The Z4 on track and oil temps - What have people discovered?

D

DaveP

Member
 Norfolk/London
I track my Z4 3.0i, and the lack of info about oil temps bothers me a bit. It bothers me to the extent that I'll probably fit one of these (https://shop.sorek.uk/products/gauge-s-standalone-bmw-e46-e39-m3-can-obd-2007-car-mx5-nc-nd-racing-analog) to monitor it. Before I go the whole hog and spend £300+ on a gauge, I thought I'd poll the general wisdom and see if I can shortcut straight to fitting a thermostatic oil cooler.

Has anyone with a Z4 monitored oil temps on track, particularly during extended sessions? If so, what sort of numbers did you see?

Has anyone fitted a thermostatic oil cooler to an M54B30? If so, what kit did you use and where did you mount it?
 
I don’t have answers to your track temp question, but I have spent a bunch of time looking at oil coolers as my M54B30 is supercharged.

Firstly, that gauge you’ve linked to I don’t think will work as you car is (I’m assuming) pre 07 given it’s a 3.0i and not and Si. The OBD in your car, just like mine, doesn’t send oil temp easily and off the shelf plug ins like this haven’t worked for me (I’ve tried many).

As for a cooler, mixed opinions, but broadly, any rad will do. The Mocal 19 row one seems popular - https://mattlewisracing.co.uk/products/mocal-19-row-oil-cooler?variant=44207758213436 and fitting in front of the existing rad seems easy and common.

For the filter/sensor housing, if you go with no thermostat, then this is a good option https://www.poperformance.co.uk/shop/oil-cooling/21-bmw-filter-cap-oil-cooler-adaptor-3-sensors.html and includes ports for oil temp and pressure senders to link to internal gauges.

For one with a thermostat, give this a read https://e46racer.com/oil-cooler-mod-330ci/ - the guy talks about some people fitting the oil filter housing of the S50B30 e36 M3 which seems to be compatible with the M54B30. I’ve not found another viable option for a thermostat driven housing yet, so can’t offer any other suggestions.
 
Worcester_spoon said:
I don’t have answers to your track temp question, but I have spent a bunch of time looking at oil coolers as my M54B30 is supercharged.

Firstly, that gauge you’ve linked to I don’t think will work as you car is (I’m assuming) pre 07 given it’s a 3.0i and not and Si. The OBD in your car, just like mine, doesn’t send oil temp easily and off the shelf plug ins like this haven’t worked for me (I’ve tried many).

As for a cooler, mixed opinions, but broadly, any rad will do. The Mocal 19 row one seems popular - https://mattlewisracing.co.uk/products/mocal-19-row-oil-cooler?variant=44207758213436 and fitting in front of the existing rad seems easy and common.

For the filter/sensor housing, if you go with no thermostat, then this is a good option https://www.poperformance.co.uk/shop/oil-cooling/21-bmw-filter-cap-oil-cooler-adaptor-3-sensors.html and includes ports for oil temp and pressure senders to link to internal gauges.

For one with a thermostat, give this a read https://e46racer.com/oil-cooler-mod-330ci/ - the guy talks about some people fitting the oil filter housing of the S50B30 e36 M3 which seems to be compatible with the M54B30. I’ve not found another viable option for a thermostat driven housing yet, so can’t offer any other suggestions.
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The plan for that gauge was to run a Bosch Motorport temp/pressure sender off a specially tapped Vanos banjo bolt replacement, which would feed the gauge just fine. Changing the oil filter cap felt like a lot of hassle to run a gauge. If oil temp was on OBD, life would be a lot easier.

I think I'd probably change the oil filter cap for the sake of running an oil cooler, as that looks to be the path of least resistance. But hopefully the banjo bolt would be fine for just running a gauge.

The thing I'm most interested in is what sort of temps I can expect on track. I might do a bit of digging with the 330ci trackday lot to see what they are getting to.
 
futureZ4buyer said:
You can see what Sreten from M539 restorations (youtube) has done to his 330. He has gauges and oil cooler.
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That was part of what motivated me, and the company supplying the gauge are the same one as he used. But he's also prone to overkill, so I'm trying to figure out where the sweet spot is.
 
DaveP said:
Has anyone with a Z4 monitored oil temps on track, particularly during extended sessions? If so, what sort of numbers did you see?
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Mine is N52 so I was able to fit an OBD gauge like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B081Q33J4M (and wedge it between the clocks).

In the last few seconds of this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6oin4zmtKU you can see it reading 125ºC oil temp which is as high as I've seen it. To the point where I don't even look at it any more. My last race was 75 minutes.
[youtube]R6oin4zmtKU[/youtube]
 
Liam22 said:
DaveP said:
Has anyone with a Z4 monitored oil temps on track, particularly during extended sessions? If so, what sort of numbers did you see?
Click to expand...
Mine is N52 so I was able to fit an OBD gauge like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B081Q33J4M (and wedge it between the clocks).

In the last few seconds of this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6oin4zmtKU you can see it reading 125ºC oil temp which is as high as I've seen it. To the point where I don't even look at it any more. My last race was 75 minutes.
[youtube]R6oin4zmtKU[/youtube]
Click to expand...
Good stuff, that's encouraging! I've got 2 days on the Ring in September, and the last thing I want is my sessions cut short because I'm managing oil temps. Are you running a cooler?
 
DaveP said:
Are you running a cooler?
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Just the little water-to-oil heat exchanger on the oil filter housing (https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=DU53-USA-10-2006-E86-BMW-Z4_30si&diagId=11_3753 part 9). Not sure if M54 has the same.
 
Liam22 said:
DaveP said:
Are you running a cooler?
Click to expand...
Just the little water-to-oil heat exchanger on the oil filter housing (https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=DU53-USA-10-2006-E86-BMW-Z4_30si&diagId=11_3753 part 9). Not sure if M54 has the same.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately it looks like the M54 setup is slightly different, which is a shame. I'm convincing myself just to chuck in a gauge, and to suck it and see. At least there's plenty of opportunity for cooling on the longer straights at the Ring. I'm probably only going to be doing 3-4 lap sessions anyway, so nowhere close to your race length.

Keen to hear from some M54 folk for a bit of balance.
 
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