Is that a normal oil temp?
 

Outside temp 70 F, during commute on local streets, no stop and go eventually went up to 220, after I took this picture
Feels a little high for my taste

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1333155851.jpg

Not unusual if you have the OEM thermostat in the car.

I have the LN engineering low-temp thermostat

Obviously not the stock gauge. Is that gauge displaying the stock oil temp signal or getting the temp from somewhere else?

Once warmed up, what is a typical coolant temperature readout on your cluster gauge?

see here:
http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-racing-forum/33994-oil-temp-sensor.html

the readings are in-line with the readings for oil temp from the Durametric

Around 200 ~ 210, verified the accuracy of the water temp gauge with the Durametric

Most water temp readings on the stock gauge I've heard about are between the 8 and 0 in 180. Both mine were in lots hotter weather with the stock thermostat.

So the 210-220 seems quite high.

Cleaned the radiators recently?

Base or S (with the third radiator)?

Fans under the bumper working (both of them)?

How old is the water pump? Belt?

Cleaned the radiators recently? - Yes, have wire mesh in front

Base or S (with the third radiator)? - "S"

Fans under the bumper working (both of them)? - Yes tested and both working and kicking in

How old is the water pump? Belt? Both changed last summer, when I installed the low temp thermostat

No big deal. The radiator fans don't go on until the water temp is around 100C, then shut off around 96. In stop and go traffic, the oil temp is a little higher than coolant temp. 220F is what, around 102-104C? Not a problem.

I don't know about the water temp needle being between the 8 and the 0; my 2002 Boxster base runs right around 200 in the moderately cool SoCal temps as of late.

I personally think the oil temp being in the 200~220 range is just fine.

What I've been wondering is if switching to 160 degree thermostat is of any benefit whatsoever. Once coolant temp is past 180, both 160 and 180 thermostats would be wide open anyhow. And it certainly seems as if Boxsters are designed to operate up above 180 under normal conditions.

My old-school understanding of thermostats is that they only control how quickly an engine warms up to normal operating temperature, and are specified to be fully open once the engine is warmed up.

Thermostats control the minimum steady state operating temperatures of an engine; basically the “baseline” temp that the engine returns to after getting warmer say in bumper to bumper traffic and then getting out onto the open road.

M96/97 engines with the LN thermostats and instrumentation have demonstrated that they consistently run much cooler than they did with the OEM stat; on a 68F day, we have observed (steady state on the open road) coolant temps in the 177-183F range, while the OEM stat ran 208-215F (same car on the same day). I think one of the things that mislead many people is the fact that the dash temp displays in these cars are so inaccurate; you need to see the real temps, either from a scanner reading the PID’s, or from aftermarket instrumentation to appreciate what is really happening.

Besides lowering the coolant temps, the 160F stat also significantly lowers the temperatures of your oil (remember you have an oil to water oil cooler), which can lengthen the life of the oil, and possibly your engine along with it.