First project; Center radiator add-on. Anyone done it?

I'm not going to buy the Pelican kit for $700 but I'll get the right rad and the hoses. The rest of it I'll do myself. If I can build most of an airplane, I think I can handle the braces, hardware and mounting fab. So, anything I should do while I'm in there? Since I'll have the cooling stuff already drained I'll replace the coolant, and prolly take the rads out and clean them. Wonder if there's anything else besides that. Maybe the AC condenser needs to be cleaned as well. Also, I was thinking of the cooler thermostat, but I'm concerned that the DME won't know the car is fully warmed up and may stay in a richer program for the FI and ignition maps? Don't know if that's been decided but usually the warm-run fuel and ign maps aren't enabled until a certain setpoint of the engine, maybe 81C. If I use a 73C, not sure the engine will run right.

Consider replacing the water pump while you're at it.

And reroute the wire which opens the frunk. I rerouted mine to come out into one of the air scoops next to the outside air temp sensor.

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While I haven't gone for it yet, I've done quite a bit of research on the third radiator and the low temp thermostat. Though I don't totally buy the assertion that the car runs cooler overall due to the thermostat alone, I haven't read anything about the car(s) running differently/worse because of taking longer to reach full operating temp. In addition I've never heard or seen anything mentioned about having to remap the DME...

Water pump and low temp t-stat. I've been waiting for the right opportunity to do mine.

I bought the low temp thermostat at LN Engineering when I was there for a tech day a few weeks ago, going to do that and the water pump sometime soon.

I agree with the recommendations to replace the water pump.

If you care about max performance and/or do any track days, remember to get the rear air diverter that sits behind the radiator and cut open your vents on the bottom of the bumper cover. This will relieve some high pressure and lift/drag at higher speeds.

I have the Aero front air dam, and it seems to already have some cutouts in it. I'll check further to see if there's more that can be done for warm air extraction. Can you be more specific about the air diverter? Is there a part that's needed, or just modified?

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#11 is the air diverter. Here are the cutouts that your car probably doesn't have cut out yet if it didn't originally come with the center radiator.

Did the water pump and low temp thermostat. If you have a NB and plan on tracking the car then the 3rd radiator is a good option. As a fabricator yourself, the kit is only $500 sometimes less, and the time you spend searching/building might take longer and cost more than simply buying the kit. If you have a WB, the LT thermostat and Water Pump are enough. You already have the massive radiators and don't need a third.

Yeah, sorry but I'm not up on the lexicon enough to know what a NB or WB are. I'm guessing the LT is the 'low temp' thermostat. I plan on going to the low temp T-stat when I do the rad. The only kit I've found so far is from Pelican and it's $689 plus shipping. I can buy the rad alone for $167 delivered, and a few Tiptronic car hoses are another $67. That leaves me about $400 budget for fabrication and I have some 032 wall and 056 wall galv handy. Shouldn't take more than 2-3 hours for the bracing. I'll get started after turkey day.

NB = narrow body; what you and I have WB = wide body; C4S and Turbo

Complete kit You're missing the brackets, the mounting bushings, the plastic piece that goes in the front bumper, and the rubber duct that molds to the plastic piece. It's expensive, but will give you a far cleaner look for a lot less time and money than whatever you plan to fab. I put mine on a couple months ago, and included the extractor vent (which doesn't mount up incredibly cleanly). Running temps are noticeably cooler, assuming the temp gauge is somewhat accurate.

There are many different ways and combination of brands you can assemble, however, I would stay away from the "Uro" brand as an FYI.

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That's even more costly. I built a fair amount of this; http://farm1.staticflickr.com/179/45...f1199f98_z.jpg Unless you are familiar with my fab work(I don't recall we've ever met), I'll stick with my plan and keep the money in my pocket. Of course, no matter what I build, some would castigate me for not making it lighter, stronger, beefier, sleeker, wetter, drier, reder, etc.

Another thing I forgot to mention if you do plan on building your own brackets is to pay attention to the angle and make sure the radiator is angled slightly downward(slanted towards the back).

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That kit is $550 + shipping from sunsetporscheparts.com

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Although cheaper, it's still a far cry from a complete 997 center radiator kit that can be had for $180. 996 guys get shafted again... Luckily I was able to piece mine together for under $250(used and new parts).

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I think you forgot a landing gear

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Ayup. I'm on that train.