are 320i's more thirsty than 325i's

[Alex]

i get the impression that the 320i is less economical than a 325i is it true or are they about the same ?????

[e30bmlover]

yes! i had my 320 for about 2 years and i used to get 230 - 240 miles to a tank, thats running on a 4.1 open diff, now i have the b25 fitted(about six months ago) and running on a 3.64 lsd and i get 260 miles to a tank driving around norwich, thats with some traffic light gp action too

[jibowski]

i had my 320i converted to 2.5 and yeah its a little more economical as i dont have to rev the engine much compared to the 320, i've retained the 4.1 diff so higher gearing isnt a cause for the mpg

seems to have a much greater umph of torque at the bottom end which suits my lazy driving style

[Alex]

only thing good about a 320i must be the sound then

[Elecblondie]

My e36 320 deliver truely shocking economy and that was on the 3.6 diff, it's now on 4.4 it doesn't go very far.

[Alex]

My e36 320 deliver truely shocking economy and that was on the 3.6 diff, it's now on 4.4 it doesn't go very far.

what do you expect its an e36

[capri_rob]

I've had 2 of each and there's not that much in it to be honest - you just tend not to drive the 325i quite as hard.

I like the 320i even though I have a 325i now ( now I'm an old fart 325i insurance is cheap as chips ) - They get a bad rep on here which going on the ones I've owned is completely undeserved.

[Simon13]

not really the old saying 318i perfromance with 325i economy. Theres no come back from that really and sums them up nicely.

Yes they were vastly better than any 2.0 Cavalier or sierra turds of the time but 95% of these sheds are no longer with us so it makes them a little pointless now.

They make good donor cars!

[Elecblondie]

My e36 320 deliver truely shocking economy and that was on the 3.6 diff, it's now on 4.4 it doesn't go very far.

what do you expect its an e36

Well, I expected it to be dead by now I'm sure it's taken enough abuse. Is it wise to take a car that can't clear a milk carton off road down country lanes?

The 4.4 diff probably doesn't help but it drank before than went in:)

[Silverfang]

Running a £20i with a 3.91 diff, going from Milton Keynes to Luton, so all sorts of traffic and back lanes / motorway with my right foot, and i'm averaging 300 to the tank

[stonesie]

Im averaging about 300 to a tank before I top it up, theres usually about 12~14 litres left at that point but i don't want to run it too dry.... i did once streatch it to 412 and the warning light had only been on for about 10 miles.


Thats a 320I touring on a 4.27 diff, not always granny driving.

[leeparkes]

my 320i used more petrol than my 325i
i was told the 325 doesnt have to labour as much around town
on the motorway it could be a different story,

p.s. stonesie,i had to drive 18 miles with the warning light on,(apparently theres 6 litres left when the light comes on)

[Felix79]

my 320i drank more than Oliver Reed . My 325i cab gives me much better mpg and has that much bigger umph. Saying that my old 318i was a brilliant all round car

[Grrrmachine]

my 320i drank more than Oliver Reed

[DavieP]

Im averaging about 300 to a tank before I top it up, theres usually about 12~14 litres left at that point but i don't want to run it too dry.... i did once streatch it to 412 and the warning light had only been on for about 10 miles.
Thats a 320I touring on a 4.27 diff, not always granny driving.

Similar story here - around town it does 23-24mpg, which equates to approx 320 miles to the tank and mine's an automatic. On a run with motorway driving 33 - 35 is the norm. No granny driving either - don't have time for that. The really 'heavy drinkers' must have had a very hard life or are not correctly maintained. Which accounts for them allegedly having no better performance than a 318i. I certainly don't recognise that little bit of so-called 'wisdom' - even with a slush box!

[Simon13]

DavieP they don't have better performance hence why there is a race series for M40 318s and 320's. Strange that theres nothing in it between the 2, and the racing is extremly close

[DavieP]

...they don't have better performance hence why there is a race series for M40 318s and 320's. Strange that theres nothing in it between the 2, and the racing is extremly close

I wouldn't know about the race cars since I'm not into that, but I did have a 318i for a short while when they were 'current'. It replaced a 320i and although it was a nice car it was not as fast. Better fuel consumption yes, but it made a lot more fuss while getting about more slowly. For me, the 320i was very frustrating compared to the 323i and the 318i almost but not quite as frustrating compared to the 320. I no longer measure a car's merits purely by speed, so the above comparisons are largely irrelevant for me nowadays.