Normal operating temperatures?
 

The coolant temperature of my 991 C4S always tops out at 194 and never goes higher. Is this normal? My wife's Macan tops at 200 and stays put when driving.

The oli temperatures on both cars change with driving conditions and are typically between 210 and 220 when fully warmed up, which seems normal.

A lot of manufacturers design/engineer their temp gauges to stay in the middle thru a range of actual temps. This gives the perception that consistency and prevents owners from panicking when the temp is 10 degrees warmer than it was last week.

With new cars having electric water pumps that can be run at diff duty cycles and a lack of an actual t'stat i guess they can do a better job of maintaining a static temp. But I just wanted to mention that its a common practice to have a gauge that is basically only useful if you are actually overheating.

Thanks. I was just wondering why the digital coolant temperature readouts increase uniformly as the cars warm up and then suddenly reach a ceiling at 194 for my C4S and 200 for the Macan, and whether this maximum readout indicated any sort of malfunction of the temperature sensors.

Because that's the temperature that the thermostat starts to open. It dictates the minimum operating temperature.

OK, thank you. Is it the temperature that the thermostat starts to open or the temperature when it's fully open? I'd still expect there to be a bit of a range as the thermostat goes from partially to fully open. I guess anywhere in the 190-200F range for a fully open thermostat is normal?

STARTS to open. Once it opens, the coolant on the other side (that has already been cooled through the radiator) enters the engine and begins to cool it. Even a little bit of flow is enough to get the job done, unless you're pulling a trailer or tracking it.

OK, got it. Thanks much!