20 degree difference?
 

986's operate at 195 deg oil temp.

987's operate at 175 deg oil temp.

Why the 20 deg difference? I bet Toolpants or Brucelee has an answer for this one.

My 986 operates at 180-185. Maybe some 986's run around 195 certainly not all of them.

No diffect insight but a theory.

Emissions are impacted by operating temp. My guess is the lower temp related to that.

Second theory is engine life. The engineers may have decided the engine would be happier at the lower temp.

Last theory is both of the above.

Bueller, Bueller? :cheers:

I feel a marketing urge coming on to offer an oil cooler upgrade for 986's...

Short answer...improved cooling system. Long answer:

The new Boxster retains the familiar cross-flow cylinder head cooling system from the first Boxster for efficient and even distribution of coolant to all cylinders. The water pump, now a carry over part with the new 911 Carrera/S, ensures a higher coolant flow rate. The Boxster and Boxster S versions with manual gearbox are fitted with two radiator modules located as before in the wings ahead of the front wheels. These have been increased both in area (approx. 5 %) and depth (approx. 20 %) and are identical with the radiator modules of the new 911 Carrera/S. The two more powerful electric fans also feature automatic requirement-driven control and a modified air flow concept.This ensures an optimised air flow and an aerodynamically optimised cooling-air system. This new feature permits infinite control of the fan speed as a function of the coolant temperature and the system pressure in the air conditioning system instead of two-stage control. It has the advantage of requiring less current and therefore creates less of a load on the vehicle electrical system as well as being less noisy. The new line layouts for the radiator in the front end and the reworking of the radiator connections have reduced the sensitivity of the new Boxster models to damage and hence reduced repair costs. The use of cost-effective brackets with desired break points prevents the radiator module being damaged in a slight collision, for example. When it comes to repair, the damaged plastic carriers can be replaced and the radiator module re-mounted. Furthermore the use of quick couplings throughout the cooling system pipework has reduced the amount of repair work required in the event of damage, again resulting in lower repair costs. On the Boxster S with Tiptronic S, an additional third radiator is used in the front end of the vehicle to facilitate cooling of the automatic transmission oil via an additional oil-water heat exchanger in the common water circuit. The improvement in the efficiency of the water-cooling system means that the smaller oil/water heat exchanger (engine-oil cooling) of the 2.7 litre engine can now also be used in the 3.2 litre engine, which has resulted in a reduction in weight of 360 g/0.79 lbs.

Does the 987 or the 987S have an oil cooler?

"The improvement in the efficiency of the water-cooling system means that the smaller oil/water heat exchanger (engine-oil cooling) of the 2.7 litre engine can now also be used in the 3.2 litre engine."

Actually, I think all 986 S models have a center mounted radiator to help cool off the larger 3.2L, but I don't doubt that it is used in cooling of the Tip trans.

Part of it is probably the oil weight. The 986 was originally spec'ed with 10W40 and ok to use 15W40 in warmer climates. The 987 is spec'ed with 0W40. Even though they changed the oil spec for all models to 0W40, most 986's are still running the heavier weight oil. In ours, when we switched from 10W40 to 15W50, the engine running temp rose about 15F.