Discussion
nottyash said:
Well after picking up my M3 last weekend and driving it the 290 miles to work I was managing just over 31MPG around 80MPH.
When I upped my speed slightly I still averaged over 29MPG
At a 10 mile stretch on the M1 near Nottingham there are average speed cameras and a 50MPH speed limit. I set it on cruise to 50MPH and reset the MPG computer......After 10 miles....47.8MPG!!!
I am amazed at the MPG these cars achieve, and am so happy i bought it. A trip to the pumps and some mathematics proves the figures right.
Does everyone else get this or are you all heavy footed?
290 miles to work.When I upped my speed slightly I still averaged over 29MPG
At a 10 mile stretch on the M1 near Nottingham there are average speed cameras and a 50MPH speed limit. I set it on cruise to 50MPH and reset the MPG computer......After 10 miles....47.8MPG!!!
I am amazed at the MPG these cars achieve, and am so happy i bought it. A trip to the pumps and some mathematics proves the figures right.
Does everyone else get this or are you all heavy footed?
I would need to fill up each way.
nottyash said:
I have got it in my head that my old Manual returned slightly better mpg than my current SMG. But I'd imagine that's bull 
I expect thats true.. the pull away and coast to standstill probably make the difference. I don't think the computer can do as good a job. Also to a tiny extent slower (human) shifts would result in more coasting.
Still struggle to see how any of this could amount to much more than 1 or 2 mpg difference
Edited by Rawhide on Friday 19th December 16:36
M3RMS....Your driving style cant be any good then for fuel economy. There is boring driving and being stuck in Xmas traffic doing normal motorway speeds. Thats what i was doing.
While i was going at these speeds i wasnt putting my foot down like a Cock in amoungst the traffic.
Rawhide...totally agree. when cold MPG very low, but over the distance it evened up to 32.something yesterday. still going at 80- 85mph when I could.
average around town is about 23mpg. luckily I use the car for long motorway trips, and achieve much more with my driving style.
While i was going at these speeds i wasnt putting my foot down like a Cock in amoungst the traffic.
Rawhide...totally agree. when cold MPG very low, but over the distance it evened up to 32.something yesterday. still going at 80- 85mph when I could.
average around town is about 23mpg. luckily I use the car for long motorway trips, and achieve much more with my driving style.
SJobson said:
nottyash said:
A trip to the pumps and some mathematics proves the figures right.
How does filling up a whole tank prove that trip computer figures over only short distances are correct?I bought the car expecting 20MPG, The purpose of this thread is to see if others manage the figures I get...clearly some do and some dont.
it depends on the driver.
To blame the computer is a easy way out of the argument as ive proved its correct.
nottyash said:
SJobson said:
nottyash said:
A trip to the pumps and some mathematics proves the figures right.
How does filling up a whole tank prove that trip computer figures over only short distances are correct?I bought the car expecting 20MPG, The purpose of this thread is to see if others manage the figures I get...clearly some do and some dont.
it depends on the driver.
To blame the computer is a easy way out of the argument as ive proved its correct.
nottyash said:
To blame the computer is a easy way out of the argument as ive proved its correct.
If you genuinely have an M3 that's returning 45+ mpg at a steady 50 mph then I'm very impressed.All I'm saying though is that having covered 10's of thousands of miles across 2 different M3s that I just can't see how that's at all possible without some considerable coasting.
But I could be wrong, so am quite willing to try it myself and report back the findings.....
aaronc said:
I can achieve 30mpg fairly easily...
What sort of driving are you doing to achieve that? I can get 30mpg fairly easily but only by taking it easy in top gear on a motorway or similar! I'd also be wary about taking the number off the trip computer as gospel - based on my experience with BMW's I reckon it could well be 10% optimistic although to be fair a genuine 27mpg out of an E46 M3 still wouldn't be bad!Twincharged said:
smaller said:
I also got one last weekend, and have managed about 25mpg. But then I'm driving it in the way God intended.
How can you not hoon it in the first week of ownership?
Well he sort of explained with the 50mph limit and the speed cameras. Owning an M Car doesn't require you to drive like your trousers are on fire everywhere. I know the first few weeks of ownership it is tempting, but better still is keeping your licence so you can enjoy the car for longer How can you not hoon it in the first week of ownership?
it's good to know what they can do if driven steady
M3RMS said:
nottyash said:
To blame the computer is a easy way out of the argument as ive proved its correct.
If you genuinely have an M3 that's returning 45+ mpg at a steady 50 mph then I'm very impressed.All I'm saying though is that having covered 10's of thousands of miles across 2 different M3s that I just can't see how that's at all possible without some considerable coasting.
But I could be wrong, so am quite willing to try it myself and report back the findings.....
I dont coast at all.
have aword with yourself!
I still say that if you drive an E46 M3 the way it's designed to be driven the fuel consumption is going to average mid-20's to the gallon. Steady cruising at around 85mph on a motorway will move that to high 20's but if you're getting 30mpg plus on a regular basis I'm not sure you've bought the right car!!
nottyash said:
Not at all
Depends how you drive.
Anyone listen to me ????????????
I get what you're saying, if you take it really easy you can get decent mpg out of the M3. Depends how you drive.
Anyone listen to me ????????????
What I am saying is this.....
Don't reset your mpg for 6 months and I can guarantee you will not see more than 25mpg.
I can get 30mpg easily too when travelling back down the motorway on a Friday night, with everyone crawling along at 60mph, I can reset my mpg and see 30+ for the whole 200 mile journey, if I then don't drive it again till Monday morning when we are all doing 60mph again I will see 30mpg from the whole tankful.
However, don't reset the MPG for 6 months and I bet you are at 22/23mpg as eveyone I know with an M3 who doesn't reset it and does a fair few miles each year ends up with this figure.
Everyone I know who has it as a play thing ends up at 18/19mpg.
Those that do alot of business miles tend to be at 26/27mpg.
I have never heard of one person who has averaged 30+ over the course of 6 months or more.
nottyash said:
M3RMS said:
nottyash said:
To blame the computer is a easy way out of the argument as ive proved its correct.
If you genuinely have an M3 that's returning 45+ mpg at a steady 50 mph then I'm very impressed.All I'm saying though is that having covered 10's of thousands of miles across 2 different M3s that I just can't see how that's at all possible without some considerable coasting.
But I could be wrong, so am quite willing to try it myself and report back the findings.....
I dont coast at all.
have aword with yourself!
While I have achieved decent MPG on the odd motorway trip or achieved some pretty aumusing stats over shorter distances (both good and bad!), overall using my OBC and doing manual calcs, I cant return more than high 20's over any meaningful distance.
Are you sure someone hasnt put a 1.8 under the hood?
Seriously though, I'd be very interested to see how you go once you've owned the car a while, see if you can still achieve these sort of stats and its not just down to driving gingerly. Next time I do a decent M-way stretch, I'll bore the missus with a 50MPH* stint and see what we get
I've a sneaking suspicion the point-to-point on the lower end of the M1 is now gone, just when it could actaully be used for something useful!
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