Fuel economy - recomendations

[325_driver 422]

hey guys, recently bought a 330ci and dearly miss the idea of a small weekly gas bill !

on the look out for another car, e36 most likely,

i have seen a few topics on fuel consumption here, but still looking for a bit more clarity.

ie if there were an engine to recommend in the e36 range what would it be ? for stability / economy over power.

316, 318, 320, 323, 325 ?

I dont like the idea of a 316, i always thought a decent 323 would be friendly on the gas as i used to own a 325 that did me no harm.

I know it is a hard topic because there are many variables, ie heavy feet, tuning etc but any wisdom would be much appreciated !

[my_e36 43]

I had a e36 323i, then e46 318ti and now e46 330ci.

330Ci is using 12% less fuel with a fair bit more power. (170hp vs 230hp)

318ti is using around the same fuel as the 330Ci but with A LOT less power (half?)

Bigger is better

Go figure!

[325_driver 422]

I had a e36 323i, then e46 318ti and now e46 330ci.

330Ci is using 12% less fuel with a fair bit more power. (170hp vs 230hp)

318ti is using around the same fuel as the 330Ci but with A LOT less power (half?)

Bigger is better

Go figure!

i always wondered if that was a myth, ie my friend is driving a e46 318, and its doing worse than my 330ci.

can anyone else confirm this strange trait ?

@spikeyLemon was this on the open road ? or town only.

Jonathan

[Gunner 0]

Def dont get a e36 320i for fuel economy, I made this grave mistake on my first bmw purchase, short stop and start driving in that got me 6-7km/l. I currently have a e46 318i (2.0l) and im averaging 10-11km/l with no motorway driving at all, just short drives to my work and bus stops.

Edited February 26, 2011 by Brenton

[my_e36 43]

@spikeyLemon was this on the open road ? or town only.

That's an overall average throughout my ownership of the car (2 years for the 323, 1 year & a bit for the Ti and coming up 2 years & counting for the 330).

But I reckon the 330 will have the worse for in-town stop start stuff as it's the largest cc and the heaviest, but once got going, it use very little (relatively). I once had it done 8L/100km on fully motorway driving.

[Michael. 2313]

Get a 540i, see how you enjoy that gas bill. Your 330i will seem excellent by comparison.

All it comes down to is a trade in power and fun, if you want an eco car, get a 318i.

[kiwi535 538]

it also depends on the type of driving you do....stop start driving is terrible and if thats the sort of driving you do then a small manual would be best imo(if economy is king otherwise a small auto).A diesel would be better again as they are more efficient and dont seem to suffer from stop-idle- start as much as petrol engines

[325_driver 422]

Def dont get a e36 320i for fuel economy, I made this grave mistake on my first bmw purchase, short stop and start driving in that got me 6-7km/l. I currently have a e46 318i (2.0l) and im averaging 10-11km/l with no motorway driving at all, just short drives to my work and bus stops.

e46 318, any thing over 10 km/l would be sweet round town. It strange, i seem to see so much variance in the 318i some guzzle the gas, and some dont.

any decent e46 318 manuals spotted around ?

[Docile 64]

usually just cruising around go for a tad bigger engine with more torque down low. but if you have more city driving than cruising go for a smaller engine. revving higher on bigger engines is what eats away at millage especially when coming off from stop lights and traffic.

my 2c

[Gunner 0]

Yea well my obc says it averaging 8.9/100km but using maths when i fill up gets me around 10-11km/l which im happy with. I also give it some revs on the odd occasion but usually just standard normal driving.

[Vin_Diesel 0]

323ci 2000 auto on 18s is getting 8ish litres per 100km. Not bad I thought... Just meet it somewhere in the middle of engine capacity over fuel consumption

[CamB 48]

323ci 2000 auto on 18s is getting 8ish litres per 100km. Not bad I thought... Just meet it somewhere in the middle of engine capacity over fuel consumption

Do you only drive downhill!

To the OP, some of the people with 318 thirst problems would have a bigger one with a bigger engine. Its a driving style issue - too much accelerator and brake.

[325_driver 422]

economy update,

just added to the fleet of vehicles with a nice wee e36 323 (2.5 m50) manual even !!!!

boy its great on gas on the open road ! 7ish litres to the 100 ! and round town just under 10 litres to the 100

and the 330ci on the way back managed just over 8, which i find refreshing.

the 330ci, in town averages about 12 - 13 with me, i do alot of short trips, which is very depressing on the km's you get to the tank

[Wom 0]

I've found that I'm getting at least an extra 100kms per tank of gas ever since my car was converted to manual

[huff3r 347]

I am getting just over 11L/100kms (Caltex 91 regular) 90% open road commuting and currently experimenting with Octane ratings. I am enjoying the concentration needed to keep the revs as low and even as possible without compromising a huge speed difference (80-100kph) on an undulating/winding highway drive to work. Not sure how much more economical I can get it? 93' E36 325i Coupe (Auto)

I would certainly change what fuel you use! Pretty sure someone will back me up on this, but you should be using a MINIMUM of 95 octane for that vehicle.

[Top Secret 2]

My old E36 325i was absolutely horrible on gas. As a 17yo, I couldn't afford to drive something that did 14.2L/100km around the city no matter how gently I drove it. My Legacy GT did better!

[dreadful1 7]

good ol m42, the e36 318is manual, I get about 700km to 65L of gas which is quite good im assuming.

[alanmacc 0]

hey guys, recently bought a 330ci and dearly miss the idea of a small weekly gas bill !

on the look out for another car, e36 most likely,

i have seen a few topics on fuel consumption here, but still looking for a bit more clarity.

ie if there were an engine to recommend in the e36 range what would it be ? for stability / economy over power.

316, 318, 320, 323, 325 ?

I dont like the idea of a 316, i always thought a decent 323 would be friendly on the gas as i used to own a 325 that did me no harm.

I know it is a hard topic because there are many variables, ie heavy feet, tuning etc but any wisdom would be much appreciated !

I am driving an E46 330ci and dont find it that bad on fuel, on a long drive a full tank will get me 700km driving at ave of 100kmh, round about town driving I am getting between 550km & 650km ..... and i am not light footed either

[sascha 17]

When I bought my m50b25 e30 and drove it back to Auckland from Hastings, it used just about a whole tank.

I worked it out to be between 12-13l/100km (And here I was expecting it to be way more economical than my old m20b25).

But I suppose that included some "spirited driving" and the gearbox/diff ratio wouldn't help either (Revs at around 3200rpm at 100kph)

[325_driver 422]

I am getting just over 11L/100kms (Caltex 91 regular) 90% open road commuting and currently experimenting with Octane ratings. I am enjoying the concentration needed to keep the revs as low and even as possible without compromising a huge speed difference (80-100kph) on an undulating/winding highway drive to work. Not sure how much more economical I can get it? 93' E36 325i Coupe (Auto)

wow ... 11L to the 100, with a 323i, thats really odd, we did 400km on 30L on the way back from Palmerston north, on the new 323 manual e36.

Maybe ill blame the auto box.

Maybe its time for a 330ci gearbox change .... worth it in gas savings

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2132]

My 520i is pretty bad, gets about 11-12. Small engine and autotrans is why, even though the engine has only done 70,000kms so in theory should be at it's most economical stage in life. That said, my e30 m318i manual was the most economical car I've owned, returning about 8-9 mixed driving, cold mornings etc and that had done 230km on the original engine

[vanossa 0]

I would certainly change what fuel you use! Pretty sure someone will back me up on this, but you should be using a MINIMUM of 95 octane for that vehicle.

I have wrongly accounted for my fuel usage and have recently adjusted my figures as seen on www.fuelly.com Now It makes a bit more sense. Luckily I found a pile of old receipts to log in. I find this site to be very easy to keep tabs on mine as well as others fuel economies - whether BMW or not. Very interesting. Hope this helps some others to monitor consumption.

Edited May 15, 2011 by vanossa

[westy 614]

Why do people buy those horrible gas guzzling slush matics???

Um, gee, lets see.

Maybe because BMW doesn't f**king make enough manuals for everyone to buy?

Just a wild stab in the dark....

[39KiwiTouring 2]

The E39 does 9.9l to the 100, glad i decided to cruise the diesel now didn't anticipate huge petrol increase.

My XR6 does 550k to 75 litres so not always BMW.

[westy 614]

FWIW the 540 claims 12.2l/100kms.