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Quote:

Originally Posted by Joshdub (Post 1099720)

Is that Lake Tahoe?

Green Valley Lake (Southern cali)

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrewwynn (Post 1099672)

Apparently more related than you think. My mpg jumped 15% immediately upon replacing thermostat. With the defective t-stat, my fake gauge stood at perfect noon any time the ambient temp was over about 40-50°. When it was zero outside the coolant temp never made it to 140 and that was the only time the "gauge" gave me any useful information.

The cabin temp of 10° was more direct feedback

A working "gauge" works exactly as I described: see the thread here: temp gauge observations - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums

This is for the e46, I'm not sure exactly the buffer values for x5 but it's similar.

The coolant temperature "indicator" (most definitely not a gauge) snaps to noon at 75°C and stays stuck at noon until the temp hits 115°C.

167F is not remotely "normal operating temp" and I was told the engine won't kick into closed loop at that temp, the immediate jump of 15% in mpg seems to follow that logic though it could be some other factor of course.

I just know that I drove my e53 many 1000s of miles with coolant temps below 80°C and got terrible mileage. My wife's clone x5 got 23 highway and I got 20-21. Until I replaced the tstat and instantly mine nearly matched hers and I would get 22-23 avg at 75mph.

Not arguing exactly what cause and effect make my mpg horrible but it was 100% the fault of the idiotic temp "indicator" that stays the same for 40°C. (72°F).

It cost me $100s in wasted gas ⛽️ and frozen body during 5-6 trips to/from Chicago when ambient was zero F and I could not warm the cabin above freezing. I had to stop every 20 miles to let the engine warm up enough to get any heat in the cabin and keep the engine running. (At one point the needle pegged high and the elec. fan kicked on: opened the hood and hand on the radiator hose confirmed engine was cool).

Anyhow done with my rant: as soon as possible I will reprogram my temp indicator to have non moronic buffer values like 90-100C.

Cheers.

Not challenging your particular gauge being off, just that a properly working gauge doesn't sit at noon when the coolant temp is 140. And, that your issue is not a chronic problem with e53 coolant gauges. Needs to be put into perspective. I assume there is some margin of error for the gauge but not 50 degrees. More perspective, if you are driving from Racine to Chicago and the temp problem ran up the cost hundreds of dollars it must have been by way of Denver. I would be fixing the problem before I got to Chicago the first time if I was in a cabin cold enough to kill bacteria, better cold tolerance than me.

I could tell if engine was below 150 or maybe even 160, the problem was it never got to operating temp unless the ambient was about 90°F. For many months the ambient temp was high enough for the engine to hit the magic buffer zone of 160° to tell me "all good" but the engine performs poorly at 160F.

I bought the car in April and the problem didn't show up until December when ambient was cold enough to keep coolant temp below 160 but by then it couldn't even keep it 100. I drove dozens of times between child of and Racine not knowing my coolant was 20-30° too low because of the buffer on the temp "estimator" on the dash telling me the engine was at operating temp for multiple 1000s of miles.

I managed to knock out a handful of things this weekend:

Installed the auto-open hatch mod
Got PA Soft working and recoded my headlights
Interior detail
Used Mother's back to black on my roof rails. Awful results (streaking, spotting, poor color) but enough scrubbing got me back to my starting position.

Oil change, new air filter and tire rotation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jljljl (Post 1099704)

Hey RB,

thoughts on Rotella T6? I've been using mobil 1 for my oil.

and any steps for mid winter cleanup?

Hey man - Mike posted some great results and I've been using it on my engine for about 25k miles and absolutely floored with it. On our trucks I think a 40w does better since the motor is moving a heavier vehicle - phenomenal additive package, and extremely awesome oil - don't let the price and the availability at Walmart fool you! This is one of the best oils out there. Getting out of the 5w-30 also keeps it running quieter too imo.

I also use it in my 2011 Triumph Thunderbird 1700cc (great for wet clutches!) and I will start using it in my wife's E70 35D*

*GASP - omg it's not LL04 approved by BMW! Well I could give 2 shits as I don't do longer than 7500 mile intervals anyway - and the SAPS/ash is at 1% (the BMW oil is at .8%) so it will keep the DPF happy for a long life.

Don't want to get in a pissing match about oils or BMW's LL spec but the LL spec is more about long intervals so that they can do bare minimum maintenance under warranty and less about long term engine protection IMO.

I used some wet and dry and cut my headlights as they where in a really bad state! Really yellowy and misty. I spent about two hours on each light and cut them back with 1200, 1500, 2400 and finally 3000 grit. Then used a polishing compound to bring it back to clear. After this, I used some wax to seal it with a bit of rainx in the mix. I would have sprayed them with clear coat anti UV if it where not -2c and I was very cold and tired after all the sanding. Like a dumbass, I don't have a before, but I do have an after pic.

New intake filter - previous owner had some aftermarket filter in there that looked terrible. Never looked to be serviced, worst filter I've ever seen. Replaced with OE Mann intake filter.

Also added trunk springs for the automatic trunk opening option. 2 springs, 10 mins DIY, no rattles.

Replaced the Alternator.

2002 BMW X5 E53 Estoril Blue 4.6is

After a few months collecting and searching for this item "parts"
Its time to install them ...

SuperSprint catback exhaust
Dinan intake with K&N filter
BC coilover
Axle both left n right
Ball joint
Tie rod
Control arm
Window shade clips