I have a 2 year old '08 335i that I bought in the fall of '08 on which I just had installed the BMW performance engine kit. The car has 10,000 miles on it. so 5K per year. BMW has done an oil change each year. The coolant was changed with the performance kit upgrade. I was just reading in Roundel how BMW because they are paying for it will go on the low side of maintenance - not a surprise. I have a '94 325i where I do biannual brake and coolant changes and an oil change once a year - only put 2k miles per year. Should I do bi-annual brake and coolant changes on the 335i as well. I usually have the maintenance done in the fall, not many miles of use before I put them up for the winter. I also will put in a bottle of fuel injection cleaner once a year. I do not race the car and I'm not a lead footed drivers so I would say my usage is moderate so I tend to steer toward moderate maintenance programs. What would be a moderate use maintenance plan that BMW club members that own these turbo N54 cars use. BTW- My car has the factory oil cooler and the performance engine kit has the upgraded fan and an additional smaller radiator, therefore I believe the car is equiped to keep the engine cooler which will help with its longevity. I have even considered after the warranty is over to go with the dinan oil cooler which is ever larger.
Proper maintenance is essential. Send a note to Mike Miller and ask for his Old School Maintenance Schedule. On Party A's 335i, she changed the transmission and differential fluids after break-in, not just the engine oil; we try to maintain a 5,000-mile oil-change interval on her car and my roadster. Changing the diffy oil in her car required a suction pump, as there is no drain hole, if I remember correctly, but the M roadster has a nice big drain plug! I love Dinan's oil cooler, but given your driving habits, I don't think it's necessary for your car, which at least has the factory cooler. However, if you install the Dinan cooler, it should not affect your warranty.
Sorry to jump in, but something else you should know regarding the oil cooler BMW did have some early oil-temperature overheating problems when the x35 engines were first introduced. BMW introduced a software-based failsafe where the computer would automatically shut the engine down if the oil temperature reached 280 degrees F. Later this was revised upwards to an even 300. This sounds really, really, hot and it is. But don't confuse this with WATER temperature, which boils at 212. That would be your coolant temperature, which is something completely different. Remember, it is normal for your oil temperature to get hotter than 212. That means your oil cooler is doing its job. Those turbines are using exhaust heat to spin those turbines and boost the air pressure going into the engine -- exactly what they're supposed to do. Whether or not you should get the Dinan cooler depends on how you drive your car. I'd say if the car is tracked at HPDE (high performance driving events), autocrossed, or any sort of high speed, competitive activities, definitely get the oil cooler. But if your oil temperature doesn't venture from the middle zone very often, or at all, you probably don't need it. Or you can purchase it later for peace of mind, if desired. Chances are, if your car is strictly a street vehicle and doesn't really see much of a challenge to oil temperatures or overall engine temperatures, you have the luxury of time to decide.
Sorry to jump in, Brian. . . . . . but haven't we already discussed the driving chores this N54 will face? They don't seem to include track-rat duty. . . . And thank you for reminding me about the early 335i. Its oil-temp gauge---these cars HAVE no water-temp gauge!---went to 300 degrees (oil temperature, of course), and the cars went into "limp home" mode a bit below that. Now, when I used to buy Pennzoil by the case, I was informed that oil---petroleum oil, that is---works very nicely at 250 degrees. At 275, it starts to break down and lose its lubricity, and if I ever saw 300, I should change the oil as soon as possible. Synthetics changed all the numbers, of course! In the case of the "overheating" 335i's, BMW's solution was to raise the point at which the car goes into limp-home mode---to 300 degrees, I believe---and switch to a gauge that goes higher than that (I think 325 or 340 degrees). While I have heard it from other instructors, I myself have never seen a 335i go into limp-home mode at the track, as long as it has the factory oil cooler at least (many came without it, even if you ordered the sport package!). But I agree that if you want to err on the side of caution, the Dinan oil cooler is seriously way cool! (By the way, Party A's 335i has a factory oil cooler with Dinan software, so it's probably make something north of 350 horsepuppies. It IS running somewhere over 210 degrees, but even a 130-mph run through the desert---I'M MAKING THIS UP, MR. POLICEMAN!---doesn't push it past 250.)
Just to clarify: Water boils at 212 °F (at sea level), not coolant. A 50-50 mix of coolant and water has a boiling point around 225 °F. The actual boiling point in the engine is significantly higher because the system operates above atmospheric pressure, raising the boiling point. (This is why radiator caps bear the "DO NOT OPEN WHEN HOT" warning. Releasing the pressure lowers the b.p. below the temperature of the coolant, which instantly and explosively boils.) To the OP: At only 5,000 miles per year your maintenance routine will be more time-based than mileage-based. Be sure go with the shorter of time or mileage intervals for any service items that give you a choice. You might even want to mention the low expected mileage when requesting the schedule, in case it matters. I would confirm the gauge limit for you Satch but I can't see the boat from here. Due to make port tomorrow, though!
What? no water temp gauge? What were they thinking? Must be time for one of those pillar mounted gauges. My 750iL is exactly the opposite - has the water temperature gauge but no oil temperature gauge. The E32's high powered stablemate, the E34 M5 had an oil temperature gauge in place of the vaccuum gauge all non-M E34's and all E32's got. The E32 and E34 shared quite a number of parts, including some instrument clusters. Still, an oil temperature gauge would have been useful in my car, although it does have a fairly competent cooling system, plastic water pumps and plastic radiators notwithstanding. Also, the 750iL got a whole host of extra coolers, including, as I recall, an oil cooler and a transmission cooler integrated into the radiator. Plus side to that is some extra cooling capacity. Downside is that it makes replacing the radiator somewhat more expensive and a little more complicated. Thank you again, NotTheStig!
You're welcome, no charge. Gotta love warning labels that arise from science rather than litigation. It's a shame gauges are all but extinct. How am I supposed to feel like Tom Swift in His Electric Runabout without lots of gauges?
Now it's my turn to return the favor: interesting oil temp gauge retrofit for E32/E34 Enjoy! So now I can have an oil temperature, oil pressure gauge AND a temperature gauge, without any apparent modifications to the cluster itself! I will definitely be considering this mod. All of this very factory looking! http://twrite.org/shogunnew/upgrades&fun/gauges.html
