Discussion
Had a browse through the archive and couldn't see any threads for the 718 variant of the GT4 so, in an attempt to stave off the creeping insanity from lockdown, I thought this would make a cathartic outlet, and some people might be interested. I'll aim to keep it up to date with my escapades 
.
So, having done a few track days in my own 718 Cayman, I decided that I wanted more, and I'd been lusting after a GT4 for quite some time. I put my name down with the dealer when the car launched and finally got the call around June of 2020. After much deliberating around spec, colour and the likes I eventually took delivery in November of 2020. Of course the garage was closed so Porsche Sheffield kindly delivered the car on a trailer directly to my door.
Anyway, here she is being loaded up:
And Delivery:
So in terms of things I've done to it so far, I've put on Crazy Eddies Bolster covers, to protect the seat mainly from my own oafishness, and had the car PPF'd and ceramic coated as I plan on tracking it. I'm not too sure on the PPF so far, it's already saved me from some stone chips by the looks of it but is collecting dirt on the exposed seams.
The car is fantastic to drive, I'm still slogging on getting the engine broken in but the suspension feels like it's the stuff of magic. I do have to be a bit careful on wet, cold wintery roads, I find it a bit hard to tell when the Cup 2's are close to letting go, they just seem to have a habit of doing so when you wouldn't necessarily expect it. A total contrast to how they perform in the warm weather, as I felt invincible blasting around the PEC on them. I have the first track day booked in it at Silverstone on the second of August, looking forward to stretching it's legs there, and planning on taking it to Center Gravity for a geo set up prior. The car is insured for the year with Classicline for £1162, including track day cover, which I think is fairly reasonable. Excited to post my track day footage in the future and being fiercely judged for my choice of lines, I'll put it up on this thread.
Anyway, main goals for 2021 are to get miles and runtime on the engine (unusual for a Porsche GT product
), and get out on track, hopefully we have some kind of return to normality. Have another picture!
. So, having done a few track days in my own 718 Cayman, I decided that I wanted more, and I'd been lusting after a GT4 for quite some time. I put my name down with the dealer when the car launched and finally got the call around June of 2020. After much deliberating around spec, colour and the likes I eventually took delivery in November of 2020. Of course the garage was closed so Porsche Sheffield kindly delivered the car on a trailer directly to my door.
Anyway, here she is being loaded up:
And Delivery:
So in terms of things I've done to it so far, I've put on Crazy Eddies Bolster covers, to protect the seat mainly from my own oafishness, and had the car PPF'd and ceramic coated as I plan on tracking it. I'm not too sure on the PPF so far, it's already saved me from some stone chips by the looks of it but is collecting dirt on the exposed seams.
The car is fantastic to drive, I'm still slogging on getting the engine broken in but the suspension feels like it's the stuff of magic. I do have to be a bit careful on wet, cold wintery roads, I find it a bit hard to tell when the Cup 2's are close to letting go, they just seem to have a habit of doing so when you wouldn't necessarily expect it. A total contrast to how they perform in the warm weather, as I felt invincible blasting around the PEC on them. I have the first track day booked in it at Silverstone on the second of August, looking forward to stretching it's legs there, and planning on taking it to Center Gravity for a geo set up prior. The car is insured for the year with Classicline for £1162, including track day cover, which I think is fairly reasonable. Excited to post my track day footage in the future and being fiercely judged for my choice of lines
, I'll put it up on this thread.Anyway, main goals for 2021 are to get miles and runtime on the engine (unusual for a Porsche GT product
), and get out on track, hopefully we have some kind of return to normality. Have another picture!Edited by Rojibo on Saturday 20th February 14:49
Well done OP. A beautiful car and happy to hear you intend to use it properly.
I had a GT4 for a while and loved it. It's such as wonderfully engineered piece of kit. I also tracked it (like I do all my performance cars). If you intend to do many track days, I would recommend an upgrade to the steel discs and brake pads (this also means you keep your original set clean). Performance Friction and GiroDisc as excellent performers from experience. If this is a step too far I would simply recommend a good quality racing engine oil, racing brake fluid and possibly braided brake lines.
If you want to go really mad then RPM Technik do a low gear ratio cluster. I found the gearing, even at the Nurburgring, slightly long but not the issue some make it out to be.
JZM Porsche look after me and I can't recommend them enough both for servicing and upgrades. Their stock is also something always to be drooled over!
Anyway, enjoy the car; it's a fantastic thing. Big thumbs up.
I had a GT4 for a while and loved it. It's such as wonderfully engineered piece of kit. I also tracked it (like I do all my performance cars). If you intend to do many track days, I would recommend an upgrade to the steel discs and brake pads (this also means you keep your original set clean). Performance Friction and GiroDisc as excellent performers from experience. If this is a step too far I would simply recommend a good quality racing engine oil, racing brake fluid and possibly braided brake lines.
If you want to go really mad then RPM Technik do a low gear ratio cluster. I found the gearing, even at the Nurburgring, slightly long but not the issue some make it out to be.
JZM Porsche look after me and I can't recommend them enough both for servicing and upgrades. Their stock is also something always to be drooled over!
Anyway, enjoy the car; it's a fantastic thing. Big thumbs up.
Thanks Chaps, it was actually my better half that convinced me to go with the yellow, and I'm glad I did.
Regarding the brakes, I believe the car has the same set at the 991.2 GT3, it is arguably overbraked, but will have to see how it fares on track and if the little cooling ducts under the car keep them nice and cool (if they haven't fallen victim to our potholes). Afraid I haven't had the chance to drive it hard enough to even trouble the braking system! I discovered at the PEC you can really stamp on the pedal too, I'm probably leaving some braking performance on the table. Oil and brake fluid will be getting changed yearly, regardless of whatever Porsche say, with the engine being a relatively new family I'm a little hesitant to do too many mods until the wider reliability is known.
Thanks for the tip around JZM, though they're a bit far from me, I was thinking of using Ninemiester. Anyway, the summer (and warm tarmac) cannot come soon enough!
Regarding the brakes, I believe the car has the same set at the 991.2 GT3, it is arguably overbraked, but will have to see how it fares on track and if the little cooling ducts under the car keep them nice and cool (if they haven't fallen victim to our potholes). Afraid I haven't had the chance to drive it hard enough to even trouble the braking system! I discovered at the PEC you can really stamp on the pedal too, I'm probably leaving some braking performance on the table. Oil and brake fluid will be getting changed yearly, regardless of whatever Porsche say, with the engine being a relatively new family I'm a little hesitant to do too many mods until the wider reliability is known.
Thanks for the tip around JZM, though they're a bit far from me, I was thinking of using Ninemiester. Anyway, the summer (and warm tarmac) cannot come soon enough!
So the car has gone in for some warranty work today, the rear brakes are sticking/rubbing and the hill hold/handbrake is acting weird, also the tracker has failed it's health check so requires a reset. Not ideal on a new car but these things happen, I was quite impressed with the new garage at Stockport, they have a little inspection bay prior to taking the car off you that checks the tyre tread levels, sticks it up on the screen and then get the car up in the air for a good look around underneath. Not that I could see anything, it's all plastic panels, but good to see none of the areo has been broken off. I was also the victim of massive Cup 2 understeer in the wet on the way there... carried a bit too much speed onto the roundabout and scrubbed wide, must be more careful.
I really hope this tracker issue isn't a protracted one, the software is awful enough as it is. £260 a year for a tracker subscription and it doesn't even work!
Anyway, they've given me this Cayenne to pootle about in, nice enough but not my cup of tea, I can sort of understand why people like large cars though.
I really hope this tracker issue isn't a protracted one, the software is awful enough as it is. £260 a year for a tracker subscription and it doesn't even work!
Anyway, they've given me this Cayenne to pootle about in, nice enough but not my cup of tea, I can sort of understand why people like large cars though.
Thanks chaps, got the car back tracker issues all sorted, the entire dashboard did have to come out (!) but Porsche Stockport have done a great job, barring a few fingerprints here and there you wouldn't be able to tell. Great to have her back!
That Cayenne they gave me as a loaner drinks fuel, I don't think I saw anything above 16 MPG, and I was just pootling about
That Cayenne they gave me as a loaner drinks fuel, I don't think I saw anything above 16 MPG, and I was just pootling about
I picked mine up 3 weeks ago, I’m already 700 miles in, I love it. Mine is black with (very) yellow seatbelts, they are no doubt the same as yours, but look like more of a statement than I was expecting
My brakes squeal terribly, I hope that they will quieten down?
On the Tracker issue, my wife’s new Macan has the same arrangement ( weird dongle that she is destined to forget ), her Tracker has also died after 1,500 miles, they need her car back for surgery as a result......
Looks great in yellow btw
My brakes squeal terribly, I hope that they will quieten down?
On the Tracker issue, my wife’s new Macan has the same arrangement ( weird dongle that she is destined to forget ), her Tracker has also died after 1,500 miles, they need her car back for surgery as a result......
Looks great in yellow btw
Edited by Tin Hat on Friday 26th February 23:18
Edited by Tin Hat on Saturday 27th February 08:22
Tin Hat said:
I picked mine up 3 weeks ago, I’m already 700 miles in, I love it. Mine is black with (very) yellow seatbelts, they are no doubt the same as yours, but look like more of a statement than I was expecting
My brakes squeal terribly, I hope that they will quite down?
On the Tracker issue, my wife’s new Macan has the same arrangement ( weird dongle that she is destined to forget ), her Tracker has also died after 1,500 miles, they need her car back for surgery as a result......
Looks great in yellow btw
I am told the tracker is under the seat in the Macan, so hopefully a less intrusive job. But yes, the brakes squeal comically under light breaking/driving round town My brakes squeal terribly, I hope that they will quite down?
On the Tracker issue, my wife’s new Macan has the same arrangement ( weird dongle that she is destined to forget ), her Tracker has also died after 1,500 miles, they need her car back for surgery as a result......
Looks great in yellow btw
I did some faffing around recently, first I wanted to try the exhaust valve mod, as you may or may not be aware it used to be the case that when you pushed the sports exhaust button, the flaps in the exhaust opened and stayed that way. As of the 718 GT4 and I think perhaps GPF equipped cars onwards this is no longer the case, the flaps only open around 3.8k RPM.
However, if one so wishes they can choose to remove the vacuum lines from the valves as they default to open, plug them with a small grub screw and have the valves open all the time. So that's what I tried, managed to do it just fine without jacking the car up, though that would have made the job much easier.
Valve on the exhaust:
Insert grub screw in here:
The result? Horrible drone around 2-3k, can't say I'm a huge fan of it and I've now lost the other sounds that I used to enjoy, intake sounds etc. So I'm going to put it back to stock.... Perhaps I just have to live with the fact that with the GPFs on things are going to sound a bit muted below 4k. Such is the cost of Euro 6 compliance...
Anyway, the other tinkering I've been doing prior to the car getting it's geometry sorted before it's first track outing is putting the car in "full aero mode", the GT4 comes with adjustable aero out of the factory, which involves setting the angle of attack on the wing slightly higher, and removing some spats on the front to balance the car out, which then puts the car in its "full downforce mode", not too sure how much of an effect (if any) it will have, but it's fun to have a play around with.
The wing has two holes drilled and simply using the lower one and two T30 bits you can raise the angle:
The front wheel arch inserts are removed with a T25 bit:
Anyway, at 1100 very enjoyable, essential lockdown miles now and just waiting for warmer temperatures.
However, if one so wishes they can choose to remove the vacuum lines from the valves as they default to open, plug them with a small grub screw and have the valves open all the time. So that's what I tried, managed to do it just fine without jacking the car up, though that would have made the job much easier.
Valve on the exhaust:
Insert grub screw in here:
The result? Horrible drone around 2-3k, can't say I'm a huge fan of it and I've now lost the other sounds that I used to enjoy, intake sounds etc. So I'm going to put it back to stock.... Perhaps I just have to live with the fact that with the GPFs on things are going to sound a bit muted below 4k. Such is the cost of Euro 6 compliance...
Anyway, the other tinkering I've been doing prior to the car getting it's geometry sorted before it's first track outing is putting the car in "full aero mode", the GT4 comes with adjustable aero out of the factory, which involves setting the angle of attack on the wing slightly higher, and removing some spats on the front to balance the car out, which then puts the car in its "full downforce mode", not too sure how much of an effect (if any) it will have, but it's fun to have a play around with.
The wing has two holes drilled and simply using the lower one and two T30 bits you can raise the angle:
The front wheel arch inserts are removed with a T25 bit:
Anyway, at 1100 very enjoyable, essential lockdown miles now and just waiting for warmer temperatures.
Thanks Chaps
Jeff1976 said:
Beautiful looking car enjoy it. Wasnt these the ones with the front suspension problem ?
The strut tower failing, yeah, it was a problem on the 981, no reports of it on a 718 yet, and no word from Porsche on if they’ve strengthened the supports (if they had I doubt they would publicise it). Staying away from kerbs anyway…By ways of an update, 2000 miles on the car now, took it down to CenterGravity for a Geo set up prior to it's first track outing this Friday. Chris and Pete are very knowledgeable and I can see why they have such a high reputation. More than willing to listen to my questions and show me around the car, as well as explaining the finer points of chassis set up to me.
Pete took the car on a quick test drive to see how she behaved, and then checked the car to make sure everything was in factory spec as should have been expected, and it was, which would make sense as no one had been fooling about with it. These are below:
I told Pete that since this was my first "season" tracking the car, I wanted a fairly versatile setup that would stand up to being thrown around the track while not compromising too much on the road, we ended up with the below:
Interestingly as the car comes standard we can't get any more negative camber on the rears, due to the lower control arms being of a fixed length, a fix for this (while maintaining Porsche Warranty) is to use the Motorsport parts from the GT4 Clubsport Racer, a £500 part. Something to explore if I find myself running over onto my sidewalls when(if) cornering at 10/10ths A change I might make at a later date after having a good amount of track time in it under my belt.
Straight away I noticed the car turns in much more eagerly, as well as the steering wheel centering itself more quickly than before (a side effect of added caster angle I would guess). I was very impressed with Chris and Pete at CG, and can see why they have such a reputation. Pete seemed eager to hear my thoughts on the setup and how the car feels after it's first track day. So I'll report back to him, too
.
It was also great to get up close and personal with the car and walk around it while it was in the air, get a good look at all the suspension parts and how they fit together, great for my own (limited) understanding of suspension, I guess I learnt a lot too! It really does give you an appreciation of the engineering that goes into these things...
A few people have asked me what I would swap it for, and I have honestly no idea, while it might not be strictly the fastest thing in its price range, it's an absolute joy to drive. Properly puts a grin on my face every time I take it out, and I still find excuses just to go out for the sake of a drive. Roll on Blyton this Friday for it's first track day!
Pete took the car on a quick test drive to see how she behaved, and then checked the car to make sure everything was in factory spec as should have been expected, and it was, which would make sense as no one had been fooling about with it. These are below:
I told Pete that since this was my first "season" tracking the car, I wanted a fairly versatile setup that would stand up to being thrown around the track while not compromising too much on the road, we ended up with the below:
Interestingly as the car comes standard we can't get any more negative camber on the rears, due to the lower control arms being of a fixed length, a fix for this (while maintaining Porsche Warranty) is to use the Motorsport parts from the GT4 Clubsport Racer, a £500 part. Something to explore if I find myself running over onto my sidewalls when(if) cornering at 10/10ths
A change I might make at a later date after having a good amount of track time in it under my belt. Straight away I noticed the car turns in much more eagerly, as well as the steering wheel centering itself more quickly than before (a side effect of added caster angle I would guess). I was very impressed with Chris and Pete at CG, and can see why they have such a reputation. Pete seemed eager to hear my thoughts on the setup and how the car feels after it's first track day. So I'll report back to him, too
. It was also great to get up close and personal with the car and walk around it while it was in the air, get a good look at all the suspension parts and how they fit together, great for my own (limited) understanding of suspension, I guess I learnt a lot too! It really does give you an appreciation of the engineering that goes into these things...
A few people have asked me what I would swap it for, and I have honestly no idea, while it might not be strictly the fastest thing in its price range, it's an absolute joy to drive. Properly puts a grin on my face every time I take it out, and I still find excuses just to go out for the sake of a drive. Roll on Blyton this Friday for it's first track day!
So I have just passed the two year mark of ownership with this now, it’s been a very enjoyable car to own and mechanically not missed a beat. I have had a few issues with the electronics, those being the tyre pressure sensors and tracker but they were all sorted under warranty.
In my two years of ownership so far I’ve done 8956 miles, numerous trackdays (I think somewhere in the region of 15+?) and the running costs on top of fuel have been:
- 1 year service with an indie, oil filter and brake fluid £359
- Full set of new Cup 2 tyres all round £1,210
- First official service with Porsche, oil filter, brake fluid £826 (lol)
The front brake discs are showing surface cracks despite not being near replacement thickness and the front pads are at about 40% worn so I will be replacing the front discs and pads with PFC products for £1,396. I’ll probably fit them myself. The nice thing is they’ll last a lot longer than the OEM part and with them being two piece I can just swap the rotors in future. I might also replace the front splitter at some point as I have caught it on quite a few things.
The cars been great on track, very rewarding and taught me a lot, it really punches far above its weight and rewards you for driving it well. Such a well balanced thing, I’ve found the cup 2s to be fantastic in warm, dry weather and OK if you can get the heat into them in the wet, they don’t handle standing water too well, but damp surfaces are okay providing it’s not too cold.
So far in the car I’ve done, in no particular order:
- Blyton Park
- Oulton Park
- Silverstone
- Croft
- Anglesey
- Donington
Next year I really want to cross Spa off the bucket list, and speaking of buckets, I’ve got a set of recliners for the bucket seats I need to install, I find with a helmet on the headrest pushes my head too far forward so hopefully this will improve matters. I also hope it improves my overall comfort in longer drives, which is my only gripe really but I am quite tall. The equivalent seats in a 991.2GT3 are more comfy for me in their regular guise, I would guess as there is more overall space in the cabin.
Anywhere. Here’s some shots from the track;
Donington
Oulton
Not really sure where I go from here, I find myself wanting to do more and more trackdays and perhaps I’ll get a dedicated track car, but I don’t want the fuss of trailering it. I really think for my needs it’s pretty perfect, but my head keeps getting turned by the 991.2 GT3.
For the time being though I’m going to drive the wheels off of it and now with my wedding out of the way that means lots more time and money for trackdays? That’s how it works right?
In my two years of ownership so far I’ve done 8956 miles, numerous trackdays (I think somewhere in the region of 15+?) and the running costs on top of fuel have been:
- 1 year service with an indie, oil filter and brake fluid £359
- Full set of new Cup 2 tyres all round £1,210
- First official service with Porsche, oil filter, brake fluid £826 (lol)
The front brake discs are showing surface cracks despite not being near replacement thickness and the front pads are at about 40% worn so I will be replacing the front discs and pads with PFC products for £1,396. I’ll probably fit them myself. The nice thing is they’ll last a lot longer than the OEM part and with them being two piece I can just swap the rotors in future. I might also replace the front splitter at some point as I have caught it on quite a few things.
The cars been great on track, very rewarding and taught me a lot, it really punches far above its weight and rewards you for driving it well. Such a well balanced thing, I’ve found the cup 2s to be fantastic in warm, dry weather and OK if you can get the heat into them in the wet, they don’t handle standing water too well, but damp surfaces are okay providing it’s not too cold.
So far in the car I’ve done, in no particular order:
- Blyton Park
- Oulton Park
- Silverstone
- Croft
- Anglesey
- Donington
Next year I really want to cross Spa off the bucket list, and speaking of buckets, I’ve got a set of recliners for the bucket seats I need to install, I find with a helmet on the headrest pushes my head too far forward so hopefully this will improve matters. I also hope it improves my overall comfort in longer drives, which is my only gripe really but I am quite tall. The equivalent seats in a 991.2GT3 are more comfy for me in their regular guise, I would guess as there is more overall space in the cabin.
Anywhere. Here’s some shots from the track;
Donington
Oulton
Not really sure where I go from here, I find myself wanting to do more and more trackdays and perhaps I’ll get a dedicated track car, but I don’t want the fuss of trailering it. I really think for my needs it’s pretty perfect, but my head keeps getting turned by the 991.2 GT3.
For the time being though I’m going to drive the wheels off of it
and now with my wedding out of the way that means lots more time and money for trackdays? That’s how it works right? You've got the perfect recipe there, once you do Spa and enjoy the convenience of driving to and from the track you'll realise that the GT4 is about perfect and booking your next day there.
I would recommend two days at Spa since the weather can be variable, ensuring that a TF Nurburgring day is on either side of the trip.
Great photos!
I would recommend two days at Spa since the weather can be variable, ensuring that a TF Nurburgring day is on either side of the trip.
Great photos!
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