holymoly243 Posted January 6, 2016 Report Share Posted January 6, 2016 i know these engines run higher than most other cars but i have recently changed the radiator so not sure what the temp was before but i am getting 98-99 no matter what speed i drive, however if i rev over 3500rpm the temp drops a little but apparently once over 3500rpm the ecu tells the thermostat to open, but basically just wondered if them sort of temperatures where correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holymoly243 Posted January 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2016 (edited) i never really checked the temp before the radiator change but i put a circoli thermostat in about 3 month ago and just been reading about them and apparently there rubbish so going to get a wahler one and try that as there supposed to be a lot better or am i just worrying about nothing :/ Edited January 6, 2016 by holymoly243 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan53 Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 sounds alright to me mine is 97 and goes down in hard driving yours is OK but change it if it bothers you they are cheap there's a mod you can do to make the temp gauge accurate for more peace of mind it's on the forum you use PA soft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holymoly243 Posted January 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 hi alan i changed the thermostat to a wahler and the temp now sits between 92-98 so much better could you send me a link to the mod please thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan53 Posted January 8, 2016 Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 I don't know how to send a link sorry,but if you search for PA soft temp buffer you should find it .the info originally came from a US web site called E46fanatics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave330 Posted January 8, 2016 Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 In a few thousand miles of mixed driving in varied weather, my temperature gauge has been absolutely anchored to the middle of scale. Probably the most consistent car I've ever driven in that regard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bungers Posted January 8, 2016 Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 In a few thousand miles of mixed driving in varied weather, my temperature gauge has been absolutely anchored to the middle of scale. Probably the most consistent car I've ever driven in that regard. That's because it's programmed to do that, the temperature can be anywhere within a 30 degree range and the needle will still stay in the middle. It's called 'perceived quality' and can hide all manner of small issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim-Ci Posted January 8, 2016 Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 I fitted a Wahler stat and it sits on 96 pretty much all the time. It does the temperature drop thing when I boot it too, usually down to 85 Celsius or so but I've seen it go a bit lower. If you don't fancy going the PA Soft route, a Scangauge II (https://www.telematica.uk.com/product/LLU-0007/sgIIe/ScanGaugeII-with-extra-cable?gclid=CPS46Yb9msoCFVVAGwodFYUDLQ) or Ultragauge (http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/ ) display is a good way to have a reminder of the temperature is when you want it, or if you have an Android device then a Bluetooth dongle and Torque can show lots of gauges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave330 Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 On 1/8/2016 at 11:22, bungers said: That's because it's programmed to do that, the temperature can be anywhere within a 30 degree range and the needle will still stay in the middle. It's called 'perceived quality' and can hide all manner of small issues. That's really interesting! Do you have a link to anything confirming that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave330 Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 On 1/11/2016 at 11:33, Dave330 said: That's really interesting! Do you have a link to anything confirming that? @bungers Did you manage to unearth anything from BMW that confirms that? Or is this to be another E46 Chinese Whisper, much like the "1L/1,000miles is normal oil consumption, according to BMW"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avalaugh Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 Surely you can just pop into the hidden menu and drive with the temp digitally displayed to prove this theory ? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave330 Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 I've never quite got the hang of the hidden menu thing, actually. I won't see my car for another week or so, but I'll try to remember to give it a bash when I do - unless anyone else has tried and can confirm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim-Ci Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 Well mine sits in the normal position from 75 degrees upwards, and the highest I remember seeing was 100C and the needle didn't move - measured off a Scangauge reading temperature from the OBD port. So that's at least a 25 degree "buffer". From what I've read around the web, it won't start moving north until you are above 110C at least, which is usually close to fairly big overheat territory. I think it's designed this way to avoid customers getting spooked if their needle rises a bit on a hot day/hard run, so better to play it safe and make the needle sit in the middle over a wide range to avoid people returning their cars to the garage for investigative work. I think there's a thread on the American forum E46 fanatics where they were reprogramming the gauge control module using NCS expert to get a better early warning of an impending overheat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim-Ci Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 Found the thread, they state the "buffer" range is 75-115 Celsius, so actually a massive 40 degrees... : http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=1013600 Dave330 and avalaugh 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avalaugh Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 Nice one Tim, I'm going to look into this tomorrow and see if I can adjust mine using the HEX flash software. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim-Ci Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 (edited) No worries... If you are keen on having the various engine conditions displayed in the car (coolant temp, battery voltage and quite a few more), a Scangauge or Ultragauge might be a good thing to have. I run the Torque app on mine (Android head unit), and with a bluetooth OBD adaptor. I have an alarm set on mine so if it reaches 100 Celsius the stereo will shout a warning at me. I'm keen to get a PA Soft kit soon so I can try coding some features, tried NCS expert and it was a bit beyond me. Edited January 14, 2016 by Tim-Ci Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave330 Posted January 15, 2016 Report Share Posted January 15, 2016 13 hours ago, Tim-Ci said: Found the thread, they state the "buffer" range is 75-115 Celsius, so actually a massive 40 degrees... : http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=1013600 That's a really interesting little design quirk. Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...