How long until the engine is in operating temperature?

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10-08-2010, 11:58 AM

#11

DanP

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My Ride: 2008 535xi Platinum bronze metallic, automatic, cold weather package, fold down rear seats, iPod adapter

Quote:

Originally Posted by DominikB

The situation is pretty amateurish to say the least. Not having an oil temperature meter in E60 is a major disadvantage, I believe. When you have 300+ horsepower, you want to use it. And you want to know when it's safe to use it. Sometimes they surprise us with the attention to the smallest detail, and then don't include an essential feature. :thumbsdown:

Not sure if this works or not but I have a theory...

Use the Idrive to select the screen that shows you the oil level. When the car is cold the screen will say that the oil level is not available. If you wait for a bit, it'll show you the oil level.

If I were working on an algorithm to measure the oil level, I'm pretty sure that I'd include a temperature test: if the oil is too cold, wait until it's warm. That would be one factor (not the only one) that would determine when the oil level reading was accurate.

If that's true then you could use the oil level indicator to tell you when the engine is warm enough to blast away.

Merely a theory, though. Anybody have any direct knowledge?

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10-08-2010, 01:20 PM

#12

kreveta

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Interesting theory, DanP.

But why do you think it's important to know the temperature before measuring the volume (level)? As far as I know, oil does not extend its volume when hot. It's less thick but does not expand. Am i wrong?

EDIT: Never mind, that was lame! Of course you measure the oil level when it's warmed up.