u/_GTS_Panda

Hey Macan gang. This car never ceases to amaze me. My GT4 RS was getting a new suspension and I didn’t wanna miss out on a prepaid AutoX. So….. I brought my Macan GTS. I kid you not, I had some of the fastest times out there that day and was consistently faster than most of the true sports sedans.

The biggest annoyance is the Macan is obviously heavy and with the warm weather, I was chasing tire pressures the whole day. With that’s it, it was some of the most fun I’ve ever had driving. This thing is just such a hoot.

Here is a vid of one of my runs. It wasn’t a clean run and I missed a gate and hit a cone, but it gives you an idea of what this thing is capable of.

And for people deciding on which trim to get. This shows how truly capable and different the GTS is. With the air, suspension and torque factoring, there is no SUV out there that is even close to this. Well. At least in this price range. I’m sure an Urus or DBX would have a thing or two to say.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZk331oSbHD/?igsh=ZGl3OTE4NG40MmRw

I’m making this post because I often see people on here asking what the DINK life is really like long-term, and whether there are any regrets. Everyone's mileage may vary, but I wanted to share my perspective from our experience.

I am 43 and my wife is 41. For as long as I can literally remember, I have known that I didn't want kids. I don't know what it was, but the idea was not only unenticing, it actually felt revolting to me, even at an early age. Because of this, I was always upfront when dating and let women know early on that kids were not in the cards for me. When I told my wife this on our fifth date, she just said, "Cool. I’m pretty sure I don't want kids anyway, being pregnant and breastfeeding scares the heck out of me." As things got more serious, she saw my conviction and realized she was steadfast in that choice, too. We have now been together for almost 17 years, married for 13, and we wouldn't change a thing for the world.

Both of our families have been incredibly supportive of our decision, and there has been close to zero guilt tripped our way. We both live incredibly fulfilling lives and have been able to maintain most of our relationships with friends who do have children.

The big caveat there is that we live in the city, as do most of our friends who went on to have kids. I feel there is a massive difference in how parents live their lives when they choose to stay in an urban area versus moving away. When people move to the suburbs, it seems like everything about them changes, and their entire world becomes strictly about their kids and family time.

By staying in the city, it has been really neat to remain active in our friends' lives, help them out as parents, and see their kids grow up as part of our community. And, of course, it’s always great to be able to hand the kids back over when they inevitably get annoying! It has also been awesome watching our nieces grow up and being able to be the best aunt and uncle possible.

Without children, we have cultivated an incredible marriage and built a deeply meaningful life together. We get to travel the world, excel in our careers (which will allow us to retire very early in the not-so-distant future), and my wife has had the time and freedom to start her own side business. We also get to be great dog parents, volunteer our time, donate to causes we care about, and relentlessly pursue our passions. It is all very fulfilling.

Every single day, I grow more steadfast in our decision. I wouldn't change it for anything.

This sub is dedicated to Porsche. Usually, Porsche means a 911 and to some, the 718. Rarely do we give much love to some of the cars that have kept this brand alive. I’m gonna shout out the daily driver for a lot of us: the "humble" Macan. Yes, I know it’s the cheapest Porsche, and the base model is... well, I’ll let you guess what I’m gonna say. My mom told me if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.
But the GTS? It’s just built completely different. I don’t think there is a bigger gap in trim levels than what you have in the Macan lineup, and the GTS is an absolute beast. Up until the new Cayenne V8 came out, it was the best sounding non GT Porsche out of the box. I decided to amp this car up even more and installed downpipes and a stage 2 tune. She sounds like a banshee while not taking away its daily drivability, launches like a rocket, and has no business being so ballistic for a rather large car.
My GT4 RS is getting a new JRZ PROactive suspension and was down for the count at a local AutoX this last weekend. I brought out the Macan GTS instead. While I’m a decent driver, I’m certainly not the best, but my times were legit some of the quickest of the day. I definitely had a top 10 time and was only 2 seconds off the fastest run of the day by a proper driver in a GT4 RS.
This Macan GTS is so good that when I step into it, I don’t feel like it’s a downgrade from a 4 RS. Obviously, that’s a totally different car and experience, but the Macan GTS is just so darn good.
So yes, the 911 is an icon, and the 718 is the fun sports car. But the Cayenne and Macan kept Porsche alive to make those awesome vehicles, and they absolutely knocked it out of the park with this platform.
Check the first comment for one of my non-clean runs. But it shows you how ballistic this thing is.

I am coming up on 18 months of ownership with my GT4 RS and just surpassed the 10,500 mile mark. I am truly using it the way it was meant to be used: canyon carving with my driving crew, fun weekend trips with my wife, track days, autocross, and hill climbs. Every single time I get behind the wheel and fire it up, it feels like an event is taking place and it puts a massive smile on my face.

This past weekend, I took it to the coolest track I have ever been to: Area 27 in Osoyoos, BC. It is about four and a half hours north of Seattle in the heart of wine country, and it is absolutely fabulous. There was some serious hardware at these track days, including a GT3 RS, a Huracan, a Ferrari 812 Superfast, and some other really cool builds.

Interestingly, my buddy (who also has a GT4 RS) and I ended up being the belles of the ball. We both run the full Kline Inconel exhaust setup, and we were easily the second best sounding cars there, sitting a distant second to that screaming V12 812 Superfast. It was wild how many people came up to us just to talk about how they have always wanted to ride in a 4 RS and how cool they thought the platform was. It was a fun reality check because if you just follow the TikTok trends, the GT4 RS is dismissed as just a Cayman and supposedly nothing else matters if you don't have a GT3 RS badge.

One of the coolest parts of the weekend was handing the keys over to a close friend who has been racing for 40 years and works as a driving instructor. He is traditionally the type who loves driving slow cars fast, and this was one of his first times piloting a modern Porsche GT car. My gawd. Riding shotgun with him and seeing this car actually get pushed close to its limit was unbelievable. It completely changed my weekend because seeing what the car is truly capable of gave me massive confidence and a better understanding of just how much grip is available for my next sessions.

The internet experts love to claim the GT4 RS isn't a great track weapon because it lacks the double wishbone front suspension of the GT3. Yes, the strut system is older tech, but this car is still one of the fastest things on the grid. You just have to work for it, which my instructor friend said was actually part of the fun. In fact, there was a third GT4 RS at the track who I believe clocked the fastest lap times of the entire event.

I really don't get how people buy these cars and get rid of them so quickly. You should know what you are getting yourself into when you buy an RS product. It is loud, it is sort of harsh, it is rowdy, and it is exactly what you want in a fun car. But truthfully, in its softest settings and with the PSE turned off, it does a fine job of highway cruising and getting around town.

Since I plan on keeping this car forever, I am currently fixing the obvious weak spot with the platform: the suspension. I am in the process of getting the JRZ PROactive suspension installed. This is completely controllable by an app, meaning you can make it super soft for city cruising or dial it up to a 10 for the track. The one large flaw at the limit with this car is that under heavy braking, the tail wags a bit. I don't think it makes much of a physical difference on paper, and it probably feels like it is happening more than it actually is because when you watch cars do it from the outside, you can't even tell. But it definitely shakes your confidence when you slam the brakes at 160 MPH. The car also is very stiff in the rear, and when you hit bumps mid corner, it unsettles the chassis and causes the traction control to cut power. The JRZ setup will fix these things completely and make the car even more fun during weekend drives with my wife.

All in all, I don't think there are many better performance vehicles for the current steal of a deal you can get the Spyder RS and GT4 RS for. Is the GT3 and GT3 RS better? Sure, at certain things. But the GT4 RS is better at certain things as well, and I would have a very hard time justifying the $175k to $250k price delta.

To quote Billy Bob in Varsity Blues: "I give it a ten. A ten. A fu%$cki$ng 10!"

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https://preview.redd.it/z78icg94wh6h1.jpg?width=5500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=93d8efacc0cea800c890f431b8db00e62c9220f3

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I am coming up on 18 months of ownership with my GT4 RS and just surpassed the 10,500 mile mark. I am truly using it the way it was meant to be used: canyon carving with my driving crew, fun weekend trips with my wife, track days, autocross, and hill climbs. Every single time I get behind the wheel and fire it up, it feels like an event is taking place and it puts a massive smile on my face.

This past weekend, I took it to the coolest track I have ever been to: Area 27 in Osoyoos, BC. It is about four and a half hours north of Seattle in the heart of wine country, and it is absolutely fabulous. There was some serious hardware at these track days, including a GT3 RS, a Huracan, a Ferrari 812 Superfast, and some other really cool builds.

Interestingly, my buddy (who also has a GT4 RS) and I ended up being the belles of the ball. We both run the full Kline Inconel exhaust setup, and we were easily the second best sounding cars there, sitting a distant second to that screaming V12 812 Superfast. It was wild how many people came up to us just to talk about how they have always wanted to ride in a 4 RS and how cool they thought the platform was. It was a fun reality check because if you just follow the TikTok trends, the GT4 RS is dismissed as just a Cayman and supposedly nothing else matters if you don't have a GT3 RS badge.

One of the coolest parts of the weekend was handing the keys over to a close friend who has been racing for 40 years and works as a driving instructor. He is traditionally the type who loves driving slow cars fast, and this was one of his first times piloting a modern Porsche GT car. My gawd. Riding shotgun with him and seeing this car actually get pushed close to its limit was unbelievable. It completely changed my weekend because seeing what the car is truly capable of gave me massive confidence and a better understanding of just how much grip is available for my next sessions.

The internet experts love to claim the GT4 RS isn't a great track weapon because it lacks the double wishbone front suspension of the GT3. Yes, the strut system is older tech, but this car is still one of the fastest things on the grid. You just have to work for it, which my instructor friend said was actually part of the fun. In fact, there was a third GT4 RS at the track who I believe clocked the fastest lap times of the entire event.

I really don't get how people buy these cars and get rid of them so quickly. You should know what you are getting yourself into when you buy an RS product. It is loud, it is sort of harsh, it is rowdy, and it is exactly what you want in a fun car. But truthfully, in its softest settings and with the PSE turned off, it does a fine job of highway cruising and getting around town.

Since I plan on keeping this car forever, I am currently fixing the obvious weak spot with the platform: the suspension. I am in the process of getting the JRZ PROactive suspension installed. This is completely controllable by an app, meaning you can make it super soft for city cruising or dial it up to a 10 for the track. The one large flaw at the limit with this car is that under heavy braking, the tail wags a bit. I don't think it makes much of a physical difference on paper, and it probably feels like it is happening more than it actually is because when you watch cars do it from the outside, you can't even tell. But it definitely shakes your confidence when you slam the brakes at 160 MPH. The car also is very stiff in the rear, and when you hit bumps mid corner, it unsettles the chassis and causes the traction control to cut power. The JRZ setup will fix these things completely and make the car even more fun during weekend drives with my wife.

All in all, I don't think there are many better performance vehicles for the current steal of a deal you can get the Spyder RS and GT4 RS for. Is the GT3 and GT3 RS better? Sure, at certain things. But the GT4 RS is better at certain things as well, and I would have a very hard time justifying the $175k to $250k price delta.

To quote Billy Bob in Varsity Blues: "I give it a ten. A ten. A fu%$cki$ng 10!"

https://preview.redd.it/yjgp88pivh6h1.jpg?width=5500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8c70dde9edd968d97bea6b297c59afa37406215f

https://preview.redd.it/t1o7g7pivh6h1.jpg?width=5500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6a71d598170bd6cf838b73bc83951861041ec60f

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Hey everyone, just got back from a test drive and wanted to share my thoughts.

I am a Porsche guy through and through. My current daily is a 2023 Macan GTS that I absolutely love, and it is incredibly sentimental to me. It handles like no other SUV on the planet and has a beautiful, premium cabin. But it can't tow, and I have a 2025 GT4 RS that I would love to tow to far away tracks with my wife and our dog. Living in the PNW, I also love the idea of using a rig for camping and light overlanding.

I have loved the Grenadier since it launched. To me, it is one of the best looking vehicles on the road today. I scheduled a test drive prepared to like it, but I fully expected plenty of trade offs. I heard all the stories about the steering feel (which I know was updated for this year) and expected a cabin full of hard plastics that wouldn't feel premium compared to what I am used to.

I drove a Fieldmaster and was honestly blown away. While it was a completely different universe from the Porsche, it was so much fun. It handled and drove way better than expected, and I fell in love with the novelty of the cockpit. Yes, there is a ton of plastic, the steering is still a little slow to return, and that piano black trim on the doors is awful. Seriously, how the heck is piano black still a thing in an off road rig?! But a few minutes into the drive, my probability of actually buying one went from 10% straight to 60%.

Here is the current roadblock. I live in the city and have a relatively tight garage. The Grenadier footprint isn't massive, but the height is real. The salesperson was awesome and actually let me drive it home to see if it fit. Unfortunately, the clearance was incredibly close, and it looked like the roof would scrape the garage door arm. I didn't want to risk it on a test drive, but I am absolutely getting out the measuring tape tonight to double check. If I can find a way to make it work, I think I am going to make it work.

Just wanted to stop by and say these machines are absolutely awesome. I hope to see you guys out there using them exactly the way the good Lord intended!

I spent today driving through Ravenna, the U District, Greenwood, Phinney Ridge, and Wallingford, and noticed a very specific pattern of panhandling across all of these areas. In multiple locations, individuals were out with young children, holding very similar signs, and they appeared to share a common background or origin.
At the Wallingford QFC, a family was positioned right in the doorway, and their two kids were blocking the entrance until security eventually asked them to move.
I usually don't mind helping out local regulars, like the friendly guy with the puppets outside the QFC, but this situation feels entirely different and honestly quite exploitative of the kids involved. Does anyone know if there is a coordinated panhandling group or specific organization operating in the area right now? Curious if others have noticed this shift recently.