Average MPG

Hello everyone i was just wondering what your Average MPG is i do mainly city driving and i am getting 26.4 mpg on average in my 00' 328i.

That's good... as you can see below, mine is lower... I do a lot of sitting in traffic and highway blend...

Originally Posted by three28iguy

Hello everyone i was just wondering what your Average MPG is i do mainly city driving and i am getting 26.4 mpg on average in my 00' 328i.

You sure about that? How are you computing the mileage? If you are trusting what the trip computer is telling you, its probably incorrect.

I usually get around 19-23 MPG with 80-90% city driving in the DC metro area. I calculate this the old fashion way by dividing my miles driven by amount of gallons filled after each trip to the gas station.

After reading about the "mainly city driving", that 26.4 seems really high... if you are resetting the computer (MPG piece) after every fill up you are not going to get an even remotely accurate average... not even for that tank.

Originally Posted by nekkibasara

You sure about that? How are you computing the mileage? If you are trusting what the trip computer is telling you, its probably incorrect.

I'd agree with that. I have a '00 328i 5sp and do mostly country back roads / around town. Not much highway and not much sitting in traffic. I consistently get 25 mpg per my calculations while the OBC says 27mpg. (93 octane, btw)

Originally Posted by three28iguy

Hello everyone i was just wondering what your Average MPG is i do mainly city driving and i am getting 26.4 mpg on average in my 00' 328i.

This is way too high....none of the BMWs I`ve owned have even come close to that figure....(more like 21-ish in the city). OP, how are you figuring your average mpg ?

Originally Posted by three28iguy

Hello everyone i was just wondering what your Average MPG is i do mainly city driving and i am getting 26.4 mpg on average in my 00' 328i.

26.4 MPG mainly doing city driving, NO WAY! EPA estimates for the 2000 328i Auto is 16 City, 25 Hwy or 5-spd 18 City, 26 Hwy.

In my 99 323i doing nothing but city driving I get 14-16 MPG (calculated the old fashion way). I know I can get better mileage if i drive around like a geriatric Prius owner, but, I have places to go, people to see and things to do so I drive as such. The best I got was 34 MPG at 5 am, no traffic with the cruise set to 60 MPH.

My 2000 323i 5-sp manual gives 25mpg. My 2004 325i auto gives 20mpg. Mileage calculated by dividing number of miles per tank by tank size. I drove almost to empty tank when I did the test.

The calculation should not be done against "tank size"... it should be against the actual number of gallons that it took to fill the tank.

Originally Posted by E46_Ci

The calculation should not be done against "tank size"... it should be against the actual number of gallons that it took to fill the tank.

`Zackly....next time you get gas, zero-out the tripmeter, and fill `er up. At the following fuel stop, make a note of miles traveled, and gallons purchased. Divide the larger number by the smaller one to get *actual* average mpg (for that tank, anyway).

Originally Posted by E46_Ci

The calculation should not be done against "tank size"... it should be against the actual number of gallons that it took to fill the tank.

Agreed. The error is tiny. Both times, it took 16.4 gallons to fill.

Originally Posted by 10sjoe

Agreed. The error is tiny. Both times, it took 16.4 gallons to fill.

You were pushing it too far....that logic (?) will come back and bite you in the ass....

I know. It was controlled test. Dividing by a bigger denominator gets a better averaging so I push it as far as I can for the test.

Another thing which I am sure many here won't agree. I did two more tests. One with Octane 91 I get 281 miles from full tank to gas low light on. With Octane 87 I get 282 miles. The 1 mile difference is insignificant but I don't get the 5% better mileage with higher Octane. I don't know why it doesn't give me higher mpg with Octane 91 but now I still put Octane 91.

City driving for me is about 22 - 23 this time of year. It drops a little in the winter. I am sure the AWD and slush box does not help me much

My OBC reads 22.1, 04 ZHP.

i do a bit of both and driving how the car should be driven, i get about 21-22 MPG, but i have gotten 32 doing all highway with the cruise set at 90 MPH on the speedometer, 81 actual speed

Originally Posted by bmw330ci04

i do a bit of both and driving how the car should be driven, i get about 21-22 MPG, but i have gotten 32 doing all highway with the cruise set at 90 MPH on the speedometer, 81 actual speed

Something is wrong with your speedo or you're rolling on really small wheels to be off by 10%. BMWs do read optimistic but it should only be about 3-5% off.

15.5 beotches!! Lol

Sent from my PantechP9060 using Bimmer App

Originally Posted by TopazBlu02

Something is wrong with your speedo or you're rolling on really small wheels to be off by 10%. BMWs do read optimistic but it should only be about 3-5% off.

i have 40/r17s on the front, 45/ 17s on the back so i dont think thats the issue.. but when im driving by one of those things that tell you your speed at 30 it will say 27, 40 it will say 36.. is there any way i can get it professionally checked without spending an arm and a leg?

Originally Posted by bmw330ci04

i have 40/r17s on the front, 45/ 17s on the back so i dont think thats the issue.. but when im driving by one of those things that tell you your speed at 30 it will say 27, 40 it will say 36.. is there any way i can get it professionally checked without spending an arm and a leg?

Don`t bother....just console yourself with the fact that most BMW speedos are inaccurate, especially at higher speeds....just a fact of life....

Lol. How bad can the city traffic be in Detroit after everyone left? I'd imagine stop signs are merely suggestions when the roads are empty.

19mpg

yeah i was simply looking at the computer, but thanks for the info now i know to just calculate it myself.

Originally Posted by Fast Bob

Don`t bother....just console yourself with the fact that most BMW speedos are inaccurate, especially at higher speeds....just a fact of life....

ya they always have been as well, i just call it 10% optimistic and not worry about it

Originally Posted by three28iguy

yeah i was simply looking at the computer, but thanks for the info now i know to just calculate it myself.

And make sure you calculate it over at least 5 tankfuls to average out differences in gas pumps, degree of filling, grade, etc.

My '99 328 5 speed averaged a true 24.4 mpg on 93 octane over 97,000 miles with about 50/50 highway and suburban driving. The dash computer was 8.7% optimistic - although BMW seems to be improving as my '08 128i is accurate to within 1%.

Tom