How Air Cooled Engines Work: An Idiot's guide to Luftgekühlt - 1988 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2L
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- Air cooled vs. water cooled. How do Aircooled engines work, what's Luftgekühlt, and why are they only found in wildly expensive Porsche recreations, like Singer? Let's dive in and discover how they work compared to water cooled engines and find out why they have gone extinct.
Thanks to IG @carsofmass for the thumbnail photo
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#RespectTheDrive #Luftgekühlt #Aircooled
What's your favorite aircooler, and would you spend the money on a Singer for the modern aircooled experience if you could? And don’t miss the end 😂
Favorite air-cooled Porsche would be an original 911 with the 2 liter. The sound of those is unbeatable.
If I could have any air-cooled car, I’d have a Tatra (T-87, 97 or 603). Those things are beautiful!
@@zonoscopePictures that's a unique vehicle..I had to look that up
don't forget the classic vw beetle. Their engines are extremely reliable and low cost maintenance
Trabant 601 and citroen 2cv6
Got my German lesson for the day. Danke
Bitte schön
Bitte, Deutsch ist auch schwer für Deutsche😂 Ihr seid nicht die einzigen
@@TedwardDrives I’m gonna act like I know what your saying
Gern geschehen
@@61936 Says: Please, german is also difficult for german-speakers, you guys aren't the only ones!
Doch gibt's eine deutliche Unterschied zwischen Deutsch als Muttersprache, im vergleich zum Deutsch als Fremdsprache, oder?
One of the other reasons Porsche ultimately had to move to water cooled engines was the relative amount of noise produced by air-cooled engines. New regulations were coming into effect and in order to raise the performance level of the air-cooled 911 engine it would have to create even more noise. Water cooled engines benefit from water jackets that help deaden engine noise. Not that the GT3 is in any way quiet under acceleration. Great video.
Name one noise regulation for cars and how it was implemented ... and when.
@@AllAmericanGuyExpert Ford discontinued the 7.3L Diesel in 2003 because California passed a Law about Noise ( specifically decibels on start up ) and went to the 6.0 which was under the given threshold. This is just one example ... do some homework.
@@jrolla1858 Ok, I researched it and found no reliable source for that. Name your source, and if it is Wikipedia or a magazine/blog/news bite, name your source's source.
@@AllAmericanGuyExpert in America? 🤣
Since the S in USA stands for safety, there was no room for noise regulation...
Dude the 911 is so badass. Also great internet video 👍
VROOM!! coming soon to the winding road internet videos for to make noises and smiles
Dude this was actually a very well done video. I've always loved porsches and as the new owner of a 02 Boxster S I realized "maybe I should learn how air cooled porsches work"
Thanks John
i like the part where were mostly wrong to call it oil cooled. i guess all cars on the planet are air cooled.
i've blown couple of engines on my Alfa GT V because of thermostatic valve failure, i took it off 20 years ago, never had a problem, runs a bit cool but it's better than too hot. Porsche Singer is for me the best of the best.
My favorite air-cooler is the 993 Turbo, such an amazing machine, still quite fast today.
The problem with air-cooled engines is more about emissions than power. While it's true that one will need more money to make more power out of an air-cooled engine, emissions will always be the issue. A turbocharged air-cooled flat-6 engine will happily churn out 500, 600 even 700 horsepower with ease. Powerwise, where it gets difficult is with the naturally aspirated engines, where the use of 4 valves per cylinder isn't possible in an air-cooled engine (there's no way of cooling the center of a 4 valve head).
Otherwise, they are amazing pieces of engineering, full of character and a symphony of great mechanical noises, especially when compared to a water-cooled lump.
Oh I hope you watched till the end!
@@TedwardDrives oh yes I did! And loved earing all of those water-coolers and your lovely 3.2 Mezger! God, I miss my air-coolers, locked away in the garage due to the damn pandemic...can't wait to drive them again. In the meantime, I'll be living here in the air-cooled videos!
You cool the center of a 4-valve head with oil.
The perfect stall (4:46), it's the most satisfying disappointment i can think of.
Hahah exactly!
I really enjoyed this video. I had no idea how Porsche did aircooled engines. Also the short random cuts in between explanations make it funny😂
I figured I should probably interject my actual thoughts to make it more approachable 😂
Engineering class with Tedward! Now THIS is the kind of curriculum I wish we covered in my heat transfer and thermodynamics classes!😭😭
Quick what’s the thermal capacity of of air vs water at room temp and sea level!
Tedward Air - 1 J/gK, Water - 4.18 J/gK I swear I didn’t just google that
Awesome video man, keep doing these informative videos for the air cooled 911's. I am in love with them, and I am sad that the values have went up so far in the last 8 years, and also how expensive a top end rebuild can be, because I would have went with a 993 manual C2 instead of the 991.2 C2 manual. I do love the modern amenities as well as the modern performance the new 3.0L turbo engines have. It is a toss up but there is no doubt which one has more character and also more cool factor.
I’ve searched UA-cam, I’ve spoken to many many Porsche owners and knowone could even come close to explaining this concept as good as you did!! Thank you so much!!!
A lot of my non car guys friends seem to think aircooled means you just hope it doesn't get too hot. They don't understand the engineering behind an aircooled system.
Exactly!! How many millions of VW Beetles, Things and Variants (VW aircooled models) are STILL operating in tropical countries with temperatures higher than any northern hemisphere countries?
Awesome video I learned a thing or two. Yes if money was no option I would definitely purchase a Singer Porsche, no question. Their philosophy and attention to detail is like no other.
Danke!
I love how tbe front bumper looks on these, the front extended part after the hood
That perfect stall was hilarious 😂
😂
I have a Porsche air cooled flat 6 on my work bench right now ready to be assembled. I've done lots of American engines and they are all similar, so I decided to see what makes the Porsche tick. It's a really spectacular engine to say the least and I can't believe it was designed in the early 60's. Really on that engine high pressure oil is precisely delivered to exactly where it's needed and there's lots of oil to disperse this heat. And more thermostats, bypass valves, and cool tricks moving that oil around than you can throw a stick at. The engine is also super strong with 8 main bearings holding a 6 cylinder crank. Super strong and no wonder why that bottom end lived on for may more years. The other piece of the puzzle was the development of Nikasil and later Alusil allowing better heat dissipation and made the engine displacement increases in the 70's possible. It's a true engineering marvel and the simplicity is very appreciated now given the complex world of modern engines.
"An idiot's guide" yup thats me
this made me feel better about us using water cooled, thanks
I never once looked at my lawnmower and wished my car shared the technology...yet here I am driving this. hmmm
Yup... And then there is reliability... Most of the issues we have had with the 996tt have been with the cooling system... That thing is so pissed that it is water cooled... But, fuel economy, European noise regs, and going to four valves kinda did in the air cooled. But it sounds cool! Especially the 3.2. The fan is different in the 993 and the curved blades are to reduce noise (mostly). The water dampens the brightness of the sound as well. Still that GT3 sound is just about perfect! Glad to see you are well :) F
I watched yours after I made mine! You nailed it with the noise. It’s such a distinct sound but lots of vibrations 😂
Where are those ramps from? They look nice!
We’ve had them for ages. I’ll try to find where we got them. Never had a car too low for them. The 911 is funny because the wheel base is so short that the whole car is almost on the ramps lol
I found something very similar from discount ramps #CR-7214
"Luft kocht niemals über." ("Air never boils") - German proverb
Great video, even clearing up questions I never had. I still wonder about the airflow in air cooled 911s though. I imagine it to be very ineffective the way the visible openings are placed and also the direction in which the fan blow the air. Maybe a topic for another interesting video.
I love air cooled Porsches, especially the G model 911 turbo. beautiful sound, gorgeous to look at, and my personal dream car. I can’t drive yet, but I love wrenching on cars and anything that moves and I would love to get a cheap one of those to fix up as my own project!
The big problem with air cooled is that in order to allow for the thermal expansion that you would see on a 100F day wide open throttle type event, you have to have a piston, and more importantly ring-pack that are undersized/ opened gap to tolerate the heat swelling without interference. As a consequence, there is more blowby...an order of magnitude more blowby.
Very nice video. WARNING: if your fan quits on your air cooled Porsche, turn off the engine immediately! The oil cooling function will not keep your engine's temperature at operational level and you will quickly cook (ruin) your engine. The air cooled Porsche is NOT an oil cooled engine. It is true that oil plays a limited roll - very limited - in keeping all engines cool regardless of whether they are air or liquid cooled.
Why might the fan stop on an air cooled Porsche? 1. broken fan belt; 2. the alternator, which the fan is bolted to, seizes and stops turning. How will you know if your fan quits? Your alternator dash light will come on and your temperature gauge will climb rapidly.
Good discussion. Thanks for taking it on.
The singing of the transmission, love it!
Me too! but sometimes worries me a bit. Is that ok? lol
So Simply explained thanks a lot! My basic knowledge of light aircraft helps a bit too, they love an air cooled boxer 6
Nice explanation!
Love the humor in your videos.
Just droped off my BMW at the mechanic. Coolant leak. Never had that issue in 31 years of air cooled 911 ownership. Second time in years for that BMW, but second time. Meanwhile my mother is coming over to pick me up in her 993. We own many cars, almost all water cooled, but when all else fails it's the 993 and 930 that are the most dependable. Mostly by virtue of air cooling. In fact, if I wanted to build a family car to travel from Paris to Beijing, or from Dallas to Tierra del Fuego, it would be a VW bus with a 993 or 964 air cooled motor. I give not a crap about eekikg out a little more power. It's hammer simplicity and durability I crave.
You forgot “oh, and the aircooled cars happen to look soooo much better”
Didn’t wanna start a fist fight. 6 feet!
Gorgeous 911, i'm jelly
Awesome video! Incredibly helpful. If you had a preference for a weekend drive, is it the 911 or the E92?
It depends. If the roads are bumpy and I need to not smell like oil and fuel at the destination, m3. Otherwise 911
I have a 1987 Porsche 911 - this was very informative and well done. I love the writing and how approachable your content is. Is it just me? Or are your Speedo and Tachometer rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise? I think I have seen this on a few cars now at this point. Is it just a matter of visual preference? Or is there more to it?
The oil cooling contribution is more than you think. Some say more than air. It kind of depends how fast you are moving and which year. Race cars are more oil cooled than air for sure and they make plenty of power.
I knew it couldnt be purely just air cooling the engine...and the oil cooler is how they do it
ngl i kinda miss the sass of these older videos, almost SuperFastMatt type humor but less deadly 😂
Oil cooling is critical for air cooling also. Just look at the old radial airplane engines, with all that oil in the crankcase.
Those notes around the 7:00 mark made my weenie stiffen up a bit
Another aspect is piston rings are designed to be run at a controlled engine temperature to minimize blowby and friction. With a watercooled engine you can have pistonrings matched for the running engine temp. If the engine is to cold or to hot this gets bad. Whereas aircooled you don't have this level of control, meaning more blowby and more bore wear.
My 1970 914-6 had great heat w/ no A/C. My 1980 911 SC had great heat w/ asthmatic A/C. However, my 1999 911 996 has GREAT A/C w/ questionable heating abilities. Heating due to the foam deterioration on the control panel doors in the dash.
My '73 911E had terrible cabin heat and I always assumed that was the case with all air cooled Porsches; guess I was wrong. BTW, there are videos on YT on how to fix the foam deterioration issue in the early water-cooled Porsches which I plan to implement on my '99 986 and '08 997. Very annoying problem, but seems easily fixable.
Disrespectin the drive since 2003, nah just kiddin. Unless...
Keep up the good work man seeing those subs go up is awesome :)
Tedward Engineers! Crazy that Porsche was building air cooled engines until 1998.
Putting that degree to work!
Thanks for making this Vid- What type of ramps are those? Cheers
Great video. Thanks. We’re you able to determine where you got those ramps from?
These are the ramps here
www.discountramps.com/car-repair-ramps/p/CR-7214/
Tedward thank you.
So well explained…Thank you!!
I was born in 1951 and while I was growing up one the most popular air cooled engine cars was the Volkswagen Beetle.
Can we assume air cooled engines are less likely to fail? They look less complicated compared to water cooled cars where you have to have a water jacket that is water proof, water pump, timing belt, radiator...etc.
Very informative. What do you think will be your next Porsche? You certainly have driven quite a few!
That really depends on money. I'd love to own a 997.1 GT3, but if I were replacing the BMWs I'd be more than happy with a 997.2 Carrera S. I've tabled that thought until I'm earning a healthy income.
@@TedwardDrives Good point, this is hardly the time to be changing/buying toys. Awesome choices though, i'm partial to the GT platform so i'd go GT3 but the CS is also a solid option.
My father had a '68 Beetle when I was a kid in the 80's. Not super refined. The engine had that loud sputter and that Beetle was rock solid dependable. The Beetle's engine was a dry run for the 911's flat six, correct?
I hate to disagree with you, but we had Porsches in the 80s making 400 and 500 horsepower, also it's sort of sad that emissions killed off to very great engines, air-cooled and rotaries
It’s not a disagreement it’s a fact that I discussed in the video. Making that power with a broad linear power band on a budget while meeting regulations was just not a good business case. This is why those guntherworks and singer engines are so outrageously expensive.
Didn’t the Ruf Yellowbird have watercooled cylinderheads like the 959?
Nothing in this video I didn’t know yet, but very entertaining to watch. Thx!
Yes it did which makes a LOT more sense. When researching this I was like how the heck did they make that much power???
The original Yellowbird, CTR absolutely did not have water cooled heads. I'm fairly certain the CTR 2 didnt either. The current CTR retro car does, the whole engine is water cooled. The only Porsche flat 6 engines of that era that did that I know of we're the 956, 959 and 962.
So, aircooled engines needs an “extra” fuel to helps cool the system.
Thats why is not appropriate runs with lean a/f ratio.
That’s a cracking car they are a sensory delight!
I know this is an old post - but can I ask where you purchased those ramps?? Anybody know?
Just curious. Why is your tachometer gauge tilted? 😅
So do all air cooled engines have an oil cooler
What happened to those bumpers? Is the AC pump missing or is it a non AC car?
Are you putting back the square rear mirrors ?
Very interesting. I owned a 993 for a couple of years and loved the sound, and the design (oh,and the ride and especially the brakes. My God the brakes on a 911 is pure porno). I never got used to the 996 and later interior, less sloped windshield and getting rid of the classic Porsche gauges. Currently though, I am looking at buying a nice e92 M3. Would you recommend it, even if you consider a 997S?
Definitely recommend the m3 but beware the maintenance. As long as you know what you’re in for it’s not a big deal. I’ve got a “before you buy an e92 m3” video that covers it all
Great video 👍🏼
great education thank you
The name is pronounced "roof" and the car was and is still reliable, the original "Yellow Bird" is still driving today.
It’s driving but do we know what kind of work has kept it driving? It’s possible it’s dead reliable. Also possible it’s had major rebuilds
@@TedwardDrives cars require maintenance not sure what your point is? Do you think a purpose built race car would just trundle along for near 30 years w/o regular work being done? Anyway, you can find out for yourself as Alois Ruf has several recent interviews where he discussed the original car and its running condition and keeping it running over the last 30 years...
Don't forget the other Luftgekuhlt Porsche, the 914......the redheaded stepchild!
It’s crazy too, even with regular engine we are at climax of our engineering for fuel and diesel. Electric cars are so stupidly fast the taycann. I’m the kind of driver that likes the ride rather then the speed. 997 are great. The water cooled engine.
@2:40 scared the life outta me
I love the 993
that explanation was wicked pissa! Thanks Bro
😂 Boston pride
@@TedwardDrives I couldn't resist
Love my 993 but a singer YEAH
2:39 scared the crap outta me, i had headphones on
Why is your tach sideways? Seen a couple people do this
Geez your property is insanely beautiful
Thanks! Parents property. I hope someday I can make something this nice for myself
I think going turbo is a bigger deal than going water cooled. I mean sorry but if you if you put a water cooled engine in this old car, would it be any less good?
Who makes those ramps??
Just guessing: Power to weight. If you can get more power by switching to wasser, do it. And Porsche did.
Dude! I love you Man!
❤️
where is the brake light located?
nice video!
Thanks!
But what makes an air cooled engine more appealing?
Quirks and features
The front plate on your 911, it hurts my soul ;-)
getting pulled over all the time hurt my soul. i finally gave up. It's not worth the hassle. I'm already driving spiritedly...Don't need to give them any more reasons to have a chat.
No way, that sucks!! I was ticketed one time in 2006 for no front plate but they tacked it onto a speeding ticket.
I try to keep my cars like the Wolf from Pulp Fiction. Not even a broken tail light. Don't give them an excuse to find the body in the trunk lol
Any particular reason you do not run a radar detector in any of your cars?
Excellent report about what's aircooled likes and dislikes versus... Liquid cooled... And let's try to be knit & clear... What's a deal to have 5 or 700hp.... Thermic or even "worst" Electric...If in term of feeling and pleasure, all assistances included which fade 50% of the driving experience and the feeling of torque... 200/250hp in an aircooled is way more demonstrative and will give more visceral pleasure.... Just because it comes straight ON OFF without bullshity thousand word and technologies... Today, people forgets what's the essence of driving pleasure... The proof, they can purchase a car and choose it comparing size of the screens, hardware software blablabla.... and without testing the car on the road!!?????? Damn'd schmucks!!!
Too true!! I drove a Dino 246 GT yesterday. Certainly no rocket ship but it was incredible to drive and the sounds!
Couldn’t it maybe have worked if they put more fans or maybe bigger fans if they could manage to make room for it
Thanks
Of course!
Is the air used for the air cooled engine atmospheric or cooled by a heat exchanger?
It's all atmospheric...There's an oil cooler up front that you could consider a heat exchanger but it's working passively since it can only cool based on the flow of air provided by movement
Thumbs up for past participle!
Finally all those german classes paying off
I dig the aluminum ramps.
Still haven’t found a car too low for
Them 😆
How does the air cooling work in trafic or low speeds ? Aren't the cars affected by that ?
They tend to hold up pretty well but on very hot days in stopped traffic I usually just turn it off haha
Please, can you help me with a doubt?
Is it possible to overheat a VW type 1 engine?
Let me explain this, a few time ago I made some repair and lightly oversized one of these engines. But, in a highway test that I made smoke began to come out from the engine compartment and then it stops. Later in the same day the engine starts again like if nothing happened. What happened there? I just don't understand! And the only thing that makes me doubt is a thermostat placed below the cylinders that controls the opening of the air passages of the air turbine.
Please, can you help me?
If you heated up the engine and the oil dip
stick is so hot you can't touch it it overheats.
Yes the dipstick is warm but it should never burn your hand when trying to check the oil.
The black smoke could be due to too much valve play.
Gotta adjust it every couple of thousand miles
Where did you get bumper from?
Ah, most cars at the time all put out about the same power. I feel the EPA killed the air-cools as they are the air-cooled motorcycles today. Those making any power... Guess I will have to buy electric lawn mowers in the future as they will choke them down next.
Did you used to have a 993? Asking because the license plate
Nope that was just a random plate the state gave me. Kind of cool
Do you think certain Porsche purists overhype air-cooled engines?
Absolutely. But Porsche enthusiasts have a way of overhyping almost everything. It can be hard to live up to that hype so you have to be objective and trust your own feelings toward the cars and technology
@@TedwardDrives does it feel that much more special than an water-cooled car?
I wouldn’t say I’m a Porsche purist, but there is something about an air-cooled machine - I’ve had VWs, BMW motorbikes , and a 911 that have a certain essence. Call it simplicity , an unconventional engineering approach, or just the smell of oil taking heat away from the horizontally-opposed cylinders, but it’s kind of magical
Good story..thanks
There is enough power in yours to have all the fun one might want on the public road
thats for sure...its nice to have a car that you can really go wide open before going straight to jail
1:19 I almost shat myself
Nice Corrado :P Is it yours ? I do have one that I'm parting out. Let me know if you're looking for parts.
What corrado?
@@TedwardDrives What's the car under car cover ? E36 ? The lines of the body looked a lot like a Corrado.
Every time I see a video featuring your lovely 911, I think I hate you a little bit more... it’s all pure jealousy, envy, nothing else😂. I cannot seem to help it. You Lucky bastard!
haha i'd be luckier if I wasn't relying on youtube for money! Thanks for watching through the envy
Wouldn't putting the engine on the front provide better cooling
Interesting that the rev counter and speedo is sideways 🥴
I thought that then realised it red lines at the top.....makes sense !
Are these Bird-Style air cooled Porsches quick on the highway too?
They’ll surprise you. It’s not going to beat anyone in a drag race but it’ll hold 130-140mph happily