how to warm up a 2001 BMW

No one seems to agree on this, and I cannot find any information in the manual - what is the best way to warm up the car?

Since most of the engine wear is while it is warming up, my contention is to warm it up as quickly as possible at low engine load. So I start it up and pretty much start driving slow until the needle is halfway between cold and hot (blue and red). Then I feel free to rev the engine.

Does anyone agree/disagree?

I have a 2001 BMW 325i.

Hi sq-man, I do the same thing as you too. except that i let the engine idle for a about a min ( let the engine oil circulate first ) before i move off in moderate speed until the temp is in the middle.

My recommendation?

Idle for one minute.
Sit in neutral at 1800-2200rpm for 3 minutes.

This should at least get the needle on the gauge. Also gives it enough time for the heat to really kick in and for us lazy types, for our windshields to be near defrosted.

After that after about 2 minutes or so of sane driving, the temp should be near optimal.

i really dont think you have to sit ther with you engine turing 2000 for 2 minutes. like nebular said, sit there for a minute, then just dont rev the engine above 3000 for a while. Holding the engine at 2000 for 3 minutes is the same thing as driving around without reving the engine high for 3 minutes.

I have a 2001 330i and I remember that in the manual, it tells you NOT to warm the car up by just letting it sit there. BMW wants you to first drive around at moderate speed (I'm guessing no more then 4000rpm), and when the needle is back to the middle, then you are free to rev. It's definitely in the manual...I can find the page for you if you still can't find it.

axboi2001x is absolutely right. You do not wanna sit there and let the car idle. BMW recommends that once you start the car, you drive away, that is how you let the engine warm up. I just would keep the revs below 3500 rpm and you should be fine. Thankfully enough BMW engines warm up very quickly so the wait time isn't too bad.

Thank you (above) for bringing this up - this is what I was really wondering - whether it is actually BAD to sit idling. I don't remember reading that in the manual, I'll check again.

I'm sure the transient heat transfer of a modern IC engine is complex, so it difficult to reason this one out. BMW actually has (in the newer models) what they call "engine mapped" cooling - meaning the control algorithms actually have, internally, an analytical/semi-empirical model of the heat transfer of the engine, and use that for optimal heating/cooling. Impressive.

By the way, they don't warm up too quickly in Boston!

What damage could you do to your car revving it a little bit with the needed is closer to the blue?

Revving the engine too high when it is not fully warm will cause premature engine wear on all parts inside the engine that need lubrication, thus shortening the life of your engine and your car.

I turn the car on, drive it and when the needle is moving it is warm... come on guys, its a BMW engine (offspring of the Energizer Bunny), they keep going and going and going.... just don't forget to change the oil.

i am about to be the proud owner of a new 330ci sport and,although this is a slightly different problem to the subject, am slightly concerned about the correct way to insert the key into the lock whilst causing minimal wear and tear.All opinions gratefully received

If you're trying to be a smart-a**,

A. That's pretty funny

but

B. You know nothing about machines.


But still, that's pretty funny.


All of the wear in an engine is when it is heating up - all.
Even BMW engineers are not immune to the laws of heat
transfer.

Originally posted by BELLJ1
i ... am slightly concerned about the correct way to insert the key into the lock whilst causing minimal wear and tear.

ROFLMAOhttp://www.rj3.net/ckb/forums/images/twsmilies/rofl.gif

Anybody ever been in Germany?
I have and still living here. I drive a 95 318i that has over 92tkm (ca.52000miles) No leaks, doesn't burn oil if you follow the service interval and no warm-up. Soon as you start the car you can drive off but until it hits operating temperature (needle at 12o'clock) do not go past 3000RPM. You'll notice this if you happen to own an E46 M3. Says how far you can rev till it hits op-range.

By the way the service interval lights are just there as a measure. Depending on weather conditions and you, you'll have to see how often to change. Every year I change at least 4 times (synthetic, because of thermal breakdown)

Like BMW's MOTTO: Freude am Fahren!!!!

Thanks Ronin. That's the answer I was looking for.

Hi guys, I just bought a 2nd-hand 2001 330Ci Convertible, and I have a little bit of knowledge as to engines, being an engineer and having had a Maserati Biturbo before and also owning a 20 year-old BMW R100RS motorcycle. with over 100,000 miles on the clock and hardly any engine wear.

The problem with letting it sit in idle is, that you might warm up the engine but not the gearbox properly (you are not using it and it has a second oil circuit), so when you then drive away thinking you have warmed up your engine, you might actually cause damage to the gears.

Best really is to start the car and drive away carefully, not revving too much (<30003500rpm) until you have reached about 90C oil temperature (which is somewhat between blue and red.

And just keep changing the oil at the suggest service intervals, sooner if you only commute short distances. Also a nice long distance run every now and then and revving the engine to really heat it up and burn residue keeps and cleaner and eases wear and tear.

SaM

You know the economy sucks when you can get a 2nd hand 2001 already. :)

Question for SmokeandMirrors:

Thanks for the very good response. I noticed you said something interesting..."just keep changing the oil at the suggested intervals,
sooner if you commute short distances (I assume you mean when the engine has not fully warmed up)" I have two questions:

1.) Will the dealership change the oil before the car indicates it's ready?

2.) Doesn't the ECU (or something) automatically adjust that interval based on engine load, environment, etc? I know that when I brought my 2001 325i in for its first oil change the mechanic said that the
oil interval was a little sooner than normal.

Machines taking care of themselves....neat.

PS - I'm also an engineer. (robotics, aero, micromachines)

hi sq_man. thanks for the feedback. I meant what I said and your no.2 question is 100% correct. The MPU calculates all the times it's been started, how long it's been driven, what gear at what rpm and for how long and it measures all these variables and starts shutting your service lights down accordingly.

here in Germany a high mileage (kilometers) car is usually not a factor because it means the car has mostly been on the Autobahn. Not unusual to find a 10 month old car with over 90tkm (about 52Tmiles). That's definitely not achieved through daily shopping at the corner supermarket. Most cars of these type are business cars so they get their normal inspections also.

hi sq_man. thanks for the feedback. I meant what I said and your no.2 question is 100% correct. The MPU calculates all the times it's been started, how long it's been driven, what gear at what rpm and for how long and it measures all these variables and starts shutting your service lights down accordingly.

here in Germany a high mileage (kilometers) car is usually not a factor because it means the car has mostly been on the Autobahn. Not unusual to find a 10 month old car with over 90tkm (about 52Tmiles). That's definitely not achieved through daily shopping at the corner supermarket. Most cars of these type are business cars so they get their normal inspections also.

In fact, idle an engine and just "reving" is terrible for the spark plugs.
Idleing is the fastest way to wear out your spark plugs.

Really? Why?