# Does the M3 come with an oil cooler ?



## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

If so, does anyone have a picture of it while on the car ?

Thanks


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## Mr. The Edge (Dec 19, 2001)

according to BMW literature it does



> EXTERIOR DESIGN:
> MORE DISTINCTION FROM 3 SERIES,
> STILL A TASTEFUL PERFORMANCESTATEMENT
> 
> ...


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## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

Thanks 

I hope someone posts a pic of it as well


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## GregW in Oregon (Feb 1, 2002)

*Not on car, but here's a pic*

of old and new. They are laying down. Black plastic piece goes below and behind. Courtesy of Jon Caldito of MPerformance.com.


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## Mr. The Edge (Dec 19, 2001)

*Re: Not on car, but here's a pic*



GregW in Oregon said:


> *of old and new. They are laying down. Black plastic piece goes below and behind. Courtesy of Jon Caldito of MPerformance.com. *


hey greg, thanks for asking over there too :thumbup:


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## TGray5 (Jan 22, 2002)

Yes it does...sorry no pic. Also has a power steering cooler.


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## Chris330Ci (Jan 23, 2002)

Not stock though... :dunno:


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## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

Thanks a lot guys, I appreciate it very much :thumbup: 

What's the benefits of having an oil cooler on the high perf. engines ? 

Is it something retrofittable and expensive ? :eeps:


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## The HACK (Dec 19, 2001)

Alex Baumann said:


> *Thanks a lot guys, I appreciate it very much :thumbup:
> 
> What's the benefits of having an oil cooler on the high perf. engines ?
> 
> Is it something retrofittable and expensive ? :eeps: *


M coupes don't come with oil coolers, and a lot of M coupe owners have complained of excessively high oil temperatures on the track. For example, a normal E46 M3 will run at about 210-230 degrees depending on track and conditions. The same M coupe can experience oil temperatures of up to 240-250 degrees.

The 10w-60 oil breaks down and loses some of its lubricating properties at temperatures above 250 from what I heard, and without an oil cooler the car will run dangerously close to heat that will break down the motor oil.


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## Kaz (Dec 21, 2001)

BTW, WRT a retrofit in non-Ms, at least on M54 engines, the M3 uses a totally different oilfilter housing that the cooler lines tap into, so I think it would be quite a bit of work to try and get a cooler into a M54-engined car. There is some precedence for tapping into oil with the supercharger kits but I don't think the volumes and circulation characteristics of those are suitable for fitting an oil cooler.


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## TGray5 (Jan 22, 2002)

The HACK said:


> *M coupes don't come with oil coolers, and a lot of M coupe owners have complained of excessively high oil temperatures on the track. For example, a normal E46 M3 will run at about 210-230 degrees depending on track and conditions. The same M coupe can experience oil temperatures of up to 240-250 degrees.
> 
> The 10w-60 oil breaks down and loses some of its lubricating properties at temperatures above 250 from what I heard, and without an oil cooler the car will run dangerously close to heat that will break down the motor oil. *


The S54 M coupe does have an oil cooler...there was a big thread on Roadfly about a guy whose M coupe has been in the shop for ages trying to fix an oil overheating issue. One thing they did was remove the oil cooler and blow it out with compressed air. Turned out the problem was oil temperature sending unit....why they didn't check that first...I dunno


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## Mr. The Edge (Dec 19, 2001)

StahlGrauM3 said:


> *The S54 M coupe does have an oil cooler...there was a big thread on Roadfly about a guy whose M coupe has been in the shop for ages trying to fix an oil overheating issue. One thing they did was remove the oil cooler and blow it out with compressed air. Turned out the problem was oil temperature sending unit....why they didn't check that first...I dunno *


that was an M roadster.

Not sure if that matters.


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## JPinTO (Dec 20, 2001)

*Re: Not on car, but here's a pic*



GregW in Oregon said:


> *of old and new. They are laying down. Black plastic piece goes below and behind. Courtesy of Jon Caldito of MPerformance.com. *


So that is you on the benzworld ML board!


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## GregW in Oregon (Feb 1, 2002)

JPinTO said:


> *So that is you on the benzworld ML board! *


Yeah, been spiffing my wife's ML. What's your excuse?


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## JPinTO (Dec 20, 2001)

GregW in Oregon said:


> *Yeah, been spiffing my wife's ML. What's your excuse? *


Offroading dude!  Gotta post some pics from my Utah trip last week.

I was begging & pleading for someone there to tell me what the acceptable power steering fluid is for a ML when you are 400 miles from the closest MB dealer and your ML pops it's PS cooler hose.

Of course nobody knows the answer, including roadside assist. which spends 1/2 hour locating the answer.


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