Thirsty 325, any ideas?

[s1oww]

My 325 (1990) seem to be a tad on the thirsty side, anyone got an ideas why?
My fan is stuck on flat out as the clutch is dead, so i know that isnt helping. It may sound like an aircraft, but i think an aircraft would be cheaper to run.

My economy thingy seems to have a mind of its own too.

[orangecurry]

and what MPG are you seeing?

[wildeian]

Hello again s1oww!

My aircraft also has poor fuel economy! Sorry I didn't mention it before, but didn't tink it was related...until now!

I must change that damn viscous fan!!

[s1oww]

Hi wildeian, its bloody annoying and sodding slow

As for mpg i have no idea. All i do kow is it drinks about twice as much as my missus 190 celica and more than my friends M3 (e36 and e46).

[wildeian]

Yeah, I've got a M20 - big 6 conversion in my Tourer. It definately drinks more that when it was in my sport. I put it down to the extra weight, but now I'm thinking it's the fan

Gonna try and get it changed this weekend.....I'll let you know

Ian

[s1oww]

Cheers dude, it would be good to know.

Could it be anything else?

[parksie]

My 325 sport aint nothing to shout about in the economy stakes in fact my V8 840 is more economical

[e30bmlover]

lol 325 and bad economy????? keep your foot off of the right pedal!

[clubfx2]

Mine does about 25mpg or so, all depends how sparing you are on the right foot, get about 100 miles off a tank...

[ric325i]

yep fuel usage is amazing!

just accept it but there are a few things to check to see if you can get any better fuel economy out of it.
just do a search to find it cause its a big discussion topic on the forum.

i dont remember what the checks are i gave up when i found my delightful fuel leak.

[snoops]

i average around 20-25 round town, anything lower than that then you need to stop stretching your right leg or there's something wrong with your car...

[clubfx2]

My problem is a definate right foot issue, has to be flat or nothing...

[old_skool]

get about 100 miles off a tank...

60 litre tank, divided by 4.54 = 13.21 gallons (100 divided by 13.2) =

7.5 MPG

Ouch.

[Steve-E30]

get about 100 miles off a tank...

60 litre tank, divided by 4.54 = 13.21 gallons (100 divided by 13.2) =

7.5 MPG

Ouch.

My 325 is also juicy , See about 200 miles to a tank if im lucky , Less with a heavy foot , No idea whats been done to it though
This is a blap down my local run to hastings and i regularly see this

[ric325i]

nice work steve im guessing its not a leisurely walk though

[georgezippybungle]

If the fan clutch is shot not only will that be huge drag on the engine but will also make it run cool, therefore less efficiently.
Had a fan sieze on a v12 jag and lost 6mpg instantly and the temp gauge dropped right down.

[fowler]

that is your man problem sort this then see wht the fuel consumption is like

[hongkongfuey]

I changed the blue temp sensor on my 88 325 and i now get at least an extra 10-20 miles per 1/2 tank depending how heavy my right foot is. also i dont fill it above 1/2 tank to keep the weight down a little???

[sam325is]

Knackered wheel bearings could cause a problem as the engine has to put in more effort to pull the car.

I dont know if this would have that much of an effect though.

[dobbie82]

Knackered wheel bearings could cause a problem as the engine has to put in more effort to pull the car.

I dont know if this would have that much of an effect though.

yeah my other half found a 320i became very thirsty with a truly knackered wheelbearing

other things that may help is a damn good service? A clean air filter + a non clogged AFM may fix the air/fuel ratio

changine the cold start sensor (maybe its buggered so running engine rich)

[sam325is]

where is the cold start sensor?

[Simon13]

in the thermostat housing

[sam325is]

ahh right i know the one

[Morat]

On the run back from picking up my new touring, I used 55 litres of fuel and covered 340 miles before the light came on and I bottled it. That works out at 28.1 mpg mainly on motorways, but including heavy traffic which extended the second half of the trip from 3 hours to 5 hours so I'd count 2 hours of heavy urban driving in that since I rarely got out of first and spent most of the time sitting still.

Its not exactly fantastic, but its OK I guess. The viscous clutch is knackered on mine too, so you have to put the heat full on at idle. I wonder if economy will drop in traffic when I replace it

[rj]

At 80 mph, motorway journeys, my 320iA returns 30mpg, which equated to about 370 miles per tank filling.

[Alex]

try a zone chip they are suppose to increase fuel a bit