Dan Rufer

I'm in my first summer (a Philadelphia summer with humidity) with an '87 Carrera and want to make sure I do all things reasonable to keep my oil temperature down (besides not driving the car). When should the front oil cooler fan come on? My oil thermostat near the right rear wheel is opening and sending oil forward but I've yet to have the fan run (to my knowledge). I've seen advertised both an oil filter collar cooler (to disipate (sp?) heat from the filter as well as an air scoop that installs in the front bumper replacing the right-front parking light. Are there any comments on these two items? I suspect that they don't hurt. As always, thanks. Dan

mogearhead

Although I have never used one, the oil filter "coolers" (a finned piece that straps about the filter)probably have minimal effect... especially in a Porsche. Why? Because of the filters placement in the already hot engine compartment (unlike some cars where the filter is hanging out, in more ambient[lower]air temps.)

As you said, anything might help some, but I would not expect to see much improvement with the filter device,in your application.

I would expect to see better gains from the scoop.

Sam

Chris Martin

You have one of the best cooling systems available on your car, stock. Unless you are on the track a lot or stuck in some major traffic in the summer you should have no problems. I believe your car has a notch in the bumber in front of the cooler that lets in a little more air, that should do. Every little but might help, but unless you have some $$ burning a hole in your pocket I wouldnt worry about it. My SC does just fine in the summer. One thing to check is to make sure the front and engine mounted coolers are free of grime.

If you are looking to upgrade I will glady take yor stock setup off your hands!

emcon5

The thermostat on the fan comes on at around 240°, which is a little too late in my opinion. There are a couple other options, Pelican sells replacement thermostats that come on earlier, or you can wire in a switch on the dash.

There have been some rather entertaining threads over on the pelican board about the cool collar. Most people seem to think that it is snake oil, but I have never used one, so I won't comment.

The scoop looks like it should work.

Tom

pbs911

I have a 78SC with the Carrera fender cooler installed in place of the trombone cooler. I wired a fan on teh cooler to the fog lamp switch b/c they have been removed. I too believe the factory setting is too high. Get the replacement thermostate or wire it be turn on manually.

I also have a Cool Collar for the oil filter. It does make a little difference, maybe 5 degrees, but at about $25 its worth it to me. I have noticed that the higher the outside temp the less efficient it is.

Bill Gregory

There is an article on tech.rennlist.com under 911 engines dealing with cooling '89 and earlier engines. As mentioned, you already have a good setup on your '87. One thing I might recommend is replacing the temp gauge that doesn't have temps marked on it with the older gauge that has the temps. It's very easy to do, takes about an hour, and you don't need to be a master mechanic, or anything near it, to do it. Parts cost around $70 for the gauge and temp sender. Of course, you can always look a the side of the gauge where the temps in centigrade are printed next to the lines. I prefer'd having the numeric gauge on my 81SC - I have enough things to remember, so having the temps rendered explicit was good. There's also an article on tech.rennlist.com with the detailed instructions to make the change.

emcon5

I disagree with Bill on this one. The idiot guage works fine for me. The first line is operating temp (194º) the second line is where I start worrying (248º). I will be parked on the side of the road well before it gets anywhere near the red.

Knowing the exact temp does nothing for me. As long as I know it is in the normal range, I am happy.

If it ain't broke.......

Tom

Martin S.

I know of people that have added the scoop...they said it was worthless. I added the 87 cooler to my 80SC, notched the bumber, added the 87 Carrera valance, AND, had the cooler wired so I could turn on the fan manually. I "stole" the whole cooler upgrade idea from an article by Dr. Russ Dickerson in Panorama, early 90's. The actual installation was done by Mike Schatz, formerly of Red Line Automotive in Santa Monica, CA. Mike THE Mike Schatz of schatzmotorsports I believe his web site is <a href="http://www.schatzmotorsport.com" target="_blank">http://www.schatzmotorsport.com</a>

I suggest search PCA UpFixin for Russ's article. I have an article in Rennlist...it is not as specific as Russ's article. Or, drop Mike a note at Schatz Motorsport...he'll help you out.

By the way, ANDIAL installed a manual override switch for me on my 993...it works wonders in traffic.
<img src="graemlins/xyxwave.gif" border="0" alt="[bigbye]" />

richard glickel

I agree, the scoop is worthless and looks lousy too. Bill G. is right, the Carrera oil cooler is perfectly adequate (absent summer competition or D.E. applications) for keeping engine temp where it belongs.

And, believe-it-or-not, there are numbers on the factory oil temperature gauge (the one without the numbers), but for some unknown reason, you can't read them when the gauge is in place (which is where it's supposed to be).

The numbers are in celsius and are as follows: Near the top of the first (lower) white mark (but not quite to the exact top), 60 degrees C. = 140 degrees F.; near the bottom of the second white mark, 90 degrees C. = 194 degrees F.; at the middle of the third (last) white mark, 120 degrees C. = 248 degrees F.; and, at the start (bottom) of the red zone, 150 degrees C. = 302 degrees F.

At the middle of the gauge (viz., 9 o'clock) you're at about 100 degrees C. = 212 degrees F.

I like the idea of the manual switch that permits the driver to activate the front cooling fan before reaching 240 F. Operating temp between 190 and 210 seems optimal, though some folks start getting nervous if the oil temp exceeds 200 degrees F.; which is strange, as that's only 20 degrees over the factory recommended minimum operating engine temp of 180 degrees.

The way I found out about the tiny celsius numbers on the factory gauge, is I recently replaced that part with a numbered gauge. Now that you have the benefit of my "homework", you can just make a mental note of what temperatures the various markings signify and you're all set!

Richard
'87 Carrera-3.6L <img src="graemlins/yltype.gif" border="0" alt="[typing]" />

Wil Ferch

Hi:
Previous responder Richard makes a good point for maintaining the numberless gauge.
I had previously posted a similar reply to the List, and have gone even a bit further to suggest that each temp mark can be "estimated" as:
- 150 / 200 / 250 / 300 degF....much easier to remember, so you don't need to buy the numerical gauge!
I have an 85 Carrera ( no fan from the factory) and have installed a 7.5" SPAL fan with a manual switch ( switch located on the dash where the rear wiper switch would be located..dash is precut for this, just feel under the dash material). You can add a similar bypass switch to activate the fan before the stock 244 degF thermostat engages.
--Wil Ferch