Hello for Jake

[Allen K. Littlefield]

I see you recommend adding the front S radiator to any of your rebuilds. Can this be easily retrofitted to a plain 2.7 TIP? Also I believe in the late Paul Frere's book, "Porsche Boxster Story, The entire development history" on page 90 he states"The new Boxster S was easily identified by the additional air intake in the front skirt to feed the third radiator fitted to Tiptronic-equipped models.." Would adding one of these to my 2.7 be of any benefit? How would you add one of these coolers if the car was not a TIP? Thanks in advance,

AKL

[Lil bastard]

Allen, I know this is for Jake, but adding the 3rd radiator is pretty simple and straightforward. You just add it in between the 2 standard radiators. Btw, the 3rd radiator is standard on the 'S' and not exclusive to Tip S cars only.

The advantages are more cooling surface and greater capacity of the cooling system.

The problem is that you'd need to either replace your bumper cover to the 'S' type which already has the cutout for the 3rd radiator (incl. having it painted if you bought new), or you'd need to cut-out your existing bumper cover, then fit either the 'S' type grill or make one of your own.

The Tip S already has an oil-to-coolant cooler installed. While there are benefits, I'm not sure they are significant enough to outweigh the cost involved. The Tip S is a pretty reliable unit with very few reported failures as is. The key to a healthy Tip S is to change the fluid (Esso LT 71141 ONLY) and filter every 45k mi.

[Allen K. Littlefield]

Thanks Lil'B, my confusion is in that the Frere information seems to state that the center radiator is to cool the TIP only. Your observation is that it adds cooling to the overall system that includes the two outside radiators if I am reading you right? Adding a different GT-3 or S bumper wouldn't or shouldn't be too much of a bear. Do you know what the cost of the plumbing and radiator would cost? Has anybody else done a retro fit of one of these center radiators?

AKL

[TriGem2k]

Allen here is the complete kit for you...

http://e-partssales.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=P&Product_Code=996thirdradia&Category_Code=996WaterCooling

I am looking at doing this myself on my 2.7l as well. I have the GT3 front bumper and would only need to cut out the middle section .

[Allen K. Littlefield]

Thanks, I checked it out and it said it would not fit a car with TIP tranny. Hmmm!

AKL

[Jake Raby]

Quite a few variables could be present that could mandate the 3rd radiator with one of our engines... But the Nikisil cylinders considerably lower overall engine temps, so most of our engines used for street use only would never need more than our lower temp thermostat housing that gets the coolant out to the cooling system at a lower temp.

Thus far the cars that have needed a 3rd radiator were limited to track only, or had a healthy dose of boost..

I'd recommend the ability to monitor trans oil temp and then upgrade as necessary if you are concerned with the life of the Tip unit with our level of performance.

Thanks for the question!

[Gary Gaukler]

Originally Posted by Allen K. Littlefield

Thanks Lil'B, my confusion is in that the Frere information seems to state that the center radiator is to cool the TIP only.
AKL

Frere's book supplies misinformation on this point. The third radiator is present in all S models, regardless of transmission type.

His book on the 911 models is vastly superior; the Boxster book is a disappointment, unfortunately.

Gary

[Lil bastard]

Allen, this is an item which I personally don't think you really need. All in, you're staring at $1000 bucks at least, but it won't add $1000 to the car's value or appreciably stave off an engine or tranny failure. It's more plumbing, more weight, more potential for leaks, etc. There are lots of 2.7s w/ Tip S operating perfectly fine in really hot climates (AZ, CA, TX, FL) which are getting along just fine without a 3rd radiator.

[Allen K. Littlefield]

Originally Posted by Lil bastard

Allen, this is an item which I personally don't think you really need. All in, you're staring at $1000 bucks at least, but it won't add $1000 to the car's value or appreciably stave off an engine or tranny failure. It's more plumbing, more weight, more potential for leaks, etc. There are lots of 2.7s w/ Tip S operating perfectly fine in really hot climates (AZ, CA, TX, FL) which are getting along just fine without a 3rd radiator.

I agree with you but I just wanted to know what Jake had to say on the subject as I saw mention of it on his site. My car has never gone over just a bit above 180 no matter what the temp or how hard I pushed it. Thanks for the good advice. Also thanks to Jake for clarifying the need for the radiator on a track car and not the street. Good site this one, lots of good info and I think we are all lucky Jake has joined up and is working on these problem engines.

Allen

[Jake Raby]

Allen, thanks for the compliments... I only like problematic engines to work with... The challenge makes me do my best!

Any way, I think all you'd need is our lower temp thermostat and housing... I'd wait till I saw a problem to act on it..

[70Sixter]

This DIY might help. Tho' it is for a 996. Should be same or close.

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=7070