[kebabmw]

Hey all, I am a new owner of a used 100k miles 2009 335D. Loving the car but wanna do the best I can to keep it running. I was advised to download the torque pro app with an obd2 to monitor my car, specifically for the carbon regen period. I am a bit confused on what I should monitor and how.

My torque pro is successfully connected to my obd2 dongle and I also downloaded the PID profile for 335d on here

Every time I turn on the car, should I have to turn on the torque pro app as well and then turn it off when I leave? Should my phone be on the realtime data so that I am constantly monitoring important levels?

currently I am monitoring coolant temp, EGR % and EGT1. Should I constantly be looking at these until I see one of them go abnormally high/low?

Sorry for the newb questions. I am quite confused here.

[Torqu3]

Look at the stickies. One of them is directly related to the Torque app, and helps monitor some important stuff accurately. EGT gets around 1200F during Regen.

[kebabmw]

Originally Posted by Torqu3

Look at the stickies. One of them is directly related to the Torque app, and helps monitor some important stuff accurately. EGT gets around 1200F during Regen.

I have the PID mentioned in the stickies on my torque app. Do you constantly keep the app open and running?

[Torqu3]

Originally Posted by kebabmw

I have the PID mentioned in the stickies on my torque app. Do you constantly keep the app open and running?

Absolutely not. I know some people do, but I really have no need to know the exact temp of my exhaust or coolant at all times. I don't need to know my boost all the time. If I'm not making boost I'll notice. I plug it up about once a month just to make sure everything is in good order. And I keep it running when I'm racing just to monitor everything.

[335stoner]

yep ^^^

to keep your phone up and running at all times is a pain in the butt......

if you want to monitor things like that at all times you can get a scangauge or an ultragauge which are designed to plug into your obd port and you will not have to worry about the phone..

torque pro is a great app to have, so you didn't waste any money if you paid for it... (I did)

[kebabmw]

Originally Posted by Torqu3

Absolutely not. I know some people do, but I really have no need to know the exact temp of my exhaust or coolant at all times. I don't need to know my boost all the time. If I'm not making boost I'll notice. I plug it up about once a month just to make sure everything is in good order. And I keep it running when I'm racing just to monitor everything.

Originally Posted by 335stoner

yep ^^^

to keep your phone up and running at all times is a pain in the butt......

if you want to monitor things like that at all times you can get a scangauge or an ultragauge which are designed to plug into your obd port and you will not have to worry about the phone..

torque pro is a great app to have, so you didn't waste any money if you paid for it... (I did)

Thanks for the reply guys. That's what I was wondering. If I am not monitoring it constantly how do I know if I am in that regen period where I shouldn't turn off the car? Just look at it before I'm about to shut it off?

Also what is a once month check you run. Just see that all the codes are green and you're good to go?

[Torqu3]

Originally Posted by kebabmw

Thanks for the reply guys. That's what I was wondering. If I am not monitoring it constantly how do I know if I am in that regen period where I shouldn't turn off the car? Just look at it before I'm about to shut it off?

Also what is a once month check you run. Just see that all the codes are green and you're good to go?

I'm not sure who advised you to monitor regens, but it isn't that important. Just drive the car and it'll regen. Most people say you'll notice that your fuel economy is worse and you'll have a slightly lower power output. I was never able to tell. Honestly don't worry about it that much. If you turn the car off and the fans are running, that's usually a sign you interrupted a regen. As long as you get a good highway drive every now and then, and you aren't interrupting every single regen every time you park, you'll be just fine. Worry less, drive more.

For my monthly check I look at EGT, boost levels throughout the rev range, and coolant temp. EGT just to make sure they aren't ridiculously high, boost levels because boost is important, and coolant temp because the thermostats on these cars fail sometimes, and I want to make sure that isn't the case on my car. I replaced the thermostat about a year ago and have no problems. Temperature should be around 190F. I'm car is tuned and deleted so I don;t worry about regens or nox anymore.

[kebabmw]

Originally Posted by Torqu3

I'm not sure who advised you to monitor regens, but it isn't that important. Just drive the car and it'll regen. Most people say you'll notice that your fuel economy is worse and you'll have a slightly lower power output. I was never able to tell. Honestly don't worry about it that much. If you turn the car off and the fans are running, that's usually a sign you interrupted a regen. As long as you get a good highway drive every now and then, and you aren't interrupting every single regen every time you park, you'll be just fine. Worry less, drive more.

For my monthly check I look at EGT, boost levels throughout the rev range, and coolant temp. EGT just to make sure they aren't ridiculously high, boost levels because boost is important, and coolant temp because the thermostats on these cars fail sometimes, and I want to make sure that isn't the case on my car. I replaced the thermostat about a year ago and have no problems. Temperature should be around 190F. I'm car is tuned and deleted so I don;t worry about regens or nox anymore.

Thank you for the detailed reply again. If my coolant temp is a bit lower (around 170) is that okay? So from what you say it would be good to check maybe the following each month:

1) Boost
2) Coolant temp
3) EGT

Also I was looking for some advice on tuning my car. Basically, I want to stay away from the carbon buildup issue and wanted to do the whole EGR valve block but it seems like I'll need a tune after that. From reading online, it seems that a tune makes a car less reliable in the long run. I am not all that interested in making my car faster but more reliable.

In that case, is the EGR block off to avoid CBU that important or should I just do walnut blasting every 50k or so miles?

[Torqu3]

Originally Posted by kebabmw

Thank you for the detailed reply again. If my coolant temp is a bit lower (around 170) is that okay? So from what you say it would be good to check maybe the following each month:

1) Boost
2) Coolant temp
3) EGT

Also I was looking for some advice on tuning my car. Basically, I want to stay away from the carbon buildup issue and wanted to do the whole EGR valve block but it seems like I'll need a tune after that. From reading online, it seems that a tune makes a car less reliable in the long run. I am not all that interested in making my car faster but more reliable.

In that case, is the EGR block off to avoid CBU that important or should I just do walnut blasting every 50k or so miles?

Read this thread: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1334283

That'll answer 99% of questions you have. But yes, block EGR ASAP.

Coolant temp needs to be at or near 190. It varies by maybe 8 degrees. 170 is too low.

[Persian Whisperjet]

coolant temp should be extremely stable right around 88-89 degrees.

[TDIwyse]

I'm one of the "uses Torque every time" crowd. Have an old smartphone attached to the dash that powers on when the ignition is turned on, and then a push of the screen brings up my instrument cluster with gauges. I like seeing what the car is doing, knowing when the engine coolant is warm before using significant boost, and using the behaviors of sensors as a baseline to see if something odd is going on in the system, and monitoring EGT's before shutting down the engine to reduce stress on the oil in the turbo bearing area.

When I had all the emission components in place, I also used it to track regens and regen frequency. I was someone who preferred to not shut down the car mid regen due to the crazy amount of heat in the turbo area, and the stress that heat would put into the oil as it sits in the turbo area and bakes...

Here's a good thread on the coolant issue: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1312995

I ran for multiple years with coolant temps peaking in the 170-174F range without any issues to mpg's and also documented very good used oil analysis results (posted lifetime mpg graph and also posted links to controlled studies showing direct injected diesels have very little variation in fuel efficiency vs engine coolant temp).

Changed the thermostat several months ago and now the temp gets up to 188-192, but no change observed in mpg's (too soon for UOA) or any quantifiable or measurable phenomena I've looked at.

Since it sounds like you still have your DPF, you'll want to make sure the coolant gets at least warm enough to allow the DPF to regen. I forget what the min temp is, but 170F was enough for my vehicle. If it drops much below that you'll be approaching temps where regen won't happen, and that will be a problem. You should probably start planning on replacing the T-stat.

[335stoner]

I am with you TDI on not wanting to shutdown during a regen if I can avoid it I do every time.

it was tough monitor before, but after getting the xHP tune it is really easy to tell when it happens.. the shift points all go higher so the car holds gears longer to maintain 1500-2000 RPM range and with the current gear displayed in the dash it sticks out like a sore thumb..

I have yet to find how I constantly monitor an old phone is not a bad idea... do you worry about the battery getting too hot?

[TDIwyse]

Originally Posted by 335stoner

... do you worry about the battery getting too hot?

The phone battery? If so, then no. The charging system won't let it over charge. It's been used this way for ~5 years now.

[Len_Beach]

I have a 2009 330d with the N57. Could the 335d PID be used with this?

[335stoner]

Originally Posted by TDIwyse

The phone battery? If so, then no. The charging system won't let it over charge. It's been used this way for ~5 years now.

I was referring to the phone staying in the car all the time.

5 years seems like a good test of time