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      10-02-2012, 09:21 PM   #1
trek8000
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Recommendations for best treatment of the Turbo and it's relation to Oil Temp Guage

I was reading my X1 35i owners manual only to find that the guage in question is for Oil Temp and not Coolant Temp. This is my first BMW and first turbo. The guage appears to have soemething to do with the fact that this model has a turbo and it is there to help the driver. The owners manual makes no mention as to how the guage will help in terms of proper turbo care. Can anyone provide some guidance on the proper operation care of the turbo ie; doe's and dont's and how this guage will help? I have read that there are general rules on long life tubo care. Thank you in advance to the experts!
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      10-03-2012, 12:15 AM   #2
raleedy
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Non-turbo BMW's (yes, there are still a few of them) also have an oil temp gauge instead of a water temp gauge. It has no special relationship to the turbocharger. If there's anything you need to do respecting how you drive and maintain the car, including the turbocharger, you'll find it in the owner's manual.
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      10-03-2012, 09:17 AM   #3
Bill B.
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The N55 engine isn't the same as your grandpa's turbo driven engine. The turbo (borgwarner) is both oil and water cooled. The engine oil is synthetic which has minimal ash content so oil "coking" in the turbo is minimized. Plus, the N55 uses an electric water pump so that it can maintain coolant flow even after the engine has been turned off.

There are still many who believe that you need to idle the car for a few minutes before turning it off to allow the turbo to cool, but with the advances in technology, this isn't as necessary as it used to be.

With the N20 and N55 turbo engines becoming BMW's go-to engines, they aren't going to require drivers to follow meticulous operating procedures to properly maintain a turbo engine. That is what the technology is for.
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      10-03-2012, 09:27 AM   #4
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Coolant temp tells you when your coolant is up to operating temp, but coolant warms quicker than oil. So by utilizing an oil temperature gauge BMW is giving you more accurate information. You're not supposed to drive a car hard until you have oil temp up to the normal range.

My M Coupe had guidelines, like nothing above 4,000 rpm and no WOT until oil temp got above 200 degrees and no redline until it got to it's normal operating temp, which was around 240 in that car.

Idling is not necessary for cool down as BMW use pumps to circulate coolant and oil after the engine is turned off and it controls the cool down for you. I've walked into the garage after a highway trip with our old 135i and heard the pumps running over an hour after we got home.

Be nice to your engine, go easy on it until you get oil temp and drive nicely the last few blocks of your drive and it won't give you any undue stress.

On the off chance that you plan on tracking your X1, the oil gauge is a great indicator of overall engine temps and can signal when you need to let things cool down. My M Coupe was a US S52 car and it had terrible cooling from the factory, missing the additional oil cooler that the Euro S50b32 and later S54 cars had. The manual said not to operate the engine over 260 degrees and had a red light on the oil gauge at 300. I'm not sure what the operating temps for the N54/N55 are since the gauge doesn't have actual temps, just ranges.
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      10-03-2012, 10:14 AM   #5
Bill B.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Bread View Post
Idling is not necessary for cool down as BMW use pumps to circulate coolant and oil after the engine is turned off and it controls the cool down for you. I've walked into the garage after a highway trip with our old 135i and heard the pumps running over an hour after we got home.
From my understanding, the oil pump, while electrically pressure/volume controlled during operation, is still mechanically driven. So, it doesn't run when the engine is off.
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      10-03-2012, 10:43 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill B. View Post
From my understanding, the oil pump, while electrically pressure/volume controlled during operation, is still mechanically driven. So, it doesn't run when the engine is off.
Okay, it could just be coolant that moves, but that's still sufficient to allow for cool down without idling, provided you don't do a vMax run, full braking and turn the engine off.

Audi B5 S4s and RS4s were known for catching on fire after being driven hard and stopped shortly there after.
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      10-03-2012, 11:10 AM   #7
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water-cooled?

Our MINI Countryman-S (built by BMW) has a turbo and I know it is water-cooled - there was a recall on the electronics package that controls the auxiliary water pump at the end of 2011 (BMW had a similar recall) - some worry about fire, molten plastic, toxic fumes and all that.

I am NOT a mechanic, just a car owner. I think the water cooling is probably more important for the life of the turbo ... experts please correct this view if needed.

When the MINI is driven then parked, you can hear the electric water pump whirring away for a few minutes.
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