how long to reach operating temperature?

hi guys im sure that recently my car from cold will reach 80 degrees in about 6 mins of careful warming up driving not exceeding over 2k revs! i msure that it used to take atleast twice as long! In a short while after that i.e 20mins idylling, the needle will be a couple of millimeters after the zero where it reads 80...i have never noticed if the compartment fan works and always assumed the fan noise i could hear was that, but realize now its the fans at the front (rad fans?) i can hear. when should the engine fan cut in and does it sound to you like somethings wrong? Below is an amazing pic that wattie put on here a while back that ive just used to give you an indication of where my temp needle was today.. the needle was as i mentioned, a couple of mill past the zero so struck me as quite high...maybe im paranoid..any words are kindly appreciated cheers guys

When my temp dial is in that position (in stationary traffic jams for example) the digital read-out is up at about 95 But to answer your question, when i drive home from work in the evening it takes at least 5 mins and a couple of miles stop-start through lots of traffic lights and roundabouts to hit 85 degrees

Cars are warming quicker now the colder climate has gone. Fans? I have never heard mine nor have I ever been up to the level of the picture posted in terms of temp or speed!! Traffic or not.

Perhaps not relevant as it is a GT3 with a different engine, but unless it is really warm out mine takes around 5 miles of normal driving to get up to (indcated) operating temp and simply doesn't show as high as the picture unless it is a particularly hot track day.

Hi Both, Oil and water levels have an effect on cooling - make sure both are topped up and within recommended levels. Mine sits in the middle of the 0 when warmed up (about 10mins) - Simon

+1

Late last year mine started going around a bit further to the right than in the above picture - in traffic... Was OK again all winter, but suspect a radiator was on its way out as ProMax spotted a bit of pink residue near the RH rad when it was serviced recently. Also, fans seemed to be going more than normal.

Hmm interesting. Guys, does the temp of your cars fluctuate depending on the type of driving your doing? I only ask as recently i've had the water pump changed on mine and am keeping an eye on the coolant levels while it's settling in. Yesterday i had to go up to B'ham and while sitting in town traffic in London the temp was at 90, but when i got onto the motorway, the temp was at about 82 and sat there all the way up the motorway. When i got back into town, the temp went up to 90. Is this normal? It's just that before i had to change the pump, i never recall the temp fluctuating, regardless of if i was in town or on the motorway. The needle just used to sit constantly at pretty much vertical (~87) once warmed up. All opinions welcome, cheers! Taran :worship:

When you are in stop start traffic you do not get as much air flow over the radiators, thus the temp reading going up. Hence the fitment of fans which circulate air over the face of the rad, though they generally only have access to warm air from the engine bay. When doing quick driving and or motorway driving more air is pushed through the rads causing the water / oil inside them (not the same rads though) to cool better. Thus causing engine temp to drop. Hope this makes sense

A few observations. Firstly, although you correctly refer to "normal operating temperature", this isn't measuring the oil temperature, which is a better measure of when the car is ready to be driven hard. The 997 has this measurement added, rather than the less useful oil pressure on the 996. Secondly, it's considered to be normal anywhere around the 80 mark, but it does seem to change on different types of cars. Later facelift ones seem to consistently sit in between the 8 and the 0. Earlier ones normally (from what I've read on here) typically sit just above 80. If the temperature is too high, then a warning light comes on, which could be a symptom of many things, looking coolant (ie. radiator), head gasket, fan etc. If the fan has failed, you also get a warning light. A flashing warning light means either the fan hasn't come on, or the coolant is too low. If the temperature is too high, then the light stays on. Thirdly, although it is slightly unrelated, when I start my car, the radiator fans at the front of the car immediately come on. I'm not sure this normal behaviour, in fact, it probably isn't, but it's always done it (since new), so it's been left alone. I don't hear the engine compartment blower come on, but I suspect it must at some point, because even in very heavy traffic (completely stationary sometimes), the temperature gauge never shifts from the middle of 80. It takes about 5 minutes of driving (never above 3k rpm) to reach that level, but I don't take the car above 3k rpm until after about 15 minutes, in order to ensure that the oil has reached a reasonable level of temperature and lubrication. Cheers, GD

Hi chappers, Cheers for that. I understood the reasoning already, but it's just that before i changed the pump it didn't fluctuate like this. Once the water got up to temp, it stayed there no matter what type of driving i was doing. Just wondered if this was the norm? :?: Thanks again, Taran :bandit:

ok to try and add some more vaguely useful info to this thread the photo below shows my temp guage as it sits nearly all the time going bang upright. When the dial is in this position the digital coolant temp readout shows 90 degrees. When the guage goes to the right - to the very edge of the zero - the digital readout is showing 100 degrees but this only happenswhen sitting in a traffic jam on the motorway having been going quickly and then suddenly stopping for 5 or 10 mins.

Good oil pressure too pontypool for under 1500 rpm. Big Bob :bye:

Why is the oil pressure so high when the engine is up to temperature? Mine sits just above halfway

hi taran, thats my scenario also..althoughive had no water pump changed recently...today i went down to jaz porche in wemb;ey as i find them very helpful...i was told that the needle and temperature will be a bit different now as the climate has gotten warmer...thus shortening the warming up time and slight increase in running temperature...this might out yr mind at rest... peter