Moved on to a Cayman GT4

[shamun160]

I joined a the P Car club on Friday. The practicality of the M3 was no longer needed and I was never really in love with the car despite its capabilities and looks. Part of that was likely the dct, which was my first non manual car.

After a long hunt, I picked up a Cayman GT4. Driving it home in near rush hour traffic was bad. The M3 definitely does the dual purpose mission better than most. Getting out of traffic and on a backroad is another story. The GT4 is one of the most engaging cars I have ever driven. It is so capable and begs you to ring its neck. The noises and smells that it makes feels like something special. The M3 always felt a bit disconnected to me, despite its awesome performance. The Cayman is a good bit slower in a straight line. A lot of that is gearing and lack of torque. The gearing is really problematic because to make it sing you are doing 80+ on a back road, which is boarderline asshole land depending on the road. I can't wait to get it to the track soon. At the end of the day I have no doubt that I will be faster on the track in cayman, but more importantly have a much bigger smile on my face while doing it.

BMW has been losing its way for a while for my tastes. I still have the 328 wagon as my daily. The x5 lost out to my wife's xc90 when we were shopping last fall. I am first in line for a M2 GTS at my dealer, so I might be back depending in how that car pans out.

The M3 will be missed, mostly because of my awesome ED trip, but also the mega motor that could dispatch traffic with the drop of a foot. I just wish it pulled at my heart strings more.

[csbear]

Enjoy! The GT4 is definitely an "experience" car. It doesn't have the straight-line brute force of the F80, but it does everything else better.

And it looks a lot nicer IMO than the F80... But there is no doubt the F80 is still an amazing daily driver-performance vehicle... That hasn't been lost.

Let's see what BMW does with the M2 CS, GTS, etc. I think they know they are slowly losing their enthusiast base to other brands and hopefully the new M4 CS, M2 CS and GTS turn things around. I don't have numbers to back it up, but it just seems that way nowadays.

They already got a nice start with the current M2 and improvements by the ZCP F80/82. Although it's unfortunate the M4 GTS got a lukewarm reception by the media. This is a crucial period for BMW as the next 5-10 years are going to produce a dramatic shift in the auto industry.

[evanescent03]

doing 80mph on a back road to get the most out of the car is unfortunate...no car is perfect, especially after you own and live with it. I hope you enjoy the heck out of this thing! it definitely has a lot going for it. F80 was lacking slightly in the "feels" department for me too so I moved along, but I miss the wide skillset the car offers.

enjoy! and ... NO PICS? !?!?!

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by csbear

Let's see what BMW does with the M2 CS, GTS, etc. I think they know they are slowly losing their enthusiast base to other brands and hopefully the new M4 CS, M2 CS and GTS turn things around. I don't have numbers to back it up, but it just seems that way nowadays.

They already got a nice start with the current M2 and improvements by the ZCP F80/82. Although it's unfortunate the M4 GTS got a lukewarm reception by the media. This is a crucial period for BMW as the next 5-10 years are going to produce a dramatic shift in the auto industry.

I hope you are right that Bmw can turn it around. I recently picked up a chevy spark ev instead of an i3 bev because the chevy was more fun (for half the cost) so I am worried Bmw will continue missing the mark for enthusiasts in the future too.

Congrats on the new car OP

[gatorfast]

Congrats! Dont think anyone can fault you for moving up to a gt4. Lets see some pics!

[quattr0]

Congrats on GT4! It looks much better in person IMO.

Even w manual, I thought M4 was boring as i dont care much about it could run 9 sec if one desires.

Not sure how much M2 GTS would be in difference but the folks over R list GT3 said Cayman is much more fun regular M2

[shiv.nandak]

I noticed that you were in Pittsburgh, i'd love to see your GT4 sometime. I need to find some cool back roads around here

[shamun160]

Originally Posted by shiv.nandak

I noticed that you were in Pittsburgh, i'd love to see your GT4 sometime. I need to find some cool back roads around here

Will be up a cars and coffee on Saturday. Look me up. Car is agate grey with black wheels. I will be there close to when it starts

[shamun160]

Is there an easy way to post photos from my phone? If so I will go out and snap a few.

[gatorfast]

Originally Posted by shamun160

Is there an easy way to post photos from my phone? If so I will go out and snap a few.

Yes I believe from the app you simply click the paperclip icon when posting and it will take you to your photos to select attachments.

[Motorsportenterprise]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

I hope you are right that Bmw can turn it around. I recently picked up a chevy spark ev instead of an i3 bev because the chevy was more fun (for half the cost) so I am worried Bmw will continue missing the mark for enthusiasts in the future too.

Congrats on the new car OP

They are only going to continue to lose the enthusiast market with the upcoming switch from dual clutch to torque converter autos, but then again the M5 hasn't been a drivers car for a long time and this regression will be most impactful on the m3/4 if you ask me. Then again, for every enthusiast who doesn't buy one, 2 non enthusiasts will due to that fact.
Bmw seems to be missing quite a lot given the m4 GTS' poor showing in reviews and performance compared to how far the market moved in performance. The m2 seems to be a good contender but still a ways off of the cayman and they ruined the car by not adding the proper m seats, etc and think the price is still too close to the m3/4.

OP - enjoy the GT4 as it is certainly one of the few special cars out there. I'd also like to see some pictures.

[Wills2]

GT4 is my dream car either that or the Boxster spyder version, awesome machine enjoy!

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by Motorsportenterprise

They are only going to continue to lose the enthusiast market with the upcoming switch from dual clutch to torque converter autos, but then again the M5 hasn't been a drivers car for a long time and this regression will be most impactful on the m3/4 if you ask me. Then again, for every enthusiast who doesn't buy one, 2 non enthusiasts will due to that fact.
Bmw seems to be missing quite a lot given the m4 GTS' poor showing in reviews and performance compared to how far the market moved in performance. The m2 seems to be a good contender but still a ways off of the cayman and they ruined the car by not adding the proper m seats, etc and think the price is still too close to the m3/4.

OP - enjoy the GT4 as it is certainly one of the few special cars out there. I'd also like to see some pictures.

The "cs" gear should have been optional on the cars since the '15 launch and they shouldn't have bothered with GTS

I predict we will hear the storyline changing regarding F80 when they are commonly sub $45k on the used market, and we start to see more stock engine + full coilover + wider r tires cars at DEs. GT4 and other Porsche drivers better show up with well setup cars they are willing to push hard

Anyway, OP, enjoy your car. I thought hard about modify vs change, and I went with change as well

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

The "cs" gear should have been optional on the cars since the '15 launch and they shouldn't have bothered with GTS

I predict we will hear the storyline changing regarding F80 when they are commonly sub $45k on the used market, and we start to see more stock engine + full coilover + wider r tires cars at DEs. GT4 and other Porsche drivers better show up with well setup cars they are willing to push hard

Anyway, OP, enjoy your car. I thought hard about modify vs change, and I went with change as well

A GT4 needs Hoosiers to keep up with a stock M4 on NT01. I can easily dispose of GT4s at my local track when they are on their stock PSC2.

[Motorsportenterprise]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

A GT4 needs Hoosiers to keep up with a stock M4 on NT01. I can easily dispose of GT4s at my local track when they are on their stock PSC2.

Didn't you race professionally? Not really comparable unless the skill level is the same, and of course PSC2 are not as good as the NT01s. Same skill levels the M4 isn't keeping up and isn't nearly as easy to drive. The GT4 is just a much sweeter car to drive at the end of the day too.

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by Motorsportenterprise

Didn't you race professionally? Not really comparable unless the skill level is the same, and of course PSC2 are not as good as the NT01s. Same skill levels the M4 isn't keeping up and isn't nearly as easy to drive. The GT4 is just a much sweeter car to drive at the end of the day too.

Says the Porsche Fanboy

[Motorsportenterprise]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

The "cs" gear should have been optional on the cars since the '15 launch and they shouldn't have bothered with GTS

I predict we will hear the storyline changing regarding F80 when they are commonly sub $45k on the used market, and we start to see more stock engine + full coilover + wider r tires cars at DEs. GT4 and other Porsche drivers better show up with well setup cars they are willing to push hard

Anyway, OP, enjoy your car. I thought hard about modify vs change, and I went with change as well

That same story line could be said about a lot of carS but doesn't change the fact that you need to be modified to keep up. Besides that, HPDE events vary widely by skill level and not everyone drives 10/10s. Firhernore it's a far different mindset at those when you have a guy in a car like an M3 worth much less vs a guy driving a 100k and appreciating GT4.
Real racing where you have guys out there competing, it takes a race prepped IPE M to run with a stock 911. That should tell you where they really fall.

[Motorsportenterprise]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

Says the Porsche Fanboy

So basically you're saying you can only beat a GT4 when you have a better tire on and far more skill. Makes sense.

When was the last time you won a championship at these HPDE events if you don't mind me asking?

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by Motorsportenterprise

Didn't you race professionally? Not really comparable unless the skill level is the same, and of course PSC2 are not as good as the NT01s. Same skill levels the M4 isn't keeping up and isn't nearly as easy to drive. The GT4 is just a much sweeter car to drive at the end of the day too.

Originally Posted by Motorsportenterprise

So basically you're saying you can only beat a GT4 when you have a better tire on and far more skill. Makes sense.

When was the last time you won a championship at these HPDE events if you don't mind me asking?

My experience with GT4s is simply based on quite a few runs with fellow trackers. I have 5 track buddies that own GT4s, three of them are fellow instructors, one of them is a club racer (944) and the other is an advanced driver. I agree that skill level is a very important factor, but I do not consider myself much more skilled than them. I have never raced professionally.

Having run both the PSC2 and NT01, I can attest they are not that far off in terms of grip. The PSC2 probably being slightly grippier than the NT01 when fresh but the the NT01 being more resistant to heat cycling and grippier than the PSC2 and the end of their life.

The GT4 has a great chassis with superior handling than the M4 (a mid-rear engine is tough to beat), but the M4's better power to weight allows it to real the GT4 easily in the straights.

See video in this thread (my rear NT01 are worn to the cord).

• Blue GT4: Instructor
• Red GT4: Club racer
• Yellow GT4: Advanced driver

[shamun160]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

A GT4 needs Hoosiers to keep up with a stock M4 on NT01. I can easily dispose of GT4s at my local track when they are on their stock PSC2.

I suspect a lot of that is driver
My set of Nt01s and apex wheels that will be going up for sale.

[shamun160]

Downloaded the app

[damnitBobby]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

I can easily dispose of GT4s at my local track when they are on their stock PSC2.