Home Forums Articles How To's FAQ Register
Go Back   Xoutpost.com > BMW SAV Forums > X5 (E53) Forum
Fluid Motor Union
User Name
Password
Member List Premier Membership Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Xoutpost server transfer and maintenance is occurring....
Xoutpost is currently undergoing a planned server migration.... stay tuned for new developments.... sincerely, the management


Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 01-29-2020, 11:17 AM
crystalworks's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: SA, TX
Posts: 6,414
crystalworks is on a distinguished road
Cabin Heat Climate Control Experiment

This thread is probably only going to be of interest to Andrew and I but not wanting to derail X5M-ISH's thread (lol further) figured I'd start this one. Disclaimer: this flies in the face of the scientific method and calling it an "experiment" is probably being very generous.

Okay, so on the school run this morning I figured I'd run test the heat on our E61 530xi because I was sure it could hit really uncomfortable cabin temps if desired. Spoiler, it can. This car has had a cooling system overhaul in the last 3000 miles. Water pump, thermostat, all hoses, etc. The total school run is ~45 minutes most days. Today's ambient air was 43F and interior cabin temp when I started the car was 44F. I do not use auto climate. Never have.

Climate settings:
- Recirc (on)
- Temp dials on both sides (full hot, 85F I think is max)
- Vent distribution (top 25%, dash 50%, footwell 100%)
- Blower motor fan speed (50%)
- Rear climate full open and full heat

So that sets the "mood" for the experiment. After the car engine warmed up I turned the system on (about 10min into the trip). Car started to warm up, glass started to fog so I had to use the defroster 3 times with short blasts of about a minute. Had to use the rear defroster once for a few minutes.

After the system had been on for about 5 minutes I started taking temps at stop lights and then when I got to the school drop off (~30 minutes in). I called the experiment after dropping my daughter off because I was starting to sweat. Below are SURFACE temps of different areas around the car. I had the dash vents pointed as upwards as possible as the air coming out was uncomfortable (very). These temperatures would have kept climbing if I could have done the experiment in my skivvies. But in the interest of not going to jail, I went in a pair of light sweats, Tshirt, and hoodie so I had to call it off as I couldn't take anymore. My daughter was like a pig in sh^t and loved it.

149F - Center dash vents
139F - Driver dash vent
130F - Passenger dash vent
109F - Front of headliner where overhead console is
92F - Front pano roof sunshade
83F - Rear pano roof sunshade
98F - Front passenger floorboard
88F - Front passenger seat
90F - Rear bottom bench seat in front of climate controls
86F - Rear backrest of back seat in middle

I don't know what max temps can be reached/sustained in auto climate mode. If I had the blower higher maybe the temps would have risen faster? But, this has been my experience with all the BMW's I've owned. They can put out some heat.
__________________
2005 X5 4.4i Build 04/05 Maintenance/Build Log
Nav, Pano, Sport (Purchased 06/14 w/ 109,000 miles) (Sold 8/15 w/121,000 miles)


2006 X5 4.8is Build 11/05 Maintenance/Build Log
Nav, DSP, Pano, Running Boards, OEM Tow Hitch, Cold Weather Pckg (Purchased 08/15 w/ 90,500 miles)

2010 X5 35d Build 02/10
Nav, HiFi, 6 DVD, Sports Pckg, Cold Weather Pckg, HUD, CAS, Running Boards, Leather Dash, PDC, Pano (Purchased 03/17 w/ 136,120 miles)
Reply With Quote

Sponsored Links

  #2  
Old 01-29-2020, 12:07 PM
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 816
Effduration is on a distinguished road
Any warmer and you could roast a pig in there!
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 01-29-2020, 12:53 PM
EODguy's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Saudi Arabia/Philippines/USA
Posts: 3,831
EODguy is on a distinguished road
1st in Saudi Arabia that's comfortable.

2nd roast pork....

3rd if you're ever having a pork bbq the white X5 will be flying this...

Sent from my SM-A730F using Tapatalk
__________________
"When the Team Chief said.... You're trapped in a hole with nothing but a goat and a slinky, what do you do? Stubby said, I'm not sure but it won't end well for the goat...." ~(Overheard) Last day, Phase 3, Q Course
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 01-29-2020, 10:16 PM
andrewwynn's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Racine, WI
Posts: 10,817
andrewwynn will become famous soon enough
Thanks for all the detail. I'm betting the 5 series has the same heater cores as the X5 and half the cabin space. I used to have z28 with a very similar motor and heater / Ac as the Chevy suburban. I could keep warm with the top down at 45-50° ambient.

Why not use the auto temp control ? I find the BMW climate control does a very good job especially in that it knows not to blow cold air before the engine is at least a little warm , and knows to use recirc air with ac to defrost when temp is high enough for evaporator not to freeze.

Funny about the daughter probably wondering if can it go higher.

Even though the 5 series is smaller air space it does seem pretty possible to get the cabin up to 85, which does surprise me. I did get close on my 30 minute test.
__________________
2011 E70 • N55 (me)
2012 E70 • N63 (wife)
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 01-30-2020, 02:19 AM
crystalworks's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: SA, TX
Posts: 6,414
crystalworks is on a distinguished road
I'm talking about the 5 series wagon (e61). I believe it actually has more interior volume than the e53 x5. That's the way it feels anyway, I am having a hard time finding figures though. Only the larger cargo dimensions of the wagon.

I'm not sure why I've never used the auto feature. I think a large part of it is the car's tendency (any marque, not just BMW) to blast you with full blower upon initial startup of the climate control. Haven't used it in e36, e46, e39, e53, or e61. I've read in newer idrives you can limit the max blower speed in auto setting. That sounds great.

I'll repeat this in the e53 at some point but I'm pretty sure the results will be similar. I have yet to be in a BMW that couldn't burn my hands at the vents. So long as it was functioning properly that is.

Quote:
Originally Posted by andrewwynn View Post
Thanks for all the detail. I'm betting the 5 series has the same heater cores as the X5 and half the cabin space. I used to have z28 with a very similar motor and heater / Ac as the Chevy suburban. I could keep warm with the top down at 45-50° ambient.

Why not use the auto temp control ? I find the BMW climate control does a very good job especially in that it knows not to blow cold air before the engine is at least a little warm , and knows to use recirc air with ac to defrost when temp is high enough for evaporator not to freeze.

Funny about the daughter probably wondering if can it go higher.

Even though the 5 series is smaller air space it does seem pretty possible to get the cabin up to 85, which does surprise me. I did get close on my 30 minute test.
__________________
2005 X5 4.4i Build 04/05 Maintenance/Build Log
Nav, Pano, Sport (Purchased 06/14 w/ 109,000 miles) (Sold 8/15 w/121,000 miles)


2006 X5 4.8is Build 11/05 Maintenance/Build Log
Nav, DSP, Pano, Running Boards, OEM Tow Hitch, Cold Weather Pckg (Purchased 08/15 w/ 90,500 miles)

2010 X5 35d Build 02/10
Nav, HiFi, 6 DVD, Sports Pckg, Cold Weather Pckg, HUD, CAS, Running Boards, Leather Dash, PDC, Pano (Purchased 03/17 w/ 136,120 miles)
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 01-30-2020, 09:43 AM
andrewwynn's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Racine, WI
Posts: 10,817
andrewwynn will become famous soon enough
The e53 is a little better than most with the blast full speed issue. You can avoid the blast two ways: either bump the fan speed down a couple notches during the initial warming phase than hit the auto button, or do what I do, set the initial temp lower than final and bump it up as the car warms.

Example; car will be set to 73 from the last drive, but the fan won't blow for the first few minutes while engine is warming up.

I will set the temp down to 68, that's usually enough to get the fan speed to be reasonable. Once the temp gets closer to 68, the slows down and I can bump it up.

The second method works best because it will use a faster fan speed initially just reduced from full speed.

The same works in reverse to cool. Set the temp to 78 until the fan starts to slow, the fan will run about 75% speed v. 100% it's a huge improvement.
__________________
2011 E70 • N55 (me)
2012 E70 • N63 (wife)
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 01-30-2020, 05:57 PM
Qsilver7's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Indiana, USA
Posts: 3,516
Qsilver7 is on a distinguished road
In the winter...the BMW IHKA control panel will not blow air at max speed (or at all) onto the passengers until the engine warms up enough to at least blow warm air into the cabin. It's called the cold start arrest...see info below which mentions the e38...but this carries over ot the IHKA systems used in the e39 & e53 (generational cousins):


__________________
Become a BMW CCA member! Click HERE to join and feel free to use my BMW CCA member #191509 as a referral.
  • 2015 f06 650ix GC (Moonstone exterior/Cohiba brown Merino Leather interior)
  • 2014 f15 X5 50i (Space Gray exterior/Mocha Nappa Leather interior)
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 01-30-2020, 08:29 PM
andrewwynn's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Racine, WI
Posts: 10,817
andrewwynn will become famous soon enough
call stirred arrest is one of the best features in any car of ever. doing my test the other day at 85 setting on the dashboard I also noticed the fan will not go to full speed. probably to keep the temperature coming out hotter as opposed to when using air conditioner the fan will come on at full speed
__________________
2011 E70 • N55 (me)
2012 E70 • N63 (wife)
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 01-30-2020, 08:56 PM
crystalworks's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: SA, TX
Posts: 6,414
crystalworks is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by Qsilver7 View Post
In the winter...the BMW IHKA control panel will not blow air at max speed (or at all) onto the passengers until the engine warms up enough to at least blow warm air into the cabin. It's called the cold start arrest...see info below which mentions the e38...but this carries over ot the IHKA systems used in the e39 & e53 (generational cousins):
Thanks for the info as always Qsilver. Does that same feature apply to "hot" starts for AC? I stopped using auto in any vehicle quite some time ago, nice to see they have improved on the feature. Maybe I should try it out more often than once every 20 years...
__________________
2005 X5 4.4i Build 04/05 Maintenance/Build Log
Nav, Pano, Sport (Purchased 06/14 w/ 109,000 miles) (Sold 8/15 w/121,000 miles)


2006 X5 4.8is Build 11/05 Maintenance/Build Log
Nav, DSP, Pano, Running Boards, OEM Tow Hitch, Cold Weather Pckg (Purchased 08/15 w/ 90,500 miles)

2010 X5 35d Build 02/10
Nav, HiFi, 6 DVD, Sports Pckg, Cold Weather Pckg, HUD, CAS, Running Boards, Leather Dash, PDC, Pano (Purchased 03/17 w/ 136,120 miles)
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 01-31-2020, 11:59 AM
Qsilver7's Avatar
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Indiana, USA
Posts: 3,516
Qsilver7 is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by crystalworks View Post
Thanks for the info as always Qsilver. Does that same feature apply to "hot" starts for AC? I stopped using auto in any vehicle quite some time ago, nice to see they have improved on the feature. Maybe I should try it out more often than once every 20 years...
In summer...if the interior is really hot and you have the IHKA in AUTO mode...the blower will usually go to a higher speed due to the solar sensor registering high heat inside the cabin...so the blower will usually turn up to high to help move air through the cabin which is helping in a thermal dynamic way (helping to dissipate radiant heat from the seats/dash surfaces)...as well as trying to get the cabin to the set temp on the display as fast as the system can. Once the cabin temp comes into range, then the fan speed will slow down.


See info below on how the e38/e39/e53 w/solar sensors affects the IHKA operation when in AUTO mode (the e38/e39/e53 models w/solar sensors have the IHKA control panel with the MAX button):


__________________
Become a BMW CCA member! Click HERE to join and feel free to use my BMW CCA member #191509 as a referral.
  • 2015 f06 650ix GC (Moonstone exterior/Cohiba brown Merino Leather interior)
  • 2014 f15 X5 50i (Space Gray exterior/Mocha Nappa Leather interior)

Last edited by Qsilver7; 01-31-2020 at 12:37 PM.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On





All times are GMT -4. The time now is 06:53 PM.
vBulletin, Copyright 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. SEO by vBSEO 3.6.0
© 2017 Xoutpost.com. All rights reserved. Xoutpost.com is a private enthusiast site not associated with BMW AG.
The BMW name, marks, M stripe logo, and Roundel logo as well as X3, X5 and X6 designations used in the pages of this Web Site are the property of BMW AG.
This web site is not sponsored or affiliated in any way with BMW AG or any of its subsidiaries.