Temp gauge
 

I have a 2000 base.

i've had my car about a month. most of the time, I notice my temp gauge needles sits right about on the mark for 180. i haven't really noticed it go much above that.

today, it was fairly hot out - probalby in the mid to upper 90s. I gave the car some good spirited runs and noticed the temp needle had crept up - not to anywhere near the "red' zone -but it clearly moved -

i know in a lot of cars, they are designed to the needle basically NEVER moves unless the car is overheating...and you rarely see any variation in teh needle once it's at operating temp.

is it normal to see the temp gauge go up/down w/in a safe range if you are pushing it - or is this indicative that my car has a probelm with the cooling system?

just curious.

I think what you are experiencing is normal. When I push my 986 at altitude, in warm weather I will often see the temp needle creep a bit past its normal position. Same thing sometimes occurs in traffic in hot weather with the AC on.

Normal... but for peace of mind, start the car on and turn on the A/C... then get out anfd go to the front... you should hear both radiator fans running... if not, you have a bad ballast resistor between the fans. Since your needle only 'moved', I doubt this is the case, but it is a good periodic check.