Normal 4.6 oil temp?

[TerraPhantm]

Hi guys, I've been helping E39 and E38 guys with getting 4.6 and M5 gauge clusters to work with their cars. I've studied the 4.6 software and determined which maps and values allow the proper signals to be sent to the oil temp gauge and lights. So far it seems to be working well, but it seems like the oil temp doesn't go much beyond 75ºC / 165ºF, at least when idling. Do the 4.6s go higher than that?

[jcp240z]

Mine stays about 200 by the gauge, I've never checked on the display

[Gurjit]

my 4.8is when idling never gets above 75c when idling

if the ambient temp is around 10C and im driving hard it will get to 100C

when I cruise on the highway if the ambient temp is around 10C my oil temp will be around 75-80c

[lps5053]

My 4.6is after about a 30-40 minute drive will be just shy of 210 on the gauge which I think is pretty normal.

[mam4.6]

Originally Posted by lps5053

My 4.6is after about a 30-40 minute drive will be just shy of 210 on the gauge which I think is pretty normal.

Exactly same as mine...

[g300d]

I noticed temps to be right around 200 on the gauge as mentioned by many, it would pretty much stay there no matter what when the engine warmed up.

However, I noticed that since I replaced the engine fan clutch, the temp would be more variable now. Cruising on the highway temps get down to 170 or so, up to a high of 200 depending on driving style.

Btw, would you happen to know if it is possible to get the oil temp display working on the 6cyl cars? I've been wanting to get an oil temp read out on the 3.0 and there has been some talk of it being theoretically possible, especially on the E39 forums, but I havent seen anyone actually do it yet.

[TerraPhantm]

Originally Posted by g300d

I noticed temps to be right around 200 on the gauge as mentioned by many, it would pretty much stay there no matter what when the engine warmed up.

However, I noticed that since I replaced the engine fan clutch, the temp would be more variable now. Cruising on the highway temps get down to 170 or so, up to a high of 200 depending on driving style.

Btw, would you happen to know if it is possible to get the oil temp display working on the 6cyl cars? I've been wanting to get an oil temp read out on the 3.0 and there has been some talk of it being theoretically possible, especially on the E39 forums, but I havent seen anyone actually do it yet.

Interesting, I guess we'll get some more data from the E38s and E39s soon. A lot of these cars are older too, so who knows if there's a broken thermostat somewhere or something along those lines.

Re the 6 cylinder -- it's definitely possible to get the oil temperature gauge working. My understanding is that the latest software variants output the message over the can-bus without modification (this is definitely the case on the E46 and E39).

The oil temperature lights are another matter. Those will require either custom software or something like an arduino sitting between the can-bus and DME.

[g300d]

Terra, yes, that would certainly be interesting info. It would help establish a baseline for everyone having to maintain these BMW's. Look forward to see the data you get!

On the oil temp thing, what is done to get the oil temp gauge working for 6cyls? Will that also work for the standard high cluster gauges so the OBC will display oil temp?

[TerraPhantm]

For the oil temp, it should simply be a matter of flashing them to the newest software

[g300d]

Thanks for the insight Terra, will look into that.