Oil Cooler questions...

Hi all, I've looked through the threads a bit, and haven't found a direct answer to these questions...so please bear with me: 1) On the Cayman R (and S), there are three openings in the front. My understanding is that all three are air-to-coolant heat exchangers (i.e. radiators)? 2) If so, are they hooked up in parallel or in series? 3) Is there an oil cooler somewhere? If so, where is it located, and what type (water-to-oil, air-to-oil)? Thanks in advance for any answers... ed

There is no oil cooler. But, you can add the 997S oil cooler. It is air to oil.

Thanks Pete....do you happen to know where the 997S oil cooler is located? ed

On top of one side of the engine. I dont understand how it gets any airflow their; likely needs a bit of an air duct to be efficient on the mid-engine layout. I just know that TPC recommends it with their turbo if you need to lower engine temps.

I'm pretty sure that the Cayman has an water to oil cooler located on the rear side of the engine. If you take the engine cover off you will see a silver colored cube where the exchange takes place. It's labeled, but I can't remember the exact wording. PDK and Tiptronic cars also have a similar water to oil cooler for the transmission fluid and the third radiator is installed to deal with this added burden on the cooling system. Mt understanding is that the third radiator is installed in series and is an easy add on for those that may want to add it.

Thanks! Just what I was interested in hearing. ed

Won't it be better to mount the oil cooler where it can get good airflow? Perhaps the center opening on the front bumper if you have the 3rd radiator?

If you put the oil cooler up front, you also have to run oil lines to it, the supply and return. That may be why there are oil to water coolers, less lines to run, and less chance of leakage. Water is cooler than the oil, so efficiency is preserved.

There is an engine oil to coolant heat exchanger for managing oil temperature in the Gen1 (& I presume Gen2) engines. Gen1 triptronics also get a transmission gear oil to coolant exchanger and a third center mount radiator. 2nd gen cars with PDK also get a third center mount radiator which, only an assumption on my part, probably serves to help with additional cooling requirements presented by the PDK transmission additional heat load on the cooling system. Having owned Gen1 6-speed manual transmission, I believe it too could, for track events, benefit from some kind of additional transmission cooling, but (& someone please correct me if I'm in error) don't believe the manual transmission cars (at least of the 1st generation '06-'08) have transmission coolers, like E.G the GT3's do. Last, but not least, I'm pretty sure the radiators are linked in serries - but I haven't verrified this with the Porsche ETKA or whatever their parts & service manual is called. HTH

FWIW, I believe oil to water cooler systems also enable manufactures to control operating temperatures, and thus both meet emmisions and prefered lubrication performance goals, in a daily driver type of car much more precisely and efficiently - if not exactly for track performance goals, certainly for mileage and EPA ones.

mlpor is correct - technically it is really a heat exchanger and not an oil cooler. There is a theory (perhaps based on fact somewhere) that it actually acts in reverse when you have a cold engine: the coolant heating up first then warms the oil up to operating temperature faster - as the oil temp exceeds the coolant temp, it exchanges heat the other way. You can look at the following Article by Rob VN where he replaced the 987 oil cooler with a 996 version (which is larger), to get a better of idea where it is and what it looks like: 376726111 Engine Oil Cooler - Articles

I beleive only 2010 2nd Gen 997's got the third center radiator, and 987's have never had it. For 09 997's that didn't have it and had PDK overheat issues Porsche will not install it under warranty it seems. Porsche's parts program is PET

Yes, the radiators are in series. And, yes, I was incorrect about there not being an oil cooler. I've upgraded to both the center rad and the larger oil to water heat exchanger since this thread started. I can now run on the track in 100F outside temps with the AC on for an entire 30 min session! The temp needle never moves off center

The MantisSport Cayman uses our deep sump, now the latest one, slimmer profile ( ground clearance) , more oil longer to heat up under track use. We also run a oil cooler with an electric pump, transmission has a oil cooler which I would suggest doing if you track a lot as the trans get HOT or change your gear lube often. :cheers:

The "oil cooler" on the top of the engine has been described to me by a Porsche Tech as a oil warmer. It is there to help the oil warm up in colder climates. It is small and does not get much airflow. LN Engineering has a plate that can be bolted in the place of the OEM cooler. It enables you to locate a proper oil cooler in a location that gets some air flow or uses a fan pack.

Bumping an old thread... Did you have a 987.2 ? Which oil exchanger did you use? Does the power steering fluid run through it like the stock unit? Looking for more cooling...

The factory oil cooler doesn't require airflow. It is a liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger. Since the coolant comes up to temperature faster than the engine oil, it does function to heat the oil initially. Thereafter it functions to regulate oil temperature by transfering any excess heat to the air via the front radiators. If you remove it to bypass the oil to an externally mounted air-to-oil heat exchanger, be aware that the oil may take longer to come up to operating temperature. Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

gman3280- You can call Pelican Parts to get a 911 oil/water heat exchanger that will fit your footprint base of the current one. Usually, the 911 models are much bigger than the Cayman heat exchangers even though its the same basic motor just turned around. But there are differences, meaning the 991 model that uses the 9A1 motor induction system may have space for a taller heat exchanger, so beware of the height as that may touch with your induction system. I had a 996 oil/water heat exchanger installed in my 987.1 Cayman S which was double the capacity of the OEM part. You can see a part for the 9A1 motor that has the same base 4 holes on google or other search engines. The only question is does it fit under your induction Plenum. You may be able to ask R owners what model of oil/water heat exchanger they use to reduce the oil heat as that motor is the same as your engine if its a S model. The LN product requires a box made for the small oil radiator and fan punched into the side of your motor bay. The other option is a deep LN sump that cools your oil by 10 degrees along with the 911 oil/hear exchanger. You can also check to see if a GT3 oil/water heat exchanger would fit. Your really in business with that setup.

Apex 1, thank you for your reply. Never thought to look at the R part number. Has to fit due to the same manifolds as my S.

I was actually referring to those R owners who modified their oil/water heat exchanger rather than an OEM part. Maybe the R is using a 991 part.