e36 toruning MPG

[Avtovaz]

I have a e36 touring that i have just got on the road. I went from Widnes to Ruthin and back on sunday, and did a little bit of driving about when i got back.

Its a 1600

It used 20 litres and did 89 miles.

I think that is about 20mpg, i think that is really bad!

Is that right or is there something wrong with it?

I was only doing 70-80 on the motorways, and i didnt hoof it at all!

[johnna]

Heavy car, little engine, high consumption.
A 325i touring would do better than my 320i touring.

[Avtovaz]

ah, i had a 140 sri vectra before and that was heavy on fuel i thought until i got this! That was doing 27 about town and 34 on a long run.

If i was to put a 1800 or 1900 twink in it, would it be much better then?

Or do i need to go all the way with a 2500?

[darkchild]

My old 1997 316i saloon returned 35mpg on average. A Touring wont be as good due to the extra weight but it should be way, way better than 20mpg.

[pacerpete]

I collected an E36 318i auto touring in crewe on Wednesday,drove to Chester to collect some seats and then back home, 260 miles on £35 ! I have since serviced it and replaced the f4cked breather valve and pipe, @40mpg i was tempted to leave it alone !

So yes, you have a problem. How long is a piece of string as they say. Best to check for basic stuff, I.E fuel/air leaks, service parts etc and if nothing obvious get it scanned. A dodgy cam or O2 sensor will not do these any favours.

[Avtovaz]

ah right, that is what i want to hear! Its slow as hell which i wont mind as long as its good on fuel!

I was thinking air flow or ecu-engine temp sensor.

I noticed the other day when i booted it lots of black smoke came out of the back, but i just put that down to me hoofing it a bit!

Ill inverstigate before i go and fit a v8 or the likes then.




Is there much difference in a 316 anda 318 8v motor? I knwo someone with a 1800 and i just wondered if it would have a little more poke, and worth te swap.

Mind you it maybe a shame as its only done 73,000 ;)



thanks for the replies so far! ;))))

[pacerpete]

A 318 is faster AND more economical than a 316i as the 316 is not really man enough for dragging an E36 touring around. Not enough of a difference to bother with swapping unless your 1600 dies.
An M43 engined E36 makes a great runaround for banger money. Even the 316s go ok when in good health.

[darkchild]

An M43 engined E36 makes a great runaround for banger money. Even the 316s go ok when in good health.

Can only second that. I ran my 316i for 85,000 miles over 7 years - superb little runner and the most reliable car I've had. Head gasket issues aside, they're bulletproof.

[Avtovaz]

when i wind this one up, it goes all right actually, i was suprised, but its still drinking the fuel.

i suspect something is wrong still as it feels like when its low down revs its bogging down a bit, and then when you rev it it goes well.


It does need a nsr wheel bearing though, i dont know how much difference that will make and also i have been using the air con ;)

Is there any nasties doing a rear wheel bearing, do you need any special tools?

thanks

[donnyboiler]

My old 328i touring averaged 30.7 mpg. In 40,000 miles it never got less than 29 and once saw 37.

According to BMW the 316i ought to be better than that. Although the 328i is very good on fuel compared to M50 engined cars, it is not as good as the M40s or M42s. Best on fuel is the 318i.

There is definitely something wrong with yours in my opinion.

As another comparison, my E30 316i (also M40) gets at least 36mpg. Even if I load it up so it's as heavy as your touring, I'll bet it still gets mid 30s.

I don't even want to think about what would be wrong with that engine for you to be getting 20mpg... Have you checked for fuel leaks? Grabbing brake calipers? Disconnected hoses/blocked airbox? Electrical faults? Faulty sensors?

Don

[Avtovaz]

I havnt checked for anything yet, i was thinking as it was small motor it was struggerling to pull it and using loads of fuel.

I do have a spare 1600 motor that i can rob bits off but i dont know how good that motor is and its been outside for about 4 months now!

What i can do is my mate has a snap on ecu reader, so maybe that can tell me something! Is there anything like on a C20XE when you can earth a wire out and itll flash fault codes to you?

I cant believe that the 2500 and 2800 do so much to the gallon, if i knew that i would have had a 325i/328i long ago!


If i do decide to go down changing the motor route i think the best would be the m42, i know they are easy to fit as i have converted my 1600 8v compact to m42 engine. Very easy but the compact dosnt have air con, is that the same on the 1600 as the 1800?

Thanks for all the replies!

[johnna]

when i wind this one up, it goes all right actually, i was suprised, but its still drinking the fuel.

i suspect something is wrong still as it feels like when its low down revs its bogging down a bit, and then when you rev it it goes well.


It does need a nsr wheel bearing though, i dont know how much difference that will make and also i have been using the air con ;)

Is there any nasties doing a rear wheel bearing, do you need any special tools?

thanks

Have just done one it is a bit involved...

Drive shaft off, caliper off, shocker off, probably back box off too. the outer bearing casing needs to slide out after the circlip is removed.
But to get to the clip, you have to remove the hub flange, which is rooted in the bearing inner sleeve.

Basically,
tw@t the inner bearing surface out with an fbh and drift. It takes time.then wind out the outer collar using a puller tool. I made my own up.
It all sounds easy...

if you get a price under £120, pay for it to be done.

[donnyboiler]

I cant believe that the 2500 and 2800 do so much to the gallon, if i knew that i would have had a 325i/328i long ago!

The 325i uses more than the 328i. My old 325i coupe got 29 average, 31-32 on a run. My current 328i saloon gets 33.6 average, up to 37 on a run.

The M42 is a great engine, much better than the M40s and low maintenance.

[Ziggy]

My 318i touring does 30mpg on LPG or a bit more on petrol. But then it has only done 180k, so it's nice and fresh!

Considering how nasty your average m40 is, the m43 is brilliant. I wonder how easy it would be to swap one into an E30...

[Avtovaz]

Have just done one it is a bit involved...

Drive shaft off, caliper off, shocker off, probably back box off too. the outer bearing casing needs to slide out after the circlip is removed.
But to get to the clip, you have to remove the hub flange, which is rooted in the bearing inner sleeve.

Basically,
tw@t the inner bearing surface out with an fbh and drift. It takes time.then wind out the outer collar using a puller tool. I made my own up.
It all sounds easy...

if you get a price under £120, pay for it to be done.

Well, if someone wants to pay me now £120 for doing a rear wheel bearing bring it on! Just done mine, it wasnt that hard really, i did end up taking the arm off which i didnt need to but it wasnt that hard!

[paul1985]

my e36 318 is is fantastic on fuel i did a run last night from home to york and back probs 110 mile round trip the car was 2 up with a set of wheels and tyres in the back for good half of the trip each way were stuck in the average speed cameras 50 mph but when we were on the privatley owned parts of our journey we were touching just shy of treble that and according to my trip i average 33 mpg

[Avtovaz]

well everyone has told me to tank it, the run it for a bit and then tank it again.

So im going to get it to half a tank or there abouts and then work out the mpg/ Im sure its not right, it has a few flat spots too...