Just finished a test drive after installing the m7 180* thermostat. Not to diffficult to do if you are comfortable in the mini engine bay. Maybe a 2 1/2 out of 5 wrench job.

Well it works, the temp sat at 175-180 during the drive. I don't think it broke 190 the whole time. Usually I sit at 195-200 sometimes up to 215-220. The car does stay crisp and quick checks showed my ignition timing had significantly increased. When hammering it in second gear I will usually see the timing drop to 14* then creep up to the mid twenties with 91 octane. Tonight it started at 20* and worked up to 30*+ by redline. I had never seen it hit 30 before. The car was wipping up so fast that I couldn't watch safely. It was cold out tonight (50*) so I will data log the timing and temps at higher ambient temps after the DME settles in.

I did this mod to try and get more timing back and so far it has exceded my expectations. Before the tires would slip every other rpm in first, but I could get away with flooring it. Now it spins into a burnout. I only drove it for and hour, so I will post further impressions this weekend along with what my final timing curve becomes.

 

Nice results! I've been thinking about doing the M7 thermostat myself to help with timing issues. My respect for M7 products continues to grow. It's good to know it seems to be working quite well for your timing. Looking forward to more data!

 

I have the m7 thermo, and have had some problems... Mostly with SES codes being thrown... I don't know if it's because I live in a winter area... But yesterday a code was thrown at 60 degrees outside, and they said it should only go off below 40.

I've not yet contacted them again about it, I'm waiting to collect a bit more data to see if this happens through spring as well.

 

Well, well .... JOIN THE CLUB !!!!! Mine is GONE now, after 3 visits for SES codes to the dealer (Hassles) and evetual replacement of "stock thermostat" under warranty

The dirty little secret of the 180 degree thermostat ,,, I've discussed this before here and with M7

I have a LOT of M7 products and and happy with all BUT this one ....

They are well informed of the problem wuth the SES light and yet ...

? NO WARNING ON WEB-SITE? NO INFO re: "cold weather usage will throw engine codes"

(Car still runs fine but you think something may be seriously wrong)

 

Beg pardon, but if you know the car is running fine, is there a need to remove the M7 thermostat? Although I agree that there ought to be more disclosure on M7's part regarding the thermostat throwing SES lights below 40 degrees F, it would seem to me that the benefits in terms of better timing outweigh the CEL.

 

I think he means, if the SES code is thrown, you have to buy a OBDII reader capable of clearing it, and take the time to do so every time. Every time the code is thrown, it's like the little boy crying wolf.

Sure we can ignore it, but do we ignore our Mini's pleas for help?

Oh... And like I said, 40 degrees is understandable, but mine went off yesterday at 60.

 

Some of us ...err ..Most of us ... Don't have or need code readers

If a SES light comes on, you should assume something is WRONG

 

Someone told me some great info about this thermostat.

the problem as he sees it:
that the oil need to reach certain temp in order to
evaporate certain elements and if you run it with the M7 thermostat
all those elements will not be evaporated since it runs at a cooler temp.

This is what someone very respected around here told me about it
I live in the tropics so cold weather is not an issue and yes
I was inclined to do the Thermostat but after hearing this decided against it.


can anyone elaborate a little more about this specific situation?


regards,
Charles

 

I hadn't heard about anything at 60 degrees, that is odd. What code is it throwing? And what oil are you using in your car?

 

Good point. What needs to be added to this discussion is data from someone running a real oil temp gauge.
We need to establish the proper oil temp first.
The determine the rise time using the stock thermostat.
Compare that to the same car running the M7 unit.
and maybe some easily replicated steady state reading. 5 minute idle, 3k rpm cruise in 6th, etc.

I'm also still waiting to hear data on air fuel ratios and the impact, if any on mileage.
If I raced full time fine, but for us daily driver types MPG is pretty important.

 

What are you using to monitor ignition timing? You're not "borrowing" the dealership's GT1 are you?

 

Maybe he's the guy that borrowed the Dr's BIM-COM. That he's waiting to get back ...so he can start the IC testing.

Kidding of course.

 

Interesting theories about cold weather. Weve had some bad, bad weather over here in the UK and no customers of mine have had codes thrown up. Ive fitted these to all types of MINIs now...no problems

 

I just was given a thermostat because I got a bad M7 crank pulley, I just want to know what it does, how much, and how!

Thanks for the help!

 

would love to know more......

 

Whatever the dealer put in 3000 miles ago (@10k miles)...

It's not gone off again, yet. So now that we've got warmer weather, I'm just waiting patiently. John Behe (of LuckyDog Garage) said the code (P104) has to be activated twice before it will throw the SES code, so that's why it may seem intermitent.

Will continue to monitor.

 

I am watching for codes. It has been 50*f Steady and about 400 miles with out any. That is about as cold as it gets where I'm at. I have a palm scannner to monitor the sensors, so I will be keeping an eye for a while. Barnabas, no I am not using the gt1 I work at a bmw only dealer. When the timing reaches homeostasis I'll post the relults. The only thing that concerns me is that it is more like a 170* t-stat, but again it is cold lately so I'll see at 70*+.

As for the oil temp issue, I talked to a tech instructor that said at 175*+ the only oil temp concern was for gas mileage as hotter oil has less friction. I decided to go ahead and try the t-stat when I read (during training) that bmw sets it's electronically controlled t-stat at 180* for performance and high load maps.

I'm am not worried about damage. The oil temps can be worked with if they truly are too low and the codes can be dealt with as well. My only concern is that the fueling does not stay in warm up mode etc...

Bottom line is that it does lower the coolant temp and increase ignition timing. If it is too cold in the winter, then I'll use it seasonally. Oh yeah, and it feels stronger.

 

so it shouldn't be a problem. Especially if you drive the car hard. And remember, with the S, there are jets that spray the bottom of the pistons, so that will get way toasty! I'm sure that the vapors will cook off.

Matt

 

That's what I was thinking. Obviously I'm concious of these parameters, but Frankly, being too cool in northern california is a joke for three out of four seasons.

 

Sounds great, I'll probably do this when I have the time and $. Just the ignition advance gain should justify the cost as seems like alot of mods just take it away.

 

Here are some timing plots from today. I logged them on my palm dyno, but had to draw it out. It has only been a few days since the install, but still no lights. This represents what I have seen while monitoring this week. The timing has gained about a 5 degree delta over the stock t-stat. This is with california 91 octane and about 15psi of boost. I have not heard any pinging since the install, but is has been cold lately. I have noticed the timing trying to get higher then dropping low, so it may take a while longer for the maps to smoothe out.



The dashed lines are smoothing that I added because the data points have so much time between them.
Note the timing delta with less than 10*f difference. These runs were literally back to back, blue the red.

 

Nice and thanks.

A few questions if you don't mind.
What was ambient approximately?
I noticed the IAT temps aren't noted so I'm assuming farenheit. They are fairly cool.
Are the readings from the onboard sensors? Or were there probes in the boots like Andy or the DR use?

Summer is coming here and I'd be glad to run some parallel tests.

One question thjough. I've heard it's a pain to air bleed the MINI coolant system. Is this true? Not doing so could taint the results not to mention screw with my car.

 

The ambient temp was 60*f (at the obc) and the iat are *f measured after the ic from obd port using the mini sensor.

I've never had a problem bleeding any cars (knock on wood). Fallow the procedure and there shouldn't be any problem.

I will post more results next weekend including gas mileage. I'll use two tanks by then.

I too am very interested in what the summer time temps will look like. I also have been itching to get to the drags, but it has been raining nonstop all month.

 

Send some rain here. We're in a drought

Thanks for the reply

 

This Sunday, I left my house about noon, and went on a 50 mile ride. It was 56 degrees when I left. I got to my destination (a MINI luncheon), and when I left the lunch it was about 61 degrees. About 5 minutes after departing, as I was cruising down the freeway at about 70mph, the SES light popped on again. My carpool buddy has an OBDII scan tool, and I'll see if it's the P104 (engine temp) again within the next couple days...