My MPG experiment!

[B/\/\W]

For the last three tanks of fuel, I worked out the MPG for the different ways in which I drove, for a little experiment.

1. 32 MPG (26.6 MPG US) accelerating hard most of the time
2. 34 MPG (28.3)- accelerating slowly like a 3 cylinder Vauxhall Corsa 1.0 litre
3. 35.5 MPG (29.5) - motorway trip with some country roads over steep hills.

A 2 MPG (Imperial) change equates to saving £3 (or roughly 22 miles) on a full tank of fuel (53 litres is what generally goes into my 63 litre tank). Petrol is £1 per litre, which equates to around $8 a US gallon I believe.

Is it worth watching the MPG gauge like a hawk and getting less enjoyment from driving to save £3 from a £53 tank? That would reduce the relative price of petrol from £1 per litre to 94p per litre for me. I don't think it's worth it!

If you want to know the $, then obviously multiply £ by 2.

Any thoughts? Who tries to save petrol and who goes hell for leather regardless? I wouldn't care unless I was a student to be honest. :thumbup:

[Pirate_copy]

I never worry about MPG buddy....not worth it in mine :rofl:

Great assessment though!!

[RichE36]

yea that good info for drivers, who like me dont have onboard MPG computer.

i never worry too. i drive like a manic all time!! is this normal? might go to go to mental hospital for check up.

BTW how many miles is for £10 of petrol approx 9.70litre? if driven normal. just curious.

[Pirate_copy]

My 328i would do about 55 miles on £10

[320what?]

i used to worry about mpg quite a lot in my old 320. because it needed to be revved up to get going. With hindsight, it was not best motor - yes, it sounds like a 6, but it goes slowly and eats lots of gas. I think i was getting 14l per 100km, dunno what is that in MPG.

Of course now it's different story. This month i spent 100 euros on petrol. It was 170 before. :D My driving habits obviously remained the same, if anything I am more agressive on the throttle now.

[E36 Phantom]

Any thoughts? Who tries to save petrol and who goes hell for leather regardless? I wouldn't care unless I was a student to be honest. :thumbup:

Lol, I'm a student and don't give a damn. It's efficient enough as it is. Also, I've noticed those tanks where I'm on the throttle a lot seem to get better mileage anyway....

[spanieldecks]

mpg? hmm, here's a question. Does super unleaded give better mpg than regular?

I've noticed that the engine idle and pickup is way smoother with super 97/98 unleaded. I have a hunch it does... therefore, is it 'worth' the extra?

P.S. I'm lucky to beat 20mpg round town with the M3's 3.2 Guzzler! ouch!:D

[rwg]

From a different perspective, based on my 18,000 mile year, 26.5 mpg (pansy driving with mixed roads on the daily commute) costs about U.S. $2038/year at $3/gallon. 22 mpg normal driving (aggresive enough to often frighten passengers) costs about U.S. $2455/year.

So, the difference is about $400 a year. On the other hand, you can't drive aggresively during rush hour all the time, so it's probably about half that to enjoy the car when I can enjoy it. It's not enough to worry about imo.

On the other hand, choice of cars does make a big difference. The CTS-V cost about $3600 to run under the same circumstances, but since I ran premium instead of midgrade in it, it was even more. On the bright side, the 15 mpg rating didn't change much no matter how hard you drove it.

[Pirate_copy]

mpg? hmm, here's a question. Does super unleaded give better mpg than regular?

I've noticed that the engine idle and pickup is way smoother with super 97/98 unleaded. I have a hunch it does... therefore, is it 'worth' the extra?

P.S. I'm lucky to beat 20mpg round town with the M3's 3.2 Guzzler! ouch!:D


As you have a M3 evo you should ONLY use super unleaded (98ron and above)

I find i get better MPG with it as my 328i is chipped and modded

[efanton]

mpg? hmm, here's a question. Does super unleaded give better mpg than regular?

I've noticed that the engine idle and pickup is way smoother with super 97/98 unleaded. I have a hunch it does... therefore, is it 'worth' the extra?

P.S. I'm lucky to beat 20mpg round town with the M3's 3.2 Guzzler! ouch!:D

I cant speak for petrol but it is definitely worth the extra money for buying premium diesel. I use Shell V-power which is about 3kc (5 euro cents) a litre more. I have noticed that if I am driving mostly on open road I do indeed get better MPG. I also notice better acceleration when using V-power diesel. I can only assume it would be similar for petrol.

[B/\/\W]

Over here, V-power diesel is £1.06 per litre I think.

[B/\/\W]

From a different perspective, based on my 18,000 mile year, 26.5 mpg (pansy driving with mixed roads on the daily commute) costs about U.S. $2038/year at $3/gallon. 22 mpg normal driving (aggresive enough to often frighten passengers) costs about U.S. $2455/year.

So, the difference is about $400 a year. On the other hand, you can't drive aggresively during rush hour all the time, so it's probably about half that to enjoy the car when I can enjoy it. It's not enough to worry about imo.

On the other hand, choice of cars does make a big difference. The CTS-V cost about $3600 to run under the same circumstances, but since I ran premium instead of midgrade in it, it was even more. On the bright side, the 15 mpg rating didn't change much no matter how hard you drove it.

That's interesting, yeah if an engine guzzles gas, it does so no matter what you do!

Seems like your conclusion is to drive aggressively when you get the opportunity, cos it doesn't cost ya much more! :thumbup: Agreed

[B/\/\W]

Lol, I'm a student and don't give a damn. It's efficient enough as it is. Also, I've noticed those tanks where I'm on the throttle a lot seem to get better mileage anyway....

I'm a student too, I sort of don't give a damn, sort of do. :D

[Fleetster]

I used to own a Skyline, now thats a drinker! £55 would see about 180 miles, less if you really nail it (which was most of the time). So the fuel consumption does not really bother me :)

[ronpapworth]

I get 320 miles out of a tank if I drive normal and about 280 miles if I am hard on the car for the entire tank. So I get about 20mpg being "nice" and 17.5mpg and I get where I am going a lot quicker. So "Damn that 2.5 mpg, full steam ahead"...

[E36 Phantom]

I get 320 miles out of a tank if I drive normal and about 280 miles if I am hard on the car for the entire tank. So I get about 20mpg being "nice" and 17.5mpg and I get where I am going a lot quicker. So "Damn that 2.5 mpg, full steam ahead"...

Use Royal Purple oil. No joke, it'll go up 40 extra miles a tank while you drive even harder. I always got right around 285-300 under mixed normal and hard. Now I always get 320-350 minimum, got 440 once, that was pretty crazy, doing a steady 70MPH highway over that entire duration. Of course, doing an even 70 for 440 miles (down highway 5 - check it out on google satellite pics) was the absolute most boring thing to do in a Bimmer. But caravaning w/ parents forced me to :(
Hell, I did an even 95MPH down 5 last time, with MORE than a few runs up to the speed limiter and hanging out up there for a bit @ 130 and still managed ~360ish miles on a tank.

Fleetster, I used to have the MkIII Supra, 7M-GTE single turbo 3.0L inline 6 cyl. I considered myself lucky when I broke 16 MPG. Lol.

[B/\/\W]

Use Royal Purple oil. No joke, it'll go up 40 extra miles a tank while you drive even harder. I always got right around 285-300 under mixed normal and hard. Now I always get 320-350 minimum, got 440 once, that was pretty crazy, doing a steady 70MPH highway over that entire duration. Of course, doing an even 70 for 440 miles (down highway 5 - check it out on google satellite pics) was the absolute most boring thing to do in a Bimmer. But caravaning w/ parents forced me to :(
Hell, I did an even 95MPH down 5 last time, with MORE than a few runs up to the speed limiter and hanging out up there for a bit @ 130 and still managed ~360ish miles on a tank.

Fleetster, I used to have the MkIII Supra, 7M-GTE single turbo 3.0L inline 6 cyl. I considered myself lucky when I broke 16 MPG. Lol.

Why do you go to the speed limiter in your car? Aren't you worried that at 180+k mileage that something is going to blow if you are hanging around at 5k+ revs for a long period of time? I'm not sure how much mine would enjoy going for a top speed run and it's only done 139k. I think something would work its way loose and blow or something! Or am I overly worried?

(Not that I'm going to do a top speed run, there's no where to do it!)

[E36 Phantom]

Why do you go to the speed limiter in your car?
Because I can.

:p

Aren't you worried that at 180+k mileage that something is going to blow if you are hanging around at 5k+ revs for a long period of time? I'm not sure how much mine would enjoy going for a top speed run and it's only done 139k. I think something would work its way loose and blow or something! Or am I overly worried?

(Not that I'm going to do a top speed run, there's no where to do it!)
No, to be honest I'm not terribly worried. I keep up on EVERYTHING - tire pressure, oil amounts (I checked twice before I left and 3 times on the 1100 mile trip), coolant, lug torque, bolt tightness on various components, etc. It had a brand new air filter on a high flow CAI, clean intake piping, good flowing exhaust, non-restrictive cats, and fresh everything. I'm constantly monitoring everything, including engine sound, road conditions, and any odd gear noises (none). The fluids had all been recently changed (incl rear diff) and everything was up to snuff. The motors on these cars are robust enough to handle 4800RPM's, which is about where my limiter at 128 MPH kicks in. It was on a flat road, and not for more than about 2~3 mins at a time. The temp gauge never flinched, and my oil was 100% full (and was the entire duration of that change). I change all my fluids myself so I know its all done right. I wouldn't worry too badly as long as you take care of your stuff. Now, that may not apply to you since you have a 4 cylinder, I'm assuming yours is mechanically limited to about 100kph, right?

:p

JP, I know it can almost go as fast....
But seriously, the 6 cylinder is an extremely smooth engine (most I6's are silky smooth) and feels just fine up there. All 4 cyls at that high of RPM's tend to be more raucous, so I can see where your fears would be. You should get a car with a real engine.....


:bigpimp:

[B/\/\W]

Because I can.

:p


No, to be honest I'm not terribly worried. I keep up on EVERYTHING - tire pressure, oil amounts (I checked twice before I left and 3 times on the 1100 mile trip), coolant, lug torque, bolt tightness on various components, etc. It had a brand new air filter on a high flow CAI, clean intake piping, good flowing exhaust, non-restrictive cats, and fresh everything. I'm constantly monitoring everything, including engine sound, road conditions, and any odd gear noises (none). The fluids had all been recently changed (incl rear diff) and everything was up to snuff. The motors on these cars are robust enough to handle 4800RPM's, which is about where my limiter at 128 MPH kicks in. It was on a flat road, and not for more than about 2~3 mins at a time. The temp gauge never flinched, and my oil was 100% full (and was the entire duration of that change). I change all my fluids myself so I know its all done right. I wouldn't worry too badly as long as you take care of your stuff. Now, that may not apply to you since you have a 4 cylinder, I'm assuming yours is mechanically limited to about 100kph, right?

:p

JP, I know it can almost go as fast....
But seriously, the 6 cylinder is an extremely smooth engine (most I6's are silky smooth) and feels just fine up there. All 4 cyls at that high of RPM's tend to be more raucous, so I can see where your fears would be. You should get a car with a real engine.....


:bigpimp:

Haha, trust me I'm dumping the 318i once I have some money, I want a straight 6. I'm living on student loans with no help from parents and I don't work because I can't be arsed. Yeah at 100mph in 5th the revs are at 4500 and it doesn't feel that smooth at that. It's pretty smooth at 4000, smoother than at 3000 obviously.

Nothing wrong with a 318i for what it is, every manufacturer has to offer models with smaller engines and there is a market for them.

[E36 Phantom]

Haha, trust me I'm dumping the 318i once I have some money, I want a straight 6. I'm living on student loans with no help from parents and I don't work because I can't be arsed. Yeah at 100mph in 5th the revs are at 4500 and it doesn't feel that smooth at that. It's pretty smooth at 4000, smoother than at 3000 obviously.

Nothing wrong with a 318i for what it is, every manufacturer has to offer models with smaller engines and there is a market for them.

Haha, yeah, these are good cars but even the 325/8 is severely underpowered in my opinion. I know insurance is pretty steep in the UK for things with real engines, though, so I guess something with the straight 6 would be fine. I like the straight 6 because even at full on 5800RPM it still is smooth as butter. They did an excellent job with this engine, although a bit more power would be nice!

[B/\/\W]

Haha, yeah, these are good cars but even the 325/8 is severely underpowered in my opinion. I know insurance is pretty steep in the UK for things with real engines, though, so I guess something with the straight 6 would be fine. I like the straight 6 because even at full on 5800RPM it still is smooth as butter. They did an excellent job with this engine, although a bit more power would be nice!

The newest BMWs are tuned for the top end and higher revs (and hence more power), but in terms of displacement they aren't any better for torque than the older BMWs, and yet they are heavier and bigger cars. Sure you could reach 0-60 in an E90 325 in 6.8 seconds I think it is, but put an E36 or E46 up against it and rev them all to 5k and they will perform the same to 60. Any higher and the decreased drag coefficient will probably allow the E90 to go ahead, especially as it will rev higher.

And yeh insurance is a problem if you are a relatively new driver. With 5 years no claims bonus though and being over 21, insurance is in no way a problem for any size of engine. It's just young people can't own cars with big engines. Petrol is a problem too, road tax isn't really.

Roads are different over here as well, there's quite a lot of congestion, roads are small and at capacity, so you can't really use a truly fast car perhaps as much as in the US. Although I suppose it does help for overtaking or beating fools onto the motorway.

[emPoWaH]

I do whatever gives me most, uh, satisfaction. Today I was blasting up and down Angeles Crest Highway, which was fun, and on the way back, I tried to maximize my efficiency and bring the MPG average back up, which was also fun. It's a bit of a video game, keeping an eye on the trip computer and instant MPG meter, avoiding using the brakes, building momentum downhill, predicting traffic lights, shifting early, watching your rear view mirror, and eventually you get good at it. It's called hypermiling.

Here's an interesting article with some tips and techniques...
http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/articles/t-beating-the-epa-the-whys-and-how-to-hypermile-1510.html

Sometimes there's no point to going quickly (in traffic, red lights, etc), so in those instances, it's wise and relaxing to hypermile.

[B/\/\W]

I do whatever gives me most, uh, satisfaction. Today I was blasting up and down Angeles Crest Highway, which was fun, and on the way back, I tried to maximize my efficiency and bring the MPG average back up, which was also fun. It's a bit of a video game, keeping an eye on the trip computer and instant MPG meter, avoiding using the brakes, building momentum downhill, predicting traffic lights, shifting early, watching your rear view mirror, and eventually you get good at it. It's called hypermiling.

Here's an interesting article with some tips and techniques...
http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/articles/t-beating-the-epa-the-whys-and-how-to-hypermile-1510.html

Sometimes there's no point to going quickly (in traffic, red lights, etc), so in those instances, it's wise and relaxing to hypermile.

Haha, yeah I do all those things when saving petrol, it's a totally different way of driving and I hate it. Interesting link :thumbup:

I like to carry as much speed through corners and use the brakes very little (I do that anyway, but it helps when saving fuel). Lots of illegal lane changes etc. so that you don't have to stop behind idiots giving way to thin air.

[Bryan1817]

that HWY 5 drive..... how much total did u spend on gas? what kind of BMW do you have, and how many gallons to fill her up?