Ummmm how the beep do I tell when my engine is warmed up? I think I'm either dumb or it's not existent. Please help

 

I use a scangauge. The engine temp when warm is 218 to 220 degrees F.

 

You're right Lala, there is no temp gauge, so unless you want to fab something up or do as slinger did, you're in the same boat as the rest of us. I live about 2 miles from the highway, so on my morning commute, I drive gently till then..........modern engines are designed to warm up quickly, so unless it's REALLY cold out, it doesn't take more than a few blocks to be up to warm, a few more to be up to full temp.

Slinger can confirm this, how long does it take for the scangauge to say it's warm enough to GO!?

 

If you really want to know when your car is warmed up and ready for a lead foot, get an oil temp gauge.

I intend to do that at some point. For now, a ScanGaugeII gives me coolant temp. Normal coolant temp is between 220 and 225 F. I was surprised how long it took. I drive down a long steep switchback driveway (400ft altitude change) and then I'm on a 55 mph country road. At that speed it often takes three miles to reach 220 F. I suspect the oil will take longer.

My Acura Integra warms up much more quickly. It is usually at operating coolant temp after one mile.

 

Once your heater is blowing warm air it should be pretty close .

 

The ScanguageII is really perfect,easy to hook up and mount plus it gives you alot of information on the car. mine is located to the upper left of my tach and very easy to read. You can set it to read the same guages or have it scroll every few seconds to tell you all the functions it is programed for.
Some may say it is not fitting with the Mini theme, and to be honest I think I would agree with that, but for me it is all about the information it gives you on the car,so that is what works for me

good luck

 

I agree on ScanGauge, link in my sig below and check out all the information available.

Click HERE for larger version of the above photo.

Easiest install you could imagine, this is mounted with the included velcro strips.

I bought mine from WayMotorWorks, a sponsering vendor on NAM.

 

This is quite subjective since we can only use the water temp to estimate. I try to warm the car to 160 degrees before starting more spiritied driving. It does take 3-5 minutes depending on how you warm the car up and at what speeds/rpms.

You do need an oil temperature gauge but Mini does not have that function accessible to scangauge. I have other cars with a seperate OEM water and oil temperature gauges and it does take more then twice longer for the oil temperature to rise as the coolant temperature. Not sure it is the same for the Mini though since I do not have access to an oil temperature gauge.

 

ScanGuage reads its information straight from your MINI's OBD II Port located just above your left shin bone. This is right from the car's computer and speedometer display is accurate, unlike the 'Big One'.

Unfortunately there is no Oil Pressure or Temperature knowledge in the car's computer, so you would need to install sending units as well a gauges for that information.

I mentioned above, that I bought my ScanGauge from Way Motor Works and wadda-ya-know,
Waylon just happens to have a Group Buy started for NAM Members running for another week, see here

$150 shipped is a lot less than I paid and would beat any other deal I have seen.

 

If you run synthetic oil and it's not dead a$$ cold out, you don't need to warm the oil up too, if the block is up to temp or close to it, all the clearances have opened up to normal, and synth oil is made to flow well when not fully warmed up.

My opinion of course......

As I wrote above, I drive 2 miles at city speeds and I don't push it, once I hit the highway it's warm enough for a spirited onramp.

That said, I would not try to do a lap at Heartland Park with a dead cold engine, but after one or two laps it's good to go.

 

I think the Scangauge is a great thing, I just wish it wasn't so ugly.

 

Yea, it is rather 20th Century in its design and display. The other options are quite expensive.

 

I am not sure if Ulgy is the word, but it does not fit in the theme of the Mini that is for sure. But as I have said it does give good information that can save you $$ down the road. I mean in all the years of driving and owning over 30 cars this is the only one that did not have a temp guage.

 

I think the ScanGuage is great, but it is terribly ugly IMO. I went with the PLX Devices ODBII Gauge in an Alta Gauge pod attached to the tach. LOOKS COMPLETELY FACTORY! Even the color of graphics and numbers can be set to perfectly match the dash.

It takes a long time for the water temp to reach the peak of 220°F, around five miles of 55mph driving. If I floor it, the temp drops quickly even when fully warmed up, but it recovers quickly. The water temp rises very quickly once the engine is started. I would say within two minutes you are safe to hit it!

 

Looks nice, but $400. Ouch!

 

I agree it is very expensive! I got it for just over $300 from an eBay seller (I know still ouch). But the cool factor and nice visual integration into the dash was worth the premium over the scan gauge.

 

My car has the stop/start feature so when it turns off I know the engine is warmed up...

 

The PLX devices and their Wi-Fi to an i-Touch or i-Phone gives some spectacular gauges. Then you have music, gauges and phone all in one package! Yes, large amounts of $$$ but much less hassle and with the phone removed and in your pocket much less to steal.

S.

 

I currently have a scan gauge hooked up that I am borrowing. It takes about 5minutes for it to warm up for me which about the time it takes to pull out of the apt complex. I baby it on the way to work so I never worry about temp and to see it warms up. As stated before gauges buy them they will tell you.