E36 328is Crazy high fuel consumption
Discussion
E30M3SE said:
So how many miles did you get on the '65ish' litres?
If memory serves me correct...187 or 193. This was with no unnecessary weight in the boot, after an Inspect 2 and MOT and i think tyres were pumped upto 35 with nitro in an attempt to reduce friction as much as possible.
sidpinup said:
Just a thought but are you 100% that the new cam sensor is working? Try disconnecting it to see if there is a difference. I have heard that some aftermarket sensors are poor quality.
Not keen on unplugging it because its such a tight squeez but worth a try I think, will give it a go tonight and test drive till friday. O2 sensors were not changed over the weekend so that's still pending too.
Op, will you do yourself & everybody here that's trying to assist you with the problem a favour? Go and fill the tank, I mean fill the tank to the top of the neck (it may take a couple of minutes to allow all the air to escape), reset your trip meter and drive as normal for say 150 miles and then refill the tank in the exact same manner. Forget the OBC read out, work the mpg out from the trip meter and then report back. Oh, and inflate the tyres to the correct pressure too.
vsonix said:
+1 the aftermarket ones have a very bad rep vs OEM
the price between an oem and after market was on £8 so i went for an oem.Today on my drive into work i averaged 22.8 and the range went from 29 from leave the house, to 27 to work, as i do work only around 2 miles from home and i drove the same way as i always do at that time in the morning, steady flow. but yesterday, driving home again the range was ticking down 2-3 miles a minute and mpg when i got home the average was 13! the only variable being the today is wednesday and the air temp!
Johnboy Mac said:
Op, will you do yourself & everybody here that's trying to assist you with the problem a favour? Go and fill the tank, I mean fill the tank to the top of the neck (it may take a couple of minutes to allow all the air to escape), reset your trip meter and drive as normal for say 150 miles and then refill the tank in the exact same manner. Forget the OBC read out, work the mpg out from the trip meter and then report back. Oh, and inflate the tyres to the correct pressure too.
Alright then Johnboy, i'll do it but with the way its fluctuating currently i doubt it will provide anything conclusive but its a fair point and worth trying...watch this space!OptiManc said:
the price between an oem and after market was on £8 so i went for an oem.
Today on my drive into work i averaged 22.8 and the range went from 29 from leave the house, to 27 to work, as i do work only around 2 miles from home and i drove the same way as i always do at that time in the morning, steady flow. but yesterday, driving home again the range was ticking down 2-3 miles a minute and mpg when i got home the average was 13! the only variable being the today is wednesday and the air temp!
Sounds like your journeys to and from work are on constant cold start cycles, doing only 2 miles.Today on my drive into work i averaged 22.8 and the range went from 29 from leave the house, to 27 to work, as i do work only around 2 miles from home and i drove the same way as i always do at that time in the morning, steady flow. but yesterday, driving home again the range was ticking down 2-3 miles a minute and mpg when i got home the average was 13! the only variable being the today is wednesday and the air temp!
That won't be helping your average fuel consumption one little bit.
E30M3SE said:
Sounds like your journeys to and from work are on constant cold start cycles, doing only 2 miles.
That won't be helping your average fuel consumption one little bit.
No you're right it wont, but i am a consultant and often work in different locations, today and till Friday i will be going to my own office but normally i can be traveling for between 5-20 miles and odd occasions loner journeys, but i dont only use the car for work, its personal use too during the day and evening and its the same inconsistency.That won't be helping your average fuel consumption one little bit.
Intresting to see what brim to brim figures will reveal - i doubt there will be any huge differences from previous calculations. Brim to brim is if you want nth degree mpg figures .I always fill up beyond warning light and simply divide gallons by miles travelled and to the button the mpg is always always consistent.
E30M3SE said:
OptiManc said:
the price between an oem and after market was on £8 so i went for an oem.
Today on my drive into work i averaged 22.8 and the range went from 29 from leave the house, to 27 to work, as i do work only around 2 miles from home and i drove the same way as i always do at that time in the morning, steady flow. but yesterday, driving home again the range was ticking down 2-3 miles a minute and mpg when i got home the average was 13! the only variable being the today is wednesday and the air temp!
Sounds like your journeys to and from work are on constant cold start cycles, doing only 2 miles.Today on my drive into work i averaged 22.8 and the range went from 29 from leave the house, to 27 to work, as i do work only around 2 miles from home and i drove the same way as i always do at that time in the morning, steady flow. but yesterday, driving home again the range was ticking down 2-3 miles a minute and mpg when i got home the average was 13! the only variable being the today is wednesday and the air temp!
That won't be helping your average fuel consumption one little bit.
My E36 328i (manual) will do at least 325miles from a full tank (60 litres odd, as I always refill when the orange light comes on and the OBC reads around 6 litres left).
Things to note...The "range" function on the OBC is calculated using the fuel remaining in the tank and the average consumption over the last 25km of driving. So if your fuel sender is sticky or has a partly broken tack (quite common), then the range may fluctuate wildly on the OBC...It won't affect the mpg figure, though.
If your only doing 2 miles each way per day then the engine won't be fully warm...in fact the oil would be as good as stone cold...This will hugely affect the mpg figure, especially if you're using thick-ish oil...The recommended viscosity for the M52 in northern europe is 5w-40.
I get a reading of around 25-32mpg over mixed driving, but if I do only short journeys this will drop to <20mpg, even if I drive very gently and the engine is warm...A cold motor will see it drop further and booting it from cold, quite apart from causing excess wear, will see another drop in mpg.
Finally, not all BMW OBC (of that era, anyway) are very accurate...There is a calibration function, though
Well, the results are in from my, empty tank, full tank, empty tank trial.
But first, I’d like to respond to some of the comments added lately, not all my journeys are around 2 miles and its virtually impossible not turn the engine off until you’ve got a good few miles and temp under your belt, but from occasion I will only go from the house to the office and back. I do a few fair miles each day and obviously drive the car in the morning, afternoon and evening.
Secondly, its defiantly not the ODBC, as it does indicate the correct Range and I am confident the correct MPG too. I am sure of this since having ran out of fuel on two previous occasions the range figures have descended to the ‘- - -’ marks then within a few minutes the engine has juddered and conked out! Also, refills are far too common and full tanks have gone into the 60 odd litre mark so the ODBC is in my opinion accurate enough.
Thirdly, I’ve noticed the warm weather has made a positive difference to performance initially, from start up its more prompt, less laboured as though its gained an extra 20 odd Nm of torque! But within a few miles or so the performance drop returns, so I am assuming the coolant temperature sensor may also be at fault. Anew one is ready to be picked later tonight for £22.
Now then, the empty tank test. I tried to carry out the test as scientifically as possible;
- Ran until completely empty (conked out first time at the car wash so got the lads to push me to the service station! second time 2ft from my drive way and got towed to the service station by my dad’s cab – thanks dad!)
- No extra weight which meant no passengers or extra bags etc
- Consistent fuel supply, Shell unleaded (now at £132.9p happy days!)
- Drove like a saint
- Kept tyre pressure at 32 and 38psi as recommended (although it obviously fluctuated during the day)
- And kept air con off no matter what
The result from empty to full to empty to full, was on average ***16.3MPG*** including around 20 miles of motorway driving and I managed to squeeze in just shy of 65 litres (64.1 and 646) each time.
So now the plan is to swap the coolant temp sensor, test and then eventually fit the O2 sensors which will need more time and effort so jubilee weekend!
Any ideas or points on the above?
But first, I’d like to respond to some of the comments added lately, not all my journeys are around 2 miles and its virtually impossible not turn the engine off until you’ve got a good few miles and temp under your belt, but from occasion I will only go from the house to the office and back. I do a few fair miles each day and obviously drive the car in the morning, afternoon and evening.
Secondly, its defiantly not the ODBC, as it does indicate the correct Range and I am confident the correct MPG too. I am sure of this since having ran out of fuel on two previous occasions the range figures have descended to the ‘- - -’ marks then within a few minutes the engine has juddered and conked out! Also, refills are far too common and full tanks have gone into the 60 odd litre mark so the ODBC is in my opinion accurate enough.
Thirdly, I’ve noticed the warm weather has made a positive difference to performance initially, from start up its more prompt, less laboured as though its gained an extra 20 odd Nm of torque! But within a few miles or so the performance drop returns, so I am assuming the coolant temperature sensor may also be at fault. Anew one is ready to be picked later tonight for £22.
Now then, the empty tank test. I tried to carry out the test as scientifically as possible;
- Ran until completely empty (conked out first time at the car wash so got the lads to push me to the service station! second time 2ft from my drive way and got towed to the service station by my dad’s cab – thanks dad!)
- No extra weight which meant no passengers or extra bags etc
- Consistent fuel supply, Shell unleaded (now at £132.9p happy days!)
- Drove like a saint
- Kept tyre pressure at 32 and 38psi as recommended (although it obviously fluctuated during the day)
- And kept air con off no matter what
The result from empty to full to empty to full, was on average ***16.3MPG*** including around 20 miles of motorway driving and I managed to squeeze in just shy of 65 litres (64.1 and 646) each time.
So now the plan is to swap the coolant temp sensor, test and then eventually fit the O2 sensors which will need more time and effort so jubilee weekend!
Any ideas or points on the above?
E30M3SE said:
Do the coolant temp sensor, if no joy there then do the air temp sensor, before you do the O2's, it's cheaper and easier.
Does your temp gauge sit in the correct position, i.e. vertical?
Yep, dead on 12 o'clock!Does your temp gauge sit in the correct position, i.e. vertical?
OK, will look into the air temp after the coolant, any ideas where the air temp sensor goes?
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