JTT

loupue, are you talking about halfway between the top mark and bottom mark? That is the recommendation from Jake and several others (measured cold) I thought.

Ratchet1025

Same here, I run it at about the 3/4 mark at the track and on street and have never had an issue (knock on wood).

TexSquirrel

Which deep sump do you have, 1/2 qt or 2 qt?

De Jeeper

yea but with a deep sump if u put it on the track. The exta oil takes car of the oil starvation issue with keeping it out of the aos.

Ratchet1025

I have the FVD pan, so about 3/4 quart?

Porschetech3

You also need to be aware that some of the newer 996 engines have longer dipstciks and re-calibrated electronic dash gauges to have a lower oil level from the Factory as to help with smoking on long sweepers on the track. If you have an engine with the longer dipstick/re-calibrated dash, AND you run it low on the stick/dash, you will be VERY low on oil level !!!

I'll see if I can dig up the Factory info on identifying the longer dipstick changes ect...

David993S

May be the start of AOS failure, but not necessarily. Are you running a full oil level? (as measured on the dipstick). It should be about halfway between the low mark and the full mark. Were you getting any puff of smoke upon start-up prior to a track session? Do you shut the car off immediately after coming in from the track? If either of those last two, let it idle for a minute or two when you come in off the track before shutting off. Otherwise, get the AOS tested.

Mbren1979

God does this sound familiar. I have one AX and three HPDE events under my belt withing the last 6 months. My car has the 2 quart deep sump and i run Joe Gibbs oil. I have had a smoke show one time every event. Every time is scares the crap out of me. I make sure i have my oil set just above the 1/2 point on the dipstick. Never have i had a performance issue or engine light. My AOS is original so i hope thats my issue. Every time i take the car out to the track i feel like its going to blow up after reading all the threads on this forum. Sometimes i wish i never found Rennlist so i could just enjoy the car. Although it prob would be a good idea to swap my AOS before i do blow it up.

i think the more important question is........where in the heck did you find an open track event during this pandemic?!

David993S

Another option would be to get a car more suitable to track use than the 996. Like a Spec Miata.

De Jeeper

You know it takes 3 minutes for a mechanic to test the aos, ignourance is not blis on this one. Even if u wanted to do it yourself its less then a $50 tool investment.

JTT

I always chalked it up to oil expansion. I know when I set mine at about half bars cold, at the track, between runs its up over the full mark. As I remember, low mark to full mark is approximately 1.25L, so half way between would be about .6L, which could be accounted for in expansion considering 9L of total volume.

JTT

Oh, and I check my AOS with a slack tube manometer several times a year and all working good. I never get smoke on track, but will get a puff on startup between sessions before I started running the oil level at mid-point.

Mbren1979

working on it as we type! LS1 powered BMW

NewArt

I'm using the 2 litre (roughly 2 qt). The OP has a Boxster as I do. The 2 litre is the best option for this car as it is really not too low to cause any problems. Using this and running a bar or two below full should solve your problems. Anecdote: Last year, after installing a rebuilt engine in my 986, I had a smoke bomb so big that they red flagged the track (they thought that I was on fire!). The ambulance guys came out waving their fire extinguishers and I had to calm them saying, no no, there's no fire! I realized that my oil level had risen to over full with the expansion of the oil due to heat (I know, I know). I dropped the level about half a litre and it never happened again.

lowpue

This was exactly my earlier point. How can a layman like me know what the right thing to do when the experts I respect don't even agree on where the oil level should be. Like I always say, these engines have a bit of black magic going on. Now I have a 3.8 with deepsump, but I am just resigning to the fact that at some point I will need to put in another engine because no one really knows how to make these damn things bullet proof except maybe Flat6.