Daily runners?!! Are you crazy?

[dubownerbilco]

I have had my m30 on the road for a week now, and i have put in £80 of fuel!! I dont do any major journeys just local stuff, i have been averageing 15mpg...

How the heck do people afford to run these beasts as a daily?!

I live at home and dont have much to pay out of my wage each month and i still think i might struggle to keep up with its crazy demand for petrol

[e30topless]

this week I borrowed a freinds pick up truck.. 4 MPG



made me feel much better about running the daily E39 at around 23mpg

[makman]

my m50 was doing a tradgic 16mpg combined run haha worst Evee

[mcbonio]

Ha, welcome to the world of m30 fuel consumption.! Mine does 15-16 mpg in the city. Try to keep your foot off the loud pedal, these engines have got loads or torque, let it burble around in 5th gear at 30-35 mph if you can.

I do 40-50 miles a week in mine only, my office is only 2.5 miles away... and a bit of pottering around on the weekend

[E30BeemerLad]

Speak with Rav, he'll have a few tips on how to convert it to steam power

[Rav335uk]

Speak with Rav, he'll have a few tips on how to convert it to steam power

Best to convert to LPG, as Mr Moooore advises.

I worried about the cost of mine on petrol when it's built up on the ITB's

[e301988325i]

I dont do any major journeys just local stuff, i have been averageing 15mpg...

You do understand that's why it's so bad?

LPG FTW, the tank in the boot will help balance the anchor under the bonnet.

[mcbonio]

These engines were designed when fuel was cheap and they were put in luxury cars for well to do folk who didn't care about the cost. If you want good gas milage go buy a Prius FFS.

[Bristol_Jer]

Try using it on a trackday, then you'll see high fuel consumption! I knew it was never going to be any good on fuel so it doesn't bother me, I just knew I wanted a nice big torquey engine

I can't see an m30 being much worse than a m20 when pottering about, not that I've looked into it much but the m30 doesn't seem to use much more, if any, fuel than my old 320i engine when just driving around slowly

[eko]

M52 is the future....47 to the gallon on a run

[Bristol_Jer]

You can't say things like that in the m30 section!!

[eko]

You can't say things like that in the m30 section!!

[dubownerbilco]

Dont get me wrong, i knew it was going to be bad, just not a regular 16mpg or less... its all good fun though, the shear power and torque makes up for it! Ime still a little peaved that it wont keep up with my friend in his clio 172 the smug sod!

[leeparkes]

You should be getting more than 15mpg, i get low 20's and thats with the pina.
Does it smell like its running rich?

[Bristol_Jer]

Ime still a little peaved that it wont keep up with my friend in his clio 172 the smug sod!

In a straight line do you mean? M30'd e30's are hardly the fastest cars out there, but you should be able to stay with a Clio 172 in a straight line

[dubownerbilco]

Nope hes definetly pulling away from me, its not quickly but definetly pulling away!

It does smell a little rich tbh but not sure what else i can change to get it running leaner?

[Bristol_Jer]

Check the blue temperature sensor, and try and get it on a gas analyser if you can. Simple things like a clean air filter and checking spark plugs are ok are worth checking too to start with.

[dubownerbilco]

Already had new blue temp sensor and plugs also, still got the old air filter in at the mo until i buy a decent panel to replace it with. I do have access to a gas analyzer so might go check it out!

[Bristol_Jer]

Would be worth checking if you have the analyser Out of interest, what diff ratio are you running?

[dubownerbilco]

3.64 open at the moment, looking for a 3.73lsd though

[Bristol_Jer]

3.64 should still give good acceleration. Not sure if I'd recommend a 3.73 for road use to be honest, 1st gear is pretty much redundant. Brilliant for trackdays, just pull away in 2nd and then just use 3rd and 4th, even through the hairpins you can get the back end out in 3rd on the exit!

[Rav335uk]

Have you had the car Dyno'd?

[Bristol_Jer]

Have you had the car Dyno'd?

Good shout, it does sound like the power is down a bit. I know mine will be a bit lighter, but in a straight line on the last trackday I found I can just edge past a e36 328 and keep with a standard Focus ST 5 pot turbo thing in a straight line.

[Rav335uk]

Lee had a problem on his M30, had it on a rolling road and it turned out to be the AFM, had it done there and then, and dyno'd again with a good improvement

[dubownerbilco]

Not dyno'd yet but it is on the cards to be done soon, what was the problem with his afm?

[Rav335uk]

It was making the car run very very rich

[dubownerbilco]

Hmm, a friend was saying it smelt pretty rich from driving behind me, what did they do with the afm? Just re calibrate it?

[Rav335uk]

Adjusted it on the rolling road

[leeparkes]

Yes, the flap in the the AFM was to tight (or loose) cant remember which but with it running rough it made 230odd hp once calibrated it knock out 257hp.
Cost me £80 and imo money well spent.

[dubownerbilco]

Might have a pop at this tomorow then!

http://members.roadfly.org/louielouie/A ... tment.html

[leeparkes]

iirc mine was running rich at low revs and leaned out at top end, once sorted the engine feels proper crisp and smooth.

[dubownerbilco]

Hmm, when i accelerate it doesnt feel smooth, if i bang my foot down it feels like its bogging down slightly (although still accelerating well) and then once to 3-4000rpm it starts to pull even stronger?

[mcbonio]

Sounds like it's a tad rich, and yeah 3k revs and above is where all the power lives.!

You're getting 'ad off by a 172 Clio? Slot it into 3rd when racing on a straight and turn the taps on, the m30 pulls like foook in 3rd.

[dubownerbilco]

Yep! Hes pulling away from me through all the gears

Will have a trip to the local rolling road soon to see whats going on!

[mcbonio]

Might be all that extra boot bogging you down?