M3 fuel consumption

[Tilly]

I have searched the forum but didnt come up with anything which I thought was a lil strange, I thought someone would have mentioned or asked the question before but what do you guys realistically get MPG from your M3's with town/A/B road driving and what mods do your cars have as far as engine work is concerned?

[Juber]

i dont know bout the M3 MPG, but on my 330 i get 22MPG around town, but then again i try not to rev it over 4000 RPM as i have this new clutch on :)

[big pimp]

yeah - i was gonna ask how a M3 compares to a 330 auto?

[Dirty Black]

Not an M3 but in case anyone cares...

328Ci

90% B-Road

10% Town

30MPG average

Premium fuel approx. 50% of the time

[av_guy]

I have had:
4 x new 330Ci Sports (inc 1 x facelift) - 22 to 24 MPG & 42 MPG : Combo of Super and Normal fuel
1 x new 325Ci - 22 to 24 MPG & 39 MPG : Combo of Super and Normal fuel
1 x new M3 - 17 MPG to 23 MPG & 40 MPG : Super fuel

Figures above are averages and vary according to types of road and motorway, with fluctuations in speed. The 1st figures denote in town driving and 2nd set of figures denote motorway driving.

[mystic sport]

On a run cruising at around 80-85 I can average 30mpg. In stop start traffic around london with the odd foot to the floor moment I get between 13-16mpg.

The OBC is around 1.5mpg on the low side so if it says 26.5mpg I am probably getting 25mpg

My normal driving is a 70% mix of motorway with 30% mix of town with some A/B roads thrown in. Based on this my average consumption is around 25mpg.

Have managed to get as high as 31.5 on the obc and as low as 9mpg again on the obc.

[Tilly]

av guy that was really helpful thanks!, can I ask... what is the spec of the M3, coupe or cab, manual or SMG?

[BeemerBoy888]

Stock M3 SMG, 17 to 19 MPG

[Tilly]

argh :s 17 - 23 is manageable.... 13 - 26 is suicide lol

[Juber]

I don’t want to start another Petrol thread here but I just wanted to say my car petrol lasts for some reason when I use high octane fuel? I have moved away from Tesco’s super Unleaded to Shell’s V-Max.

As for the M3’s MPG’s they should do an M3 Diesel LOL.

[ccfj1]

jesus paul, 13mpg!!! I'd start crying in the petrol station...lol

[mystic sport]

jesus paul, 13mpg!!! I'd start crying in the petrol station...lol

Haha, I was actually rather proud :p . However the average is around 25mpg so not all bad. I do loads of miles so I don't rag it everywhere. I would have no licence if I did ;) .

[Mud]

Dunno about MPG but I noted the following stats in the last 5 weeks of driving my car, all 'normal' style of driving with no thrashing it about

motorway - 444miles from 60 litres
80% motorway/20% town - 356 miles from 59 litres
50% motorway/50% town - 289 miles from 61 litres
20% motorway/80% town - 210 miles from 58 litres
town - 186 miles from 59 litres

2001 330CI SE with 18inch alloys and no engine mods

[Chaos]

Maybe someone with a 320 and a 325 would like to add to the "M3 fuel consumption" thread and then we'll have a complete list of all the data that Mark didn't ask for. :rolleyes:

For reference, as I'm Mud's maths geek:

motorway - 444miles from 60 litres = 33.64mpg
80% motorway/20% town - 356 miles from 59 litres = 27.43mpg
50% motorway/50% town - 289 miles from 61 litres = 21.54mpg
20% motorway/80% town - 210 miles from 58 litres = 16.46mpg
town - 186 miles from 59 litres = 14.33mpg
Mud's fuel consumption = fucked for a 330 go see your indy tomorrow and get it fixed!

Now then, back to the actual question.

At the extreme, sitting at 70mph in a convoy, I can happily pull in over 30mpg. Easily. Average cruising/overtaking on motorways will turn in 26-29mpg. Driving 12 miles to work every day (including warming up, caning it through town, then 7 miles of fast dual carriageway) pulls in 23.7mpg regular as clockwork. The Nurburg F1 circuit returned 1.5mpg (and yes, I got a photo :p), although I was taking it easier on the first lap. ;)

General driving, with lots of 'I like the sound of my exhaust' moments, spread over several tanks of fuel, almost always averages out between 23-26mpg unless I'm being really silly for prolonged periods of time (god forbid I'm ever really conservative for more than 5 minutes unless I can help it :p).

[Tilly]

Awesome, cheers for that!!! Is yours a manual or SMG?

[lee330sport]

Those arnt bad mileage returns for an M3, my Golf gives about 17mpg with mixed driving:(

[BigFas]

(god forbid I'm ever really conservative for more than 5 minutes unless I can help it :p).


I've seen you get 36mpg from your car ;)

[mysticm3]

2003 m3

eisenmann exhaust and center box
ssdd cai
RE pulleys

21.9mpg 95% town driving, averaging 230-240 miles per tank 45~50 quid worth of fuel

[Chaos]

I've seen you get 36mpg from your car ;)
LOL, you made me get 36mpg from my car! It's never forgiven me. :(

[av_guy]

Quote
I have had:
4 x new 330Ci Sports (inc 1 x facelift) - 22 to 24 MPG & 42 MPG : Combo of Super and Normal fuel
1 x new 325Ci - 22 to 24 MPG & 39 MPG : Combo of Super and Normal fuel
1 x new M3 - 17 MPG to 23 MPG & 40 MPG : Super fuel

Figures above are averages and vary according to types of road and motorway, with fluctuations in speed. The 1st figures denote in town driving and 2nd set of figures denote motorway driving.

/End Quote

Tilly,

6-Speed Manual Coupe weighed down by a sunroof and and lots of other options gives me the figures I quoted.

Also - the car has 1,700 miles on it after 11 months since new, so it's not likely to be returning anything decent yet.

av_guy (Vik)

[Chaos]

Awesome, cheers for that!!! Is yours a manual or SMG?
Manual, those are without the hardtop, engine has a CAI+Eis exhaust+CA re-map.

[Mud]

Mud's fuel consumption = fucked for a 330 go see your indy tomorrow and get it fixed!



I guess my normal driving is akin to Schumacher on full pelt.

[Chaos]

Dude I've done full tankfuls on nothing but full throttle with the sport button on and the dsc off - never had consumption that bad. You shouldn't be getting anywhere below 20 on anything other than flat out round a track in a 330 bro, I'm serious. I was pulling 10-12mpg round the Ring on my quick laps and high teens on the slower ones with Fas in the car, nevermind round town. Your car is drinking way too much mate. :(

[Mud]

Hmmmmm I think I will get the car checked over. I did think that my MAF was buggered as when I drive with it unplugged the car drives alot smoother with much less jerkiness, but never kept an eye on the petrol consumption.

The read out on the dash always says I am doing about 23MPG, but I dont think its giving an accurate figure, as on my motorway only mileage test it stated 27MPG and I knew for a fact that it must have been more than 30MPG as confirmed in you're calculation earlier.

[lee330sport]

Dude I've done full tankfuls on nothing but full throttle with the sport button on and the dsc off - never had consumption that bad. You shouldn't be getting anywhere below 20 on anything other than flat out round a track in a 330 bro, I'm serious. I was pulling 10-12mpg round the Ring on my quick laps and high teens on the slower ones with Fas in the car, nevermind round town. Your car is drinking way too much mate. :(

I got about the same im my 330, average was about 17mpg down to about 10mpg at brunters/donny, that was with an SC though.

[Mikedav]

The read out on the dash always says I am doing about 23MPG, but I dont think its giving an accurate figure, as on my motorway only mileage test it stated 27MPG and I knew for a fact that it must have been more than 30MPG as confirmed in you're calculation earlier.

I always got 30-31MPG on the motorway in my 330 and 24-27MPG around town...M3 SMG is proving very similar to you guys, i.e:

Motorway: 31MPG at best, usually 29-30MPG
Town: 23-25MPG
Thrashing it: 16-18MPG

Which considering the performance doesn't seem such a crazy leap from the 330.

[Tilly]

well I have a dilema... M3 or mortgage on a cheap property and rent it out because I'm not looking to move out myself for a few years and if I do get a mortgage on a house and rent it, it wont be the house I plan on moving into personally...

[Raja_SMGII]

Cars can wait Tilly - get the house; I've just bought my 2nd house, furnished it for a little money and am now putting it up for rent... You know it's the sensible thing to do :) I wish I had this sense when I was your age [19]!


Edit: I get about 20mpg - up to 30mpg on the motorways, doesn't bother me as I make the most of the fuel card... until they take it away :D

[Chaos]

well I have a dilema... M3 or mortgage on a cheap property and rent it out because I'm not looking to move out myself for a few years and if I do get a mortgage on a house and rent it, it wont be the house I plan on moving into personally...Cars go down in value, house prices go up. No brainer if you're thinking of the future. ;)

[Tilly]

yeah normally I would say its a no brainer but I cant 100% say for sure I can afford it without tenants because my work is commission based thats why I need to let it out and hold back enough cash in savings to cover a minimum of one years costs in the case of repairs or having no tenants in.

The problem is, I know in a lot of your areas house prices are a lot higher like where I am they're 200k but in some places around here house prices at 60k will be like a council house calibre and not in an amazing area. Fine if I'm getting the payment but no offence meant to anyone but most people renting places of that value do so for a reason, bad credit, lack of money and sometimes just scrots... so I have a geater risk of my tenant not paying than a few years ago when maybe a few of you guys bought properties and did something similar because lets face it, nowadays you dont get the same for your money. Realistically I'm talking a 2 up, 2 down terraced in a low class area. Is it worth taking the risk of bad tenants etc or has the housing trade had its day as far as sub £100k houses are concerned? (not saying I could afford a 100k mortgage, looking more at 50-60 to be a bit safer)

[Chaos]

Still no idea where you're gonna get a house for 50-60k, but IMO if you buy an M3 you're gonna lose at least 3-4k a year even on an early one. If you buy a later one you're looking at 6k a year. Your mortgage, if you have no tenants all year, will cost you somewhere around or between those figures (and no repair/maintenance costs).

So, what you're asking is, do you spend 50k and (worst case scenario) risk losing 6k a year whilst making a 5% average profit in the same period, or do you spend 20-45k and (best case scenario) risk losing 4-6k a year whilst spending even more money on servicing etc.

Seriously dude, from a financial perspective, it's a no-brainer. I spent years and years in business and cost analysis management. There is nothing pointing towards the car route from a financial or 'common sense' angle. Not to say it's wrong, it's what I and lots others on here have done, but if you're looking purely at investment and/or financial analysis etc then there's only one answer to your question.

[Tilly]

but then it hits just as you're thinking of investing... the scenario:

Your stupid f*cking merc has only done 11,500 miles and you've had it from new so know you've looked after it. have already had to put tyres on because of f*cked up geometry merc refuse to look at even although tracking has been checked indepently and is fine. (When it was delivered it was late because it just happened that "the other cars on the transporter were damaged but yours wasnt so they're going through the workshop first" and then when its delivered there are two sucker marks on the windscreen leading you to believe there could have been front end damage although merc swear thats not the case. Reason for bad camber? could well be!)

The car returns 28/29 mpg on long journeys if you're lucky and averages at 24.7mpg and is a 1.8, great! has also been in for an airbag fault which they half arsedly fixed as and when they could be bothered to order and fit the part and its been in four times with a brake fault they claimed was none existant and "just a characteristic of brakes" even though it wouldnt physically stop on slip roads, I used to be a mechanic myself but hey what do I know? After all you need to be a rocket scientist to understand brakes are designed to stop a car.... then they think you're numb and try fobbing you off by saying they've swapped the brake master cylinder which has done aaaaaaabsolutely f*ck all and they say they'll cover the cost of discs if you pay for the pads even though "theres no fault"

Is this admitting liability? yeah I think so or else why would they foot half the bill? oh yeah.... I forgot, its a stealership and they love ripping people off. To top it al off after this so called non existant problem that they then decide does exist, try and fix and fail.. the bloody pad wear light comes on and now they want me to pay a good few hundred quid on that because now its not warranty but wear and tear. screw that!

Heres the twist... Not only am I pissed off but it just happens that for a limited time I get 17% of the majority of models of BMW (brand new apart from M models and the new E92) and insurance want £1800 for a 525D M Sport auto to my own spec which is erm... interesting...

So.... do I or dont I....

£31973.12
BMW 525D M Sport Auto
Carbon black with black dakota leather
M rear spoiler
19" M Double spoke alloys
6 CD Changer in glovebox
High gloss shadowline trim
Visibility pack
Heated front seats
Sun protection glass
Velour floor mats

Approx £6.5k discount :S

heeeeeelp!

[peppernick]

This is one aspect I never got to the bottom of, because I really don't know and don't care. When I'm thirsty, I just go drink, so does the car :D




Also - the car has 1,700 miles on it after 11 months since new
av_guy (Vik)
Vik dude, what you doing? Go drive the car! ;)

[av_guy]

I'm inclined to agree with Nick on this - you need to quench the thirst of the beast every now and then. I have got down to 11 or 13 (can't remember) MPG after some spirited driving.

Nick,
You know, the car has been stuck behind scaffolding for a while and also with the new role, the car sees daylight twice per week only. In my rides defence, this is simply not fair. I hope to use it soon as a kiddie cart ;) once the home extensions are completed and the new arrival is here.

I love what you have done with your ride dude - nice new spray job... it's like taking your other half for a full-out overhaul at the parlour.

[alpina527]

E46 M3s should average around 24mpg. Its easy to work out the consumption. The service interval is worked out by the use of 2275 litres of fuel between services. Its as simple as that. They seem to do around 12k between services which equates to around 24mpg.

[Dirty Black]

E46 M3s should average around 24mpg. Its easy to work out the consumption. The service interval is worked out by the use of 2275 litres of fuel between services. Its as simple as that. They seem to do around 12k between services which equates to around 24mpg.

Never knew that - ta mate