RE: High-Mile Club: One Million Miles In A 3-Series
Discussion
Ah! At last someone with something other than a Beamer that's got a few miles on it! Well, for what it's worth, my car's 19 years old, and is just coming up to the quarter million mile mark. No service history for the last 15 years or so (maybe longer for all I know) and wasn't garaged for a lot of that time. Thrives on getting the living cr4p pasted out of it too.
...and this paragon of durability and reliability is...
...An Alfa!
...and this paragon of durability and reliability is...
...An Alfa!
Avocet said:
Ah! At last someone with something other than a Beamer that's got a few miles on it! Well, for what it's worth, my car's 19 years old, and is just coming up to the quarter million mile mark. No service history for the last 15 years or so (maybe longer for all I know) and wasn't garaged for a lot of that time. Thrives on getting the living cr4p pasted out of it too.
...and this paragon of durability and reliability is...
...An Alfa!
Nice! What Alfa have you got?...and this paragon of durability and reliability is...
...An Alfa!
@ the beemer part: it's the first time I hear about a million-mile beemer, I hear multiple Mercedes & Volvo stories tough.
walrus said:
oh dear, oh dear, oh dear what is it about discussion forums thats turns big hardy motor enthusiast men into bunches of bickering b
hy old women!
take Mr.Insight for example, "a con?" and what do you drive? a subarau, a ford, i know, i bet its something french, a peugeot or citreon? maybe, did you read the article properly, incase you didn't i copied and pasted a section for you to read again -
"Where they ran it 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For four years!"
one more time cos i can't quite believe it myself...
"Where they ran it 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For four years!"
would your subaru or ford be able to boast the same, i doubt it!
i've had one e36 320i, one e46 330d and four e30's, 3 of which have been 325's and i can hand on my heart say they truely are incredible cars, any of you out there slagging them off on this discussion forum clearly have never owned a bmw, its about time you bought yourselves one and got over the jelous stigmata that they're expensive to buy and run and go get yourselves one, after all they are quite simply one of the best cars on the road!
ps. i'm glad they finally set the poor thing free, i hate seeing a bmw in captivity!
walrus
O.K. I'm a long time watcher and reading this post has made me join and offer my opinion. Just recently I scrapped a Transit Tourneo due to excessive corrosion with just under 500,000 miles on the clock! Yes I was a taxi driver! Now what makes this more interesting is that for the last 25000 miles of its de-commisioned life the water pump had siezed and rather than fix it I just by-passed it by using a smaller fan belt. Yes the motor did sieze after a 50 mile run due to there not being any water in it but leaving it standing for 20 minutes usually did the trick. Out of those 25000 miles about 12500 were fully laden with 9 people and towing a 5 berth caravan. Just to be balanced my E30 318i warped its head within 15 minutes after the side bottle on the radiator fractured in heavy motorway traffic requiring a full head skim. So yes a Ford will easily last a million miles! Being a former taxi driver I know of several Nissan engined hackneys that have surpassed the million mile mark. 350,000 miles out of a double shifted Mondeo before it reaches its age limit is not uncommon with maybe a few suspension bush changes and a recon injector pump.hy old women!take Mr.Insight for example, "a con?" and what do you drive? a subarau, a ford, i know, i bet its something french, a peugeot or citreon? maybe, did you read the article properly, incase you didn't i copied and pasted a section for you to read again -
"Where they ran it 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For four years!"
one more time cos i can't quite believe it myself...
"Where they ran it 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For four years!"
would your subaru or ford be able to boast the same, i doubt it!
i've had one e36 320i, one e46 330d and four e30's, 3 of which have been 325's and i can hand on my heart say they truely are incredible cars, any of you out there slagging them off on this discussion forum clearly have never owned a bmw, its about time you bought yourselves one and got over the jelous stigmata that they're expensive to buy and run and go get yourselves one, after all they are quite simply one of the best cars on the road!
ps. i'm glad they finally set the poor thing free, i hate seeing a bmw in captivity!
walrus
walrus said:
oh dear, oh dear, oh dear what is it about discussion forums thats turns big hardy motor enthusiast men into bunches of bickering bhy old women!
Ironic introductory opening statement given the rest of your reply.hy old women!walrus said:
did you read the article properly, incase you didn't i copied and pasted a section for you to read again -
"Where they ran it 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For four years!"
Did you read the article properly? You missed the bit of the article stating it was serviced and maintained as per factory recommendations..."Where they ran it 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For four years!"
Working class said:
Didnt nissan run one of thier 2 litre engines on a test bed for 100,000 miles at 100mph or something like that?
I think you'll find most engines are tested like that. They wont do a million miles because running an engine all day for four years would be too long for typical development, so they just run it harder instead.Here's an example from the new Ford EcoBoost V6 simply because it was the most recent press release I have that blabbed on about it.
[quote]To validate their water-cooled turbo design choice, Ford engineers put EcoBoost through a special turbocharger test.
The test ran EcoBoost at maximum boost flat out for a 10-minute period. Then the engine and all cooling were abruptly shut down and the turbo was left to “bake” after this high-speed operation. This process was then repeated 1,500 times without an oil change. After the 1,500 cycles, the turbos were cut open for detailed technical examination and proved to be fine.
“We’ve attained things here the customer would never be able to do in their vehicle,” Plagens said. “Ten minutes of peak power (355 hp, 350 foot-pounds of torque) is something that’s probably only achievable in a vehicle for fractions of a minute, 10 seconds maybe in the extreme. We run it for 10 minutes many, many times over, and that’s far, far more harsh and severe than a vehicle test would be.”
EcoBoost also endured Ford’s standard engine durability test signoff. Back in the dynamometer lab, the 3.5-litre EcoBoost V6 went back up to full revs – and maximum turbo boost – for a real endurance test. This time it stayed at full throttle for 362 hours. That’s like running the 24 Hours of Daytona for more than 15 days straight.
Other tests subjected EcoBoost to a gruelling range of operating temperatures.
“We run all of our durability testing at the maximum temperature,” Plagens said. “For the turbos, the test is 150 hours long. Every 10 minutes the test alternates between peak power at max exhaust temperature and completely cold motoring. The goal is to verify that the turbochargers can withstand extreme thermal cycling without affecting their performance. It’s pretty brutal and extreme but it’s important to prove out durability.”
The engine uses that same grade of 5W20 engine oil specified by Ford for other gasoline engines, and oil changes are scheduled at the same 7,500-mile intervals, too.
SleeperCell said:
Working class said:
Didnt nissan run one of thier 2 litre engines on a test bed for 100,000 miles at 100mph or something like that?
I think you'll find most engines are tested like that. They wont do a million miles because running an engine all day for four years would be too long for typical development, so they just run it harder instead.Here's an example from the new Ford EcoBoost V6 simply because it was the most recent press release I have that blabbed on about it.
[quote]To validate their water-cooled turbo design choice, Ford engineers put EcoBoost through a special turbocharger test.
The test ran EcoBoost at maximum boost flat out for a 10-minute period. Then the engine and all cooling were abruptly shut down and the turbo was left to “bake” after this high-speed operation. This process was then repeated 1,500 times without an oil change. After the 1,500 cycles, the turbos were cut open for detailed technical examination and proved to be fine.
“We’ve attained things here the customer would never be able to do in their vehicle,” Plagens said. “Ten minutes of peak power (355 hp, 350 foot-pounds of torque) is something that’s probably only achievable in a vehicle for fractions of a minute, 10 seconds maybe in the extreme. We run it for 10 minutes many, many times over, and that’s far, far more harsh and severe than a vehicle test would be.”
EcoBoost also endured Ford’s standard engine durability test signoff. Back in the dynamometer lab, the 3.5-litre EcoBoost V6 went back up to full revs – and maximum turbo boost – for a real endurance test. This time it stayed at full throttle for 362 hours. That’s like running the 24 Hours of Daytona for more than 15 days straight.
Other tests subjected EcoBoost to a gruelling range of operating temperatures.
“We run all of our durability testing at the maximum temperature,” Plagens said. “For the turbos, the test is 150 hours long. Every 10 minutes the test alternates between peak power at max exhaust temperature and completely cold motoring. The goal is to verify that the turbochargers can withstand extreme thermal cycling without affecting their performance. It’s pretty brutal and extreme but it’s important to prove out durability.”
The engine uses that same grade of 5W20 engine oil specified by Ford for other gasoline engines, and oil changes are scheduled at the same 7,500-mile intervals, too.
...and yet they do!
It suggests that there are other factors at play, which aren't taken into account in these tests programmes. Sometimes, it's just the damp British weather, other times it's the old dear that does 2 miles every month and never gets the engine warm. I've also heard that the cars pass all these tests, go into production and then the "bean counters" get to work with their "I can buy these components £2 cheaper from China" philosphy. Before you know it, you've got loads of warranty failures that should be theoretically impossible!
ZesPak said:
Avocet said:
Ah! At last someone with something other than a Beamer that's got a few miles on it! Well, for what it's worth, my car's 19 years old, and is just coming up to the quarter million mile mark. No service history for the last 15 years or so (maybe longer for all I know) and wasn't garaged for a lot of that time. Thrives on getting the living cr4p pasted out of it too.
...and this paragon of durability and reliability is...
...An Alfa!
Nice! What Alfa have you got?...and this paragon of durability and reliability is...
...An Alfa!
@ the beemer part: it's the first time I hear about a million-mile beemer, I hear multiple Mercedes & Volvo stories tough.
I don't know how people aren't impressed by this. I'd say the engine turning 25'228'800'001 times and using 91'000 of fuel in 4 years is fking amazing. But if the car was running constantly for 4 years with an average speed of just 50mph it would have covered 1'752'001 miles... It's averaged 0.2mph over it's lifetime, 149.96 miles a day.
king amazing. But if the car was running constantly for 4 years with an average speed of just 50mph it would have covered 1'752'001 miles... It's averaged 0.2mph over it's lifetime, 149.96 miles a day. Edited by LeightonBuzzard on Thursday 30th July 22:27
Edited by LeightonBuzzard on Thursday 30th July 22:30
when I was working in an electronics factory in around 2001 we did our own 'tests to destruction' and in the room where the products were tested there were ones there from the late 70's when the factory started its own testing still running at max 24hrs a day every day of the year (was a seriously hot room lol)
also I saw an article in MCN (aug 2004) where they got 3 bikes and ran them at maximum rpm for 15hrs without stopping for refueling and the whole exhaust systems were glowing bright red and had melted but mostly never missed a stroke (one of the three broke down).
also I saw an article in MCN (aug 2004) where they got 3 bikes and ran them at maximum rpm for 15hrs without stopping for refueling and the whole exhaust systems were glowing bright red and had melted but mostly never missed a stroke (one of the three broke down).
Edited by Decky_Q on Sunday 2nd August 11:33
It's an interesting car with an interesting history, I liked the feature. The actual achievement is possibly not that impressive, there's countless more real-world ones which sound better, off the top of my head I know of the brand new 190E 2.3-16 being run for 31,000 miles non-stop FLAT OUT on a real banked oval, I believe they averaged over 150mph including pit stops. I wonder if the engine wear of being maxed out for 31,000 miles is worse than normal driving for 1,000,000 miles.... probably is.
In fact I just googled it
In fact I just googled it
said:
Southern Italy, August 13 - 21, 1983. In the early morning of August 13, 1983, under strict supervision of 102 FIA sport commisioners three Mercedes 190 E 2.3-16's (labeled green, red and white) started out on a 50,000 km high-speed test run, demanding any amount of stamina on the part of cars, drivers and test department staff. According to the regulations the cars for the record runs were just slightly modified compared to the future production cars. The bodywork was lowered by 15 millimeters, the front apron was extended downwards by 20 millimeters, the fan was removed and the power steering was replaced by mechanical steering. The Nardo cars also featured self-leveling suspension on the front axle to keep the ground clearance at a constant level. The gearbox had a longer 5th gear ratio to reach 250 km/h at 6000 rpm. Reverse gear was unnecessary and therefore removed, this would have costed 0,4 km/h top speed. The record track in Nardo is precisely 12.64026 kilometers long, has a diameter of some four kilometers and slightly banked lanes, hereby permitting driving almost without lateral forces even in the speed range over 240 km/h. According to the engineers' calculations, the cars were to reach the 50,000 km target in the morning of the eighth day, provided there were no problems. The pit stops were performed as scheduled and the 18 drivers (six per car) were up to the strain. Lap times were to be three minutes and five seconds to reach the targeted average speed of 240 km/h including pit stops. Due to the cars' low Cw value of 0.30, they were expected to reach somewhat higher top speeds than the production versions. Every two-and-a-half hours, the cars came in for refueling and a change of driver during a 20-second pit stop. The fuel tanks had a capacity of 160 liters instead of the standard 70 liter tank. Fuel consumption during the record run was a slightly over 20l per 100 km's. The heavily strained rear tires had to be replaced every 8,500 kilometers and the front tires every 17,000 kilometers. During these five-minute tire change breaks, the oil and oil filters were also replaced and the valve clearance was checked. In total 243 stops were made. The mechanics changed every 14 hours and had to do a pitstop every 50 minutes. To protect the headlamp lenses against soiling and damage during the daytime, they were covered by plastic caps. The radiator mask was fitted with a quick-change insect screen to prevent clogging of the radiator. After 201 hours, 39 minutes and 43 seconds, two of the cars had clocked up 50,000 kilometers with an average speed of 247 km/h and the 190 2.3-16 achieved three world records and nine international class records. The replacement parts carried on board in compliance with the regulations had not been required - the cars had been running perfectly smoothly despite the extreme strain. The third car was laid up for three hours by a broken distributor rotor arm - an item costing just a few cents, which the pit crew were not allowed to replace but had to repair. For enthusiasts, one of the cars that took part in the record run can still be seen in the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart (Germany).
Pentoman said:
It's an interesting car with an interesting history, I liked the feature. The actual achievement is possibly not that impressive, there's countless more real-world ones which sound better, off the top of my head I know of the brand new 190E 2.3-16 being run for 31,000 miles non-stop FLAT OUT on a real banked oval, I believe they averaged over 150mph including pit stops. I wonder if the engine wear of being maxed out for 31,000 miles is worse than normal driving for 1,000,000 miles.... probably is.
That's brilliant. Much more impressive test than the roller one.Our van a 2005 Transit Connect TDDI was bought at aeound a year old with 19000 miles.
It is currently on 160000 miles. It is used a service van and spends a lot of time on the motorway. Its had good oil and a service every 15k, cambelt, one! set of disk and pads, 2 x sets of tyres.
I can honestly say it drives no different to when we bought it, flown through 3 mot's with no failures or advisorys.
Was thinking about replacing it but i think clocking in the commercial world will be even more rife, will probably keep it, grass is greener and all....
Last van we had, put almost exactly 100k on it, same circumstances but that did start to feel tired. 2002 Citroen Berlingo. We paid £3700 for it with 26k, sold it for £1800 at 126k!
It is currently on 160000 miles. It is used a service van and spends a lot of time on the motorway. Its had good oil and a service every 15k, cambelt, one! set of disk and pads, 2 x sets of tyres.
I can honestly say it drives no different to when we bought it, flown through 3 mot's with no failures or advisorys.
Was thinking about replacing it but i think clocking in the commercial world will be even more rife, will probably keep it, grass is greener and all....
Last van we had, put almost exactly 100k on it, same circumstances but that did start to feel tired. 2002 Citroen Berlingo. We paid £3700 for it with 26k, sold it for £1800 at 126k!
W00DY said:
My E30 318is had over 140k when i crashed it and it felt as tight as any brand new car i've ever driven. It did have a ridiculously comprehensive service history with specialists replacing all bushings etc. but it made me wonder why anyone would want a new car. I miss it a lot and regret not buying it back from the insurers. I suspect most cars could do 1 million on a rolling road though.
aye, my Z3 has 140k as well and it's still perfect. Now I am at the point where I could only sell it for peanuts, can't part-exchange it, and costs bugger-all to run. So, I will keep it until I have enough cash to buy something faster (996 or 350z), but the zed will stay with me. I'll probably take it to Italy and put her in storage. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff