fhp911

My new '11 Boxster S repeatedly overheated at a recent track day. It was VERY hot -- more than 103 degrees.

It had behaved just fine a week earlier at a 90+ degree track day.

One weird element is that the temp needle was fine for the first 10 minutes of the sessions and then it would shoot up into the red zone at the 11th minute. (As soon as I drove off the track the needle fell to the normal level.)

The dealer later replaced the thermostat, which doesn't seem to me to be a likely cause.

any ideas?

KaiB

Overdriving?

fhp911

Right! It must be the 8800 rpm I was pulling. haha.

Silver Box

How hot is it getting? Is it spewing liquid?

Boxsters are notorious for getting air bubble blockages in the cooling system - could be as simple as using something like the U-view system to insure there isn't a small air bubble blocking the system.

Bill Lehman

You might check out this thread over on the Cayman Register http://caymanregister.org/showthread.php?t=30515

fhp911

That's a good thread at cayman register on this subject, but inconclusive as to the underlying cause.

What is clear, though, is that a LOT of people are having overheating issues on track

insite

a few ideas:

1. check to make sure you didn't suck a plastic bag into your radiator duct or something

2. check to see if your engine bay fan is working properly

3. has your coolant level changed? if you're losing coolant, it's possible you aren't holding pressure in the system. this will cause the symptoms you describe. temp seems fine, then when all the coolant vaporizes, it SHOOTS up really fast. a faulty cap or a faulty bleed valve can cause this.

chrisp

maybe a pump begins to cavitate at a certain temperature and system no longer moves coolant at the necessary rate?

fhp911

Over on the Cayman board a lot of people are reporting this problem and are fixing it by installing the 3rd radiator which is included on pdk caymans (as I understand it.)

what is upsetting to me about this is that as delivered my brand new '11 Boxster S is NOT OK on a hot day on the track -- and this seems to be an engineering defect caused by penny-pinching on the part of the factory (they don't include that 3rd radiator), thus forcing me to spend mucho extra money. NOT COOL. (both literally and figuratively!)

insite

wow; i didn't realize the 987S didn't have the center radiator. when i put a 3.4L into my 986, i had overheating issues on track until i installed the center rad kit. that's unfortunate.

Qwickrick

Fred...track surface temperature that day was 139 degrees or so....

MUSSBERGER

Oh..... that's Mr Pack. Fred you need the 3rd rad. My 05 987s would get pretty hot when I ran in yellow. Plus the PDK is a pretty good heat pump which I would think is the reason for extra cooling

jakermc

The inability for your street car to be tracked in 100+ degree weather is hardly a manufacturing defect. Even though it's a Porsche, it was not designed to do that, which makes perfect sense. Why add the extra cost (and therefore price) to EVERY Boxster street car sold just so <1% of the cars can track 1-2 days/year in weather that extreme?

Let's not forget that adding additional cooling to allow street cars to be tracked has been an issue for decades. Even the air cooled 911 that we all like to think of as near perfect and representative of 'the good 'ol days' had this issue. For example, the 911 SC came with a brass coil in the fender that should be replaced with a radiator type cooler for track work. Under heavier loads an additional cooler in the other fender or front bumper should be added. All this also requires that bumpers be modified to direct the flow of air.

In light of the mods required on a 911 SC, the Boxster mod is actually pretty mild. We should be happy that Porsche made it easier to equip the car for track work in extreme conditions.

fhp911

ALL,

I do understand Jakermc's point, but that doesn't make me pleased with the situation.

HAS ANYONE taken up this issue with Porsche and gotten a break on the 3rd radiator?

It really burns me up to have to pay for this fix. (And YES Jakermc, my '84 911 did have an improved oil cooler so maybe I'm not being fair.)

But my '85 944, '89 944 S2 and '04 GT3 never had any temp problems on the track -- ever. So, such a problem with my '11 Boxster S is very disturbing.

racer

Given heat/humidity lately and then you go tracking, I'm not suprised to hear of overheating. As mentioned, an SC or 3.2 would also overheat in this environment. I understand you are not happy, but I imagine you were not alone with "overheating" or "high temps" experiences at the event you speak of.

I imagine PORSCHE would tell you to track a GT3, not a chicksterS Its hard to believe that your driving style has been the same with all your cars/experience. That perhaps at your current experience level, you were way beyond the "street use" a manufacturer would expect you to subject your car to.

May also want to read the owners manual for any caveats about "track use" etc. My dad was suprised years ago with his M3 that it alluded to being "not a track car" (despite being an M car) and using it as such would void warranty.