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      04-25-2012, 01:37 PM   #1
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Software engine lock at 80% power until 8-10000Km?

Talked to an BMW mechanic who told me tha the X3 engine power is locked to 80% of max power until the engine is braked in, this occurs at 8000-10000 km.

I asked him about this because I found that my car got a lot quicker from one day to another.

Can anyone confirm this ?
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      04-25-2012, 02:06 PM   #2
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Definitely not true. You can take a BMW with 1 mile on the clock and run it at 100% wide open throttle*. Not totally sure about the M series as they have a much more strict break in procedure but I'm pretty sure you can run a brand new M car at 100% too.

As the motor breaks in it will loosen up a tiny bit but nothing that you can really feel. It may rev slightly quicker, offer slightly better MPGs but nothing hugely tangible.

With all that being said there is a proper break in procedure. I think it was to keep the revs varied, not go for long distances with cruise control on, stay below 4500 rpms etc...
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      04-25-2012, 02:54 PM   #3
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I disagree; the engine felt quite "retarded" for the first 5k km or so. after it hit some arbitrary point it now revs a lot more freely. I find it quite probable that they put in specific fuel mappings and limits until a specific time interval / mileage is hit to ensure longevity.
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      04-25-2012, 11:51 PM   #4
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It is possible that such a thing exists. But I doubt it. Certain cars get a lot faster after breakin but it depends.
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      04-26-2012, 07:04 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by twistediron View Post
I disagree; the engine felt quite "retarded" for the first 5k km or so. after it hit some arbitrary point it now revs a lot more freely. I find it quite probable that they put in specific fuel mappings and limits until a specific time interval / mileage is hit to ensure longevity.
I think restricting engine power by some percentage would be a huge liability that BMW nor any other major manufacturer would want to undertake.

You will certainly feel the motor liven up over time but I honestly don't think there is anything on the DME side of these BMWs that would limit power.

But hey, I've been wrong before!! ;-)
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      04-26-2012, 08:54 AM   #6
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Meh not so sure..

this is obviously anecdotal and from another vendor but still.

My pop is quite anal about fuel economy etc; he bought a Toyota rav 4 he religiously tracks fuel in / consumed / mileage(yay excel). the computers mileage doesn't match his tracked.

when he hit specific mileage intervals the mileage much more closely resembled the displayed mileage; turns out Toyota changes their fuel mappings to properly break in the engine and optimal economy isn't reached till a specific point.

Granted it's another vendor, but if they make programming choices to achieve certain things / ensure longevity / proper break in, is it too hard to think bmw might too?
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      04-26-2012, 11:25 AM   #7
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I suppose it's plausible but I'm still doubtful. I have been frequenting numerous auto related forums over the years and have never heard of a manufacturer de-tuning a car for X # of miles to increase engine longevity. I'm not even sold on the 'baby the motor during break in' theory anyway.

I just see a huge risk with releasing a detuned engine in a new car. There would be some serious legal ramifications if a customer would get in a bad accident when merging into traffic only to later find out that BMW intentionally slowed down the vehicle.

Also, think about all the press cars that a manufacturer distributes when they release a new model. Do these new cars get a special 'normal' tune so that the performance numbers are on par with cars that are > 5000 miles (or whatever it may be)?

What about the new cars on dealer lots that are ready for test drives? Do the sales people say "Enjoy your test drive but please note, since this is a new car it will be slower and less efficient than what you experience after you put X # of miles on it." Probably wouldn't go over to well.

I have, on rare occasion, read about car companies INCREASING the performance levels on their new press cars but that is extremely risky and is not common practice. The automotive journalists are a very picky bunch and if they suspected their demo cars were performing outside of the known performance window they'd be all over that.

But honestly, at the end of the day, neither you nor I will ever know all the dark magic that goes into these cars so it's really hard to say one way or the other.
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      04-26-2012, 11:34 AM   #8
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It's possible engines could be setup to run a little rich early in their lives. Not so much of a de-tune.
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      04-26-2012, 11:43 AM   #9
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It's possible but again running rich in a direct injection engine can cause much more long term problems than running with a normal a/f ratio.

A rich condition will increase the amount of deposits that build up on the intake valves. This is already a known issue with DI motors. In a nut shell, the DI motors don't flush fuel through an intake rail, which in the past, this is what kept the top of the intake valves clean. By introducing a rich condition I think that would speed up the deposit build up. You can also run into other problems related with the emissions systems like the catalytic converter. Not to mention increased pollution.

In the end though we'll probably never know.
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      04-26-2012, 08:41 PM   #10
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It is something BMW does with their S1000RR motorcycle. Initial production didn't have this software, but now you can't get above 9k RPM until the breaking mileage has been passed. Might be similar with the X3, in that they started limiting the power after production was started on the 2nd gen.
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      04-27-2012, 08:46 AM   #11
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The car does feel faster and the engine more eager as miles are added. Whether that is psychological or a mechanical fact is another question. I only have about 3K miles on mine, but it seems to feel like it's "opening up" for lack of a better term. I could be wrong.
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      05-06-2012, 05:42 AM   #12
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A friend bought a new 3 series he also got the same info that the engine is softwarelocked on about 80 % power until the brake in time/distance is over, this can vary individually depending on drive pattern but occurs around 8000 km...

This is to ensure that the engine is optimally braked in and to ensure less friction and longer engine life and Most importantly ,less warranty issues for BMW....

Last edited by X3andZ4owner; 05-06-2012 at 05:47 AM..
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      05-06-2012, 08:21 AM   #13
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Rubbish

It takes at least 10K km for these engines to loosen up. It's about friction rather than electronics.
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      05-06-2012, 08:35 AM   #14
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I just took delivery yesterday and I was told not to worry about a break-in period and just drive the car as I normally would drive it. I will be one happy camper if I get another 20% power after a few thousand kms. There is a power/torque meter in the iDrive software... I'll have to see how close to the claimed 300/300 hp/tq I can get without beating my new pride and joy to hard.
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      05-06-2012, 08:49 AM   #15
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Let's just be clear

If BMW restricted power over the first 10k km's they would need to make that information public. If anyone were to dyno test that vehicle during that period and it did not deliver the power BMW claimed it had, BMW would be sued - probably a class action suit.

So what you;re hearing is your Norwegian mechanic's sphincter talking...
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      05-06-2012, 10:01 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Le Chef View Post
If BMW restricted power over the first 10k km's they would need to make that information public. If anyone were to dyno test that vehicle during that period and it did not deliver the power BMW claimed it had, BMW would be sued - probably a class action suit.

So what you;re hearing is your Norwegian mechanic's sphincter talking...
Oh yeah... Maybe it's why it isn't official...Yet.. And I'm am talking Europe now not " sue me" country USA ...
Maybe the point with the engine lock is so that you hillbillies don't ruine the reputation of BMW by driving the carengine to pieces on the first day... :-)
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      05-06-2012, 10:27 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Le Chef View Post
If BMW restricted power over the first 10k km's they would need to make that information public. If anyone were to dyno test that vehicle during that period and it did not deliver the power BMW claimed it had, BMW would be sued - probably a class action suit.

So what you;re hearing is your Norwegian mechanic's sphincter talking...
Quote:
Originally Posted by X3andZ4owner View Post
Oh yeah... Maybe it's why it isn't official...Yet.. And I'm am talking Europe now not " sue me" country USA ...
Maybe the point with the engine lock is so that you hillbillies don't ruine the reputation of BMW by driving the carengine to pieces on the first day... :-)
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      05-06-2012, 11:19 AM   #18
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Good to know

Quote:
Originally Posted by X3andZ4owner View Post
Oh yeah... Maybe it's why it isn't official...Yet.. And I'm am talking Europe now not " sue me" country USA ...
Maybe the point with the engine lock is so that you hillbillies don't ruine the reputation of BMW by driving the carengine to pieces on the first day... :-)
That in Europe you have no consumer protection laws. Must be wild. Presumably any manufacturer can claim what they want and no consumer can do a thing about it if it's not true.

Our instruction manual clearly states to not exceed 4500 rpm for the first 2k km's, and to increase rpm gradually after that. Maybe it's the wild Norwegians who can't read the instruction manual who need the nanny control on their BMW's...:-)
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      05-06-2012, 12:57 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Le Chef View Post
That in Europe you have no consumer protection laws. Must be wild. Presumably any manufacturer can claim what they want and no consumer can do a thing about it if it's not true.

Our instruction manual clearly states to not exceed 4500 rpm for the first 2k km's, and to increase rpm gradually after that. Maybe it's the wild Norwegians who can't read the instruction manual who need the nanny control on their BMW's...:-)

Sorry I can't read anything in what you state that proves that what the official BMW salesman and mechanic states is wrong ... :-)



And by the way this " software engine lock" exists in several car models without that the costumer is informered.. And it is for the customers best.. The goal is a properly runned in car ..

Last edited by X3andZ4owner; 05-06-2012 at 01:07 PM..
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      05-06-2012, 01:07 PM   #20
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Nanny state opacity

Quote:
Originally Posted by X3andZ4owner View Post
Sorry I can't read anything in what you state that proves that what the official BMW salesman and mechanic states is wrong ... :-)

And by the way this " software engine lock" exists in several car models without that the costumer is informered.. And it is for the customers best.. The goal is a properly runned in car ..
This could not happen here. Consumer protection groups would have that kind of opaque nannying outlawed and the company forced to change either the software or inform every prospective owner that they were not being allowed to have full access to the published specification of the vehicle they had chosen to buy.

If the EEC allows that kind of hidden behavior by manufacturers I'm glad I don't live there anymore.
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      05-06-2012, 01:11 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Le Chef View Post
This could not happen here. Consumer protection groups would have that kind of opaque nannying outlawed and the company forced to change either the software or inform every prospective owner that they were not being allowed to have full access to the published specification of the vehicle they had chosen to buy.

If the EEC allows that kind of hidden behavior by manufacturers I'm glad I don't live there anymore.
Lol.. Just say google, Facebook out loud..

And believe me it exists in your cars and MCs too...
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      05-06-2012, 01:15 PM   #22
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What else are they hiding from you?

Quote:
Originally Posted by X3andZ4owner View Post
Lol.. Just say google, Facebook out loud..

And believe me it exists in your cars and MCs too...
If you have proof it exists on cars and bikes sold in USA without the owners' knowledge then let's see it. I'll take innocent until proven guilty here, rather than Big Brother in Norway.
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