Engine idling question

[MLM]

I have a 1984 911 that I recently purchased. I have been using the vehicle for autocross events for most of the past summer. I have noticed that while waiting for my next run, other 911s in line are left idling. Sometimes 20 minutes or longer. My car has the brass tube oil cooler with no fan cooling. My car will heat up and get into the upper part of the second section of the dashboard gauge if I let it idle - so I turn it off after letting it cool for a few minutes. A couple of other drivers suggested I let the car idle as it will cool better because of the constant oil flow. Mine just seems to get hotter and hotter throughout the day - even with the engine lid open. My question is, should I keep the car idling after each run, or turn it off. Am I damaging the engine by turning it off after each run? Most of the events had air temps in the high 80s to low 90s.

Thanks

[nhromyak]

Almost everyone I auto-cross with shuts theirs down.

I too have the same problems as you.

My '85 has the radiator type cooler, with no fan.

I think shutting it down is the way to go. Unless of course you want to burn some fuel and make the car lighter for the next round.



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Nick Hromyak
'85 Carrera 7 & 9 Fuchs
Havin' Fun in Sacramento

[MLM]

Thanks for the reply. I shut mine down after a minute or two of idling also. A few of the other people at the events have told me to leave it idling. I really couldn't see the advantage without some kind of forced cooling on the oil cooler. Thanks.

Originally posted by nhromyak:
Almost everyone I auto-cross with shuts theirs down.

I too have the same problems as you.

My '85 has the radiator type cooler, with no fan.

I think shutting it down is the way to go. Unless of course you want to burn some fuel and make the car lighter for the next round.

[stormcrow]

I believe I read somewhere that P-cars shouldn't be left idling for a long time, and it's probably for that reason.

Steve