[bobbyo]

I own a 2017 Boxster base model with manual transmission, recently drove up from Southern Cal to Napa (wine country). I drove on HW 1 and it was the most fun I have had driving this road. I noticed if I am in sport mode, the engine oil runs around 200 degree and if I forget to turn on sport mode it will go as high as 232. Does anyone know why?

 

[Viffermike]

It's part of the ECU programming to run the engine cooler in Sport/Sport+ mode. The reason is that it's assumed that the engine will work harder and be subject to more 'extreme' operation, so the ECU basically builds in 'head room' for it.

Many modern performance-oriented turbo motors with so-called 'driving modes' do this. In fact -- I've mentioned this in other threads -- the technical manual for the N20 BMW motor (another 2.0L turbo four) specifically outlines the reasoning behind this, as well as the normal temperature parameters in each of that car's driving modes. Basically, coolant runs 10-15 degrees cooler for every step up in performance mode. The N55 (turbo inline 6) exhibits the same behavior.

 

[Wine.O]

I own a 2017 Boxster base model with manual transmission, recently drove up from Southern Cal to Napa (wine country). I drove on HW 1 and it was the most fun I have had driving this road. I noticed if I am in sport mode, the engine oil runs around 200 degree and if I forget to turn on sport mode it will go as high as 232. Does anyone know why?

I live in Napa, and took the opposite route as part of the break in of my 19BS. Perhaps the best drive of my life.
Such an amazing part of the world.

 

[RussellHodgson]

When you are on track with sport+ mode turned on, the temps end up being about the same as when you are driving on the road in normal mode. If you left the car in normal mode on track you'd probably get really high temps!

 

[Naptown]

Normal. What they said.

 

[EdP]

So why not run at a lower operational temperature in normal drving mode too?
Is there a penalty running these engines at a lower temperature?

 

[RussellHodgson]

So why not run at a lower operational temperature in normal drving mode too?
Is there a penalty running these engines at a lower temperature?

I think it has to do with fuel economy and oil viscosity.

 

[Viffermike]

To @RussellHodgson 's point, @EdP : a 'lower operating temperature' means different things in different situations. If you're in Sport+ and running on a track, you're in the neighborhood of what the engine's temps would be in stop-and-go traffic in Normal.

The key here is the term 'head room', which is why I use it for this phenomenon. If you're in Sport+ in stop-and-go traffic, you're engine is running cooler because the expectation is that at some point, you'll be pushing the engine harder. In addition: Sportier driving modes, by their nature, ask the engine to operate at more potent (read: hotter) levels: higher shift points, higher idle, higher RPMs in lower gears, etc. Ergo, head room is good.

If a car runs hotter in Normal, it's running more efficiently at lower levels of stress -- so @RussellHodgson is right in that fuel is burned better, oil is slightly more viscous (and, thus, coats surfaces better up to a point), etc. Even so, engines like the ones in the 718 don't have an optimal operating temperature; they have an optimal operating temperature range.

Realize that our cars have three largely independent cooling systems, each of which only operates at certain times and under certain conditions. Why? To maintain that optimal operating temperature range under all situations. Think of things that way and don't worry about specific temps, and you'll stress a lot less about your car.

 

[Bob D.]

Personally, I wish that all the electronic wizardry on these cars included automatic switching to enhanced cooling!

A few weeks back when driving at high speeds on a hot day, I saw a peak indicated oil temp of 237° F, which was a number that definitely caught my attention. I was in normal mode because what I was doing was IMO quite "normal"--driving on a highway. Luckily I discovered after a few minutes--basically by accident--that switching to Sports or Sports+ reduced temps dramatically (~25 degrees in this case).

I know I know, RTFM. That would've saved me some heartburn. Nonetheless, it seems odd to me that drivers have to manually switch modes to keep oil temps reasonable in circumstances as common as driving on a highway on a hot day. Love the car, but some of the features take some getting used to.

 

[GregW]

Personally, I wish that all the electronic wizardry on these cars included automatic switching to enhanced cooling!

A few weeks back when driving at high speeds on a hot day, I saw a peak indicated oil temp of 237° F, which was a number that definitely caught my attention. I was in normal mode because what I was doing was IMO quite "normal"--driving on a highway. Luckily I discovered after a few minutes--basically by accident--that switching to Sports or Sports+ reduced temps dramatically (~25 degrees in this case).

I know I know, RTFM. That would've saved me some heartburn. Nonetheless, it seems odd to me that drivers have to manually switch modes to keep oil temps reasonable in circumstances as common as driving on a highway on a hot day. Love the car, but some of the features take some getting used to.

237°F isn't hot. ?

Mobil says Mobil 1 protects up to 500°. I suspect the lower sport temperature is mostly for the turbo.

Here--https://mobiloil.com/en/article/why-the-mobil-advantage/mobil-1-performance/mobil-1-high-temperature-motor-oil-protection

 

[jimmuller]

237°F isn't hot. ?

Yeah, I was wondering about that after reading GregW's post. I've seen 212 to maybe 215, don't think I've ever seen 230-something. Where is 237 on the gauge? I don't recall. I'd worry and contact the dealer if it is up in the red zone. Otherwise I'd just watch it every so often, which is a reasonable idea anyway.

 

[Bob D.]

Yeah, I was wondering about that after reading GregW's post. I've seen 212 to maybe 215, don't think I've ever seen 230-something. Where is 237 on the gauge? I don't recall. I'd worry and contact the dealer if it is up in the red zone. Otherwise I'd just watch it every so often, which is a reasonable idea anyway.

IIRC 237 was little past halfway on gauge, maybe 2/3 at most. I only saw that number briefly so I don't remember exactly, but it was not near the red zone; if it was I would've pulled over immediately. I was happy to read the reminder from @GregW about the heat tolerances of the latest iterations of Mobil 1, but nonetheless 237 just felt like too high a number to me so I was relieved to discover the immediate cooling effect of Sport mode.

I was driving on an empty highway in a rural area so I took the opportunity to drive at higher speed, therefore higher revs, for a prolonged period and it was a very hot day. Looking back, it was probably the perfect combo of circumstances to overwhelm Normal mode.

My advice to anybody driving fast on a very hot day is to remember that Sport mode is your friend.

 

[jimmuller]

Looking back, it was probably the perfect combo of circumstances to overwhelm Normal mode.

I'm not sure I'd call that overwhelming Normal mode. The boiling point of water is 212F without any "anti-freeze" added. But yeah, Sport mode does run cooler.

 

[Porsche2018]

My advice to anybody driving fast on a very hot day is to remember that Sport mode is your friend.

I only drive in Sport mode, doesn't everyone.......if not why on earth not.

 

[jimmuller]

I only drive in Sport mode, doesn't everyone.......if not why on earth not.

Heh! Because on a long highway trip Sport mode could use a lot more gas.
(I tend to drive in Sport mode all the time. Well, most of the time.)

 

[antennahead]

I only drive in Sport mode, doesn't everyone.......if not why on earth not.

Heh! Because on a long highway trip Sport mode could use a lot more gas.
(I tend to drive in Sport mode all the time. Well, most of the time.)

I agree with both of you, sport mode all the time around town, off on the interstate to conserve gas when just cruising along on a long trip.

 

[bobbyo]

Thanks for all the replies; Sport mode it will be from now on. Just have to remember to turn it on every time.

 

[Porsche2018]

Let's just say I didn't buy a 2RS with fuel economy (mpg) as an overriding consideration but rather, and most importantly,............fpm (fun per mile).

 

[Viffermike]

I know about the BMW Nxx driving mode management because there was a lengthy thread on Bimmerpost/2Addicts about it that was an extension of an even lengthier (and, some would say, legendary) thread on a hidden 'extra' aux radiator included with a certain trim level for 2 Series cars. In that latter thread, I actually conducted a survey and gathered data to figure out what the trigger was for that extra radiator -- which, I might add, ended up differing by country and by model (example: convertibles had a different trigger than coupes).

A local buddy of mine has a 2 Series ordered within days of the one I used to have -- both cars were imported here on the very same boat. His had this extra radiator, but mine didn't. He happened upon the mode temperature management passage in the F30 (3 Series) technical manual for the N20 engine. I'd already had a P3Cars multigauge installed in my car with the oil temperature feature activated, so I monitored oil temps in the various modes for a couple of months (including during a spirited weekend trip through the Ozarks) and verified what the F30 tech manual described.

In my 2 Series, I'd see oil temps approaching 240 degrees F in Eco Pro or Normal mode, particularly on a hot day in stop-and-go traffic, but it would rarely touch 220 in the Sport modes -- and when it did, it would dip back down almost immediately, even on my car that lacked the extra aux radiator.

Translating this to the 718 is easy because of:

• The similar behavior of engine temps in various driving modes
• The similar behavioral traits of the engines (2.0L turbo fours with flat torque curves)
• The aforementioned separate cooling systems (Even the base Nxx 2.0L engine has five separate radiators: three for coolant and two for oil)
• the extra radiators that are either available or included on higher-performance models such as the GTS