tbarcelo

This afternoon I test drove two different 997.2 cabs. One '09 C4S and one '11 C2S. The former was a 6-spd and the latter a PDK.

I was surprised to see that the 09 C4S had plastic in the lower part of the grille where the C2S (and my previous 996 Turbo) has a center radiator.

What gives? Why doesn't the 09 C4S have that radiator?

IslandS52

Manual transmission cars do not have a center radiator from the factory. PDK/Tiptronic equipped cars, and X51 power kit cars do.

tbarcelo

Cool, thanks. So that's an easy identifier for the Powerkit if the car is a manual - good to know.

nwGTS

This is not correct.

I do not know the exact specifications for why a 997 would or would not have the center radiator but my 2012 997.2 GTS is a 6MT with no center radiator.

GTSs have the X51. So not all X51 equipped cars with a 6MT will have the center radiator.

You cannot use that as a definition descriptor.

tbarcelo

So maybe it is just related to PDK?

@nwGTS - slight aside: how do you like your GTS? I recently sold my 996 Turbo and I'm thinking about getting a 997.2 cabriolet. I like the idea of a wide body with 2WD. Unfortunately, GTS cabs are fairly rare and a bit more expensive than I was hoping to spend, but look to be a great car. I found a local one to test drive, so I need to get myself down to Boston!

slicky rick

C2S c4s had not center rad till 2010. It was an option. For 2011, it became standard for pdk S cars

snake eyes

I have a 2010 C4s PDK and no center radiator.
I got sport chrono plus too

So its not 2010's on up.
What I can tell you is that I have tracked my car in 90deg+ and never had any issues with heat buildup anywhere..so I don't get the third radiator thing.

Maybe if you're sitting in traffic?

SpeedyD

I just took my C4S for some spirited driving yesterday in 98F weather... Mine has no center rad and there were no temp issues...

tbarcelo

I don't think that third radiator is for cooling the engine, I suspect it is for cooling some other system.

So while I'm asking questions, every 997.2 I have seen has a "Sport" button and a button with a shock image. A few of the vehicles have had a "Sport Plus" button.

Can someone help me understand which options correlate to which buttons?

Thanks.

Carmichael

No, the third radiator is for the engine coolant.

This in turn gives you a larger coolant heat sink, which makes the car more resistant to heatsoak. Engine coolant cools the engine oil on 6MT cars and engine oil AND transmission oil on the PDK cars, which is why PDK cars usually got the third radiator.

tgavem

No sure about the 997.2
But for 997.1, only GTS, GT3, Turbo had the center radiator.

I added center radiator to my 07 4S. On 100F days and on the track I would see 245/250F.
After adding third radiator, never gone over 220 and always sits around 215/220.

Note, you will not see the effect of the third radiator until you need otherwise the car will regulate temp to the optimal 215/220F.

jhbrennan

There was no 997.1 GTS. 997.1's with tip had 3rd radiator. I don't remember my 997.1 TT (6spd) having a third radiator.

kkswow12

i have a .1, 4/2008 with the X51, 6MT and 3rd rad, don't know if it was an option or comes w/ X51 as standard fare... whatever, i like it and with mesh addition it looks more complete and even more cool than...what, well, just about anything...