Steam from radiator
Discussion
When it has been raining I can notice some steam coming off my radiator(s). It is only very small amounts and I can only really notice it when I am stationary and with the lheadlights on. Is this just rainwater evaporating from the outside of the rads?
The car is not overheating and it is not losing coolant.
997C4S
The car is not overheating and it is not losing coolant.
997C4S
Yup I heard that it invalidates warranty too..certainly on turbos..I read on here once months back about someone saying an OPC had fitted the mesh and when I phoned that OPC he said no we would not do that...
It must be a bit harder for them to say no to Gen1 GT3 owners tho as the Gen2 had them fitted from factory and the front was an almost identical design.
It must be a bit harder for them to say no to Gen1 GT3 owners tho as the Gen2 had them fitted from factory and the front was an almost identical design.
Yes as I said soo pleased you got that sorted for a good customer of Porsche it should of been no quibbles and painless. Well if you get them done I would be interested to know which OPC so I can get mine done...I had the 2 rads done last year and although my condensors all seemed good on a recent re-gas and leak test I am sure that wont last!!!
When I was using mine for daily commute between 07 and 11 I went through 5 rads hence the reason for now wanting grills. Either stone damage or corrosion or both! Left them in the back of my car and told OPC to fit them if its not an issue with warranty. Lets see what happens. Service Manager said it should be okay but I will find out later this week.
Water from rain/road spray goes in along with air. In cool weather this water will vaporize from the heat of the radiator (and possibly the condenser too) and that is what you see. I assume the coolant level is ok and you do not smell anti-freeze from anywhere around the car when it is hot and running or hot and shut off for a few minutes?
I would hazard a guess the radiator ducts of your car need to be cleaned out. Leaving this trash there will have the condensers/radiators corroded and a leak is the result.
I would hazard a guess the radiator ducts of your car need to be cleaned out. Leaving this trash there will have the condensers/radiators corroded and a leak is the result.
berty37 said:
Yup I heard that it invalidates warranty too..certainly on turbos..I read on here once months back about someone saying an OPC had fitted the mesh and when I phoned that OPC he said no we would not do that...
It must be a bit harder for them to say no to Gen1 GT3 owners tho as the Gen2 had them fitted from factory and the front was an almost identical design.
Almost is not the same. The aerodynamic differences between my 02 Boxster and my 03 Turbo are considerable.It must be a bit harder for them to say no to Gen1 GT3 owners tho as the Gen2 had them fitted from factory and the front was an almost identical design.
Just because two cars have similar appearing designs/shapes does not mean they are as effective at getting air through in this case the radiators.
A screen or mesh installed can reduce the effective area by 25% or more. The other problem is while the large pieces are kept out the smaller stuff -- sand, dirt, grit, and other small bits of organic material -- still make it through and this finer stuff gathers, compacts, retains moisture, and still corrodes the condenser/radiator. But the mesh and the lack of fluffy stuff behind it gives the owner a false sense of security.
Additionally, the old clean the trash out with compressed air -- as the techs do when I have my cars in for servicing -- doesn't work nearly as well so removing the bumper cover to really clean the ducting out is needed more often.
Rockster said:
Almost is not the same. The aerodynamic differences between my 02 Boxster and my 03 Turbo are considerable.
Just because two cars have similar appearing designs/shapes does not mean they are as effective at getting air through in this case the radiators.
A screen or mesh installed can reduce the effective area by 25% or more. The other problem is while the large pieces are kept out the smaller stuff -- sand, dirt, grit, and other small bits of organic material -- still make it through and this finer stuff gathers, compacts, retains moisture, and still corrodes the condenser/radiator. But the mesh and the lack of fluffy stuff behind it gives the owner a false sense of security.
Additionally, the old clean the trash out with compressed air -- as the techs do when I have my cars in for servicing -- doesn't work nearly as well so removing the bumper cover to really clean the ducting out is needed more often.
With respect Rockster the aerodynamic difference between the boxster and the turbo certainly in the case of the air intakes in the front is a lot greater than the difference between the Gen1 and Gen2 GT3. The story often told by Porsche is that the turbo engines run a lot hotter and putting wire mesh in the front can reduce this by up to 20% ( i am not agreeing with this just saying that is what they say) my argument is that leaves and debris clogging it all up will reduce this air flow too!!Just because two cars have similar appearing designs/shapes does not mean they are as effective at getting air through in this case the radiators.
A screen or mesh installed can reduce the effective area by 25% or more. The other problem is while the large pieces are kept out the smaller stuff -- sand, dirt, grit, and other small bits of organic material -- still make it through and this finer stuff gathers, compacts, retains moisture, and still corrodes the condenser/radiator. But the mesh and the lack of fluffy stuff behind it gives the owner a false sense of security.
Additionally, the old clean the trash out with compressed air -- as the techs do when I have my cars in for servicing -- doesn't work nearly as well so removing the bumper cover to really clean the ducting out is needed more often.
I was saying that for some reason Porsche put mesh grills on the gen2 GT3 from factory so guys with gen1 cars that want them fitted have more of a case than turbo owners.
Rockster said:
Almost is not the same. The aerodynamic differences between my 02 Boxster and my 03 Turbo are considerable.
Just because two cars have similar appearing designs/shapes does not mean they are as effective at getting air through in this case the radiators.
A screen or mesh installed can reduce the effective area by 25% or more. The other problem is while the large pieces are kept out the smaller stuff -- sand, dirt, grit, and other small bits of organic material -- still make it through and this finer stuff gathers, compacts, retains moisture, and still corrodes the condenser/radiator. But the mesh and the lack of fluffy stuff behind it gives the owner a false sense of security.
Additionally, the old clean the trash out with compressed air -- as the techs do when I have my cars in for servicing -- doesn't work nearly as well so removing the bumper cover to really clean the ducting out is needed more often.
So what is your recommendation? don't bother with the zunsport grills and just remove the bumper every 6 months to remove the debris?Just because two cars have similar appearing designs/shapes does not mean they are as effective at getting air through in this case the radiators.
A screen or mesh installed can reduce the effective area by 25% or more. The other problem is while the large pieces are kept out the smaller stuff -- sand, dirt, grit, and other small bits of organic material -- still make it through and this finer stuff gathers, compacts, retains moisture, and still corrodes the condenser/radiator. But the mesh and the lack of fluffy stuff behind it gives the owner a false sense of security.
Additionally, the old clean the trash out with compressed air -- as the techs do when I have my cars in for servicing -- doesn't work nearly as well so removing the bumper cover to really clean the ducting out is needed more often.
Interesting that you say fitment of grills/mesh can reduce the effective area by 25% or more. Where did that stat come from?
If reasonably sized mesh is fitted i.e. not mosquito netting then the reduction in airflow must be negligible.
Certainly insignificant compared to the fact that the condensers are right in front of the rads and that this seems to bother no-one.
And also considering that even if the reduction in airflow was noticeable (within reason), claiming that this has any practical reduction in efficiency of maintaining correct engine temperature depends upon making many highly unscientific "obvious, innit" type assumptions.
Yes I have fitted mesh.
Yes I have repeatedly blasted up a 17km hillclimb that goes up from 700m to 2000m elevation and no I have not had any cooling problems.
Fit mesh, it's stupid not to have it fitted, this is the third set of rads my car has had.
Certainly insignificant compared to the fact that the condensers are right in front of the rads and that this seems to bother no-one.
And also considering that even if the reduction in airflow was noticeable (within reason), claiming that this has any practical reduction in efficiency of maintaining correct engine temperature depends upon making many highly unscientific "obvious, innit" type assumptions.
Yes I have fitted mesh.
Yes I have repeatedly blasted up a 17km hillclimb that goes up from 700m to 2000m elevation and no I have not had any cooling problems.
Fit mesh, it's stupid not to have it fitted, this is the third set of rads my car has had.
So OPC were kind enough to take bumper off, clean out behind bumper and then fit grills. The mesh holes are fairly large so can't see airflow being reduced by even 5%. Look neat - if you didn't know you'd say they look OEM to be honest. You need to speak to an understanding OPC though.
IMI A said:
So OPC were kind enough to take bumper off, clean out behind bumper and then fit grills. The mesh holes are fairly large so can't see airflow being reduced by even 5%. Look neat - if you didn't know you'd say they look OEM to be honest. You need to speak to an understanding OPC though.
Nice car and number plate . Intersting point the grills with cars under warranty . Glad things have worked out for you berty37 said:
With respect Rockster the aerodynamic difference between the boxster and the turbo certainly in the case of the air intakes in the front is a lot greater than the difference between the Gen1 and Gen2 GT3. The story often told by Porsche is that the turbo engines run a lot hotter and putting wire mesh in the front can reduce this by up to 20% ( i am not agreeing with this just saying that is what they say) my argument is that leaves and debris clogging it all up will reduce this air flow too!!
I was saying that for some reason Porsche put mesh grills on the gen2 GT3 from factory so guys with gen1 cars that want them fitted have more of a case than turbo owners.
The Turbo engine can certainly generate more heat -- 420hp output from 3.6l vs. 220ph output from the Boxster's 2.7l engine) but my observation is the Turbo coolant temperature runs quite a bit less than my Boxster's coolant temperature.I was saying that for some reason Porsche put mesh grills on the gen2 GT3 from factory so guys with gen1 cars that want them fitted have more of a case than turbo owners.
The Turbo's cooling system, a part of this is the aerodynamics of the car, is superior to that of my Boxster's.
The cars you mention I believe have more differences than is apparent to the layman's eye. Additionally the radiator fan stages are likely different as well to say turn on the fan at a lower temperature or run it faster at the same temperature.
There is a chart online that shows for an 8" opening what various wire meshes with different mesh diameter and center distance loses in area and the loss is 20% or more, in some cases way more.
This may not make a difference under mild operating conditions -- although in some cases even on mild days the coolant temperature of my Boxster has reached 226F degrees with the fans running at high speed (one wonders how well they would cool if their intake area was reduced by 20% or even more)-- but I have driven in 118F ambient temperature at considerable speed and the Turbo engine (and the Boxster in similar conditions but with just 116F ambient temperature) ran as cool as a cucumber and suffered not one iota from the experience.
The trash does not materially affect air flow. I cleaned my Boxster's radiator ducts and removed a good amount of trash. The coolant temperature before and after was unaffected. Besides, wait until a piece of paper or a plastic bag plasters itself against that grill and cuts off all air flow through radiator...
In other cases with both cars I have driven them with one radiator fan non-operational and I could not tell this from the behavior of the coolant gage needle. In one instance -- with the Turbo -- I suspected something because the radiator fan noise was somehow different and I got out to investigate and found radiator fan working and the other not working. In fact this happened twice, once with the passenger side radiator fan and again much later with the driver's side radiator fan.
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