911s = open road cars

[Carl83911]

A trip to the California northern coast this weekend was great. Hwy1 north of San Francisco all the way up to the Oregon border is God's Country. Temperature all weekend was in the low to high 60's. Clear blue skies and plenty of open windy undulating stretches of coastal roads.

Coming back Monday from Fort Bragg and driving on Hwy 128 through the wine country, we finally came out in Fairfield between Sanfrancisco and Sacramento on Interstate 80. It was smooth and continuous driving until we got to I-80 which is the main corridor in the central valley. The tem on my car before I-80 was a constant 210*F. As soon as we merged into I-80, it was a huge parking lot. There was an accident a few miles ahead and it was HOT. After being in 60 someting degree weather all weekend and getting stuck in traffic at 99*F. I noticed my temp climb to the 10:00 position. There were 3 other 911s on this trip, 85 carrera, a 79 SC, and a 993. We all pulled over the next exit to wait out the traffic jam. In curiosity, I asked everyone how the temp was and all were registering around 10:00. They all were getting worried about overheating issues. Even the carrera and the 993 with the cooling fans were up there along with the rest of us.

So if anyone is worried about overheating issues in stop and go traffic in 100*F weather, It's normal. Even when the traffic cleared, the temp only came down to the 9:00 position. It was a hot day.

[zymurgist]

I remember getting stuck in stop and go traffic on the Baltimore beltway last year, the day of the Preakness Stakes. I wasn't going near Pimlico, but I got caught in all the traffic that was going there. I watched the oil temperature gauge climb (10:00 and higher) as the oil pressure gauge fell, all the while nervously waiting for an opportunity to exit, even onto city streets with slow speeds and stoplights and all that. When I finally got onto an open highway, it took about 40 minutes of "normal" driving to get the oil temperature back where I normally see it (8:00).

I have an external oil cooler in the right front fender (no fan).