Hi folks, quick question. I searched but couldnt find the answer, does the 07-12 Cooper S have oil cooled pistons? IE little nozzles squirting oil onto the underneath of the pistons?

Thanks!

 

Why do you ask...whats the up or down side to having this?

 

I ask because I'm planning on buying a used mcs and one of the known problems is the crappy dipstick plus the oil consumption, it seems it's possible a lot of minis have been run low on oil. Without oil cooled pistons the cylinders only are lubed by the oil splashing around plus the vapor in the crankcase. If the oil is run low there is high probability of less cylinder lubrication and quicker wearing of the piston rings.
Oil cooled pistons use the oil pressure from the pump to squirt oil onto the pistons, so low oil levels aren't as bad for the engine. They also run cooler and the engines experience less chance of detonation. Many engines with oil cooled pistons have very good lifespan, Porsche 911 (air cooled), miata 1.8 etc

 

OK, dipstick is a bad design.
If your contribution to the development of a new engine, as an engineer, is the design of a dipstick, time for an evaluation. Either you are new and on your way up, or, you probably need to start working on that resume.
Now, about that oil consumption. I think we have an internet magnification factor to consider here. I don't see enough complaints to call the R53s oil burners. Sure, you could do a search on here and find folks complaining about theirs guzzling away. Maybe even a few folks backing them up about having to put oil in between changes.
And how many folks here that put 4.5 in and take 4.5 out 3K-15K later? Really? And how about the multitudes out there that never go to the 'net for info on an oil consumption issue with their car?

 

I looked at the pictures of the connecting rods at real OEM and it looks like there are no oil nozzles for cylinder lubrication on a Prince engine.

Believe me, there is more than enough oil mist in the crankcase to lubricate the cylinder walls on a small inline four cylinder engine.

I haven't had a problem with reading the dipstick on my MINI. I suspect the problem lies with the nut behind the wrench, rather than poor design.

By the way, oil cooled pistons have passages that circulate oil though the piston crown, for cooling purposes only, not for lubrication. They are found on large industrial engines, not on small high speed engines.

Dave

 

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...08&hg=11&fg=10

Key #7

 

Thanks, this is good. Engines with oil sprayed pistons tend to have long life

 

I'm not sure of the correct answer here but if you're concerned about cylinder wear, there's always the good ol' compression test you can run to determine engine wear.

 

Something to keep in mind is you are grouping 2 different engines between 07-12. You also have a lot of production changes to the n14 from 07-10. I would be more conserned about the timing chain, carbon build up on the intake valves, turbo bearings , turbo oil drain line and the control board for the cooling pump.

 

Just a newb here, but here is some irrelevant info. My Neon SRT-4 Turbo 2.4 had oil piston squirters. My 2011 Mustang 5.0 had oil piston squirters. Curiously, the Boss Mustang, which makes more power does not have the squirters. Almost identical engines, but the Boss has forged pistons, which supposedly does not necessitate the squirters. Also, too much high RPM (7,000) oil windage in the Boss if it had the squirters.