The Truth about Porsche Gt4 Gearing

Ask any car enthusiast what they think about the 6 speed Porsche GT3 and you hear universal raves of an engine that revs to 9,000 rpm, the steering, and the way the entire car seems alive. What you won’t hear are complaints about the gearing. Specifically, not a mention of how tall the gears are. That’s nuts! Why? That’s exactly the biggest complaint about the Porsche 981 GT4 and new 718 GT4.

Don’t let this fool you. There’s a very fundamental difference between the two and that difference is The GT3 can do no wrong. Plus it’s a 911.

FACTS

The primary complaint You Tubers voice is that in order to appreciate the 8,000 rpm redline in the GT4, you be doing illegal speeds in 2nd gear and above. Specifically, they point to 2nd gear topping out at 83 mph and 3rd at 109 mph (Car & Driver instrumented test).. Those are facts. However, not once do you hear that complaint leveled at the GT3 even though it has the exact same issue. In the 2018 GT3 manual transmission, 2nd gear tops out at 79 and it’s 3rd gear at 109 mph (Road & Track magazine instrumented test).

Since the GT4’s redline is 8000 and the GT3’s is 9000, the former definitely has taller gearing, the complaint really is about the ability to enjoy hitting redlines with these engines. And so, the truth is that in order to experience redline in 2nd gear and above in both these cars, you’re gonna have to make a decision about your commitment to observing the speed limit in your town. But time has come to move on. The GT4 and GT3 are great cars with gearing and performance that require tracks to fully enjoy what they offer.