MPG for a 325?

[leed]

Mmmmm the OBC say I'm getting 18mpg, this doesn't sound good. Also there's a funny tappet like noise coming from the engine. I've just found the article on valve clearance, is this my problem?

Or should I just stop largin' it

Sorry for all the posts, I just found the zone and I'd love to have me bimmer perfect and you boys (and girls) seem to have all the answers

[Jackle]

What sort of driving are you doing? I can get around 28mpg if I'm just driving to work and normal runaround trips, that's driving fairly steady. If I take it real easy and go for economy I can get 30mpg. On a longer trip (300miles 50/50 m-way/a-road) I get upto 35mpg.
Obviously if you drive more hurriedly, shall we say, you'll get less mpg, but 18mpg still sounds very low. This is with a 325i SE.
The tappety noise probably is your valve clearances, easy to do. Or else it could be your exhaust manifold gasket blowing - I expect someone more knowledgable will be along shortly to explain more. I've just topped the oil up on mine as it was below the minimum level on the dipstick, didn't get any low oil warning light come up though. Anyway, mine was really ticky before that, now it seems alot quieter...

[Chaos]

on my old 325ise with obc i used to get around 22ish in general and up to 30 odd on a run.

i also found the obc was slightly innacurate, and if i checked it against actual usage it was 2mpg down, so 22 on obc wud actually be 24

[Turbo-Brown]

I used to agerage about 30mpg through town and up to 35 on morotway in the 325i.

I'd suggest that economical driving in these cars has less to do with how fast you drive and more to do with NEVER STOPPING

Even if you can trickle along at a coupe of mph instead of stopping in traffic it pays dividends

[pete325i]

On my OBC it has 3 settings for MPG. The litres per 100K one and then 2 MPG ones, one is american i think - and reads lower.
Push a pen in the hole when viewing the MPG and pick the highest one!

I get 24.9 day to day

[Jackle]

Turbo-Brown you're spot on there mate, you use so much more fuel when accelerating than anything else. Just keep on moving, and don't use your brakes unless you have to...
Pete325i which one is the american one? I always thought it was the one with the MPG readout, with the UK being M/G?

[Zayyan]

Try writing down the amount of petrol you fill up (1 gallon = 4.544 litres) and how many miles you do (using the fuel warning light) and see if it improves.

OBC is almost useless if you want to figure out your MPG accurately.

[Zayyan]

I always thought it was the one with the MPG readout, with the UK being M/G?

That's right.

[Rearwheel_nick]

i get 19/20 all the time its bordering on annoying now. but thats not to do with a problem more to do with the way i drive. but the 2.5 engine is so addictive i cant help but drive like that

[JoeP]

i get 19/20 all the time its bordering on annoying now. but thats not to do with a problem more to do with the way i drive. but the 2.5 engine is so addictive i cant help but drive like that

Haha, tell me about it. I've just spent a week in the North Yorkshire Moors, I managed 200 miles on the first half of the tank driving sensibly up there then 100 miles on the second tank redlining it everywhere! That niose is even more addictive than the 2p slots in the arcades! I think the small hole in the back box compliments it perfectly.