330cd fuel consumption

[danjones]

Hi,

I've just changed my car from a 2007 320d M Sport (163bhp) to a 2004 330cd Sport (204 bhp) and must say the fuel consumption isn't great compared to my old 320d. My commute to work is about 10 miles each way through traffic, but am struggling to get more than 27mpg, where as the 320d was getting about 42mpg.

Anyone else got a 330d/cd? I would be interested to know the mpg's you're getting and under what driving conditions/style.

I must say though the 330d engine is amazing, with performance I only thought available from a petrol.

Thanks,

[m12_nathan]

weirdly 27 is 2/3rd of 42, just as the 320 engine size is 2/3rd of the 330 engine size, wonder is the two facts are related...

[NickXX]

You should be getting over 30mpg - is it very stop-start? How long does it take to do the 10 miles? I have a 330d and get around 37mpg over a 10 mile journey to work (very mixed driving, 35-40mins).

[danjones]

It takes me about 30 mins to do the 10 miles, and is stop mostly stop start. It worries me slightly that my consumption is so low. Are you driving very steadily to get 37mpg?

How many miles do you get to a tank?

I am considering a DMS remap as all other cars I have owned and remapped has improved their fuel economy.

[NickXX]

danjones said:

It takes me about 30 mins to do the 10 miles, and is stop mostly stop start. It worries me slightly that my consumption is so low. Are you driving very steadily to get 37mpg?

How many miles do you get to a tank?

I am considering a DMS remap as all other cars I have owned and remapped has improved their fuel economy.

It is rare for me to get less than 500 miles (~38mpg) to a tank and can get 550 miles+ (42mpg) on a long run. I think the lowest I have ever averaged was around 450miles (if you exclude track days ). I'd say about a third of my journey is stop start with the rest being slow flowing motorway traffic or A-roads. It's fairly steady when I'm moving though. Is yours a manual or auto? Mine's a manual - autobox will probably lose around 20% in this sort of traffic. Your engine should also be *marginally* more economical than mine being the 330cd (M57N) as I have a 2002 saloon with the M57.

When was your car last serviced? Poor fuel economy might be down to a Mass air-flow meter problem among many others. Does the car rev ok from 3,000-4,500rpm?

Mine is remapped, you should definitely get it done for the performance - really transforms the car. Being an M57N you might be good for 250bhp and ridiculous levels of torque. I have a mild map on mine and it'll still push 385lb/ft on the rollers.

I had mine done by Simon at www.e-maps.co.uk about a year and 12,000 miles ago (car now down 124,000). Very impressed with the service and his knowledge of the 330d. He's remapped a lot of e46 330ds, and will make sure everything is fine with the car. He spent 2 hours checking the computer diagnostics to make sure the injectors&MAF were all ok, engine was running well, and got his hands dirty checking the EGR . All for £325. I'd personally only consider DMS if the car was still in warranty (they will cover any warranty claim that BMW turns down because of the remap iirc), but still not sure I'd go for them.

[danjones]

Thanks for the info Nickxx. Mine is a manual and feels like it performs well through the rev range. Oil looks good as was serviced about 7000 miles ago. I may take your advice and get it checked out with someone, I have acces to some diagnostic tools so will see if they find anything first.

I haven't had that many full tank runs in my normal routine, but am on target for 420 miles this time.

I'll have good read of the e-maps site. At a glance it looks very good.