Extra oil cooler for 997
Discussion
Reading on another thread a few weeks ago I noticed that some people seem to have installed an additional oil cooler (radiator) on their 997s (3.6 or 3.8).
I'd be interested in hearing what kind of work/cost is involved with this and what the benefits are. In particular whether this is a Porsche item and where it would be located in the car.
I am assuming that the main benefit is lower oil temp therefore less chances of cylinder scoring?
Thanks in advance.
Would an extra cooler actually make the oil cooler though?
Sounds daft, but some cars have a thermostatic valve which only diverts oil through the cooler once it reaches a certain temp. In my opinion this would mean that the main advantage of the oil cooler is to reduce the temp only when the existing cooler is maxed out, as opposed to "all the time" if you see what I mean.
Sounds daft, but some cars have a thermostatic valve which only diverts oil through the cooler once it reaches a certain temp. In my opinion this would mean that the main advantage of the oil cooler is to reduce the temp only when the existing cooler is maxed out, as opposed to "all the time" if you see what I mean.
I fitted the centre front radiator to my C2S and as the Carerra has a an oil to water heat exchanger (I suppose heating as well as cooling the oil) it reduced the oil temps on my car quite significantly (about 10 Degrees lower than I was getting before).
This was a Porsche kit as recommended by Gibbo205 (who may be able to remember the part number) and this included the radiator, the stainless steel braided hoses, clips, an alloy mounting bracket and a new plastic valances and air exit spoiler. All for circa £110 from OPC Reading.
This was a Porsche kit as recommended by Gibbo205 (who may be able to remember the part number) and this included the radiator, the stainless steel braided hoses, clips, an alloy mounting bracket and a new plastic valances and air exit spoiler. All for circa £110 from OPC Reading.

Hartech do a thermostat which opens earlier than the Porsche ones which also helps keep temps down - however the downside is that the oil runs cooler than it otherwise should do during normal running.
The logic of an additional radiator therefore (as I understand it based on posts on here) is to reduce the "spike" in temperature that can happen when hooning - the heat is dissapated proportionally quicker and hence the spike is less pronounced and for a shorter duration.
I will leave it to an expert to tell you whether that is the case or not !
The logic of an additional radiator therefore (as I understand it based on posts on here) is to reduce the "spike" in temperature that can happen when hooning - the heat is dissapated proportionally quicker and hence the spike is less pronounced and for a shorter duration.
I will leave it to an expert to tell you whether that is the case or not !
Edited by steve singh on Monday 16th July 14:59
MadMark911 said:
Here's what it looks like on!
Thanks for the information. I assume the price you mentioned above was plus installation?When I drove my C4S in the Swiss Alps last week (300miles, 4 mountain passes, no traffic bliss!) I noticed that the oil temp went up to 110 on the uphill bits, which is why I got thinking about this modification. Basically I assume that the cooler the oil in these extreme situations the better it will preserve the engine from the known potential scoring issues.
Of course, the other question is whether at 47k miles on the engine its too little too late.
steve singh said:
Hartech do a thermostat which opens earlier than the Porsche ones which also helps keep temps down - however the downside is that the oil runs cooler than it otherwise should do during normal running.
The logic of an additional radiator therefore (as I understand it based on posts on here) is to reduce the "spike" in temperature that can happen when hooning - the heat is dissapated proportionally quicker and hence the spike is less pronounced and for a shorter duration.
I will leave it to an expert to tell you whether that is the case or not !
This is why I think the 3rd radiator is the best option, as your oil still runs at its normal temperature, but you don't get the temperature spikes any more. For the money, circa £100 for the kit its a bargin and its about 1-2hr job to install. The logic of an additional radiator therefore (as I understand it based on posts on here) is to reduce the "spike" in temperature that can happen when hooning - the heat is dissapated proportionally quicker and hence the spike is less pronounced and for a shorter duration.
I will leave it to an expert to tell you whether that is the case or not !
Edited by steve singh on Monday 16th July 14:59

Also no effects on extended warranties either!
RiccardoG said:
Thanks for the information. I assume the price you mentioned above was plus installation?
When I drove my C4S in the Swiss Alps last week (300miles, 4 mountain passes, no traffic bliss!) I noticed that the oil temp went up to 110 on the uphill bits, which is why I got thinking about this modification. Basically I assume that the cooler the oil in these extreme situations the better it will preserve the engine from the known potential scoring issues.
Of course, the other question is whether at 47k miles on the engine its too little too late.
Yes it was - but it's a pretty straightforward job for an Indie to pop the bumper off and plug it all in probably an hour and a half to two hours labour! Here is a pic with the bumper off and the headlights out:When I drove my C4S in the Swiss Alps last week (300miles, 4 mountain passes, no traffic bliss!) I noticed that the oil temp went up to 110 on the uphill bits, which is why I got thinking about this modification. Basically I assume that the cooler the oil in these extreme situations the better it will preserve the engine from the known potential scoring issues.
Of course, the other question is whether at 47k miles on the engine its too little too late.

Yup 110 is quite warm and I could get my car close to that before the mod (done in conjunction with a Hartech Low temp thermostat), but after that I never saw it go over 95, no matter how hard it was driven!
MM.
RiccardoG said:
Thanks for the information. I assume the price you mentioned above was plus installation?
When I drove my C4S in the Swiss Alps last week (300miles, 4 mountain passes, no traffic bliss!) I noticed that the oil temp went up to 110 on the uphill bits, which is why I got thinking about this modification. Basically I assume that the cooler the oil in these extreme situations the better it will preserve the engine from the known potential scoring issues.
Of course, the other question is whether at 47k miles on the engine its too little too late.
Its never too late! Get a bore inspection, if they are clean, then keep them clean, install the 3rd radiator.When I drove my C4S in the Swiss Alps last week (300miles, 4 mountain passes, no traffic bliss!) I noticed that the oil temp went up to 110 on the uphill bits, which is why I got thinking about this modification. Basically I assume that the cooler the oil in these extreme situations the better it will preserve the engine from the known potential scoring issues.
Of course, the other question is whether at 47k miles on the engine its too little too late.
But if you don't sit in traffic, treat every set of lights like a grand prix start and your car get regular runs with plenty of hooning you should be fine. I could easily make my car see 110c oil temp on a hoon on my favourite country roads, fitting the 3rd radiator means it now rarely ever exceeds 100c, so it helps to reduce peak temperatures vastly and its the peak/spike temperatures which cause our engines the issues.
For about £200ish fitted, just do it!

Hi Gibbo, thanks for the reply, has taken me a while to get round to thinking about this mod.
You don't happen to have the part numbers for this, do you? I want my local OPC in Italy to get the job done while I am having the amp replaced, so would be useful to simply hand them a part no.
Thanks!
You don't happen to have the part numbers for this, do you? I want my local OPC in Italy to get the job done while I am having the amp replaced, so would be useful to simply hand them a part no.
Thanks!
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