Driving in Sport Mode Cools down engine drastically

4773 Views 12 Replies 9 Participants Last post by SonicSid, Apr 29, 2021

starweb9

Discussion Starter · Apr 24, 2021

Its getting real hot down here in Florida. Since I bought the car in Jan, I started taking note of oil temperature. I drive in stop and go traffic to work and back, an hour each way. The coolant never moves past 192 F, the oil will climb to 225 half way to work and then drops to 217 and then back up to 225 and then back down again etc... I decided to turn on Sport mode and almost instantly I notice the temperature start dropping till it reaches 199F and just stays there, all the time still in heavy traffic. Tested this 2 days in a row with exact results. Non sport mode and oil runs 217 - 225. In sport mode stays around 199F. There must be a fan or something that controls the oil temperature in Sport mode. I actually was driving in Non sport mode in heavy traffic thinking it would be cooler on the engine and I was surprised to find out was totally wrong. I wish there was workshop manual for these cars. Its nice to know what makes them tick.

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Big Benny

· #2 · Apr 24, 2021

Same with my Base Cayman. I see a 10C change from Normal mode to Sport mode ( down in temp ). I still don't know exactly why, but the oil pump is a variable pressure thing, controlled by the DME unit, so I assume it ups the flow when you go to Sport mode. There is also an oil/water heat exchanger mounted on the engine crankcase, so I suppose that the DME unit may also vary the flow of coolant through that heat exchanger.

After discovering what you also noted, I tend to drive around in Sport mode, as 93C oil strikes me as a better bet than 103C oil temp...although 103C is still well within normal operation temps. My previous Audi RS3 ran 105C oil temp on hot days. Where I'm located , we get similar temps to Florida in Summer.

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johan

· #3 · Apr 24, 2021

starweb9 said:
Its getting real hot down here in Florida. Since I bought the car in Jan, I started taking note of oil temperature. I drive in stop and go traffic to work and back, an hour each way. The coolant never moves past 192 F, the oil will climb to 225 half way to work and then drops to 217 and then back up to 225 and then back down again etc... I decided to turn on Sport mode and almost instantly I notice the temperature start dropping till it reaches 199F and just stays there, all the time still in heavy traffic. Tested this 2 days in a row with exact results. Non sport mode and oil runs 217 - 225. In sport mode stays around 199F. There must be a fan or something that controls the oil temperature in Sport mode. I actually was driving in Non sport mode in heavy traffic thinking it would be cooler on the engine and I was surprised to find out was totally wrong. I wish there was workshop manual for these cars. Its nice to know what makes them tick.

Big Benny said:
Same with my Base Cayman. I see a 10C change from Normal mode to Sport mode ( down in temp ). I still don't know exactly why, but the oil pump is a variable pressure thing, controlled by the DME unit, so I assume it ups the flow when you go to Sport mode. There is also an oil/water heat exchanger mounted on the engine crankcase, so I suppose that the DME unit may also vary the flow of coolant through that heat exchanger.

After discovering what you also noted, I tend to drive around in Sport mode, as 93C oil strikes me as a better bet than 103C oil temp...although 103C is still well within normal operation temps. My previous Audi RS3 ran 105C oil temp on hot days. Where I'm located , we get similar temps to Florida in Summer.

Everything is as it should

In sport/sport+ the car is ready for harder driving hence the low temp.
The oil pump has variable speed

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jimmuller

· #4 · Apr 24, 2021

johan said:
Everything is as it should
In sport/sport+ the car is ready for harder driving hence the low temp.
The oil pump has variable speed

In fact, this has been discussed in quite a few threads over the past two years.

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Señor

· #5 · Apr 24, 2021

Wonder if these tuners like Cobb, APR, etc can work with the codes to keep the oil temps down in all modes, not just sport.

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jimmuller

· #6 · Apr 24, 2021

Señor said:
Wonder if these tuners like Cobb, APR, etc can work with the codes to keep the oil temps down in all modes, not just sport.

I would question whether that is a good idea, or at least whether it is necessary. Porsche set the oil cooling parameters because they thought it was fine as it is in Normal mode. Sport mode assumes you will be driving harder.

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gatorfast

· #7 · Apr 24, 2021

Señor said:
Wonder if these tuners like Cobb, APR, etc can work with the codes to keep the oil temps down in all modes, not just sport.

Why would you want that?

Many modern cars have different oil temps in “normal” and “sport” modes, very common. A warmer engine is more efficient so oil temp will be higher in normal mode under normal driving conditions. When in sport mode the car assumes you will be driving is hard and lowers the oil temp in anticipation of the increased heat and harshness that comes from higher revs and throttle loads.

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starweb9

Discussion Starter · #8 · Apr 24, 2021

johan said:
Everything is as it should
In sport/sport+ the car is ready for harder driving hence the low temp.
The oil pump has variable speed

I consider an hour long traffic jam of stop and go pretty abusive to an engine. If you think of the cars from the past you had and overheating memories, they usually involve a traffic jam, lol, there is always some car on the side of the road with issues.. So if the technology is there to increase oil flow and cool the oil down, you would think it would kick in when in a long sustained traffic jam.

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GregW

· #9 · Apr 25, 2021

starweb9 said:
I consider an hour long traffic jam of stop and go pretty abusive to an engine. If you think of the cars from the past you had and overheating memories, they usually involve a traffic jam, lol, there is always some car on the side of the road with issues.. So if the technology is there to increase oil flow and cool the oil down, you would think it would kick in when in a long sustained traffic jam.

If you drive in long traffic jams you're taking the wrong route. 😁

You could always just engage Sport mode in that case if you are concerned.

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johan

· #10 · Apr 25, 2021

Señor said:
Wonder if these tuners like Cobb, APR, etc can work with the codes to keep the oil temps down in all modes, not just sport.

It is more to be ready and to have headroom.

starweb9 said:
I consider an hour long traffic jam of stop and go pretty abusive to an engine. If you think of the cars from the past you had and overheating memories, they usually involve a traffic jam, lol, there is always some car on the side of the road with issues.. So if the technology is there to increase oil flow and cool the oil down, you would think it would kick in when in a long sustained traffic jam.

In a traffic jam i dont think it matters what mode your in, if the oil gets to warm the ECU will try and cool it down.
You dont really need a head room in that case because it is the non existent air flow that is the root of the problem.

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Mozella

· #11 · Apr 25, 2021

starweb9 said:
I consider an hour long traffic jam of stop and go pretty abusive to an engine. If you think of the cars from the past you had and overheating memories, they usually involve a traffic jam, lol, there is always some car on the side of the road with issues.. So if the technology is there to increase oil flow and cool the oil down, you would think it would kick in when in a long sustained traffic jam.

If you're driving a modern car in good condition, it should have no problem handling a sustained traffic jam. Last year I had overheating problems with my wife's Honda Element in a traffic jam. I managed to prevent it from getting hot and when I got home I repaired the malfunctioning electric fans. Now, no worries with any of my cars and I live in a place with hot summers. I don't give overheating a second thought. If you're oil or water temperatures are excessive in stop and go traffic, something is wrong. Yes, I'm old enough to remember cars from the past before electric fans and fancy ECU's, but how many of us drive a stock car from the 50's as a daily driver?

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starweb9

Discussion Starter · #12 · Apr 25, 2021

Mozella said:
If you're driving a modern car in good condition, it should have no problem handling a sustained traffic jam. Last year I had overheating problems with my wife's Honda Element in a traffic jam. I managed to prevent it from getting hot and when I got home I repaired the malfunctioning electric fans. Now, no worries with any of my cars and I live in a place with hot summers. I don't give overheating a second thought. If you're oil or water temperatures are excessive in stop and go traffic, something is wrong. Yes, I'm old enough to remember cars from the past before electric fans and fancy ECU's, but how many of us drive a stock car from the 50's as a daily driver?

I am always uncomfortable in a traffic jam, always looking at the gauges. Todays cars have so many electronics sensors and with that come Gremlins. Just last year after coming back from the airport my X5 overheated in heavy traffic, electric water pump quit. Last year again, my 2013 981 Boxster in stop and go traffic, just died and I pulled over on side of road. $3500 later Porsche dealer found the connection wire by the tank pump actually burnt out and lost its connection. So for me the past is just last year.

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SonicSid

· #13 · Apr 29, 2021

Just keep in mind that the coolant temp reported in the multi-function right gauge is always ~194 degrees F (US) as an "all is well indication", but if you connect an OBD2 reader, you'll find the coolant temps vary quite a bit from that temperature reading. The oil temp reading however does seem to be reported correctly.

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