Exactly. Also when water temp is at normal operating temps this doesn't mean the oil is. Especially in the gearbox! I never push it before water temp has been at normal for at least 5 minutes.

 

xlnt point! yeah, incredible how long it takes to get to op temp sometimes. when i do coolant or oil change etc we work on something else until we can check levels! not sure what it's like in temps where you are. its gonna be 70+ here today and i may hit 70! mph lol

add: i would let eng oil temp be my guide tho...

 

Coolant temps and oil temps are two different things. The oil takes *a lot* longer to heat up. The coolant can be up to temp but the oil can still be too cold to measure or go WOT.

The coolant gets up to temp pretty quick, especially when driving, due to the thermostat. That's the point of the thermostat, it stays closed (not circulating coolant through the radiators) to get the car up to engine operating temp as quickly as possible. I've lived in upstate NY (an hour north of Syracuse where it can get down to -37F in the winter) and I've taken my car out in some pretty cold temps. The coolant is still up to temp in the Porsche (and ever other vehicle I had up there) pretty fast.

If the OP is seeing massive swings in his coolant temp it means he's got an issue with his thermostat, coolant temp sensor, or cooling system (likely air in the system). The coolant temp should get up to temp quick and stay there. If the car is under serious load and in high ambient temps, you might see the coolant temp rise but the coolant should never have a significant swing to really low temps.

 

Most people don't give the gearbox a consideration but they should. In normal 60F (15C) temps, by the time my engine is fully warmed up (5-8min), my gearbox is barely showing 90F. It takes about 20 minutes of normal driving for me to see gearbox temps of about 160. Eventually, my gearbox will stabilize at 180F. At the track at the end of a 30 minute session I'll see 220F and that is with the cooler running.

 

Yep. I had my gbox main shaft bearing replaced last year. Porsche specialist in Germany who did it told me: "we see main gbox bearing usually failing between 80 -100k miles at moderate to fast street driving. He said if you take the time to warm up your gbox properly (20 min at 15C as pwrdrhound said) we see cars making up to 130k miles before the change is needed. Just a thought. I am now warming my car properly which is extremely difficult as I hit the motorway within 2 miles. :-(. So, self control is the order of every day.

 

i realize that. thats why i suggested i'd let the engine/oil temp be my gauge of when the motor is at op temp...and also why i thought it prudent to swap t stat before doing anything "else".

 

I warm my missus up for 20 minutes before I feel she is stable enough for full throttle