1995 E36 M3 4 door Fuel Consumption / Type
Discussion
Guys,
Still window shopping for a 3 series (I need 4 seats and doors these days). In fact it's getting to be a bit more than window shopping stage.
Attempting to get a real-world idea of how fuel consumption would compare with my current Prelude 2.2 VTEC, which, with 135,000 miles I can consistently get about 30 - 35 mpg average (calculated by tank refil volume and mileage). Obviously this is without using the VTEC a lot. Can anyone tell me the equivalent figure for an E36 M3? I'm not really interested in the instantaneous peak figure on the computer during a trip, rather the average over a tank. My daily commute is about 10 miles, 6 of which is motorway.
Also, I've read varying opinions of which fuel to use. Is V-power a *requirement* for safe use, or just to get peak performance? First thoughts were that it's the latter, but plenty of people insist that engine damage will be the result of using normal unleaded. The price difference could be the difference between buying one or not in the current petrol price situation.
Cheers.
Still window shopping for a 3 series (I need 4 seats and doors these days). In fact it's getting to be a bit more than window shopping stage.
Attempting to get a real-world idea of how fuel consumption would compare with my current Prelude 2.2 VTEC, which, with 135,000 miles I can consistently get about 30 - 35 mpg average (calculated by tank refil volume and mileage). Obviously this is without using the VTEC a lot. Can anyone tell me the equivalent figure for an E36 M3? I'm not really interested in the instantaneous peak figure on the computer during a trip, rather the average over a tank. My daily commute is about 10 miles, 6 of which is motorway.
Also, I've read varying opinions of which fuel to use. Is V-power a *requirement* for safe use, or just to get peak performance? First thoughts were that it's the latter, but plenty of people insist that engine damage will be the result of using normal unleaded. The price difference could be the difference between buying one or not in the current petrol price situation.
Cheers.
I always ran my 3.0 E36 M3, and still run my current E46 3.2 M3 on V-Power. On the occasions that I've used alternative fuels, they didn't feel as responsive, or strong ..... Quite possible that is more of a psychlogical observation rather than something measureable.
In general use, you'll never match your Honda averages. M3s are perfectly capable of bettering 30mpg on a sensible run, however mid to low 20s is far more likely.
In general use, you'll never match your Honda averages. M3s are perfectly capable of bettering 30mpg on a sensible run, however mid to low 20s is far more likely.
Thanks for the comments guys.
OK, so with a bit of care I could probably at least approach my current consumption. Any thoughts on the necessity of running Vpower as opposed to it just being 'better' in terms of performance?
What is the best mileage to buy at? A colleauge who has one pointed out that - IIRC - things start to need replacing at about 70K, so that it might be better to go for something at around 90k when it's more likely that a few of the more critical parts might have been replaced. Any thoughts?
Must admit I'm torn between getting a decent car for myself that I've always liked, and the cost issue compared with my knackered Prelude. I know it seems crazy to be asking questions about economy and cost when considering a car like this, but at the back of my mind I'm thinking..."This is the worst car to buy at the moment, but then again this could be the last time could ever affford to run an M3" (2 young kids). The missus put paid once and for all the idea of an S2000.
It's a depressing feeling I can tell you
OK, so with a bit of care I could probably at least approach my current consumption. Any thoughts on the necessity of running Vpower as opposed to it just being 'better' in terms of performance?
What is the best mileage to buy at? A colleauge who has one pointed out that - IIRC - things start to need replacing at about 70K, so that it might be better to go for something at around 90k when it's more likely that a few of the more critical parts might have been replaced. Any thoughts?
Must admit I'm torn between getting a decent car for myself that I've always liked, and the cost issue compared with my knackered Prelude. I know it seems crazy to be asking questions about economy and cost when considering a car like this, but at the back of my mind I'm thinking..."This is the worst car to buy at the moment, but then again this could be the last time could ever affford to run an M3" (2 young kids). The missus put paid once and for all the idea of an S2000.
It's a depressing feeling I can tell you
dr_gn said:
What is the best mileage to buy at? A colleauge who has one pointed out that - IIRC - things start to need replacing at about 70K, so that it might be better to go for something at around 90k when it's more likely that a few of the more critical parts might have been replaced. Any thoughts?
That's a very interesting observation.When I was looking to buy my current car, my budget was bringing a lot of 50k and 60k cars into my sights, however I was frequently disappointed with the lack of maintenance work that had been carried out (or had been required) during that time .... Many of them had little more than the main dealer inspections, and were commanding a premium for being a low mileage car.
I ended up buying a car with 80k miles on it that had enjoyed quite a bit of cash lavished on it for the "things that start needing replacing" that your mate could have been referring to. If had some quite scary invoices in the history for the renewal of some of the SMG related moving parts, and all of the suspension was as fresh as a daisy too. It had a few more chips and scuffs here and there, and some wear and tear to the seat bolster, but was an honest and genuinely well maintained car.
I think that overall, I got a better car by buying with a few more miles and history, plus I saved a couple of grand from my original max budget too.
mat205125 said:
dr_gn said:
What is the best mileage to buy at? A colleauge who has one pointed out that - IIRC - things start to need replacing at about 70K, so that it might be better to go for something at around 90k when it's more likely that a few of the more critical parts might have been replaced. Any thoughts?
That's a very interesting observation.When I was looking to buy my current car, my budget was bringing a lot of 50k and 60k cars into my sights, however I was frequently disappointed with the lack of maintenance work that had been carried out (or had been required) during that time .... Many of them had little more than the main dealer inspections, and were commanding a premium for being a low mileage car.
I ended up buying a car with 80k miles on it that had enjoyed quite a bit of cash lavished on it for the "things that start needing replacing" that your mate could have been referring to. If had some quite scary invoices in the history for the renewal of some of the SMG related moving parts, and all of the suspension was as fresh as a daisy too. It had a few more chips and scuffs here and there, and some wear and tear to the seat bolster, but was an honest and genuinely well maintained car.
I think that overall, I got a better car by buying with a few more miles and history, plus I saved a couple of grand from my original max budget too.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2567851.htm
Looks superb, and the low mileage is attractive, but might get very expensive, very quickly?
The M3 is designed to run on a minimum of 98 RON petrol. Standard unleaded is 95 RON, so it is not up to specification.
BP and some of the other "super unleaded" petrol is only 97 RON, which is still too low for continuous operation.
I think the only viable options are:
Shell V Power (99 RON)
Tesco Momentum 99 (99 RON)
you wouldn't put inferior oil in your M3 (I hope!), so why put inferior petrol in it?
Cheers,
Steve
BP and some of the other "super unleaded" petrol is only 97 RON, which is still too low for continuous operation.
I think the only viable options are:
Shell V Power (99 RON)
Tesco Momentum 99 (99 RON)
you wouldn't put inferior oil in your M3 (I hope!), so why put inferior petrol in it?
Cheers,
Steve
I bought my M3 Evo when it had 100,000 miles on it. I have now taken this to 162,000 miles. I have not needed to do anything to it other than regular servicing in an independent dealer plus a few bushes and a set of disks and pads and several tyres. These have worked out to be quite expensive as you might imagine, but overall, my car has been very reliable.
I was told the clutch was replaced under warranty just before I bought it, and the fact that it has now done 162,000 miles makes me think this is likely to be the case, as that is a lot of miles on the original clutch.
For this reason, I think higher mileage M3's are fine if they have been well serviced and looked after.
When it is time for an Inspection service, do not expect to get much change from £1000. I know the garages quote figures such as £500 for an Inspection I or II, but there is always a number of other things that also need attention and this brings the price right up there. An oil service is usually about £250. An E36 M3 needs a service about every 6,000 miles.
I have an average fuel consuption for the 62,000 miles I have covered of 26.9 mpg. On a long run at average 80 MPH, you can get 30-32 mpg, and around town expect 20-21 mpg.
On the odd occasion I have found myself on a track, I have got around 6 mpg
I hope this helps your buying decision.
Cheers,
Steve
I was told the clutch was replaced under warranty just before I bought it, and the fact that it has now done 162,000 miles makes me think this is likely to be the case, as that is a lot of miles on the original clutch.
For this reason, I think higher mileage M3's are fine if they have been well serviced and looked after.
When it is time for an Inspection service, do not expect to get much change from £1000. I know the garages quote figures such as £500 for an Inspection I or II, but there is always a number of other things that also need attention and this brings the price right up there. An oil service is usually about £250. An E36 M3 needs a service about every 6,000 miles.
I have an average fuel consuption for the 62,000 miles I have covered of 26.9 mpg. On a long run at average 80 MPH, you can get 30-32 mpg, and around town expect 20-21 mpg.
On the odd occasion I have found myself on a track, I have got around 6 mpg
I hope this helps your buying decision.
Cheers,
Steve
Good advice from bass2rez - I mainly used V-Power on my M3 Evo , with probably 1 tank in 3 being BP Ultimate, never noticed any difference. The M3 Evo/3.0 do not have sensors to back the engine off if lower grade fuel is used (I believe the E39 M5 was the first M car with this feature) so it's really not a good idea to run them on regular unleaded. My understanding is that you can cause engine damage if you use all the performance (and why buy an M car if you're not going to, at least sometimes?).
My combined consumption over 2 years/25k miles was around 25-26mpg. Early 30s on the motorway, early 20s in town. My car had nearly 96k miles on it when I bought it, sold last week at nearly 121k miles. Very solidly-built and reliable, not cheap to run, but a real "do anything" car. Given the age of these cars now, I'd be buying on condition and proven maintenance rather than mileage - even a car with average mileage will have done over 100k.
Best of luck with your search - also get on to e36coupe.com (if you haven't already) - loads of knowledge on there.
Neal
My combined consumption over 2 years/25k miles was around 25-26mpg. Early 30s on the motorway, early 20s in town. My car had nearly 96k miles on it when I bought it, sold last week at nearly 121k miles. Very solidly-built and reliable, not cheap to run, but a real "do anything" car. Given the age of these cars now, I'd be buying on condition and proven maintenance rather than mileage - even a car with average mileage will have done over 100k.
Best of luck with your search - also get on to e36coupe.com (if you haven't already) - loads of knowledge on there.
Neal
_Neal_ said:
Good advice from bass2rez - I mainly used V-Power on my M3 Evo , with probably 1 tank in 3 being BP Ultimate, never noticed any difference. The M3 Evo/3.0 do not have sensors to back the engine off if lower grade fuel is used (I believe the E39 M5 was the first M car with this feature) so it's really not a good idea to run them on regular unleaded. My understanding is that you can cause engine damage if you use all the performance (and why buy an M car if you're not going to, at least sometimes?).
My combined consumption over 2 years/25k miles was around 25-26mpg. Early 30s on the motorway, early 20s in town. My car had nearly 96k miles on it when I bought it, sold last week at nearly 121k miles. Very solidly-built and reliable, not cheap to run, but a real "do anything" car. Given the age of these cars now, I'd be buying on condition and proven maintenance rather than mileage - even a car with average mileage will have done over 100k.
Best of luck with your search - also get on to e36coupe.com (if you haven't already) - loads of knowledge on there.
Neal
The M3 3.0 and Evo have 3 knock sensors so can adjust timing to suit the fuel within certain limits.My combined consumption over 2 years/25k miles was around 25-26mpg. Early 30s on the motorway, early 20s in town. My car had nearly 96k miles on it when I bought it, sold last week at nearly 121k miles. Very solidly-built and reliable, not cheap to run, but a real "do anything" car. Given the age of these cars now, I'd be buying on condition and proven maintenance rather than mileage - even a car with average mileage will have done over 100k.
Best of luck with your search - also get on to e36coupe.com (if you haven't already) - loads of knowledge on there.
Neal
They all should have a sticker by the fuel gauge saying to use 97RON or higher.
I use V-power mainly in my Evo, if not then Super never 95, it gets about 22-23mpg average but it has a 5 speed box rather than the 6 speed and is a stripped out track car.
Gassing Station | M Power | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff