Euromagination

Hey all. Yes, this is my first post.

I come from Audi/VW land, having a pretty decently modded and more powerful-than-normal Passat 1.8T and an Audi A6 2.8. I've been heavily involved in online forums such as AudiWorld and Clubb5.com for the past few years as well.
Now that I've hit 25 yrs old recently, my insurance rates have taken a decent drop (and I still have a good driver discount!) so I've recently put my A6 up for sale so I can buy a 993 shortly. (I've been wanting a 911 since I was a little kid riding a BMX, but I'm sure a lot of you guys did too.)
Anyway, I've been lurking here for a while as a lot of people do, but i'm finally getting some questions that can't be answered by the search function, so if you guys (and ladies) could help me out, that would be nice.

My first newbie questions are:

Since they're not water-cooled, how well do the 993's do in stop-and-go traffic in say... 90-95°F heat? Lets say for... 30 minutes?
I've learned quite a bit from reading a few threads that the search function turned up and also from reading the 964/993 Oil Cooler Fan Operation & Troubleshooting page...
http://p-car.com/diy/fan/#Normal%20Operating
...but this question hasn't been clearly answered by the content I've read so far.

I understand that the op temp shouldn't normally go any higher than the slow-speed fan starting temperature, but what temperature is that exactly? Also, I see that there are low- and high-speed settings for the fan. Do the 993's come from the factory with a 2 position switch or do you have to purchase some sort of a high-speed fan kit?

I'm concerned about these things because the 993 will split time with my Passat as my daily driver. This is actually one of the main reasons I've decided on a 911--because I know they make good daily drivers--especially for sports cars. My dad had a '78 911 SC (it had over 310000 miles on it before it needed its first rebuild and he swears up and down that was the best car he ever had), yet he doesn't have an opinion on this matter either since he doesn't really remember sitting through a lot of traffic with it.

Thanks for taking to time to read this. It's weird being a newbie again, so I can't wait until I can get more involved. I've only worked with V6s, I-4's, and turbos for each so far (S4, A6, Passat, A4). The Flat-6 and Porsches in general are a whole new world for me...

-Harry

993RS

First of all: welcome to the club! Am sure you will just love your car. I have driven 911s for close to 25 years and have never had any problems with over-heating in high summer. Sure, the temperarature guage will approach the 10 o'clock position, but that is nothing to worry about IMHO.

MrRoboto

Hey there, welcome. I recently aquired a 993 and on driving it home the first time, I was stuck in LA traffic for about 1 hour. The car did fine. The temp gauge did hit the 10 o'clock position but no worries. Once you start moving the temp drops.

BTW, the best first mod is a membership to this site. This site contributed greatly to my 993 purchase (bought my car from a fellow member). Good luck with your search.

Euromagination

Thanks for the welcome and the info so far. Maybe my question seemed a bit paranoid to some of you more experienced Rennlist members, but my excuse is that I've never directly dealt with an Air/Oil cooled car, so there are certain things about them I'm not quite sure of yet. It confuses me why Porsche would move to water-cooling their motors at all if the Air/Oil cooling seems to work so well.

What about if the A/C is on "high" when it's really hot out? Does doing that run a chance of pushing the temp needle past 10 o'clock? I recently moved back to NJ from SoCal for a little while, so I know that I'll be using the AC back here a lot since I can't stand hot & humid days. We don't have those in San Diego.

Thanks again...

Greg Fishman

Your oil temp gauge should not get above 10 o'clock if the high speed fan is working correctly. Do a thread search and you will find lots of info on how to test and correct the problem.

Derrick B.

Harry, I think you'll find that these are pretty bulletproof cars. Temps generally stay in band whether we're driving 100mph on the track or 0mph in traffic (unless there is a bad relay or ballast resistor). Those of us on the board are very attuned to our machines and tend to worry/notice small fluctuations that 99% of the driving public would be oblivious to.

Your father's experience wasn't atypical. My previous 911 was 17 years old, had 130,000 miles on it and was dead nuts reliable. One Sunday, I drove it from Seattle to Portland, ran all day at PIR, drove home then took it to work on Monday. Never skipped a beat. These cars are tanks!

The answer to your questions about water cooling is more economics than engineering, unfortunately.

Oh, and welcome!

max911

Porsche didn't move away from air-cooling because it was ineffiicient of problematic. They did it for one major reason= to run four valves per cylinder heads to make more power. Another reason was manufacturing a water cooled engine was cheaper than building an air-cooled engine with its individual cylinders etc. etc.

max

993RS

and the final reason, I believe, was to meet "noise" regulations.. (at least here in Switzerland )

Euromagination

Nice! Thanks for the additional info.

See, I ask one set of questions and learn 10 new things about the 993. You guys rock.

D.G..

Harry,

I was not completely happy waiting for the temp gauge to reach the 10:00 position before the low speed fan turned on. Like many others, I added an over-ride switch (difficulty 3 out of possible 10), and turn the fan on (high speed) manually when I am stuck in traffic. The temp rarely goes above the 2nd mark (8:00) no mater what the load or outside temp is. Yes, I may eventually have to replace the fan motor, but I am more than willing to do that in exchange for peace of mind.

By the way, there is a much easier and less intrusive way to add the over-ride switch than what is documented in the revered p-car.com DIY section. PM me if you want details.

Adrienne

Hey Harry! Welcome!

I'm in Austin, TX, so my car see a lot of hot days. But I have never had any problems with temp, even when stuck in traffic. I keep an eye on it to be sure, but it only goes to about 10:00, as others have already mentioned.

I can relate to your long-time dream. I'm also a younger driver coming from a VW background. It's great to see another young driver interested and able to buy! Keep us posted on your progress towards finding that dream car!

kary993

If you get an auxilary oil cooler next to your AC condensor the fan will cool your oil as well. Since you are likely sitting in hot traffic you will have the AC on anyway. In this condition, the temps will not get past 8:30, probably 8 just sitting there for extended periods of time. Your AC will only be slightly affected in my opinion.

Believe me, this is not an attempt to promote an oil cooler manufacturer, I have had enough of that!

Chuck W.

I live in Los Angeles and I too have added the manual override switch. Hot days and stop and go traffic are not a problem. I can also relate to your taste in cars; my wife has an S4 Avant, my son an A4 and all three daughters have Passats.

dp2boy

Hey DG, can you share your method of installing the manual overide switch with the rest of us. I think it is certainly a worthwile addition but don't want to even get near the back of my CCU.

Marc in AK

Hot day? Whats that? AK