Polar Opposite Porsches Showcase CSF’s Diverse Cooling Product Range

Photography: Mike Maravilla

Additional Photography: Drew Manley

@cooled.collective

  • Despite Porsche’s expansive engineering prowess, its factory cooling solutions are still a compromise between financial viability and technological capabilities. 
  • CSF picks up where Porsche left off and offers both air and water-cooled Porsche audiences a wide array of motorsport-worthy cooling upgrades, like oil coolers, radiators, intercoolers, and more.
  • Art of Attack’s infamous 991.2 GT3 Cup Evo and Waldo’s PTS 992 Turbo S are polar opposite examples that dote CSF products to achieve their goals.
  • Both cars were tested in equal measure on the 300+ mile Pit+Paddock x MOMO Drivers Project: Road to Rennsport road trip.

In 1988, I remember sitting in front of the TV with a fresh bowl of Apple Jacks while MTV crackled to life. A period-correct combination of synth beats, and Paula Abdul’s vocals greeted me soon after. While an enthusiastic display of Abdul’s choreography would’ve been enough for any four-year-old over breakfast, this particular music video had something more: an animated, rapping cat. The song was called “Opposites Attract” and, if you can imagine, by the end of that four-minute bop, the two very different dancing protagonists find one commonality: love.

That was a long way to arrive at a modern parallel, but the two subjects you see in front of you are palpably similar. In one corner, sits Art of Attack’s extreme 991.2 GT3 Cup Evo. On the opposite end, is Waldo’s paint-to-sample, street-stylish 992 Turbo S. Indeed, a passing glance at both cars would have you guessing if there were any commonalities beyond the badge. And just like Abdul’s smash hit, there is one: CSF.

CSF AND PORSCHE

As I’ve alluded to before, CSF has built upon its success in the BMW market to triumphantly expand into the larger stratosphere of other European, JDM, and even off-road spaces. A handful of years into that endeavor, CSF’s product catalog for Porsche — for both air-cooled and water-cooled applications — has been one of the biggest beneficiaries. Rennsport Reunion 7 was a fitting venue to debut its latest air-cooled component, a 911/930 Turbo and 914-6 engine oil cooler (#8242). This new piece is an OEM+ recreation of the original Behr cooler that incorporates CSF’s advanced technology into a vintage form factor.

CSF’s investment into the ever-popular air-cooled Porsche market comes on the heels of Ravi Dolwani’s own CSF 911 build. The experimental, no-holds-barred effort afforded Dolwani and his company to learn where opportunities existed for the brand and how it, and its strategic partnerships, could better serve the air-cooled enthusiast community.

ENGINEERED TO WIN

On the water-cooled end, the GT3 Cup Evo and the Turbo S also wear some of CSF’s latest and greatest. The Art of Attack car runs a large, single radiator unit that, in conjunction with the custom Emotion Engineering hood, works to channel air over the car to create downforce and eliminate positive pressure from the underside and wheel well sections. Although converting what would otherwise be a three-radiator setup into one sounds like an exercise in simplification, it was a multi-year-long project between CSF, PWR, and Emotion Engineering to get right.

The result was so effective that it was also used on the Pikes Peak class-winning GT3R race car. Indeed, it was a solution that befits Art of Attack’s goals for this project: showcase RS Future’s prototype aero, the company’s dedication to form and function, and ultimately create a neck-breaking time-attack-inspired benchmark for the 991.2 GT3 platform. I’d say it worked.

MORE POWER, MORE RESPONSIBILITY

Carmine Red is one of the classiest hues that Porsche has ever produced. It was a fitting paint-to-sample choice for Waldo’s Turbo S cabriolet, then; a comfortable highway bruiser that effortlessly propels its pilot to the stratosphere of speed. The PTS cab sports CSF’s intercooler (#8188) setup, the first and only upgrade available for the 992 Turbo and Turbo S. The 992 intercooler system is a departure from previous iterations, taking in air from the top of the engine compartment versus from the side-mounted intercoolers of old.

The Turbo’s new factory output — 640 horsepower, 590 lb-ft of torque — coupled with its new intercooler home on top of the engine made CSF’s upgrade a mandatory endeavor to cope with all of the additional heat. CSF’s working partnership with PWR helped here, too; 100% TIG-welded, all-aluminum construction and Formula 1-grade, two-row core allowed the duo to create ground-breaking cooling efficiency and capacity within Porsche’s unique packaging constraints.

TIES THAT BIND

The two cars met on the Pit+Paddock x MOMO Drivers Project: Road to Rennsport, a 300+ mile road trip that would test both machines’ proficiency through winding back roads, sustained high-speed stints, and a few pockets of bumper-to-bumper traffic for good measure. Unseasonably warm temperatures added another layer to each test, but both cars arrived at Rennsport unphased by it all (albeit, a bit dirty). As different as these two cars are on paper, and the real-world purposes they serve, there is immense comfort that CSF’s broad engineering capabilities have delivered proven solutions for both. It’s another testament to the cooling company’s rapid ascent into a household name for not just Bavaria, but all enthusiast brands under the sun.


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