[E90Mack]

I'm running a nealy stock 2011 335i with an N55, with PPK II. I'm still a fairly novice track driver, and was on ThunderHill with HOD about a week ago, running around 4:15 to 4:20 on the 5 mile track. It was hot, over 100 degrees. About 15 minutes into my last two sessions, I would just start to loose power. I would press the gas and nothing would happen. There were no error signals. My oil temp looked to be close to if not a bit over 300 degrees. Is this just a product of the engine being hot and the turbos not being effective in that scenario? Is this effect the reason that people run FMICs?

[ryanakata]

300 seems a bit high, though I've never tracked my car and never seen above 250.

It probably is very well because of the heat, I cannot confirm though. Did you throw any codes?

I'd get a FMIC, and possibly see about somehow venting the heat from the hood. Remove the cowl filter assembly and use BMS filters maybe.

[divisionbell77]

If you are tracking, you should have a FMIC regardless if this is the cause or not.

[paradoxical3]

Your oil temp should not be 300 degrees on an N55. I have tracked mine on 100 degree days and have never seen it above 250-260 even running 18psi of boost.

[ONDEMAND]

300 is very high!

Ive never seen more than 270 and I earned it!

[Andrewe92]

you said your oil temp was over 300.. maybe your oil cooler isn't working or thermostat isn't working.. but yeah also get a fmic if you can 7" or a 5" stepped core

[Dark_Knight_335]

Heatsoak heatsoak....did I mention heatsoak?

Get that FMIC upgrade son- oil cooler upgrade wouldn't hurt either.

[rr006rbc]

LOL god BMWs are terrible track cars..

[Andrewe92]

Originally Posted by rr006rbc

LOL god BMWs are terrible track cars..

ehh not exactly.. it's just the 335 is not a track oriented car.. that task belongs to the m cars. but of course we all know how great a 335 setup for the track can perform.

[paradoxical3]

That's not true at all, N55 cars are excellent track cars. There is an issue with the particular OP's bmw, something is clearly wrong with the oil cooler. That is the highest oil temp ever reported on a N55 engine.

I have 10 track days on my N55 with stock cooling system this season and it has performed flawlessly.

[tc535i]

300+ is where you start getting breakdown in viscosity, car is probably going into limp to save your engine. Definitely look into an upgraded thermostat and possibly a dual cooler track setup.

[paradoxical3]

I am telling you, you do not need an upgraded oil cooler for N55. There have been exactly zero reports of N55 going into limp for oil temp. That is a N54 only problem. There is something wrong with OPs setup.

Don't listen to all these N54 people their cars go into limp mode just thinking about the track.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=412156

44 pages and not a single N55.

[E90Mack]

Addressing some of the questions:
1) I received no error codes, though my check engine light did come on about 300 miles later. Will be interesting to learn more about that one.
i will let you all know!
2) upgraded oil cooler. As a car with PPK II, I have the upgraded oil cooler, behind the left front tire if memory seves me correct. I also have an uprated radiator and I'm running distilled + wetter in there. I know that some 135i guys have added a second oil cooler, I have not seen that in anyone's 335i posts.
3) Add a bigger FMIC. I'm not against it, but before I do a couple of grand worth of work (including install--I'm not an install this myself sort of guy) I would like to get a better sense of if old hands know if this is really related to my problem. It is tough to say without codes......

[paradoxical3]

If you have added water wetter, I would try a coolant bleed procedure.

Only thing I can think of is that there is air in your system causing the engine to run hotter than it should, which is spiking your oil temps.

Either that or you added too much water wetter causing the coolant to prematurely boil.

Both of these would cause power loss.

[LGCubana]

Originally Posted by E90Mack

Addressing some of the questions:
1) I received no error codes, though my check engine light did come on about 300 miles later. Will be interesting to learn more about that one.
i will let you all know!
2) upgraded oile cooler. As a car with PPK II, I have the upgraded oil cooler, behind the left front tire if memory seves me correct. I also have an uprated radiator and I'm running distilled + wetter in there. I know that some 135i guys have added a second oil cooler, I have not seen that in anyone's 335i posts.
3) Add a bigger FMIC. I'm not against it, but before I do a couple of grand worth of work (including install--I'm not an install this myself sort of guy) I would like to get a better sense of if old hands know if this is really related to my problem. It is tough to say without codes......

2) That's an Auxiliary Water Cooler

3) Shouldn't cost you $1K, installed. Unless you go with something like the ER competition FMIC

[waldo2014]

I can confirm LGCubana, the PPK2 adds an additional water cooler, not an oil cooler. I don't know the configuration of US delivered N55 335i: do they all come with an oil cooler on the passenger side? Easy to check have a look in the wheel well, there should be slits there (like on the driver side where the PPK2 water cooler is).
If the OP has the oil cooler, did he do the oil thermostat mod or get the BMS piece to open the thermostat at lower temperatures and increase the flow through the oil cooler?

[john16443]

Originally Posted by paradoxical3

I am telling you, you do not need an upgraded oil cooler for N55. There have been exactly zero reports of N55 going into limp for oil temp. That is a N54 only problem. There is something wrong with OPs setup.

Don't listen to all these N54 people their cars go into limp mode just thinking about the track.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=412156

44 pages and not a single N55.

Well then let me be the first to report that I have had multiple confirmed instances of my stock 2011 335i going into limp mode due to oil temperature, and yes I have the factory oil cooler.

May 2014 at Buttonwollow for BMW HPDE. Temps in the upper 90's. Sessions 2 thru 4 were interrupted when oil temp exceeded about 275. Nowhere near 300. Got the yellow warning, engine power reduced. Took it easy for part of a lap and things cooled down. Once the warning cleared, got back on it. The next morning after everything was cold I opened the coolant reservoir tank and found it bone dry. Filled it with water and returned to San Diego, no oil temp issues. Sits right at 240 to 250.

September 2014 San Diego County. Temps in the upper 90's. Took a spirited run up Palomar Mtn in 2nd gear, got the warning and power loss before reaching the top. Got stuck behind a slower car so backed off and temps dropped.

Sept 12, 2014 Auto Club Speedway HPDE Temps in the 100's. NO OIL TEMP ISSUES. I managed the heat by having the drivers side vent on the highest temp with the fan on high. Oil temps did climb up to 270, but never went into reduced power mode.

I'm looking into performing a bleed of the cooling system. Need to find a DIY for that.

[redz06]

When my 2011 335i sedan was new and just broken in I ran it on Nurburgring Nordschleife for a few laps. The ambient temperature there was cooler than your run, but after only one 22 km lap the intercooler was heatsoaked, meaning that the intercooler was so overtaxed by all of the full throttle running that the intercooler outlet air temperature was too high and the engine power was sharply reduced.

This is a phenomenon that I have never noticed in street driving of my BMW, even during hard street driving. My conclusion is that if I ever wanted to run the BMW on the track it would need a larger intercooler than the OEM design. Those are available. From your experience it sounds like we will also need a larger engine oil cooler to run at a lot of US tracks. Mine is a daily driver, so I don't care.

BTW, I used to have a Porsche 944 Turbo and that car was delivered with a sufficiently large intercooler that I could run it on the track all day long without these problems.

[///Machiavelli]

I've tracked my N55 20+ times, also through the humid NE summers as you OP, and have never experienced heat issues. Furthermore, my oil temps have never exceeded 265deg F. 300deg F is definitely an issue and I'm surprised your car only reduced power rather than going full limp mode. Some thoughts:

- LGCubana is correct, PPK2 adds additional water radiator not oil cooler. I know, I also have the PPK2 setup.

- To have PPK2 installed, factory oil cooler on passenger side must already be present.

- I think removing the cowl would be counter productive. Reason being, the base of the windshield is a high pressure zone. By removing the cowl, you are creating a gap which would allow that high pressure air to move into the engine bay. This would disrupt the flow of air moving through the bay from the front grille down and out the transmission tunnel.

- I fail to see how an aftermarket FMIC would help. Yes, it may help keep IAT under control, but are you guys suggesting his out of control oil temps are being caused only by heatsoak which is introducing excessive heat into the oil cooling system via an overly hot turbo? I'm not so sure of that. OP says he's a novice driver with a stock car ie no tune so how could the engine or turbo be being worked so hard as to create such enormous heatsoak?

- I agree with paradoxical3 on a couple points, 1) the issue could be rooted in mucking around with the radiator coolant mix. Improper ratios of water (distilled right?), antifreeze and water wetter or maybe air in the system 2) you should run with heater set to max and at full blast when on track. In doing so, you open up the heater core and essentially bring another radiator online. I do it and find my car happier for it, though it does make things a little less comfortable for you and your passenger.

[DesertBMW]

100F is a lot even for professional competition cars with big intercooler. Track surface temperature would be in 140f range and air just above the surface would be 110f and that is the air that supposed to cool things down. Engine computer is simply going into safer zone to prevent pre-ignition.

[paradoxical3]

Originally Posted by john16443

Well then let me be the first to report that I have had multiple confirmed instances of my stock 2011 335i going into limp mode due to oil temperature, and yes I have the factory oil cooler.

May 2014 at Buttonwollow for BMW HPDE. Temps in the upper 90's. Sessions 2 thru 4 were interrupted when oil temp exceeded about 275. Nowhere near 300. Got the yellow warning, engine power reduced. Took it easy for part of a lap and things cooled down. Once the warning cleared, got back on it. The next morning after everything was cold I opened the coolant reservoir tank and found it bone dry. Filled it with water and returned to San Diego, no oil temp issues. Sits right at 240 to 250.

September 2014 San Diego County. Temps in the upper 90's. Took a spirited run up Palomar Mtn in 2nd gear, got the warning and power loss before reaching the top. Got stuck behind a slower car so backed off and temps dropped.

Sept 12, 2014 Auto Club Speedway HPDE Temps in the 100's. NO OIL TEMP ISSUES. I managed the heat by having the drivers side vent on the highest temp with the fan on high. Oil temps did climb up to 270, but never went into reduced power mode.

I'm looking into performing a bleed of the cooling system. Need to find a DIY for that.

These sound like coolant issues, not oil cooler issues. The two systems are related but the oil cooler is not the same as the radiator. If you are out of coolant then yes, of course your engine is going to run hot.

Now what is interesting is that I HAVE had one limp mode at the track - but not due to oil, due to coolant temperature. That was at 6000ft elevation in Colorado where the air is too thin to properly cool the heater core. I lowered the boost to 12 psi and was fine.

Nothing you have posted indicates that a N55 needs an upgraded oil cooler. If you are tracking at higher elevations, an aftermarket radiator is advisable.

[waldo2014]

Originally Posted by machiavelli9988

- To have PPK2 installed, factory oil cooler on passenger side must already be present.

- I think removing the cowl would be counter productive. Reason being, the base of the windshield is a high pressure zone. By removing the cowl, you are creating a gap which would allow that high pressure air to move into the engine bay. This would disrupt the flow of air moving through the bay from the front grille down and out the transmission tunnel.

- I fail to see how an aftermarket FMIC would help. Yes, it may help keep IAT under control, but are you guys suggesting his out of control oil temps are being caused only by heatsoak which is introducing excessive heat into the oil cooling system via an overly hot turbo? I'm not so sure of that. OP says he's a novice driver with a stock car ie no tune so how could the engine or turbo be being worked so hard as to create such enormous heatsoak?

If there is a factory oil cooler on the passenger side then the temperatures of the OP are really not normal at all. I would still recommend the oil thermostat mod, but the solution to the problem might be in the coolant used.

Base of windshield pressure: yes it is a higher pressure area, but what is important is the pressure difference between the front area (where the air comes into the engine compartment through the coolers) and the base of the windshield: the difference is positive, the front entry area has a much higher pressure then the windshield base, and thus the flow will go through (although you might suck warm air into the car if you turn the air vent on inside). If you don't want to use the BMS system, you can install the M3 cowl, which allows air circulation.

Agree with you on the FMIC, it won't change a thing for the OP, at least for the moment.

Very simple 'mods' to help cool down the engine (once the coolant has been fixed): remove the insulation from the bonnet and when driving on track remove the engine cover... cost 0 USD.