Quote:
Originally Posted by RPM90
The oil temp gauge has no indication for anything other than temp.
It doesn't show a yello, green, or red zone.
That isn't by mistake. If waiting until the oil temp reaches 240F before normal driving can be done, then why is that not indicated?
Why is it not part of all automobiles operating directions?
And, in this age of superior engine manage, it would be really easy to limit RPM based on oil temp. But, it's not done.
This issue of oil temp is being overstated, and it's because the 1 has an oil temp gauge and no coolant/engine temp gauge.
Also, notice that the oil temp gauge starts at 160F, very close to the typical 170F of most thermostats.
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In the Z4M the variable redline indicator on the tach doesn't reach the maximum until the oil temperature reaches 75C (167F), it's first major mark is at 50C, so BMW expects the oil to be at least at 75C before using the full rev range. For the Z4M the manual states that normal oil operating temperature is between 80C and 120C, with 100C being the centre position. All current oil specs quote the viscocity at 100C, so for example, a 0w40 oil is thicker than 40 weight below 100C and flows less easily, with a higher likelihood that the oil pump won't be able to pump a high enough volume of cold oil to keep the engine well lubricated at high revs.
I don't use the maximum rev range until the oil is at normal temperature, i.e. 80C, or beyond 120C (which I haven't reached on the track yet, it maxes out at about 115C under very hard use). It is interesting that BMW considers that oil temperature is more important in the ///M cars than water temperature.
With the 135i, I'll use a similar philosophy, when we receive the car in a couple of months.
For any engine, running it hard with cold oil will cause more stress on the components, it just depends on how much risk of wear you are willing to tolerate.