If you have beenfollowing along I built a new motor and scared myself with gauges. So here is how the story goes at 500 miles. First increased compression and a very small increase in engine size gives welcome increased power. I got what I wanted. Second, I learned a lot.

Trouble began when the idiot light would go on at idle after about a half hour at 70 on the highway. Not what you want to see in a new motor. Several things contributed to this. Surprisingly I found that I met the high end of the Porsche spec for oil pressure. For one thing that is taken at 70 degrees C. Also, my idiot light comes on sooner than stock, so the old one wouldn't have tripped. Furthermore a new owner would not be supplied with a gauge. So my alarming results were not that alarming after all. Being a Samba member I found that expectations for hot oil pressure aren't high with the vw world, using different heads but the same layout for the case.

When Porsche added the 2.0 to the lineup they also changed where the red line is on the temperature gauge because too many people were complaining of overheating. My engine was running at about 215-220 F for oil. Still in the white on my 76 gauge but red in a 1.7. So as I passed out of that comfortable below boiling point, my oil pressure went from robust to feeble. At the same place every time.

We cleaned up potential sites for loss and then added an oil cooler under the trunk. No overheats, and strong pressure. Cruising around 40, idle at around 20.

The last thing I will add is vdo is oem for gauges. They match the decor. They are not in my experience very reliable.

I am a newbie, but this is helping me catch up to the 911 s at PCA autocross events. Thanks everyone