Evo car of the year 2015 is...... SPOILER!

[av185]

I would say the electric steering on the GT4 is similar in most respects to the 991 GT3 both being slightly behind that of the 997 GTS 2wd hydraulic set up.

[ORD]

Isnt that a killer? I dont think the 987/997 generation of Porsches are over-endowed with steering feel. It's there, and it's useful and pleasant; but I wouldnt say there it is there in abundance. Even if the GT4 is 10-20% worse, that might well rule it out for me.

[cc3]

Gandahar said:

Is the GT4 steering as good as the steering for feel as the older cars?

Having put a few hundred miles on mine now i would say you have nothing to worry about. Steering feel is as good as any Porsche I can remember and the driving position is just so much better than most

[PorscheGT4]

cc3 said:

Having put a few hundred miles on mine now i would say you have nothing to worry about. Steering feel is as good as any Porsche I can remember and the driving position is just so much better than most

disagree

the R and Spyder have had the best feel in any porker for years, the new cars come nowhere near the feel esp in the rain.

[Steve Rance]

Do the R and spyder have hydraulic racks?

[PorscheGT4]

Steve Rance said:

Do the R and spyder have hydraulic racks?

yep + real shocks and a real diff(although we all know about diffs) and more weight over the front than a GT3

pretty much perfect steering imo
Why I have kept my 987.2 Spyder, it's like a big Elise to drive.

[ORD]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I find the variable rack a lot less annoying than many people seem to. I think my brain adjusts for it to the point where it disappears (as a matter of perception). To be fair, I notice it most when I have driven another car for a while.

[ORD]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I agree. I think it is very different from things like binary brakes and throttles, as you cannot adjust for those - they simply give you less information and less control. The same is true of less steering feel - you cannot really adjust for that, although you do become more sensitive to the little bit that is there, I suppose.

[Penguinracer]

All I'll say is that in my view...if there's any rubber, nylon or urethane in the suspension ...then it's not really a "Sports Car."

"Sport" being a contraction of "Motorsport" - indeed the only type of sport in which a car can feasibly compete.

This implies that a "sports car" is a road legal "motorsports car." Would such a vehicle finding it's way from track to road really be biased towards comfort & NVH suppression? This isn't just an exercise in semantics - this is an exercise in appreciating just how far the modern "sports car" has diverged from its track-focused cousin compared to its antecedents in the early years of "sports car" production.

[Robbo66]

APOLO1 said:

Robbo66 said:

Not sure where to begin here...think it better just to leave it be.

For me the 1st time I drove the GT4 it was the drive of the day, from a fun interaction point, right up there with a 64RS.....

You would keep the 64RS long after the 'latest greatest' has evaporated into the ether. The GT4 could have and should have been an awful lot better. Does nothing for me, particularly after the GT3.

[ORD]

Penguinracer said:

All I'll say is that in my view...if there's any rubber, nylon or urethane in the suspension ...then it's not really a "Sports Car."

"Sport" being a contraction of "Motorsport" - indeed the only type of sport in which a car can feasibly compete.

This implies that a "sports car" is a road legal "motorsports car." Would such a vehicle finding it's way from track to road really be biased towards comfort & NVH suppression? This isn't just an exercise in semantics - this is an exercise in appreciating just how far the modern "sports car" has diverged from its track-focused cousin compared to its antecedents in the early years of "sports car" production.

That's a pretty esoteric definition of "sports car". There have been cars called sports cars for about a hundred years, and very few of them were motorsport cars (at least not primarily so).

[Gandahar]

has anyone tried a GT4 and an R back to back to judge the steering feel?

This is what reminds me, on a lower level, of people driving the new NX5 ND and saying the steering feel is ok. I wonder if it is not and the new car smell is affecting their brain cells.

Why are Porsche putting in electical steering again? Please excuse me the enviromental figures/ mpg, that does not matter in this class of cars when they have all those diesel SUV's running special VW chips ( only half joking there)

But it's a point, why have Porsche gone to this steering type when it's not as good as the older way for driver enjoyment?

[ORD]

MPGs.

[boxsey]

Robbo66 said:

You would keep the 64RS long after the 'latest greatest' has evaporated into the ether. The GT4 could have and should have been an awful lot better. Does nothing for me, particularly after the GT3.

It's worth noting that both of the GT4s on track at Oulton on Wednesday belong to long term 64RS owners. Ian (red GT4 owner) still has his RS and will be keeping it. ChrisW (yellow GT4 owner) owned and tracked an NGT for a long time. I don't think either of them would say that the GT4 is better than their 64RS because better is very difficult to quantify when comparing cars from different eras. Yet both are clearly impressed with what the GT4 brings to the road and track as a new car for 2015.

[Steve Rance]

I can see that. The GT4 is absolutely without doubt the car from the current range of Porsches that I would like to own.

My point was not to denegrate the GT4 at all.

[lemmingjames]

Car cant be that great if so many are being 'flipped' so early into their ownership as Porsche was only selling to enthusiasts

[mdianuk]

lemmingjames said:

Car cant be that great if so many are being 'flipped' so early into their ownership as Porsche was only selling to enthusiasts

Sarcasm I hope

[av185]

lemmingjames said:

Car cant be that great if so many are being 'flipped' so early into their ownership as Porsche was only selling to enthusiasts

Just like the GT3 then.....

[Tripe Bypass]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

All 987 and 997 variants had the variable ratio rack. All the differences in steering feel is down to changes in tyres, geometry, weight distribution, suspension etc.

Bit of nerdy steering trivia; the 996 Cup steering rack was identical to the road car with the exception of couple of travel restrictors to stop the bigger tyres fouling the arches. Same valve curve, everything.

[ChrisW.]

Steve Rance said:

I can see that. The GT4 is absolutely without doubt the car from the current range of Porsches that I would like to own.

My point was not to denegrate the GT4 at all.

Thanks Steve, and my comment was not to denegrate the cars mentioned, but it is to say that the GT4 chassis is spectacularly good and technology moves on.

Yes I will concede that the steering feel on the Cayman R is probably better than that on the GT4.

But I am still learning the GT4, and I have been very impressed far ...

And I would not be happy to really lean on my old 964RS NGT in the way that I am willing to lean on the GT4 ... my friend is a racer and had a hub carrier go on his at Spa ... how far do you go on replacing old bits ... and still have something "bite" you big time ?

I just wasn't prepared to take that chance, ignoring the value.

Edited by ChrisW. on Friday 6th November 18:15