[dieselgg]

I had a question; why does it take so long for the N54 to reach operating temperature. I know outside temp has a factor but yesterday it was like about 8 deg C and after driving about 5 minutes at about 60 - 70 km/hr, only then did I see the needle slowly move. I would have thought these engines would reach operating temperature a lot quicker. I guess this is normal with this engine. The winter will be brutal as my drive to work is like 10 or so minutes. I can only drive in circles for so long. Will just have to wait till the weekend to burn off everything from during the week.

[iconfat]

While the car is moving wind is blowing over the rad and keeping the car cool. You're probably going to warm the car up faster by not moving the car and letting it idle.

[vantage_coupe]

I recommend you wait for the idle to settle down a bit (maybe 1-2mins max) and then set off driving gently below 3k rpm (my n54 usually takes 10mins approx to reach operating temp using this method).

[Beemw335]

Idle the car for 30 seconds and then drive it normally. I don't see how thats a problem? Unless your 18 years old and feel like you need to floor it everywhere you go...

[dieselgg]

No, no ... you're not getting the point. I'm not looking to floor it. The issue is as winter rolls around, with only a 10 minute drive to work, I just don't like the idea of the engine barely reaches optimum temperature, ... if that. Lots of acid will be present in the oil, water vapour not being burned off, etc. Anyhow, no big deal, will use the weekend drive to burn everything off. Thanks all for the feedback.

[shaginwagon13]

I've asked the same question regarding the temperature gauge in the car. When I first got the car I initially thought that the sensor or the gauge was broken but if you drive it for around 10 minutes the gauge shows and stays at the proper operating level.

[Chris@codemybimmer]

I have an obd Bluetooth reader that I connect to my car at all times. typically for my n52 it takes 8-10 mins to reach 80 degrees with mild driving

[aleksl]

Originally Posted by iconfat

While the car is moving wind is blowing over the rad and keeping the car cool. You're probably going to warm the car up faster by not moving the car and letting it idle.

This actually does more harm to the engine than if you drive off after 30 seconds and keep the RPMs under 4000 for about 5 minutes.

I think you guys are all confusing the oil temp gauge thats in these cars for water temp. The car reaches its normal operating temp way before the oil needle has moved to it's resting position. Most cars have water temp gauges, BMWs have oil.

Also on my car the needle for oil doesn't even move until it reaches 70C. Think about how hot that is.

[monacoblue335]

My car takes a good 15-25 minutes for the oil to warm up at 80-100 km/hr in the dead of winter.