How to know if your engine is warmed up!! - BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum

silverado · 07-11-2005, 10:26 AM

I discovered today that the tachometer has a way of telling you if the engine temperature is cold or if it is running at normal temerature! I don't know if this is new or it has been posted before, but I didn't find it when searching and it is not in the user's manual.

The red line in the tachometer in my 330i starts at 7000 rpm. However, there are a number of small lines that go from ~6750 to 7000.

When you first start the car after a long stop, these series of lines are red. After a while, they turn white! I am pretty sure this means that the temperature is now normal!! I'm psyched... now I will know when the engine is warmed up and can safely start stepping on it!

So essentially the car can tell you about three temperature levels: cold, normal and too high. The letter would be conveyed using a warning light. Not like a dedicated temp gauge, but not too bad!

YYdoodle · 07-11-2005, 11:15 AM

First time I've seen this mentioned anywhere.. if you're indeed right, that's an awesome find! Thanks!

itznin · 07-11-2005, 11:27 AM

This is in fact correct, check the below thread:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95483

silverado · 07-11-2005, 11:32 AM

itznin,

That thread suggested that the tachometer has the M-style temp indications (which I haven't seen), but the E90 doesn't do it that way (and the thread says that a dealer denied that this feature is in the E90). However, this got me looking closely at the tachometer and I noticed the behavior I described in both threads.

itznin · 07-11-2005, 11:34 AM

Yeah it was your post on bimmerfest that shed the light on it I should have realized that LOL, my bad!

romeo26 · 07-11-2005, 11:41 AM

can yo post pics of this?

john4.4x5 · 07-11-2005, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silverado

The red line in the tachometer in my 330i starts at 7000 rpm. However, there are a number of small lines that go from ~6750 to 7000.

When you first start the car after a long stop, these series of lines are red. After a while, they turn white! I am pretty sure this means that the temperature is now normal!! I'm psyched... now I will know when the engine is warmed up and can safely start stepping on it!

So essentially the car can tell you about three temperature levels: cold, normal and too high. The letter would be conveyed using a warning light. Not like a dedicated temp gauge, but not too bad!

OMG! Great Find!!

:rocks:

nexus66 · 07-11-2005, 11:47 AM

I seem to remember hearing something about this only being enabled on 330's, not on any of the other engines.

Anyone confirm or deny this??

Robin Hood · 07-11-2005, 11:52 AM

Nice find indeed. But the lines are rather tiny, unlike my former M3 which has the(already posted) red squares/M-style indications.

So it's not quite noticable. But it's there though.

silverado · 07-11-2005, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by romeo26

can yo post pics of this?

I will try to take pictures later today.

gtaste · 07-11-2005, 12:58 PM

The e46 temp indicator is still based on water temp gauge which is a dummy gauge. If this is the case for e90, this is still pretty useless.

silverado · 07-11-2005, 01:45 PM

Ahem, cough, ummm

Well, I may have made a "slight" mistake here. I based what I said on what I saw this morning. I started the car up in my garage and looked at this, it looked quite red to me. It is also sitting in a groove that goes all the way around the tachometer range and the piece with these lines on it look like it can move (in a way similar to how the cruise control speed indicator can move). I then looked at it several minutes later while I was driving and it was white.

I am now thinking I may have been fooled by the VERY amber instrument panel lighting that came on in the garage because my light switch was in the Auto position. I will double check again tonight after I let the car cool completely.

But my enthusiasm is waning. Sorry if I got other people's hopes up

ldpantoja · 07-11-2005, 01:50 PM

I don't know if I am just blind but I don't see the lines

silverado · 07-11-2005, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ldpantoja

I don't know if I am just blind but I don't see the lines

You can see the lines I'm talking about in the attached image, above where the arrow is pointing.

ward · 07-11-2005, 02:15 PM

those are white all the time

silverado · 07-11-2005, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ward

those are white all the time

Not at night, when the instrument panel is lit, they aren't

Too bad I don't have the thread delete privilege!

kronzprinz · 07-11-2005, 02:36 PM

i say just give a couple of mins... unless you're gonna keep the car forever, then give it five mins

ldpantoja · 07-11-2005, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silverado

You can see the lines I'm talking about in the attached image, above where the arrow is pointing.

lol, Thanks for attaching that pic Silverado. I had seen them b4 but as far as I know, they have always been white.

Then again, I was never looking red ones.

john4.4x5 · 07-11-2005, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ldpantoja

lol, Thanks for attaching that pic Silverado. I had seen them b4 but as far as I know, they have always been white.

Then again, I was never looking red ones.

You are not crazy this was a mistake by Silverado.

The "lines" are always white.

benoitch · 07-13-2005, 10:44 PM

Hi guys. I don't know if their always white and I did not notice it myself, but when testing the car yesterday, the sales rep told me that some "ticks" move around the tachy to indicate engine temperature. Litteraly, he said the "redline" moves downward when the engine is cold and moves towards the 7000 when heating up. Like I said, I haven't witness it myself. What I am wondering now is if this is true, does the actual engine redline change or is it only the marker without any effect on the rpm limiter. I assume the later is the right answer, but maybe someone can verify this. However, I guess you would need to get the car cold enough which might be hard this time of year.

Regards
Benoit

PS: Maybe will order my E90 tomorrow or really soon (SP,NAV?, Terra, Artic). Still love my E46 xi though

George Chronis · 07-13-2005, 11:25 PM

Mine are always white (even in the morning), but it's 70 degrees out here in the morning, so it may not be cold enough.

tartopomme · 07-29-2005, 06:45 PM

Do you have an indicator around the speedometer for the max rev when the engine is cold (like the cruise control) ?

07-11-2005, 10:26 AM	#1
silverado Lieutenant Drives: E90 330i Join Date: May 2005 Location: Boston Posts: 590 iTrader: (0)	How to know if your engine is warmed up!! I discovered today that the tachometer has a way of telling you if the engine temperature is cold or if it is running at normal temerature! I don't know if this is new or it has been posted before, but I didn't find it when searching and it is not in the user's manual. The red line in the tachometer in my 330i starts at 7000 rpm. However, there are a number of small lines that go from ~6750 to 7000. When you first start the car after a long stop, these series of lines are red. After a while, they turn white! I am pretty sure this means that the temperature is now normal!! I'm psyched... now I will know when the engine is warmed up and can safely start stepping on it! So essentially the car can tell you about three temperature levels: cold, normal and too high. The letter would be conveyed using a warning light. Not like a dedicated temp gauge, but not too bad! __________________ E90 330i \| Sapphire Black \| Black Dakota \| Burl Walnut \| 6 speed Manual \| Sports \| Premium \| Cold Weather \| PDC \| iDrive \| Sirius Last edited by silverado; 07-11-2005 at 10:59 AM.
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07-11-2005, 11:32 AM	#4
silverado Lieutenant Drives: E90 330i Join Date: May 2005 Location: Boston Posts: 590 iTrader: (0)	itznin, That thread suggested that the tachometer has the M-style temp indications (which I haven't seen), but the E90 doesn't do it that way (and the thread says that a dealer denied that this feature is in the E90). However, this got me looking closely at the tachometer and I noticed the behavior I described in both threads. __________________ E90 330i \| Sapphire Black \| Black Dakota \| Burl Walnut \| 6 speed Manual \| Sports \| Premium \| Cold Weather \| PDC \| iDrive \| Sirius

07-11-2005, 01:45 PM	#12
silverado Lieutenant Drives: E90 330i Join Date: May 2005 Location: Boston Posts: 590 iTrader: (0)	Ahem, cough, ummm Well, I may have made a "slight" mistake here. I based what I said on what I saw this morning. I started the car up in my garage and looked at this, it looked quite red to me. It is also sitting in a groove that goes all the way around the tachometer range and the piece with these lines on it look like it can move (in a way similar to how the cruise control speed indicator can move). I then looked at it several minutes later while I was driving and it was white. I am now thinking I may have been fooled by the VERY amber instrument panel lighting that came on in the garage because my light switch was in the Auto position. I will double check again tonight after I let the car cool completely. But my enthusiasm is waning. Sorry if I got other people's hopes up __________________ E90 330i \| Sapphire Black \| Black Dakota \| Burl Walnut \| 6 speed Manual \| Sports \| Premium \| Cold Weather \| PDC \| iDrive \| Sirius Last edited by silverado; 07-11-2005 at 02:08 PM.

07-11-2005, 01:50 PM	#13
ldpantoja Lieutenant Drives: 330i (E90) Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Germany Posts: 585 iTrader: (0)	I don't know if I am just blind but I don't see the lines __________________ P's Little Ride 2006 330i / SG / SP / NAV

07-13-2005, 11:25 PM	#21
George Chronis Private First Class Drives: 330i 2006 Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Columbia, MO Posts: 73 iTrader: (0)	Mine are always white (even in the morning), but it's 70 degrees out here in the morning, so it may not be cold enough. __________________ http://cybergeorge.net/

07-11-2005, 11:15 AM	#2
YYdoodle Captain Drives: E92 M3 fanatic Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: MD Posts: 666 iTrader: (0)	First time I've seen this mentioned anywhere.. if you're indeed right, that's an awesome find! Thanks!

07-11-2005, 11:27 AM	#3
itznin Captain Drives: 2007 E92 Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: North NJ Posts: 674 iTrader: (2)	This is in fact correct, check the below thread: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95483

07-11-2005, 11:34 AM	#5
itznin Captain Drives: 2007 E92 Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: North NJ Posts: 674 iTrader: (2)	Yeah it was your post on bimmerfest that shed the light on it I should have realized that LOL, my bad!

07-11-2005, 11:41 AM	#6
romeo26 First Lieutenant Drives: e30 325 (no lette) Join Date: May 2005 Location: anaheim, cali Posts: 348 iTrader: (0)	can yo post pics of this?

07-11-2005, 11:47 AM	#8
nexus66 Second Lieutenant Drives: 325iSE Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Scotland Posts: 229 iTrader: (0)	I seem to remember hearing something about this only being enabled on 330's, not on any of the other engines. Anyone confirm or deny this??

07-11-2005, 11:52 AM	#9
Robin Hood S0THPAW Drives: F10 535i/ F30 335i 6MT ordered Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: The Netherlands, Europe Posts: 2,973 iTrader: (0)	Nice find indeed. But the lines are rather tiny, unlike my former M3 which has the(already posted) red squares/M-style indications. So it's not quite noticable. But it's there though.

07-11-2005, 12:58 PM	#11
gtaste Enlisted Member Drives: E46 ///M3 Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 25 iTrader: (0)	The e46 temp indicator is still based on water temp gauge which is a dummy gauge. If this is the case for e90, this is still pretty useless.

07-11-2005, 02:15 PM	#15
ward Lieutenant General Drives: F Join Date: May 2005 Location: T Posts: 6,184 iTrader: (0)	those are white all the time

07-11-2005, 02:36 PM	#17
kronzprinz Second Lieutenant Drives: 2008 M3 Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: EASTCOAST Posts: 289 iTrader: (0)	i say just give a couple of mins... unless you're gonna keep the car forever, then give it five mins

07-13-2005, 10:44 PM	#20
benoitch Captain Drives: E90 330i Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Great white North of Montreal Posts: 960 iTrader: (0)	Hi guys. I don't know if their always white and I did not notice it myself, but when testing the car yesterday, the sales rep told me that some "ticks" move around the tachy to indicate engine temperature. Litteraly, he said the "redline" moves downward when the engine is cold and moves towards the 7000 when heating up. Like I said, I haven't witness it myself. What I am wondering now is if this is true, does the actual engine redline change or is it only the marker without any effect on the rpm limiter. I assume the later is the right answer, but maybe someone can verify this. However, I guess you would need to get the car cold enough which might be hard this time of year. Regards Benoit PS: Maybe will order my E90 tomorrow or really soon (SP,NAV?, Terra, Artic). Still love my E46 xi though

07-29-2005, 06:45 PM	#22
tartopomme Private First Class Drives: 335i E92 Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: FRANCE Posts: 68 iTrader: (0)	Do you have an indicator around the speedometer for the max rev when the engine is cold (like the cruise control) ?