4RS 'ring review - Page 1 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Haven't seen much discussion about the RS on track relative to the GT4 on this board, so thought I'd share my thoughts on a recent trip to the ring Background info Previous car was a GT4 MR. Before the MR kit I did a trip and the car felt fairly unstable in a few areas[1], and the rear moved around quite a bit under hard braking, particularly from speed and where the surface wasn't very stable With the MR kit, the rear was more controllable under braking and there was no issue at all with the crests Pre-MR, fastest BTG was 7.28. With the MR installed it was 7.15. It's not the case that the MR kit makes it 13s faster as I remember I was simply driving harder so there's probably more like 5-10s in it, but gives an indication of the relative difference Recent trip thoughts I did a couple of 7.12 BTG laps, with the 4RS The RS is stock, aside from MR pads. No idea what the geo is from the factory. It was stable but not optimal. Things of note: - with the GT4, I suffered with the ESP getting involved quite a bit. This wore the rear pads down more rapidly than the fronts. This didn't happen with the RS, and the front pads (MR) went down by around 70% over 2 days. That was quite a bit more than I was expecting. This is steels. The GT4 had PCCBs - I went through a set of front tyres in 1.5 days, so approx 25-30 laps. Bearing in mind the initial laps were a fair bit slower, I'd say extra camber is an absolute must in order to protect your wallet! Track experience The rear was nowhere near as tail happy as the GT4 into corners. Possibly because the front is relatively stiffer compared to the rear on the RS springs Some areas were very, very bumpy - the run into hatzenbach and the foxhole in particular. However, generally speaking the car felt more planted than the GT4 as stock. There were no issues at any crest. Possibly due to the increased aero as well as stiffer springs The gearing and extra power makes for a lot more 'drama', but comparing the laps, there are only a few areas where there's a significant difference between the GT4 and the RS that's solely down to power[2]. That may change once the geo is done and confidence increases, but my feeling was that - in the hands of a 'normal' driver - it requires much more confidence/ability to extract time from the the extra power in the corners. Obviously it's the first time out, but relatively speaking the gap between a pro driver time (7.02 BTG with MR kit v 7.15 for me, and 6.46 BTG stock car v 7.12 for me) is wider Tyres would make a much bigger difference... there's a vid of a GT4 MR doing 7.05 on Cup2R tyres on youtube, and he was lapping at the same pace as I was on Cup2s, with him using Trofeo R tyres previously. This also suggests that average drivers only push the car to where they feel comfortable The experience in the RS was much more heightened, the noise is obviously awesome. Some passengers said the noise was a bit much for them, but when driving I got used to it. I'd probably be a little concerned about prolonged exposure to the noise levels so may start using ear plugs Conclusions Perhaps stating the obvious, but the limit of the car for an average person is always the driver. Having a faster car hasn't magically made me dramatically faster, and it's a car I've got to get more experience with 4RS feels more stable in almost all conditions than the stock GT4, but has some issues where the track is particularly bumpy. It handled curbs better than expected The front camber needs sorting. I'll wait for the MR kit, but for those not going that route, additional camber is a must Not sure if it's because they're steels rather than PCCBs, but the front pads wore a lot more quickly than the rears, which is the opposite of what I'd experienced before Hope this info proves interesting or useful to those moving to the RS Link to vids, if interested: https://youtu.be/AwqJ94XPuFI - RS lap https://youtu.be/P9DWclyla7U - GT4 MR lap No vbox installed in the RS yet as i've only had the car a week [1] for the 'ring enthusiasts - it was the crest after the bridge on the main straight (was since smoothed out), and the crest that was the third left up kesselchen. Flugplatx was also a bit 'floaty', as was the crest before SX. Other areas of instability were the run to hatzenbach and the foxhole [2] from the exit of hatzenbach to aremberg, and from bergwerk to klosteral

Nice write up N. From a performance pov, certainly mirrors what I’ve observed Vs 4RS on other circuits…. Easy to use the power on the straights but braking and cornering as limited by the driver. I’m sure you know, but happy to report that your old car continues to be used extensively on track. I guess you might have seen it if you were at DN event this week. Not sure what the hold up is at Manthey and the release of the performance kit for the 4RS. It was finished a while ago.

TDT said: Nice write up N. From a performance pov, certainly mirrors what I’ve observed Vs 4RS on other circuits…. Easy to use the power on the straights but braking and cornering as limited by the driver. I’m sure you know, but happy to report that your old car continues to be used extensively on track. I guess you might have seen it if you were at DN event this week. Not sure what the hold up is at Manthey and the release of the performance kit for the 4RS. It was finished a while ago. Yep, said hi to the new owner ! It’s with Porsche. If anyone’s at goodwood, go and see AP and ask to get it released asap as it’s taking forever. Genuinely! They think that’ll help move things along…

wow, crazy fast, racing driver fast, nice.

26s slower than a race driver, so they’d be turning under the bridge as I’m exiting the corner to join the long straight, but I appreciate the kind words ;-)

Great info and write up Hobbit. The MR kit will be interesting to see how it changes the car, but as per your previous experience with both the GT4 and Lee's GT3 show how optimisation can change the character for the better. Even the standard RS cars are still slightly compromised for road use I guess. Look forward to a lap in the future. They certainly are a stunning car.

Great write up, both laps were very impressive.

Driving within 13 seconds of a pro time is seriously quick. On the handling issues you mention: Beyond geo (and rake) you may want to also look into tire pressures. The GT4 race car (knowing it's running on slicks and is different in many areas to the road car) is highly sensitive to small changes in tire pressures.

Dr S said: Driving within 13 seconds of a pro time is seriously quick. On the handling issues you mention: Beyond geo (and rake) you may want to also look into tire pressures. The GT4 race car (knowing it's running on slicks and is different in many areas to the road car) is highly sensitive to small changes in tire pressures. The Cup2s are quite sensitive to heat and pressures vary quite a bit. It was recommended to run them at 2-2.1bar front, 2.2 bar rear so that's what I went for. On a second lap, it is usual to see them creep up a couple of psi and the car tends to understeer a bit more

Just great reading about someone using their 4RS properly - bravo !

after the GT4 RS the GT$ almost seems in wispermode by sound, it sounds more 'relaxed' less drama in the GT4 for sound. only saw a smal begin from both, the RS has more grip, but the GT4 MR is not bad, maybe if it had the De Man 4.5 NA engine, with 560hp if would be a good mix for the 'normal' GT4 3.8 and 4.0 https://demanmotorsport.com/4-5l-cayman/

Great information- many thanks for posting.

A great read, thanks for posting. Good to see on of the cars being used as intended.