981WC

I've got a 981 2.7 Boxster and it usually takes quite a long time for the oil to get to operating temperature. Usually 15 to 20 minutes of driving. My last car only took about 5 minutes each time. I'd really like to be able to wring it out a lot sooner each time I drive it so I'm wondering if there's any hardware anyone knows about that I could install that would decrease warm-up time?

Does something like an oil warmer exist that turns on automatically when you start the car but then automatically deactivates after the oil reaches operating temp or after a certain number of minutes?

terbiumactivated

Seems like a lot of trouble for nothing but if you really want to you can buy a block warmer used in cold climates to heat the crankcase oil.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...FYqi4AodajsAsw

LexVan

Get a decent shop light with a 100-200 watt bulb. Stick it under the car the night before you want to take the car out.

981WC

It's a daily driver. And I usually only drive 5 or 10 miles during each trip. Sometimes just 2 miles. So even if I go out for a 20 minute roundtrip drive, I only get to operating temp as I'm halfway home on the way back.

Really don't want something I'd have to plug into the wall. Was just hoping there might be something that could be installed that uses the cars power and just warms the oil quicker when the engine is first started until it gets to operating temp and no longer needs to be artificially warmed.

terbiumactivated

A light bulb? You aren't hatching chicks, a bulb won't provide enough heat. The easiest way with off the shelf parts is the block warmer. The only thing you could do to effect a change with the engine itself would be to change the thermostat and that is only going to lead to other problems in summer.

981WC

Would perhaps changing to a different weight oil help? It has 0W-40 from the factory. Would putting in 5W-40 or 10W-40 speed warm times? Where I live it never gets below 50F.

Macster

Good grief, just take the car on a longer drive once in a while. Say once a week, take the car out for a 30 or 40 miles drive. I'd even suggest a 50 mile drive but heaven forbid you spend to much time in the car.

Or don't. Just change the oil/filter regularly and after you sell/trade in the very low miles car the next owner will thank you for saving the miles for him.

I can't imagine someone buying a Porsche and needing to be hit over the head in order to force him to drive the thing.

sjfehr

F*** what the owner's manual says; if it makes sense for you, just let it idle in your garage for 5-10 minutes before you go so you can enjoy it the moment you leave your driveway. I've found holding the engine at 3-4k helps my 986S warm up a lot faster, too.

extanker

dont forget 4 tire heaters

Macster

While I admire the OP's desire to wait for the engine to be fully up to temp before wringing the engine out, a 5 to 10 minute idle won't do it. While the engine would be warmer had it not been idled, it will not be fully up to temperature.

Sans a accurate coolant or oil temp read out (I understand while the newer cars have these the readings are like the older analog gages dampened or in some way do not reflect reality... pity if true) what I rely on with my cars is I wait 5 or more minutes -- it depends upon the ambient temperature mainly -- of driving *after* the coolant gage needle has been at its nominal operating temperature position -- at or slightly to the right of the "180" hash mark -- before I assume the engine, the coolant, the oil are up to temperature or close enough.

'course with harder driving they'll get hotter but the idea is to try to hold off this harder driving until one is reasonably sure the engine is as warmed up as it can be given the circumstances.

Given the miles my cars have accumulated with no engine problems, signs of any real engine wear, and the miles they have accumulated I'd have to say my system looks like it works.

If one is just going to drive the car normally, make no real demands of the engine's max output, he can let the engine warm up as little as he is comfortable with.

But if one wants to extract some max output from the engine, hit some high RPMs, I think he is wise to have some empathy for the engine and its internals and give the metal and fluids time to warm up.

sjfehr

Mine's usually up to temp (over 180F) with just 5-10 minutes of idling, isn't yours? I do this extremely frequently at autocrosses when my car's been sitting for 4+ hours and gotten stone cold but I only have a few minutes to get it back up to temperature before my turn to run (and babying it during competition is not an option). Where I don't have time to let it idle, if I rev the engine to 3k and hold it, I can actually watch the needle move, and it's up to 180F within a minute or two. Been doing this about twice at month for the last 6 years with no drop in performance or signs of excessive wear in the oil samples.

Macster

No. With a dead cold engine 5 minutes even 10 minutes of idling won't do it although 10 minutes might come close under elevated ambient air temperature.

The problem is the coolant in the engine is warm but there's a slug of cold coolant in the hoses and radiators. This won't get up to temperature until the coolant is hot enough to open the T-stat and the coolant flows for a while.

The oil is likewise not fully up to temperature. For one thing its temperature lags the coolant temperature. Another is the oil being separated from the crankshaft doesn't get as agitated so there are extreme temperature gradients in the oil. Some oil is rather warm, but there exists regions of the oil that are pretty cool yet.

From the times I've had my cars in for an oil/filter service and techs idle the engines to warm up the oil and get it hot enough -- in the case of the Turbo to check the oil level (the engine has to be idling, and warm) -- the idle time is closer to 15 minutes.

Even then the engine and oil is not fully up to temperature but the oil is hot enough (approx. 170F) for the purposes of an oil/filter service.

Racing the engine to 3K is of course one way to heat the engine up quicker. Not something I want to do. 'course I don't need it hot immediately. Just letting the engine gain temperature and warm up at its own rate is ok by me.

BGB Motorsports

To answer your question, other than running something with less viscosity at startup, I think you're hosed. Whoever suggested letting your car warm up for 10 minutes is right. If that's not an option because you live in New York City or park your car's exhaust next to the backdoor to your house, then you might be hosed.

The reality is that the new 981/991 cars are so much more thermally efficient, we should be happy with what we get. The new car warms up faster and cools off quicker because of all of the switching units in the coolant realm. It's designed to live at or around 220 on the water temp. The car wants to really run in the 200-220 range at all times for efficiency purposes.

Sorry if this does not answer your question. If you run a 3rd radiator, you could rewove it. You could put a hair-dryer to your oil cooler? I'm grabbing at straws here.

terbiumactivated

Porsche manual doesn't recommend allowing the car to warm from idle. Of course if you live in vicious traffic that might be what happens anyway. One other thing you can do is drive the first few miles at a higher RPM than you normally would, don't upshift as soon. If you use this idea use good sense, I'm not talking about running it at high RPM, I'm saying run it a little longer before the shift at a slightly elevated RPM, it will warm up quicker and be within the specification of the factory recommendation.

mgerber

Living in winter climates and owning lots of Pcar flat sixes I have spent lots of time watching the oil temperature guages come up to operating range. Much of the time is days sitting in the garage putting some load on the engine to get the oil up to operating temperatures. All of the flat sixes I have had will take between 15min and 25min of light loads to get the oil up to temperature. Moderate driving decreases that time by 5 min or so. As Macster states, the best plan is to at least weekly get the car out for 45 min or more of driving (and to push it hard for some of that time).