NOTE: the issue described below has been figured out. Please see this thread for the explanation.
As initially discovered in
this thread, there seems to be a bit of a mystery regarding what optioning triggers the inclusion of a second auxiliary coolant radiator on the driver's side of many F22s with M Sport bodywork, including both the 228i and the M235i.
Background: I have a 2015 228i M Sport, 3/15 build, staggered run-flats and no THP. A friend of mine also has a 2015 228i M Sport, 3/15 build -- his VIN is only 14 higher than mine, meaning the car was likely built the same day as mine -- but he has the THP with standard staggered Michelin PSS tires.
My car does not have the extra radiator. His car does.
At first we thought it had to be an unmentioned part of the THP. But we both have seen 228is with THP and no driver's side aux radiator. Remember that the 228i can be ordered with the THP in Sport Line trim, which has fog lights in place of the left and right valence intakes. In fact, he's all but certain that he's seen M235is -- which come standard with all of the 228i THP trappings -- without the aux radiator. So this oddity may not even be limited to the N20 engine.
So here's what we know:
- The easiest way to tell if an F22 has the driver's side aux radiator is if the driver's-side (left) front valence intake is open. If it is, you will see the radiator behind it, and there will be a grate in the left front wheel well to let air pass through.
- All F22s with M Sport bodywork have an aux radiator on the passenger (right) side; the right intake is open, and a wheel well grate is present. The driver's side aux radiator is essentially a mirror of the passenger-side setup.
- If the driver's side (left) front intake is solid plastic and there is no left-front wheel well grate, the car does not have the second aux radiator. The space behind the blocked-off intake is totally void.
- The inclusion of the second aux radiator requires at least three large unique parts: the radiator, an open left-front intake grate, and a left-front wheel well moulding piece that includes an open grate (it is not blocked off with a removable panel on cars without the radiator; the area is solid plastic).
What we need to figure out is why some F22s get the second aux radiator and why others don't. It's not dependent on the THP, the M Sport option, or even the N20 engine, apparently. We don't think it has anything to do with SULEV certification. It plainly has nothing to do with tire or wheel selection. IIRC, all North American F22s are outfitted with BMW's hot-climate cooling package, so that's not it. So far, the evidence points to the radiator's inclusion being totally arbitrary, at least on 2015 M Sport-bodied cars.
Any ideas or insight from anyone? Should we start taking a roll call of who does and doesn't have the second radiator (with model, model year, build month, trim level, and factory mechanical options like THP noted)?
(or, in a nutshell: WTF, BMW?)