My Car Gets 18mpg ?!

[tomxe36]

Is that right ? It seems like its wasting too much gas ! Someone tell me whatsup.

[B/\/\W]

It depends, that sounds about right if you are stuck in a low gear driving around urban areas all the time, and stopping and starting in heavy traffic.

[tomxe36]

its 4 door automatic 325i

[Bimrpwr]

is that highway or city. i am getting around 20-22 city on my car. u might want to change your o2 sensor, check tire preasure, oil condition

[B/\/\W]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I was thinking, the automatic has pretty long gear ratios, so doesn't it use more fuel to push the car for the same acceleration as the manual with the same engine? I'm thinking that the gears are less efficiently spaced and the mechanics less efficient, so the auto box will cause the car to guzzle more fuel.

[E36FewInNumber]

ya i believe the auto is a 4 speed. so the gears would be longer. but 18 is really low, I have the same and I get around 22 mpg.

[Chad...]

man same here! mine is a 4-door standard trans 325i and i get like 18 because the previous owner put a cheap ass performance chip in it

[E36 Phantom]

Hmmm, well, I'd say if you aren't making a conscience effort to drive for pure economy, 18 is about right. Its a cheap ass GM tranny. You think they actually put *thought* into it? Hell no.... lol. Just, "Ok, what ratios will get the car moving? Ok, that works. We're done. Lunch break guys."

Chad, you should have no problem getting more on a manual tranny. Do you still have the original chip? What brand is in it now?

[E36FewInNumber]

the tranny was made by GM, that sucks i totally didn't know that.

[E36 Phantom]

^Yessir. GM 4 speed tranny.

Sorry, hope I didn't ruin things for you...lol.

[Chad...]

no i dont have the stock chip and i think the brand of the current one is some ****ty ebay brand, i got the car from my dads friend. im planning on getting the ecu custom tuned at some point so im not too worried. and i also drive in a sporty manner, if i stick to the speed limit and accellerate slowly i can get about 25 mpg but wheres the fun in that?

[tomxe36]

actually my auto has 5 gears not 4 , but i guess it does guzzle more fuel since its automatic but **** 18 is bad :[ gas is expensive 3$ a gallon , killer.

[E36 Phantom]

Chad, its the price you pay. I can hit 25MPG on a tank too when I drive gently. Around town yeah I do keep it mostly down, but when I get the chances...hell yeah I open her up. Lol.

Tom, unless you have the ZF made 5 speed M3 tranny, you have 4 gears....
I'm paying $3.5x for mine....lol.

[Pirate_copy]

18 sucks, i drive mine like a guy possessed and still get 26!!

[E36 Phantom]

^Shut up. I no longer like you....lol.

26MPG?! REALLY?! Grrrrr.....
I can get that if I drive like a granny, but I don't all the time, so....

[Pirate_copy]

55 litres of fuel lasts 315 miles...no matter how i drive it!!

[E36 Phantom]

^That's only 21.68MPG.

I usually get around 280-300mi on a tank and fill up with just around 14 gal, putting my average at about 20~21ish.

[Pirate_copy]

ok...26 mpg in the UK!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

[E36 Phantom]

Huh? Now I'm lost...lol.

55L = 14.53 Gal, right? Or did I miss something important? Lol.

[B/\/\W]

A UK gallon is about 4.5 litres, yours is about 3.8 litres.

GM tranny, wow, that really sucks. Cheap American crap in a German engineering marvel! :thumbdwn:

[E36 Phantom]

Ohhhhh. Yeah, I vaguely remember hearing something along those lines now....lol. Quick check on Google gave me:
55 l = 12.0983037 Imperial gallons
55 l = 14.5294628 US gallons

So 315 mi / 12.098 gives 26MPG. Ah hah! Lol.
Alrighty then Pete, we can be friends again.

[Pirate_copy]

....ok :)

[Conehead]

I think you should get the car looked at if you are only getting 18mpg. Get your air and fuel filters looked at.

I get better fuel economy out of my Toyota Landcruiser V8. On the highway I can get around 1125km (aboot 685 miles) out of aboot 135 litres of fuel. This equates to aboot 23.5mpg (US), 8.35 kilometres per litre or 11.98 litres per 100 kilometres. ( an NO, I dont drive like miss daisy)

Some facts aboot my Landcruiser 4.7l, VVTI V8 engine, all wheel drive and 5 speed auto. She tops the scale at just under 3 tons (withoout luggage and passengers).

Im sooo pleased that there is a smaller car with worse fuel economy....hehhehhehe

Cone
XXX

[Pirate_copy]

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=218191

[Bimrpwr]

in our 328 auto we were getting @28mpg before we gutted that car like no other.

[PhilipWOT]

I have a 94 325IS with a 5 spd tranny with a CAI that i made and Dinan engine software. I live in Atlanta and my driving mix is City/Highway/fun back roads. I average 24mpg unless i'm driving like a real maniac. That figure is without a/c. I never use it, but when I do, I lose about 3mpg. (When I drive to Macon on only highways I can average up to 30mpg)
Sooo.... If you have a slightly heavier sedan with an auto tranny and you use a/c, 18mpg seems fair. Also, I am obsessive-compulsive about maintnance. I use dual copper element NGK spark plugs, Mobil1 10W40 highmilage oil and Mobil1 gear oil in the tranny and rear diff.
I hope that helps you out.

[Pirate_copy]

nice

NGK Iridiums next time and you can get 1-2 more mpg :)