GT4RS or 991 GT3RS? - Page 3 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Apologies if this has been done before but it seems prices of both are now crossing over eg similar. Appreciate one is much older but is this a hard choice to make? Made it a poll TX.

This is gonna go down the drain lol.

Probably why GT4RS don't seem to be shifting. I want to go for one but am nervous as there are 25+ on Porsche Approved, including a new one at less than list. Wondering if it's boiling down to it not being a 911 etc. Would choose the 4RS over the 3RS

It's a question I have asked myself many times, in fact I would chuck a 992.1 GT3 into the mix also.

I voted for the GT3RS, as I think they are a great looking car. Also, I already have a GT4RS... They aren't really comparable are they?

There's a good youtube vide of this question https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7VTR1_7ljY personally I'd have the 4 smaller, mid-engine'd more drama....and ever so slightly less obvious visually

The factors that went into my decision making process last year were... - Brand new factory order to my spec vs - buying someone else 'pre-loved' - There will only be 1 generation of Naturally Aspirated GT4 RS... and if not the only... it is the 1st. - 991.2 cars are already 'old' cars... with miles and unknown variable history. - 991.1 were not a viable option for me personally due to the 'engine timebomb' - If I wanted a GT3... I'd actually jump to a 992gen GT3 - as this is the completed fully developed incarnation of the 911 GT. If I hadn't gotten a factory order - then the decision would have been made more on the best overall package for the budget. 4RS always had the strongest pull on the heart strings so would have gone that direction anyway. I would really like to have a long term try of a 992 GT3 (reserving the option to come back to my 4RS) - so that is maybe in the future. Just an opinion...

I'd go GT4RS over GT3RS, but also Boxster RS over both.

Non Weissach 991.2 GT3RS was my purchase ... for the same price as a high spec GT4RS at the time ... is this included in your choice ? Edited by ChrisW. on Thursday 22 May 16:41

992.1 GT3 is better than both for road use or track use. thread closed.

And your only post

GT3 every time. Better chassis and more thoroughly developed car.

GT3RS for me I think without having driven either one, so I think it is 911 snob behaviour on my part / just the history of the 911 RS models - purely subjective

@TDT On the engine time bomb, did it impact the RS? They lowered the rev limit etc didn't they. TX.

Terminator X said: @TDT On the engine time bomb, did it impact the RS? They lowered the rev limit etc didn't they. TX. I do not believe the time bomb affects the 3RS.

Terminator X said: @TDT On the engine time bomb, did it impact the RS? They lowered the rev limit etc didn't they. TX. All 991.1 GT cars have the same fundamental issue - GT3, 3RS and 991R…. Even if you have a ‘G6’. These also can fail although they include a raft of countermeasures including capped rev limit, revised oiling, and updated DLC coating on camshafts and finger followers etc I personally know of several 991.1 3RS that have had engine replacements. That said ‘9k’ GT engines since then also have issues so none of these cars are 100% reliable… just that the newer ones are a little bit more reliable and have a larger balance of warranty remaining!

RDMcG said: Terminator X said: @TDT On the engine time bomb, did it impact the RS? They lowered the rev limit etc didn't they. TX. I do not believe the time bomb affects the 3RS. It does. The timing fuse was just rather a lot more delayed vs the .1gt3.

RDMcG said: I do not believe the time bomb affects the 3RS. Yes it does. My mates .1RS gave up early this year. He won't touch another porsche product as they left him high and dry.

TDT said: Terminator X said: @TDT On the engine time bomb, did it impact the RS? They lowered the rev limit etc didn't they. TX. All 991.1 GT cars have the same fundamental issue - GT3, 3RS and 991R…. Even if you have a ‘G6’. These also can fail although they include a raft of countermeasures including capped rev limit, revised oiling, and updated DLC coating on camshafts and finger followers etc I personally know of several 991.1 3RS that have had engine replacements. That said ‘9k’ GT engines since then also have issues so none of these cars are 100% reliable… just that the newer ones are a little bit more reliable and have a larger balance of warranty remaining! I think in fairness the starting point also has to be appreciated ... For any engine that is highly stressed and hard used, 24 month and 10000? mile service oil changes to retain a three year warranty and 15 year extended warranty is incredibly generous. Particularly in an engine that replaces only a percentage of the oil due to the "start-up" oiling arrangement. How many owners will change oil earlier ? How many will ease the car into to the hardest work and cool it down sensibly ? And what is the consequence of drivers not doing this within the above warranty ? Porsches are still among the most reliable track cars that I am aware of ... and then we complain about the cost of consumables ...

ChrisW. said: I think in fairness the starting point also has to be appreciated ... For any engine that is highly stressed and hard used, 24 month and 10000? mile service oil changes to retain a three year warranty and 15 year extended warranty is incredibly generous. Particularly in an engine that replaces only a percentage of the oil due to the "start-up" oiling arrangement. How many owners will change oil earlier ? How many will ease the car into to the hardest work and cool it down sensibly ? And what is the consequence of drivers not doing this within the above warranty ? Porsches are still among the most reliable track cars that I am aware of ... and then we complain about the cost of consumables ... Every manufacturer has recurring issues. What's disappointing with porsche is the way they market these cars. Always on track, always chasing lap/ring times etc. Then, when they go bang doing the very thing they were designed for, its a little disappointing to say the least.

If they were to increase the servicing requirement in an appropriate way would owners complain ?

ImbackYo said: RDMcG said: I do not believe the time bomb affects the 3RS. Yes it does. My mates .1RS gave up early this year. He won't touch another porsche product as they left him high and dry. He has had 9 years to sell it. I would not touch a 991.1 GT car. It's a VERY well known issue ! he should have moved it on 5 years a go for a profit. Tracking a known issue engine which WILL go wrong at some point seems an odd thing to do. All lemons. Porsche make some iconic great cars, Shock they also made some lemons and had engine issues on a few models. Don't buy the lemon models.

ChrisW. said: If they were to increase the servicing requirement in an appropriate way would owners complain ? If you track hard ie 10+ a year best to do an oil change every 3k miles anyway.

I changed my 4RS for a 991.1 GT3RS, wasn't sure about the 911 at first but once I got used to it, I preferred it. Sounded better Felt more substantial and had more road presence Better road car and the times matched the 4RS on track You won't go wrong with either but I'd choose the 3RS if I had to choose again.

911ST said: If you track hard ie 10+ a year best to do an oil change every 3k miles anyway. I do mine every other track day or weekend.

ImbackYo said: I do mine every other track day or weekend. well you do you 3 changes at a time as a modern GT car not much comes out lol But no need to do an oil change every 200 track miles !

911ST said: well you do you 3 changes at a time as a modern GT car not much comes out lol But no need to do an oil change every 200 track miles ! I do it after 2 track weekends, usually the ring, so its way more than 200 miles. Also, if i do Brands or Silverstone for e.g, over 2 days, you are doing more than 200 miles. In regards to oil quantity, I undo all three bolts and get about 8 litres out overnight. So Im not sure what the issue is. The filter is also replaced, and if its doing its job properly all should be fine. But Im sure the PH experts will tell me Im wrong. In regards to 4 or 3RS, 3RS all day. Edited by ImbackYo on Friday 23 May 11:09

ImbackYo said: I do it after 2 track weekends, usually the ring, so its way more than 200 miles. Also, if i do Brands or Silverstone for e.g, over 2 days, you are doing more than 200 miles. In regards to oil quantity, I undo all three bolts and get about 8 litres out overnight. So Im not sure what the issue is. The filter is also replaced, and if its doing its job properly all should be fine. But Im sure the PH experts will tell me Im wrong. In regards to 4 or 3RS, 3RS all day. Edited by ImbackYo on Friday 23 May 11:09 only 4.1l comes out a 4RS or 992 GT3. takes 3 changes to really get new oil into the car.

911ST said: only 4.1l comes out a 4RS or 992 GT3. takes 3 changes to really get new oil into the car. Well, I can assure you, i take about 7.5-8 out and put the same back in.

ImbackYo said: 911ST said: only 4.1l comes out a 4RS or 992 GT3. takes 3 changes to really get new oil into the car. Well, I can assure you, i take about 7.5-8 out and put the same back in. Yep. If you have the ability to leave overnight it can be mostly drained and changed. The issue is OPC or indys dont want your car occupying a ramp for 2days for an oil change. So they just change out what they can get out within the allotted time for the job.

TDT said: Yep. If you have the ability to leave overnight it can be mostly drained and changed. The issue is OPC or indys dont want your car occupying a ramp for 2days for an oil change. So they just change out what they can get out within the allotted time for the job. That's a good point.

Even if changing the oil only partially replaces the total contents I'd rather do that more frequently than not at all, particularly if driven hard on track. As an example, the aircraft turbine engines that I used to work on didn't have scheduled oil changes. They consumed sufficient oil that they were constantly being topped up with clean oil and that was considered to be sufficient. Frequent partial oil replacement on a GT engine would provide more dilution of the degraded oil than that achieved by replenishing the oil in a turbine engine after each flight.

991.1 cars of course, the 991.2 cars still seem to be £160-190k ish! Are they £30k ish "better"? TX.

BAMoFo said: Even if changing the oil only partially replaces the total contents I'd rather do that more frequently than not at all, particularly if driven hard on track. As an example, the aircraft turbine engines that I used to work on didn't have scheduled oil changes. They consumed sufficient oil that they were constantly being topped up with clean oil and that was considered to be sufficient. Frequent partial oil replacement on a GT engine would provide more dilution of the degraded oil than that achieved by replenishing the oil in a turbine engine after each flight. You'll get almost 8 out. More than enough. Not sure what the fuss is about.

TDT said: The factors that went into my decision making process last year were... - Brand new factory order to my spec vs - buying someone else 'pre-loved' - There will only be 1 generation of Naturally Aspirated GT4 RS... and if not the only... it is the 1st. - 991.2 cars are already 'old' cars... with miles and unknown variable history. - 991.1 were not a viable option for me personally due to the 'engine timebomb' - If I wanted a GT3... I'd actually jump to a 992gen GT3 - as this is the completed fully developed incarnation of the 911 GT. If I hadn't gotten a factory order - then the decision would have been made more on the best overall package for the budget. 4RS always had the strongest pull on the heart strings so would have gone that direction anyway. I would really like to have a long term try of a 992 GT3 (reserving the option to come back to my 4RS) - so that is maybe in the future. Just an opinion... Not a single reason about the drive, the dynamics, how the cars make you feel, the heritage. For me, I’d always choose a 911 over a Boxster or Cayman. I find the 911 harder to drive - it takes concentration, weight shifting, powering out of a corner, difficulty. The mid-engined cars are easier to drive; easier to jump in and drive fast. Your cash your choice - enjoy.

BAMoFo said: Even if changing the oil only partially replaces the total contents I'd rather do that more frequently than not at all, particularly if driven hard on track. As an example, the aircraft turbine engines that I used to work on didn't have scheduled oil changes. They consumed sufficient oil that they were constantly being topped up with clean oil and that was considered to be sufficient. Frequent partial oil replacement on a GT engine would provide more dilution of the degraded oil than that achieved by replenishing the oil in a turbine engine after each flight. My .2RS at 30 miles has never been topped up , just does not use oil.

The point I was trying to make was that, if done frequently, even partial changes of oill, whether that be 3 litres or 8 litres, will provide sufficient dilution of the degraded oil to be effective in providing adequate engine protection. The preference would be to replace the entire contents, but some of the posts above seem to infer that is not possible and that it is therefore not worth doing.

maz8062 said: ....... For me, I’d always choose a 911 over a Boxster or Cayman. I find the 911 harder to drive - it takes concentration, weight shifting, powering out of a corner, difficulty. The mid-engined cars are easier to drive; easier to jump in and drive fast. Your cash your choice - enjoy. You're talking about cars from 20 years ago. In today's world of (very highly) electronically assisted cars, that dynamic gap is significantly reduced to the point the 'difficulty' difference is negligible for most normal people particularly on the road. There is a difference in feel from the weight distribution which may or may not matter to people but in terms of 'ease to jump in and drive fast', don't kid yourself that the 911 of today is a much bigger challenge. It is possible to simply buy what you prefer (clearly the 911) without cooking up all kinds of justification to validate your choice. As you say - your cash, your choice.

Terminator X said: 991.1 cars of course, the 991.2 cars still seem to be £160-190k ish! Are they £30k ish "better"? TX. Or are they just £30k ish newer and lower mileage, and more likely to be from an OPC and sold with warranty? Strange times as we move from relative unavailability of new cars (and vans for that matter) in general, to more plentiful availability, discounts available on new vehicles, and consequent devaluation of the used vehicle market. It seems a 991 911R can be bought for £350k just now, and it doesn't seem all that long ago that they couldn't be bought at all. Any that did change hands were rumoured to be going for £500k privately. Liam

But hasn't the 911R been superseded by the 911ST which is even more "uber" ... ? There are a lot of modern cars and whilst we may appreciate their specialness, having just had a bash in my 2009 Renault Twingo Cup ... it did not disappoint. It's done a nearly new 12000 miles, is worth £7k and unless I am really stupid my licence is safe ??

Quickmoose said: personally I'd have the 4 smaller, mid-engine'd more drama....and ever so slightly less obvious visually My thoughts exactly. The 3RS is just too in your face.

What interests me as much as anything is that only 57 votes have been cast ... since it's possible to have a view without buying, how many customers are there for these cars ? Is everybody on Facebook groups ??

I forgot to vote, 58 now. Alas I am not a customer for either one of them.

ChrisW. said: What interests me as much as anything is that only 57 votes have been cast ... since it's possible to have a view without buying, how many customers are there for these cars ? Is everybody on Facebook groups ?? Enough. Or they'd have stopped production of this type of product.

Evidently ... as 718 production ceases this year ... will the next GT3 be a Hybrid of some flavour ? But this was a comparison of existing and older cars ...

ChrisW. said: Evidently ... as 718 production ceases this year ... will the next GT3 be a Hybrid of some flavour ? But this was a comparison of existing and older cars ... Eh? 718, hybrid, gt3, older, existing. No idea?

Or maybe it's me.

I previously had a 991.1 GT3RS and a 991.2GT3RS. Currently I have a GT4RS and imho it’s considerably more exciting and visceral to drive- it’s a revelation.

donutskidmark said: I previously had a 991.1 GT3RS and a 991.2GT3RS. Currently I have a GT4RS and imho it’s considerably more exciting and visceral to drive- it’s a revelation. Got to say i think you are spot on.

I thought about this some more. I think if I were looking for a mid-engined car with DCT, I would cross-shop Ferraris or McLarens with the 4RS (and possibly also with the 3RS as it is also DCT-only, but the 3 still has to 911 aspect in its favour in my head) - something like a 600 LT probably. I would definitely need to drive the 4RS as it would need to win it via the better driving experience over other cars as the looks - relatively speaking - do not do much for me.

VladD said: I'd go GT4RS over GT3RS, but also Boxster RS over both. Ditto In fact I'd take the Boxster RS or even just the Spyder over anything else in the range.

MDL111 said: I forgot to vote, 58 now. Alas I am not a customer for either one of them. Why?

TheJimi said: MDL111 said: I forgot to vote, 58 now. Alas I am not a customer for either one of them. Why? he's a sensible chap who has a better (older) sports car (cars actually if i'm not wrong) already

isaldiri said: TheJimi said: MDL111 said: I forgot to vote, 58 now. Alas I am not a customer for either one of them. Why? he's a sensible chap who has a better (older) sports car (cars actually if i'm not wrong) already that might be the first time ever the word "sensible" was used in relation to me I am thinking about leaving the fold though and trading in the RS for a different car .... the 996 is staying even if I hardly get to drive it

MDL111 said: that might be the first time ever the word "sensible" was used in relation to me I am thinking about leaving the fold though and trading in the RS for a different car .... the 996 is staying even if I hardly get to drive it it's relative. you were, imo, entirely sensible to have picked the 997 rs over a more modern bit of kit so you qualify as far as I'm concerned!

bit of a thread revival!! Now into 2026 for roughly the same price give or take 5/10k you can get you into a 991.1GT3 RS, 991.2 GT3 or a GT4 RS. The .1 would be knocking on 10-11yrs old, the .2 6-7yrs and the 4RS 1-3 years old, and the length of warranty and mileage will typically be more favourable the newer the car I guess. What are peoples thoughts now given the choice, I think the GT4RS has probably dropped some more since last summer but the .1/.2 911's seem to be there or there abouts? It does however seem like the number of GT4 RS's available for sale is drastically reducing. On my last check OPC only have 9 nationwide compared to nearly 20 992 GT3 RS's, given how may have been made I am surprised so few are available for sale. Perhaps this will firm up the pricing on them too and keep them in line with the 991 models going forwards.

Porsche CEO admitted they are looking at canning the 718 EV right now for budget reasons. I can't see how that means we still get petrol versions.....so get a GT4 or RS asap.....there will always be a better or greater 911.

Half as many votes again for the GT3 ... but the 991.1RS does have the G6 engine question ...