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Slow heater warm-up


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Just wondering - the heater on my 2014 981 Cayman, (my first winter with it), takes an unduly long time to warm up.  Is that normal, or is a thermostat at fault?  It takes at least 5 miles to begin to work effectively.  Before that, unless the heater is switched off, it blows cold air.  It is a mid-engine feature, or a fault? 

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I doubt it would be a fault.  Not really been out in ours in the cold but 5 minutes, doesn't sound excessive, unless you use the AC.  My 16 plate Merc is about the same.

 

H.

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Thank you for the replies.  It looks as if my Cayman is acting normally.  It just seems unduly slow to warm up, initially sending a fair amount of cold air into the car.  It is especially slow to warm up compared with my wife's MX5.  It almost ties in with the slow warm up of the engine oil - that takes about 10 miles.  

 

Good thing the first owner specified heated seats - the best value option?

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I put the windscreen heater on - that sends the fan to max.  Warm air starts to pass through as soon as the temp needle twitches. I then put it back to normal, which for me is 50% heat and 25% fan.  La Girlf likes it so hot it dries my eyeballs.

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I have a Z4M. That can do serious miles before the temp gets to 80 degrees. That is painful in cold conditions. Especially as you can't give it the beans when cold...!!

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5 ,mins or 3 normal urban miles sounds about right to me to reach 80  on the gauge.. heated seats to max and windscreen demist on.

make sure your coolant levels stay topped up to prevent airlocks in the system. airlocks will change the way a car warms up and prevent circulation.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

This is one of my gripes with the car. The heater takes an awfully long time to get warm. I usually turn on the heated seats and steering wheel to try and feel comfortable driving until the heater is operational.

 

Ray

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As I said, heated seats essential.  I begin to think a heated steering wheel is also useful, having seen no point in one, until I bought the 981 with its Sport steering wheel.  Never needed on my old BMW.  Still, Spring is here.

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Always thought heated seats and steering wheels were for wimps. Well this wimp certainly needs them when the heater blows cold air for an eternity or so it seems. I love your optimistic view of Spring being here! We haven't got rid of the snow fully yet.

 

 

Ray

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This might sound pretty ocd but I try not to have the heater fan on at all until the engine is warm. Chatting to a Porsche technician he said you need to get the engine warm as soon as possible by moderate driving as the main wear is when cold when all the tolerances are out and metal is expanding at different rates. Apparently some new Porkers are going to have auto radiator gills that close when cold to keep heat in. I figured running the heater with blower is just delaying the warming, so I sit in the cold for five mins lol! Only time I do have a problem is if I need to demist then of course I run it as soon as poss to eek out any heat onto the windows.

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Some of my problems are the Cayman is not the only car I use and as yet I haven't gotten used to the controls. There is also the added problem that I cannot read the dials without my reading glasses. I think it is about time someone developed an optical instrument overlay to enlarge the dial faces. Or maybe I started to wear half framed reading glasses.  

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Tried contact lenses? I wear one varifocal lens in my left eye and a long vision lens in my right. The left eye's pupil takes information from whichever part of the lens is needed to be able to focus, from middle distance down to a few feet. Before this I had to wear reading glasses over my normal contacts for desk work. Now my eye/brain/lens works it all out without any input from me. And they're constant wear lenses too. In 24 hours a day, all month. Change once a month. 

 

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Funny you should mention the contact lens trick. A friend of mine has done this for years and I think I may give it a go. Thanks for jogging my memory.

 

Ray

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The engine oil is clearly quite slow to warm up.  Is that a peculiarity of dry sump engines with their higher oil capacity?     

 

I note the point about quick warm up being better for the engine.  I hardly ever use high revs on the road - even less during warm up.  A bit different on the track where an oil temperature of 110C is usual - as is 7,600rpm.

 

Ray, you are right about reading glasses.  I wonder if Porsche knows the age range of its customers?  At almost 76 I may not be typical, but dealer showrooms have a fair share of old codgers wandering about.

XSP_8754_preview.jpeg

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1 hour ago, John Whalley said:

The engine oil is clearly quite slow to warm up.  Is that a peculiarity of dry sump engines with their higher oil capacity?     

 

I note the point about quick warm up being better for the engine.  I hardly ever use high revs on the road - even less during warm up.  A bit different on the track where an oil temperature of 110C is usual - as is 7,600rpm.

 

Ray, you are right about reading glasses.  I wonder if Porsche knows the age range of its customers?  At almost 76 I may not be typical, but dealer showrooms have a fair share of old codgers wandering about.

XSP_8754_preview.jpeg

 

Im not sure why they’re slower to warm. I put it down to being quite a large engine. I had a 6 cylinder 2.5 BMW and that took just as long if not longer I seem to recall. 

 

Id like to say I never use high revs on the road too ha, but I would be telling porkies! I give it 15 mins of revs Under 2600 then when at lights I double check the oil will give a reading without “engine not warm” messsage and then it’s a free for all. I keep the tacho between 10 o clock and 2 o clock ish on the changes. Rarely go beyond 6500 rpm but that’s mainly the speed limit issue than me protecting it :D. 

 

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John, My issue is with the layout, trying to find the correct switch for any given accessory. Bad things happen in an instant even at the regulation speeds, so taking your eyes off of the road to try and decipher which switch or what does a particular gauge read can have consequences. Yes, some know all would say that the driver should have a good knowledge of the cabin layout but trying to find an item can be difficult at times.

I have noticed also that the PDK shifter also gets in the way of being able to see some of the switches for heater controls etc. I need to spend more time driving my Cayman but I just bought an elderly 4X4 Mitsubishi Pajero for the winter and I am running that vehicle for the moment. I must say that I was very surprised with the level of technology in this vehicle given it is 22 years old.Electrically heated rear and side screens along with the bottom inch of the front screen to stop the wipers freezing to it. When turning L or R there is a smaller headlight bulb set into the indicator lens to illuminate the corner you are turning into to. Twin 12v batteries for -20 starting (winter pack). Downside is it takes 10 mins to get to 60 mph. Huge bull bar on the front which is turning me into an aggressive driver, size does matter.

 

Ray 

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