[Ralph III]

UPDATED


2018 BMW 650i, grand coupe, 58k miles. Live in south Alabama, so hot/humid.


Hello Everyone! Long time member on another prominent BMW forum but my first post here. So, here it goes.

We just purchased the above vehicle and I'm trying to perform some preventive maintenance tasks. All of the hoses look good and there are no oil leaks that I can see. ISTA only had a few minor things in history which I deleted. Otherwise, the tree is fully green and remains as such.

I've already changed the plugs and I'll be changing the oil soon but I have a few questions.

1) Have any of you considered installing the lower 90 degree t-stat and are there any negatives in doing so? Our coolant temp is running between 103-105c with oil between 96-100c, as per the hidden menu. It's my understanding that you can suffer a fault code with operating temperatures under 100c? So, you'd have to program the fault out with the installation of a low temp thermostat?

2) Have any of you installed the Sport Oil Cooler Valve made by Gintani or N63Intake, as some recommend? From further research, this seems to not only be useless but also highly detrimental, especially for a stock vehicle. First, your oil is meant to run at a higher temperature (100c +-) as that is where it offers the greatest protection. These higher temperatures also burn off water vapors and other contaminants that are created by your engine. In addition, your OEM oil cooler valve will open to protect the oil from excessive heat anyhow. This makes the Sport Oil Cooler Valve useless as promoted but also harmful, as it does not allow the oil to quickly come up to operating temperature. Consequently, you're vehicle is going to experience additional wear and it's going to suffer from more contaminants within the oil. This is especially true if you often take short trips.

3) Have any of you installed a turbo blanket for the turbos? This would be the extent of such if I did it. I'm a pretty good DIY which includes maintaining our 2007 530xi for many years now. But I have no interest in attempting to remove the 650i down pipes to insulate those.

This car will be my wife's daily driver and we expect to put about 8k miles on it each year. Your input is appreciated.

God Bless,
Ralph