Porsche 718 GT4 @ Gotland Ring GP – Manual vs. PDK (Fun but Not a Relevant Comparison)

Описание: Just a fun comparison—this has no bearing on performance as the laps were driven by different drivers, on different days, and under similar but not identical conditions. I also drive a much faster lap later on, at 3:13 in my stock car. That lap can be found here: Watch my fastest lap.

The laps were driven on separate days, but the weather was similar (hot summer conditions).

This is just a fun comparison between my buddy Stevan’s PDK-equipped GT4 with the full Manthey kit (around €17,388, with -3° camber front and -2.6° rear) and my stock manual GT4, which only has the Manthey camber kit (-3° front, -2.6° rear, costing around €2,700).

Lap time difference: Approximately 1.7 seconds—PDK vs. manual. My fastest lap time was 3:16.07, while Stevan’s was 3:14.33.

(The car in front of me in my lap is my friend Jonas B, driving his Marlboro GT4 981 CS, a race car on slicks with PDK.)

This was Stevan’s first time lapping the track—nicely done! To be fair, I had already lapped the track twice. We probably both made a few mistakes, but I’m sure that together we could find more speed.

It’s an interesting comparison between the 718 GT4 manual and the 718 GT4 MR PDK. Looking at the speed traces, it’s clear that my manual car loses out in acceleration and top speed (especially on the uphill sections) compared to the PDK. The seamless shifts of the PDK make a noticeable difference.

(Porsche notes: The seventh gear in the PDK transmission has a lower gear ratio in all 718s with the 4-liter naturally aspirated engine. The PDK versions of the 718 Spyder and 718 Cayman GT4 also benefit from improvements to the mechanical rear differential lock. The lock values in traction and overrun settings are 30% and 37%, compared to 22% and 27% in manual transmission versions. These changes positively impact the driving characteristics, both in acceleration and cornering, providing better grip and more driving pleasure.)

The KW suspension clearly helps the PDK car maintain higher minimum speeds around most of the track, despite the tires being pretty worn.

Data Collection:
• My lap was captured using a 10Hz PCM unit and Porsche Track App in my manual car.
• Stevan’s lap was recorded with Harry’s LapTimer and a 10Hz XGPS160 receiver.

Car Specs:
• 2021 GT4 PDK (MR)
• Clubsport (CS), PCCB, LWB
• Factory Michelin Cup 2 (4000 km)
• Weight: 1456 kg (full tank) + 80 kg driver
• 2020 GT4 MANUAL
• Clubsport (CS), LWB
• Michelin Cup 2 Connect (a couple of track days)
• Weight: 1470 kg (full tank) + 80 kg driver