981 GTS / GT4 advice please!

[tim993]

I went from a 981 pdk GTS to a 981 Spyder.

The pdk is great but ultimately I found it unengaging and it is all too easy as i did to leave it in auto mode most of the time.

There's a lot to love about the GTS - particularly the looks - but there is one downside i cannot overlook: the drone from the sound-symposer. A stupid resonance device fitted to the inlet air system. I found it ultimately infuriating and if I'd kept the car longer than 3 years I'd have wanted to have it removed.

I also wasn't a fan of the PSM on the 981. It can generate a floaty feeling - even in the firmer setting. Its nowhere near as good as that fitted to the 991.1. Evo magazine weren't wrong when they recommended the X73 sports suspension as the ideal choice for the GTS. sadly very few people followed their recommendation.

The ideal GTS (for me) would therefore have to be one with the X73 sports suspension and the manual 'box. Plus some ear plugs or a symposer-ectomy.

I've not tried a GT4, but the steering / suspension / brakes of the Spyder are on another level compared to the GTS. The GT4 is probably even better still.

Downside of the GT4 is the very low front lip. You will scrape it on everything. Good thing the plastic bit that takes the knocks is replaceable.

Best of luck with your choice. You will read mainly glowing reports of the GTS and prices are pretty high, but my comments hopefully add a little balance or an alternative perspective at least.

tim

 

[jonttt]

Fit a DSC to replace the PASM control unit and it transforms it :wink:

I never got any drone and through one of the really special things about the 981GTS was the sound it makes, simply intoxicating and as good if not better than any 'super car" I have driven in terms of adding to the driving experience.......its a big part of what makes this particular GTS special....it's probably the one thing I miss the most from the 987 which sounds great with PSE but not special like the GTS did.......

 

[Zingari]

Downside of the GT4 is the very low front lip. You will scrape it on everything. Good thing the plastic bit that takes the knocks is replaceable.

Indeed. I very nearly caught it on Jonttt's ego once :what:

This car in yellow with 26k is up at £62k. For road use I the 18 way seats are the best in the business and were my first choice. But I ended up with folding buckets :roll:

 

[jonttt]

Downside of the GT4 is the very low front lip. You will scrape it on everything. Good thing the plastic bit that takes the knocks is replaceable.

Indeed. I very nearly caught it on Jonttt's ego once :what:

This car in yellow with 26k is up at £62k. For road use I the 18 way seats are the best in the business and were my first choice. But I ended up with folding buckets :roll:

:hand: ......I thought you did catch something on something

That GT4 does look very nice though :thumb: .........not heard much about the strut tower issue, I presume these are still prone :dont know:

 

[andrews7889]

Tim is right about the sound symposer - it adds a continuous frequency drone to the proceedings which soon gets quite tiring.

I didn't really notice it for the first few days of ownership but once you hear it, it is difficult to ignore. Best to test drive one to see if it bothers you.

As for Jonttt's comments about the strut towers, it always surprises me how many GT4s and GT3s that turn up for sale that are Cat S due to the strut tower failure. Never seen a GTS or Spyder advertised with that issue.

Not sure what Porsche's policy is to repairing them on older cars if they were to fail.

Again report back when you have had some fun test driving all of the above.

 

[Zingari]

As for Jonttt's comments about the strut towers, it always surprises me how many GT4s and GT3s that turn up for sale that are Cat S due to the strut tower failure. Never seen a GTS or Spyder advertised with that issue.

Not sure what Porsche's policy is to repairing them on older cars if they were to fail.

I think there's a degree of smoke and mirrors in the strut tower issue. I'm not aware of that many (none in recent times) and by all accounts it doesn't exactly happen when you're driving in a 'normal' manner. There is a bell-end on YT that regales a tale where the incident 'just happened' but I think there was more interest in the crack in the windscreen from Pinocchio's nose :roll:

Porsche aren't accepting there is a fault so it is outside warranty terms I believe.

 

[jonttt]

As for Jonttt's comments about the strut towers, it always surprises me how many GT4s and GT3s that turn up for sale that are Cat S due to the strut tower failure. Never seen a GTS or Spyder advertised with that issue.

Not sure what Porsche's policy is to repairing them on older cars if they were to fail.

I think there's a degree of smoke and mirrors in the strut tower issue. I'm not aware of that many (none in recent times) and by all accounts it doesn't exactly happen when you're driving in a 'normal' manner. There is a bell-end on YT that regales a tale where the incident 'just happened' but I think there was more interest in the crack in the windscreen from Pinocchio's nose :roll:

Porsche aren't accepting there is a fault so it is outside warranty terms I believe.

It does seem to have gone quite on the issue after the initial rush of reports and pics :?: ....maybe the cat S are for 'other" things :grin:

 

[isysman]

I had two 987s and moved to a 981 PDK Boxster S. (I also have a manual 911). I have to say I'm on a convert, I love my 981 and have really embraced the way it drives and I don't miss the manual gearbox at all when I'm driving it.

So much so that I'm taking delivery in a couple of months of a new 718 Spyder with a PDK gearbox.

I too drive the car always in manual mode, but I don't see that as meaning I'm missing the manual gearbox. I enjoy driving the car this way. But with the benefit of being able to put the car in auto when on a long journey or stuck in traffic.

You really need to drive the car with PDK.

 

[andrews7889]

I remember seeing Harry Metcalfe's review of the 992 S, and he recounts how Richard Attwood told him that you should avoid using the paddle shifts on any modern Porsche with a PDK gearbox. It drives much better on its own as it learns your driving style. In his GTS 4.0 review Harry states he'd take the manual box over the PDK.

As the PDK GTS 4.0 cars have recently landed in the UK it will be interesting to see what effect this might have on the manual car prices. Possibly a number of people have bought manual ones to tide themselves over until a PDK variant arrives.

 

[tim993]

I remember seeing Harry Metcalfe's review of the 992 S, and he recounts how Richard Attwood told him that you should avoid using the paddle shifts on any modern Porsche with a PDK gearbox. It drives much better on its own as it learns your driving style. In his GTS 4.0 review Harry states he'd take the manual box over the PDK.

As the PDK GTS 4.0 cars have recently landed in the UK it will be interesting to see what effect this might have on the manual car prices. Possibly a number of people have bought manual ones to tide themselves over until a PDK variant arrives.

I'm not surprised to read that. I found the paddles were useful to drop an extra cog, prior to an overtake, otherwise the car knew what it was doing. Still not as involving as a manual, but that's just my perspective.

 

[tim993]

Tim is right about the sound symposer - it adds a continuous frequency drone to the proceedings which soon gets quite tiring.

I didn't really notice it for the first few days of ownership but once you hear it, it is difficult to ignore. Best to test drive one to see if it bothers you.

That's exactly what I found - I didn't hear it until a few days into ownership. When cruising at 70 in pdk mode, then it can drop away when its doing chuff all / disengages the transmission I think, but as soon as one applies throttle it comes back again. Driving fully lit, i guess you wouldn't notice it; however for any form of motoring tour - ie distance driving - it's worth taking into consideration.

For me, its enough of a design fault to put me off another 981 GTS unless perhaps where someone had removed the stupid plastic resonator thing.

I do still think the X73 is a far better resolved suspension option for the 981 than PASM, but there aren't so many out there to make it a 'must-have'. Anyhow, it appears most other folk get on well with PASM !

What is un-deniable is the GTS looks so good - particularly the front PU. Its no coincidence they copied this for the 718 Spyder, I think!

But looks aren't everything...

 

[andrews7889]

I do still think the X73 is a far better resolved suspension option for the 981 than PASM, but there aren't so many out there to make it a 'must-have'.

+1 on the X73 suspension option really liked it - drives much nicer than a PASM car in my view.

 

[phil84afc]

Looks like my car is going to sell tonight and I think the GT4 is the way forward for me - I really like the GTS but getting confirmation from you guys on the PDK for a weekend car thing reaffirms my thoughts. Any 981 GT4 buying advice would be welcomed!

 

[T8]

Looks like my car is going to sell tonight and I think the GT4 is the way forward for me - I really like the GTS but getting confirmation from you guys on the PDK for a weekend car thing reaffirms my thoughts. Any 981 GT4 buying advice would be welcomed!

For advice on GT4s you'd be better off posting on the GT sub-forum.

 

[pzero]

Looks like my car is going to sell tonight and I think the GT4 is the way forward for me - I really like the GTS but getting confirmation from you guys on the PDK for a weekend car thing reaffirms my thoughts. Any 981 GT4 buying advice would be welcomed!

For advice on GT4s you'd be better off posting on the GT sub-forum.

Sub forum title is "Boxster (1997-) & Cayman inc GT4 (2005 -)" :?

It seems like this post is in the right place.