try for -2.5/-2.3 as a first attempt.
Sorry to go off topic and talk about the GT4 but I thought there might be some interest following my PEC day at Silverstone on Wednesday.
First things first, the car is much more of an event to drive than any 987 or 981 I have previously tried.
I took the black car out on the local roads for an hour or so. The ride is firm but not that harsh that it would be unimaginable as a daily driver as long as you don't do mega miles. The comfort seats were very nice and the car looked very nice with full leather and yellow stitching. Thankfully it was fully kitted out with aircon etc so made for a very pleasant place to sit. Getting in and out was easier than a 987 with the carbon buckets and the car feels significantly lower. The view out of the rear is hindered by the rear wing but is not really an issue, the wing mirrors give a decent view behind when required.
The engine is lovely, plenty of torque to chug along in a high gear if you want but is much happier in a lower gear and having some fun. It picks up speed in a very impressive way, so the long gearing and being in second or even first was not a problem for me, especially as the gearchange is so good, the best I have experienced - better than the rifle bolt feel of my 996 and a lovely short throw on the lever. The clutch is a little heavy but after 2 minutes I didn't notice it as an issue.
The steering is much better than I expected, positive, nicely weighted and the wheel is smaller than previous Caymans I have driven which was nice. There is very little play around the straight ahead and the car is very easy to place on the road, very confidence inspiring. The negative for me was that the nice shiny parts of the centre boss and the 3 spokes are made of plastic not metal and feel very cheap, what are Porsche thinking of? The 987 sports wheel is much nicer in this respect.
The brakes were PCCB and were good but not spectacular. Playing with the various setting showed that the sports suspension was only slightly stiffer than the standard set-up. The exhaust was not that different in either mode - both are loud and sound fantastic, more authentic than a Jaguar F-Type. The autoblip throttle was surprisingly good, but I need to brush up on my heel and toe to replicate it myself.
I then tried the yellow car on the track. Both cars had the anti roll bars in the standard middle settings front and rear so I can't comment if one was more pointy than the other. Both cars were on Michelins. The yellow car had the 918 buckets which are height adjustable only - they were excellent on track, a big improvement over the comfort seats in this respect. They are a little easier to get in and out of than the folding carbon buckets in the 987, a little wider too. Are Porsche owners getting fatter?
The car had a standard plastic dash and door cards which looked very cheap compared with the leather trimmed version, I'm very glad to have specified the extra leather. The lack of aircon was also an issue as it was a warm day (23C) and we needed to have the windows open at all times unless we were doing the wet activities - kick plate and ice hill.
The yellow car also had PCCB but as others have said, they're not that impressive. My instructor for the day (Barry Horne - ex Porsche Carrera Cup Champion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Horne_(racing_... )agreed. I would have liked to have tried steel brakes but that wasn't an option. They also have a white car at the centre but I didn't get to have a close look at the specification.
Handling of the yellow car was very sure footed, grip was on another level compared with my 987 there was never a point where I experienced significant understeer and oversteer was never going to happen without some severe hooligan tendencies.
The handling was superb, we spent a lot of time on the kick-plate and also used the area for some general drifting by entering to the side of the kick plate and just having fun with some big slides and oversteer drifts. On the low friction circuit the car behaved in a very neutral, predictable way, it never threatened to do anything unexpected, just went when you expected and where you expected. I am no driving god (unlike others on here) but I was seriously impressed.
In summary, I am very happy with the car in general and also pleased with the options I have chosen. Just got to wait for delivery in October.
First things first, the car is much more of an event to drive than any 987 or 981 I have previously tried.
I took the black car out on the local roads for an hour or so. The ride is firm but not that harsh that it would be unimaginable as a daily driver as long as you don't do mega miles. The comfort seats were very nice and the car looked very nice with full leather and yellow stitching. Thankfully it was fully kitted out with aircon etc so made for a very pleasant place to sit. Getting in and out was easier than a 987 with the carbon buckets and the car feels significantly lower. The view out of the rear is hindered by the rear wing but is not really an issue, the wing mirrors give a decent view behind when required.
The engine is lovely, plenty of torque to chug along in a high gear if you want but is much happier in a lower gear and having some fun. It picks up speed in a very impressive way, so the long gearing and being in second or even first was not a problem for me, especially as the gearchange is so good, the best I have experienced - better than the rifle bolt feel of my 996 and a lovely short throw on the lever. The clutch is a little heavy but after 2 minutes I didn't notice it as an issue.
The steering is much better than I expected, positive, nicely weighted and the wheel is smaller than previous Caymans I have driven which was nice. There is very little play around the straight ahead and the car is very easy to place on the road, very confidence inspiring. The negative for me was that the nice shiny parts of the centre boss and the 3 spokes are made of plastic not metal and feel very cheap, what are Porsche thinking of? The 987 sports wheel is much nicer in this respect.
The brakes were PCCB and were good but not spectacular. Playing with the various setting showed that the sports suspension was only slightly stiffer than the standard set-up. The exhaust was not that different in either mode - both are loud and sound fantastic, more authentic than a Jaguar F-Type. The autoblip throttle was surprisingly good, but I need to brush up on my heel and toe to replicate it myself.
I then tried the yellow car on the track. Both cars had the anti roll bars in the standard middle settings front and rear so I can't comment if one was more pointy than the other. Both cars were on Michelins. The yellow car had the 918 buckets which are height adjustable only - they were excellent on track, a big improvement over the comfort seats in this respect. They are a little easier to get in and out of than the folding carbon buckets in the 987, a little wider too. Are Porsche owners getting fatter?
The car had a standard plastic dash and door cards which looked very cheap compared with the leather trimmed version, I'm very glad to have specified the extra leather. The lack of aircon was also an issue as it was a warm day (23C) and we needed to have the windows open at all times unless we were doing the wet activities - kick plate and ice hill.
The yellow car also had PCCB but as others have said, they're not that impressive. My instructor for the day (Barry Horne - ex Porsche Carrera Cup Champion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Horne_(racing_... )agreed. I would have liked to have tried steel brakes but that wasn't an option. They also have a white car at the centre but I didn't get to have a close look at the specification.
Handling of the yellow car was very sure footed, grip was on another level compared with my 987 there was never a point where I experienced significant understeer and oversteer was never going to happen without some severe hooligan tendencies.
The handling was superb, we spent a lot of time on the kick-plate and also used the area for some general drifting by entering to the side of the kick plate and just having fun with some big slides and oversteer drifts. On the low friction circuit the car behaved in a very neutral, predictable way, it never threatened to do anything unexpected, just went when you expected and where you expected. I am no driving god (unlike others on here) but I was seriously impressed.
In summary, I am very happy with the car in general and also pleased with the options I have chosen. Just got to wait for delivery in October.
Edited by BubblesNW on Friday 14th August 12:29
nice
good to see you you tried it on the road, I need to go back and try this black car now ;-)
On track the PASM button did nothing I could feel lol.
I was told it's the same setup just reacts quicker with PASM on. so on track would feel the same.
Shame about the brakes, what was the new black car like brake wise, this is a brand new non thrashed UK spec car.
good to see you you tried it on the road, I need to go back and try this black car now ;-)
On track the PASM button did nothing I could feel lol.
I was told it's the same setup just reacts quicker with PASM on. so on track would feel the same.
Shame about the brakes, what was the new black car like brake wise, this is a brand new non thrashed UK spec car.
Edited by PorscheGT4 on Friday 14th August 12:09
I wonder who is selling this September delivery? Nice spelling by the way...
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...
PorscheGT4 said:
nice
I was told it's the same setup just reacts quicker with PASM on. so on track would feel the same.
Shame about the brakes, what was the new black car like brake wise, this is a brand new non thrashed UK spec car.
The various option settings seemed to do very little no matter what configuration was chosen, apart from when all the stability aids were turned off on the kick plate section and the ice hill - definitely more fun without the nanny state intervening.I was told it's the same setup just reacts quicker with PASM on. so on track would feel the same.
Shame about the brakes, what was the new black car like brake wise, this is a brand new non thrashed UK spec car.
Edited by PorscheGT4 on Friday 14th August 12:09
As I was on the road I couldn't really test the brakes on the black car so much but they felt fine, nice early bite and able to modulate the retardation by adjusting the pressure easily, similar to the PCCB on my old 987. I would have like to have repeated the 0-60-0 in this car to compare with the yellow one which didn't stop as well as my old 987.
:Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff