PEC yesterday - 981 GT4 vs 981 Spyder vs my 981 CGTS

[Twinfan]

I went to Silverstone for the WEC round on Sunday, and as a little treat to myself I stayed over and added a trip to PEC yesterday morning. As I'd not driven a Spyder before, I opted for the new(ish) Ultimate Mid-Engine Experience:

https://www.porsche.com/silverstone/en/experience/...

I've had my 981 Cayman GTS for 3 1/2 years now, and 2 years ago I went to PEC to drive a GT4 as a comparison. I wrote about it briefly at the time, and I drove exactly the same yellow/PCCB equipped car yesterday. My thread from 2017 comparing my CGTS to the GT4 is here:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Yesterday was a chance for me to revisit my initial thoughts about the GT4, but also to compare it and my CGTS to the X73/PCCB/folding buckets equipped Spyder. The weather was fabulous - 20 degrees, dry and sunny. Perfect for hooning around and getting a decent idea about how the cars feel in the real world. I don't do track days so I'm not interested in exploring the last 5% of a car's ability, I'm interested in how a car is on the road only. The PEC handling circuits, while limited, do give you a reasonable non-track experience.

First up I chose to drive the GT4, mostly because it doesn't have A/C and I thought I would get warmed up (literally...) then get a chance to cool out more in the Spyder! Two years on, I completely agree with my thoughts driving this car the first time. The 918 buckets are perfect for me, I can set them super low in the car and I like their upright driving position. They're really comfy, I didn't fidget once and they held me superbly. The GT4 clearly has much, much more mechanical grip than the other two cars and you can really lean on the chassis. PCCBs are strong and effective. Steering and clutch are both heavier than in the other two cars, and mechanical noise levels are much higher.

On to the Spyder. First up, I hated the folding bucket seats. I sat way too high in the cabin so the driving position just didn't feel right, more SUV than sports car. You get used to it, but I much prefer my Sports Seats Plus or the 918 buckets of the GT4. I also found they made me fidget more too, I didn't feel as locked in as the 918's, and no more cosseted than my SPPs really. I'm glad they weren't available when I specced my GTS as the SSPs were free and a better fit for me. I fidget in them from time to time, but not as much as I did in the folding buckets.

Other than the seating position, the rest of the Spyder felt much more familiar/similar to my CGTS. The clutch and steering feel, engine and mechanical noise, overall handling etc are all closer to a GTS than a GT4. As "Porsche911R" has said in the past, the 981 Spyder is more "GTS+" than "GT4 convertible". Back-to-back with my 3.4 you can feel a bit more poke with the 3.8 but it's certainly not night and day different. It also felt like the 3.8 in the Spyder was much smoother and sweeter, again more like my GTS. I don't know if the 3.8 in the GT4 is a one-off, or whether they're all like that, but the Spyder definitely had the better engine of the two 3.8s. The X73 suspension is very good and in my view sits in-between Normal and Sport chassis settings of my PASM equipped car. Again, like the engine, I didn't think it was night and day different to my car just good in its own right.

Overall conclusions of the top end of the 981 series?

• The GT4 feels different to the other 981 cars - you can feel the extra mechanical grip and weightier controls straight away.
• While it will shine on track and when on spirited early morning weekend drives, I think more casual use of a GT4 could get to annoy you. It's harder work when you're not "on-it".
• The Spyder is a great car, but certainly more GTS+ than GT4.
• All three suspension options worked really well giving great ride quality, I would happily take any of them.
• PCCBs are great but expensive, especially if you ever need to replace them. Functionally, I don't feel they offer much more than steels except for a slightly sharper initial bite.
• 918 buckets are my favourite seats.

As I said two years ago, for me the GT4 is the car to have if you can use it as intended i.e. on track. I prefer the feel of the car on the road too, and if I'd bought one new I'd have paid the extra over my CGTS. As of now, with a £30k cost to change for a 981 GT4 or a £50k cost to change to a 718 GT4 I don't feel it's worth it for my use. The GTS and Spyder both have has 90%(?) of the ability of the GT4 car to make road driving fun, and they have the extra refinement to make long journeys less tiresome. The best value in the range pound-for-pound is probably a well specced 981S, which would give scope to add mods to suit your personal needs.

I'm sure that's all what you'd expect me to say the cars are like in comparison, but I thought I'd share my views for reference anyway in case someone finds them useful

[arcamalpha]

Nice write up of a lovely day out :-)

[davidc1]

nice review.
i have a 981 spyder with folding buckets and they fit me like a glove.
the 918 seats , not so much , as i have broard shoulders.

that yellow spyder looks terrific. i should have had the stones to order yellow rather than white!

[Twinfan]

Thanks guys. It goes to show that seats are such a personal thing and that there are no absolute rights or wrongs. I'm 180cm tall and weigh 80kg, so I'm on the slightly larger side of average build I guess.

[Trgasy]

nice review... agreed on everything except the folding bucket seats. like u said, it is personal.
how many miles do u have on ur gts?

[Twinfan]

I've done 12k miles. I work at home so the car is only used for fun, mostly over summer weekends

[Boxster7]

Twinfan said:

Thanks guys. It goes to show that seats are such a personal thing and that there are no absolute rights or wrongs. I'm 180cm tall and weigh 80kg, so I'm on the slightly larger side of average build I guess.

I’m another fan of the folding buckets (especially as they are heated in my Spyder).
They took me a little time to get use to them, but 22k miles later, really happy with them.
I’ve now got a new GT4 coming with the full buckets, so will see how that goes.... I’ve only spent about 2 mins in them so far.....

[anonymous-user]

Keep living in the past. 718 is better

[BubblesNW]

Schmed said:

Keep living in the past. 718 is better

How would you know? Have you driven both?

[Porsche911R]

BubblesNW said:

How would you know? Have you driven both?

I have and the 718 is a better drive than the 981 once you are past the flat6 sound. The chassis and steering are just better so it drives better. Also the 718 GTS I had was crazy fast, so it’s miles faster also and by a big margin, when prices drop I can see me in a 718 GTS as a daily. I would never buy a 981. Bar the gt cars.

The GT4 will have moved the game on, but will still suffer with that gearing.

[Twinfan]

Ignore Schmed the troll. For some unknown reason they have to follow me around and trash my posts and threads.

This thread had nothing to do with 718s, leave them for elsewhere.

Edited by Twinfan on Saturday 7th September 10:08

[Jazzer]

A good, balanced review of the cars Twinfan!👍

Sounds like a good day out at PEC, do you have to book experiences in advance?

[Twinfan]

Thanks, and yes you do. The earlier the better if you're after a specific car. I can recommend having lunch there too

[anonymous-user]

BubblesNW said:

Schmed said:

Keep living in the past. 718 is better

How would you know? Have you driven both?

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Only trolls on this thread though although Twinfan’s definition of troll is just someone he doesn’t agree with....