Which is more important of the two, oil or water temp?

As you may or may not know, Rogue Mini's are offering a gauge deal right now, and you get to choose between one of the two. Sure I can change to something else later... But I'm curious as to which would be considered 'more important' in a Mini, and why.

 

I added both oil and water temp gauges to my car. Since I have Nav, I didnt even get the 'dumb' temp gauge that non-nav cars get. The water temp gauge is best for spotting fast trends in water temperature, such as if your car is about to overheat, or perhaps your engine has not fully warmed up enough to push it. Oil temp has these benefits, but it's more a longer-term trend indicator. Hard track use will heat the oil up higher than the water temperature in a relatively short time; oil that has run at temps over 240 degrees can begin to break down. Likewise with long mountain climbs and other such driving. It's good to keep tabs on if you are fickle about maintenance or regularly push your engine at it's limits.

So, depending on how you se the car determines which gauge you should get. Daily driving in typically average conditions would do better with a water temp gauge, pushing the limits would ask for an oil temp gauge (preferrably in addition to the water temp). I mounted two Auto Meter 270 degree sweep electric gauges in the same console-mounted braket that is normally used for the 'official' MINI aux gauges (oil temp and volts).

 

Thanks GB! That's exactly the info I was looking for! *manhug*

 

Funny that you can't combine the offer. I guess that's because oil and water don't mix...

 

I had the aux gauges with the oil temp and thought it far more important. Water temp just sat there and never moved (once warm). Oil temp goes up and down, as you described, depending upon conditions ... for example, long highway speeds and it definitely went up.

I think its also more important to see when the oil is up to normal temp before you run up the RPMs

 

I agree 100% with Chows. The factory dummy coolant gauge (or even the light for those with NAV) is ok since they both alert you to high coolant temps. Your fine as long as it's not above the 1/2 way point. Oil temp, on the other hand, lets you know when it's alright to drive hard. Oil warms up much slower than coolant. On the track, an added bonus for the oil temp gauge is the knowledge of how high the temp reaches. If it goes too high, you could run into trouble.