How to treat engine well?

James93 · Post by **James93** » Thu May 21, 2020 8:25 pm

How do people treat their cars before and after giving it a blast? At the moment I’ve been letting the water temperature gauge reach halfway and then waiting about 10 - 15 minutes before using the Rev range because who knows how long the oil needs??, I’ve then been driving it slowly for 20 minutes or so at the end of the drive to let the engine relax a little bit before letting the car idle for minute or so before switching the engine off... interested to find out what other people do

Cheers,

James

firebobby · Post by **firebobby** » Thu May 21, 2020 10:14 pm

I would let a turbo engine relax after a hard drive, but a NA engine should be fine. I won't rev a cold engine until it's up to temperature.

Smartbear · Post by **Smartbear** » Thu May 21, 2020 10:32 pm

It takes a lot longer for oil to warm up than coolant so waiting a while longer after the temp gauge is normal is a good idea, as Fred says, no need to let a na engine idle before turning off or driving slowly for 20 mins either. Just drive it normally & turn it off when you park

Rob

Mr Tidy · Post by **Mr Tidy** » Thu May 21, 2020 10:59 pm

When I had my 3.0Sis with no dipstick the button on the dash for the oil level didn't work until the engine was up to temperature, typically after 4 or 5 miles, even though the water temperature gauge was showing normal long before that!

My M only has an oil temperature gauge and that takes at least 5 miles to get close to normal so I'd work on 5 miles or more.

But as Rob says there is no need to let an N/A engine like yours idle before turning off.

Vornwend · Post by **Vornwend** » Thu May 21, 2020 11:03 pm

When I had a VW Corrado VR6 I used to let the oil reach normal temperature before going above 3,000 revs. I don't have any way of knowing the oil temperature now so try and hold off giving it any welly for 10 minutes if I can.

scootr · Post by **scootr** » Fri May 22, 2020 12:21 am

I try to let the NA 3l warm up reasonably before gunning it. And I make a policy of never maxing the revs out. She performs quite well without hitting the limits.

buzyg · Post by **buzyg** » Fri May 22, 2020 12:29 am

Happily the ///M has an oil temp gauge, so basically wait until the engine is up to running temp before going above 4k. If I have been pushing on on the way home then I drive up and around the roundabout by the chippy to cool things off, mainly the brakes, before washing her down and putting her back to bed.

I think the round about trip came about after nurburgring, where I used to drive out of the circuit and up and down the road parallel around a couple of round abouts cooling the turbo and brakes in my Fiat Coupe before parking up.

mmm-five · Post by **mmm-five** » Fri May 22, 2020 8:59 am

buzyg wrote: ↑
Fri May 22, 2020 12:29 am
Happily the ///M has an oil temp gauge, so basically wait until the engine is up to running temp before going above 4k. If I have been pushing on on the way home then I drive up and around the roundabout by the chippy to cool things off, mainly the brakes, before washing her down and putting her back to bed.

I think the round about trip came about after nurburgring, where I used to drive out of the circuit and up and down the road parallel around a couple of round abouts cooling the turbo and breaks in my Fiat Coupe before parking up.

Part of the reason that we don't try to stay too close to the Ring, as it gives us 10-20 minutes of steady driving to get the car warmed up, so that if we arrive in perfect time to see the track opening (i.e. not the normal 8am start, but when we know there's going to be a delay due to snow/fog) we can drive straight on and get our early/empty warming up laps in.

brillomaster · Post by **brillomaster** » Fri May 22, 2020 9:40 am

well when i was doing trackdays, generally the 3 sighting laps at the start of the day got the engine warm... then the start of every session do a moderate pace warm up lap, and then give'er hell for 6 laps or so. then always do a cooldown lap (80% throttle, 50% braking effort is what i normally tell people - its mainly for the brakes) and then come in and switch off.

engine seemed happy enough with that routine, did a dozen trackdays with no oil usage or anything untoward.

Also, redlining an engine when its up to temperature and has good oil in it really isnt a problem... plus the M54 3.0i really only starts sounding good over 5500rpm... get on a track and drive it properly

James93 · Post by **James93** » Fri May 22, 2020 11:00 am

Thanks guys really helpful and confirmed my thoughts about not trusting the water temp gauge, BMW should have given it an oil temp gauge, in fact all cars should have them especially small engine town cars because the non-mechanically minded people that drive them just put their foot down straight away to get the things moving

steve_naive · Post by **steve_naive** » Fri May 22, 2020 11:58 am

Read something recently about modern cars (so not including the z4, I'm sure) actually benefiting from being revved from cold. Nothing like older engines.

mmm-five · Post by **mmm-five** » Fri May 22, 2020 12:21 pm

steve_naive wrote: ↑
Fri May 22, 2020 11:58 am
Read something recently about modern cars (so not including the z4, I'm sure) actually benefiting from being revved from cold. Nothing like older engines.

Not 'revved the nuts off from cold' I assume...but rather get in and drive them, instead of letting them sit on the drive idling to warm up.

buzyg · Post by **buzyg** » Fri May 22, 2020 12:43 pm

steve_naive wrote: ↑
Fri May 22, 2020 11:58 am
Read something recently about modern cars (so not including the z4, I'm sure) actually benefiting from being revved from cold. Nothing like older engines.

Some context might be useful with this. Other wise it a bit like saying. Man can live on Mars.

R60BBA · Post by **R60BBA** » Fri May 22, 2020 1:08 pm

Quite simple to be honest:

Let the car idle about 1/2 mins before driving off

Stay below 3,000 rpm until the engine is up to operating temperature

Avoid full throttle until the engine is up to operating temperature (e.g. do not floor it to 3,000 rpm and then change gear, instead gradually build up speed with a light foot)

Once the car is warm, accelerate up to mid revs, then come off, then accelerate up to 3/4 revs, then come off and then accelerate to the redline (note this is not necessary but just good practice; think of it like jogging before fully sprinting on the football pitch)

Cool down the car after a blast (not necessary for naturally aspirated engines but good practice)

Use good quality fuel, ideally super unleaded (I personally use V-Power but Tesco Momentum is also recommended)

Change the oil every 6,000 miles, and ensure a premium fully synthetic is used (I personally use Castrol however this may different for your motor, check your owner’s manual)

Avoid short trips (if you can)

Take the car for an Italian tune up at least once per month if the car is not driven that often

Check your oil level every month or so

It looks like a long list but will soon become second nature.

steve_naive · Post by **steve_naive** » Fri May 22, 2020 2:24 pm

buzyg wrote: ↑
Fri May 22, 2020 12:43 pm

steve_naive wrote: ↑
Fri May 22, 2020 11:58 am
Read something recently about modern cars (so not including the z4, I'm sure) actually benefiting from being revved from cold. Nothing like older engines.
Some context might be useful with this. Other wise it a bit like saying. Man can live on Mars.

I can confirm that man in fact cannot live on Mars.

Other than that, I have no more info to share. Cant remember where I read it. It wasn't just some fella though.

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