e30 320i fuel economy

[Staff]

After owning my e30 nearly a month im shocked to find its only returning around 25mpg. it is due an inspection II service, can i improve the mpg or is it a normal figure ?????
many thanks
Staff

[nicey]

Depends on the type of journeys you are doing, yes a service will help, but not massively, realsitic mpg for everyday driving 25-32 ish.

[Speedtouch]

Official average figure for these is 26mpg, which is about what I used to get out of my L-Jet chromies.

If you have the later Motronic 320i, a chip may help

[StuBeeDoo]

When my touring was a 2.0 I got 25mpg commuting (8.5 miles each way, c.3 miles fast dual carriageway the rest urban) and somewhere around 30mpg on a decent run.

[Cloggy Saint]

Official average figure for these is 26mpg, which is about what I used to get out of my L-Jet chromies.

If you have the later Motronic 320i, a chip may help

Did bugger all for mine . Not a speedtouch chip I should say!

[kam-325i]

After owning my e30 nearly a month im shocked to find its only returning around 25mpg. it is due an inspection II service, can i improve the mpg or is it a normal figure ?????
many thanks
Staff

Sounds about right. i ran a 320i for about 2 years and was getting around 22-25mpg around town.

[jmc330i]

Sounds about right for a 320i. The 2.0l is a little worse on fuel than the 2.5l, so.....

Stick a 2.5 lump in there and enjoy better mpg and performance

[DavieP]

My auto 320 gives 25-26 around town and in stop-start traffic and 34-35 on a long run. Not exactly "a little worse on fuel than the 2.5I" You should be able to better this with a manual, but it depends upon how well the engine has been treated and maintained. If it's a multi-ownered car, then it my have been thrashed by a previous, frustrated wannabe at every set of traffic lights, which won't have done it much good. It's normally an extremely reliable and and tough engine with few if any of the problems associated with its larger counterpart.

The pay-off is that it takes more coaxing to get any performance although once past 4K revs, it finally lifts its skirt and goes for it. I've got an Evolve chip in mine which has made significant improvements in this respect as well as making good improvements on the original fuel consumption. From what I understand, Speedtouch's chips can do much the same and are good value for money.

[Cloggy Saint]

You're one of the lucky ones! 34-35 on a long run? Even on a run to England and back mine won't return more than 26 tops. I also have an Evolve chip in mine which made zero difference to both economy or performance.

[darkchild]

My 320i is a completely standard, low mileage example (80K) and on the rare occasions I use it for commuting to work (90 mile round trip) it returns 32-34mpg. I typically get low 20s around town.

A recent service including new distributor cap and rotar arm seems to have added a couple of mpg.

[Jon_Bmw]

All these 320i economy dramas make me feel happy. I average 24mpg in the winter and slightly more in the summer. With 35mpg achievable, if you have a long cliff.

Perhaps a 540i is more sustainable on your pocket than most give it credit, unlike a 320i...

[DavieP]

My 320i is a completely standard, low mileage example (80K) and on the rare occasions I use it for commuting to work (90 mile round trip) it returns 32-34mpg. I typically get low 20s around town.

Mine's now done just over 80K. It was mother's from new and I took it over at 63K just under 4 years ago. The original plan was to run it for a couple of months while I was deciding what to do about the fooked turbo on my Rover Vitesse. A couple of trips around our local, narrow, bendy lanes and old memories flooded back so the E30 stayed.

[darkchild]

My 320i is a completely standard, low mileage example (80K) and on the rare occasions I use it for commuting to work (90 mile round trip) it returns 32-34mpg. I typically get low 20s around town.

Mine's now done just over 80K. It was mother's from new and I took it over at 63K just under 4 years ago. The original plan was to run it for a couple of months while I was deciding what to do about the fooked turbo on my Rover Vitesse. A couple of trips around our local, narrow, bendy lanes and old memories flooded back so the E30 stayed.

Sounds similar to mine - I bought it with 62K on the clock in January 2006. Same colour too. Sadly it also came with two extra doors!

[320ise]

i never had over 20mpg out of mine and tbh was the worst car on fuel i have ever had! but also was one of the smoothest drives from an engine i have ever known! i have since had a 535i sport that has been better than my 320i on the juice!

[jmc330i]

My auto 320 gives 25-26 around town and in stop-start traffic and 34-35 on a long run. Not exactly "a little worse on fuel than the 2.5I"

Thats what my 2.5 used to give with everyday driving (not including 'fun' driving), although it would get around 37 on a motorway run.
I said a little worse, because I was only meaning 1 or 2 miles, but considering the performance gains of the 2.5l, I dont think the 2.0l is all that economical for its power/torque figures.

It's normally an extremely reliable and and tough engine with few if any of the problems associated with its larger counterpart.

Couldnt agree more, although I never had probs with my B25.
The two 320i's Ive owned (one was an auto) were both great cars, much smoother than the 325i to drive everyday and IMO they have a better sound.

I couldnt get either of them to beat the 325i for fuel economy, especially up the motorway at 70-75mph. In the end though, both B20s made way for 24v's - its just the way it had to be

[stonesie]

When my touring was a 2.0 I got 25mpg commuting (8.5 miles each way, c.3 miles fast dual carriageway the rest urban) and somewhere around 30mpg on a decent run.

Exactly the same as me, and on petrol its within 1/2 a MPG as a cammed 2.8

[Ranchero]

Someone suggested I get myself a smart car as they do about 55 mpg. While impressed with the figures I was absolutely disgusted by the prospect of driving such an abomination.

[DavieP]

My auto 320 gives 25-26 around town and in stop-start traffic and 34-35 on a long run. Not exactly "a little worse on fuel than the 2.5I"

Thats what my 2.5 used to give with everyday driving (not including 'fun' driving), although it would get around 37 on a motorway run.
I said a little worse, because I was only meaning 1 or 2 miles, but considering the performance gains of the 2.5l, I dont think the 2.0l is all that economical for its power/torque figures.

Oh yes, that's undeniably true. However, a decent one is nowhere near as sloth-full and dipso-maniacal as is sometimes suggested here (usually by those who have read it and never experienced it ). In normal driving conditions it's not always easy to benefit from the 325's lower down and improved torque, so for some of us those advantages are largely irrelevant.

These are all old cars, conceived in an age when low to mid 20's fuel consumptions were not only acceptable, but also considered pretty reasonable for what were then, high-end, executive cars. I've no illusions about my model's failings, but I respect its engineering finesse compared to similar cars of the day (and more recent times for that matter) and love its smoothness. I don't do track, am utterly bored by traffic-light gladiatorials and am not inconvenienced by the fuel consumption, so it does for me.

[Millsand]

Ditto everything that DavieP says!

[Staff]

Well thankyou for all your replies. After sticking to a solid 60mph regardless of road contour/condition the bmw is returning reasonable figures presumably as the cars in germany were built with the autobahn in mind?, I also removed the airfilter as a test, and this helped aswell as adding more audible grunt.... on £30 of shells finest @ £1.10 per litre, I managed 200miles, most of which was motorway commuting. Im considering a small motorbike for the work commute and this will allow more time, cash and a more direct idea of what i want the e30 to be.....watch this space....

[Speedtouch]

= 33.3mpg, not too bad. Removing the air filter is, however, a false economy, as it could cause engine damage over a longer period of time, as dirt and debris gets sucked in, causing extra wear.