Could someone explain this to me please.

[JLed79]

I'm in the market for a summer car. Ive decided on an M3, '09-'10. Looking at them on autotrader I see some have the redline on the tach around 8300 rpms. On others I see a yellow range starting at 6000 and then orange from 6500 to 8400, where it goes to red. Can someone please explain the difference? Is it a package thing? The engines are the same in all of them correct? Thanks in advance.

[llis]

Originally Posted by JLed79

I'm in the market for a summer car. Ive decided on an M3, '09-'10. Looking at them on autotrader I see some have the redline on the tach around 8300 rpms. On others I see a yellow range starting at 6000 and then orange from 6500 to 8400, where it goes to red. Can someone please explain the difference? Is it a package thing? The engines are the same in all of them correct? Thanks in advance.

Redline starts lower when engine is cold, goes up gradually during warmup.

[FVM3]

Because the engine is not warmed up. once the engine is warmed up and you are good to go all the way to 8300rpm

[JLed79]

Really? The colors on the tach go away when the engine is warm?

[kscarrol]

Yes... Did that on my old 545 and 550 as well.

[Andy_H_E92_M3]

Yeah, it's a rotating scale behind the tach that turns the redline up as the engine warms up.

[JLed79]

Wow That's pretty cool. Sorry for my ignorance. I've always loved BMWs, but my X5 is the first one I've owned and it does not have that feature and I'm not completely familiar with all the little things the different models do. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

[e1000]

[JLed79]

Thats awesome. Gotta love German overengineering!

[jphughan]

Yeah the dynamic redline is pretty cool. I personally keep revs under 3500 RPM until the redline has moved all the way to the top. Fyi the point where the actual redline settles is around 8250. 8400 is actually the fuel cutoff value, and as you'll see if you buy the car, it is possible to push the needle slightly into the red zone.

[JLed79]

Awesome. I am definitely buying the car, I just need to find the right one. I can't wait to go play in it that's for sure.

[JLed79]

Hahahaha

[RatedEG13]

wow...learned something new

[Mr. ///M3 RD]

Originally Posted by JLed79

Thats awesome. Gotta love German overengineering!

Sorry to correct you my friend ... it's not "over engineering" I would call it a

"Visual Safety Factor" to make the ignorant aware of danger that can be inflicted to a well engineered engine if miss-treated in cold engine condition. Someone really worked hard on this to visually show you what is safe and what is not.

[Ezio]

Originally Posted by JLed79

Thats awesome. Gotta love German overengineering!

This is not my first car that has this limiter on cold engine. Its nothing to fancy, my old Madza Rx8 had one. Its safer for the engine. I think more cars need this.

I am happy this car has one, i feel more comfortable leaving the car with family or dealership/shop. As they cant free revv it when its cold , just to hear the exhaust.

[JLed79]

I do see the benefit of it, though for me it does seem somewhat frivolous. Its really doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize you should let the engine warm up before you open it up. I guess it is a good safety measure for the spoiled kids who get one from their parents as a birthday gift when they're 16 though lol.

[swartzentruber]

Originally Posted by JLed79

I do see the benefit of it, though for me it does seem somewhat frivolous. Its really doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize you should let the engine warm up before you open it up.

Not really that frivolous. If you drive in a variety of outside temps, it can be difficult to tell how quickly the engine is warming up (and when you have temp changes like 70 yesterday and 40 today here in IL, you can't even go by the seasons). Like others, I tend to use the start of the redline moving up as a good indication the engine is starting to get warm. It's easier to see visually than trying to use the oil temp guage.

[AshyLarryMP]

I try to keep it under 4000 rpm until it gets warmed up. I think once it hits 165 degrees it's ok to open it up.

[White person]

Originally Posted by Lute

That's the V-tech kicking in

Haahahahhahahahaahhahaahahhahaha +1

[Chriskm3]

Cool video.

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by jphughan

Fyi the point where the actual redline settles is around 8250. 8400 is actually the fuel cutoff value, and as you'll see if you buy the car, it is possible to push the needle slightly into the red zone.

Not quite.

The M3 cluster came straight out of the E60 M5 that had a 8250RPM redline. In the M3, when the tach needle indicates 8250, the engine is actually spinning at 8400RPM, the S65 redline. You can access a hidden menu that indicates actual revs in the cluster display. By doing so, you will read 8400RPM in the cluster when the analog tacho shows 8250.

For the S65, 8300RPM is the power peak, 8400RPM is the redline and cutoff point. This means you cannot really push the needle in the red zone on the tach.