Washington to Michigan
04-06-2006, 03:31 PM
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Ok, so in another post we had a discussion about the 530i's fuel effeciency compared to the 530d's fuel effeciency. I asked if the diesel was even worth purchasing since I was experiencing similar numbers in terms of fuel effeciency. Well, I finally got around to creating some Excel files that show my fuel economy while driving from Washington to Michigan. I know in the other post I said I reached numbers between 33-36mpg, but those were at slower speeds (60-65mph), this time I tried to do the journey a little faster (70-75mph) so my numbers dropped a little bit.
I still did a short distance (92miles) travelling at 69.2mph where I averaged 35.1mpg, so I think I proved that 33-36mpg is possible. I had to stop for the night though, so the next day when I decided to travel at 65.3mph I only averaged 32.2mpg because the car was cold and had not been running the whole day. I also did a test travelling closer to 80mph where I averaged 28mpg.
Either way, I attached the graphs (sorry if they are hard to understand, just ignore the scale on the y-axis the numbers inside the bars are the numbers I got), let me know your thoughts. Also, I took pictures of the display to show my numbers, so if anyone wants to see those feel free to ask.
I still did a short distance (92miles) travelling at 69.2mph where I averaged 35.1mpg, so I think I proved that 33-36mpg is possible. I had to stop for the night though, so the next day when I decided to travel at 65.3mph I only averaged 32.2mpg because the car was cold and had not been running the whole day. I also did a test travelling closer to 80mph where I averaged 28mpg.
Either way, I attached the graphs (sorry if they are hard to understand, just ignore the scale on the y-axis the numbers inside the bars are the numbers I got), let me know your thoughts. Also, I took pictures of the display to show my numbers, so if anyone wants to see those feel free to ask.
04-06-2006, 04:30 PM
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Cool not bad for a 530. Thats really efficient in my book! TOO efficient in fact.
Which 530 engine do you have? Or what year is your 530?
I curious how well a 545 and 550 will do in a long run like that.
During start and stop and in the city the 530 does no better than the 545.
Which 530 engine do you have? Or what year is your 530?
I curious how well a 545 and 550 will do in a long run like that.
During start and stop and in the city the 530 does no better than the 545.
04-06-2006, 04:34 PM
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Huh? Please recheck your post, the numbers or trip description isn't computing...92 miles (hot or cold) isn't a realiable sample, especially if all Interstate.
Cheers,
Ray Hull
Cheers,
Ray Hull
04-06-2006, 05:28 PM
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I've never reset my fuel efficiency and I've only done city driving. As of now, I'm 16.2 MPG.
04-06-2006, 05:36 PM
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Which 530 engine do you have? Or what year is your 530?
I have a 2004 530i, so it's the 3.0 liter M54 with 225hp and zero performance mods to date.
You don't think that driving for an hour and a half (92 miles) would give you a decent sample? I think it would give a decent idea as to what the car can do. The whole journey was freeway driving, which is where I said I got my initial numbers (33-36 mpg) from anyway. The only stretch where I did both freeway and city driving was the last stretch where I averaged 32.2 mpg at 65.3 mph, but even that was mainly freeway, obviously. I never said this is what I get on a daily basis, this is just what I get on my long trips back and forth from Washington to Michigan. On a daily basis I said I usually get about 24-26 mpg, but then that's not a whole lot of freeway driving, only about 15 miles worth. I don't know, I was just sharing my mileage, maybe my 530i is just abnormal.
Also, I forgot to mention that I did NOT reset the Onboard Info throughout the entire journey, so that average at the end (29.7 mpg) is what I averaged for the entire trip. However I did reset the Trip Computer so those averages are per tank of gas.
I have a 2004 530i, so it's the 3.0 liter M54 with 225hp and zero performance mods to date.
Originally Posted by Ray Hull' post='265716' date='Apr 6 2006, 05:34 PM
Huh? Please recheck your post, the numbers or trip description isn't computing...92 miles (hot or cold) isn't a realiable sample, especially if all Interstate.
Cheers,
Ray Hull
Cheers,
Ray Hull
You don't think that driving for an hour and a half (92 miles) would give you a decent sample? I think it would give a decent idea as to what the car can do. The whole journey was freeway driving, which is where I said I got my initial numbers (33-36 mpg) from anyway. The only stretch where I did both freeway and city driving was the last stretch where I averaged 32.2 mpg at 65.3 mph, but even that was mainly freeway, obviously. I never said this is what I get on a daily basis, this is just what I get on my long trips back and forth from Washington to Michigan. On a daily basis I said I usually get about 24-26 mpg, but then that's not a whole lot of freeway driving, only about 15 miles worth. I don't know, I was just sharing my mileage, maybe my 530i is just abnormal.
Also, I forgot to mention that I did NOT reset the Onboard Info throughout the entire journey, so that average at the end (29.7 mpg) is what I averaged for the entire trip. However I did reset the Trip Computer so those averages are per tank of gas.
04-07-2006, 12:26 AM
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how are you working out your averages Heiss5? When we talked about this before, once I figured out the conversion to US gallons, it really looked as if this consumption was too good to be true.
35.1 mpg (us) = 42.1 mpg (uk)
Official stats for the 530i are here:
http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/pricesandspecif...t-bmwuk,00.html
Extra urban cycle is 42.8mpg (manual) and 41.5mpg (steptronic) ... which do you have?
Either way - it doesn't seem possible to me that you could match the extra-urban cycle figures at a steady 70mph. The best economy is around 56mph and I believe the extra urban cycle is based around that speed.
You say your 'daily' driving is about 26 (us) mpg = 31.2 (uk) mpg
Combined cycle is 32.1mpg (manual) and 30.4 (step)
The 530d stats are here:
http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/pricesandspecif...t-bmwuk,00.html
As you can see there is a massive difference (in theory). I'm not seeing these figures - at the moment my OBC is showing 32.4 mpg, but if I behave myself on the motorway I can easily keep the car in the 40-50mpg zone.
I haven't tried to calculate what I actually use.
You seem to be getting good mileage - too good to be honest - there must be something wrong here, but I don't know what?
At first I thought perhaps your OBC was reporting uk gallons, but if you have done sums yourself I presume this is for US?
Have a look here:
www.fueleconomy.gov
Looks like official figures in the US are 20mpg (city) 30mpg (highway) and 23mpg (combined).
Any thoughts as to why your stats are so good?
04-07-2006, 05:03 AM
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Originally Posted by Heiss5' post='265737' date='Apr 6 2006, 09:36 PM
Which 530 engine do you have? Or what year is your 530?
I have a 2004 530i, so it's the 3.0 liter M54 with 225hp and zero performance mods to date.
You don't think that driving for an hour and a half (92 miles) would give you a decent sample? I think it would give a decent idea as to what the car can do. The whole journey was freeway driving, which is where I said I got my initial numbers (33-36 mpg) from anyway. The only stretch where I did both freeway and city driving was the last stretch where I averaged 32.2 mpg at 65.3 mph, but even that was mainly freeway, obviously. I never said this is what I get on a daily basis, this is just what I get on my long trips back and forth from Washington to Michigan. On a daily basis I said I usually get about 24-26 mpg, but then that's not a whole lot of freeway driving, only about 15 miles worth. I don't know, I was just sharing my mileage, maybe my 530i is just abnormal.
Also, I forgot to mention that I did NOT reset the Onboard Info throughout the entire journey, so that average at the end (29.7 mpg) is what I averaged for the entire trip. However I did reset the Trip Computer so those averages are per tank of gas.
I have a 2004 530i, so it's the 3.0 liter M54 with 225hp and zero performance mods to date.
You don't think that driving for an hour and a half (92 miles) would give you a decent sample? I think it would give a decent idea as to what the car can do. The whole journey was freeway driving, which is where I said I got my initial numbers (33-36 mpg) from anyway. The only stretch where I did both freeway and city driving was the last stretch where I averaged 32.2 mpg at 65.3 mph, but even that was mainly freeway, obviously. I never said this is what I get on a daily basis, this is just what I get on my long trips back and forth from Washington to Michigan. On a daily basis I said I usually get about 24-26 mpg, but then that's not a whole lot of freeway driving, only about 15 miles worth. I don't know, I was just sharing my mileage, maybe my 530i is just abnormal.
Also, I forgot to mention that I did NOT reset the Onboard Info throughout the entire journey, so that average at the end (29.7 mpg) is what I averaged for the entire trip. However I did reset the Trip Computer so those averages are per tank of gas.
cheers
vern
04-07-2006, 05:13 AM
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Originally Posted by vern' post='265869' date='Apr 7 2006, 02:03 PM
Don't mind him.Check his posts he is always whinning.I checked mine last year on a trip to Fla.,one tank full ,all interstate most of the time doing 80mph and got 30.2 mpg.
cheers
vern
cheers
vern
Was this US mpg or UK mpg??
30.2 us = 36.24 uk
which is pretty damn good for cruising at 80mph
I can sort of believe this too as I used to easily get 35mpg combined from my 323 e46 coupe.But... I still can't quite get my head round Heiss5's figures especially the 35.1 us mpg (if it is us)
04-07-2006, 05:27 AM
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Originally Posted by needforspeed' post='265871' date='Apr 7 2006, 09:13 AM
Hope you don't mean I'm whining ?????
Was this US mpg or UK mpg??
30.2 us = 36.24 uk
which is pretty damn good for cruising at 80mph I can sort of believe this too as I used to easily get 35mpg combined from my 323 e46 coupe.
But... I still can't quite get my head round Heiss5's figures especially the 35.1 us mpg (if it is us)
Was this US mpg or UK mpg??
30.2 us = 36.24 uk
which is pretty damn good for cruising at 80mph
I can sort of believe this too as I used to easily get 35mpg combined from my 323 e46 coupe.But... I still can't quite get my head round Heiss5's figures especially the 35.1 us mpg (if it is us)
I concur. That would be very high, even for the newer more effecient engine. I can attest, -all- cars are far more efficient if you let the speed dip to 55. At 70-80 or 85, it's not quite as good. I've never seen better than 28mpg, but I only compute at fill up. I suppose with a long trip, it should be possible to get nearly 100% highway driving. That should give the best numbers for a theoretical "best mpg"
Tire inflation can be a critical factor too - I actually know when to add air based on how my mpg is trending. Gas quality can be a factor as well. This ethanol stuff they're rolling out here is going to reduce mpg slightly in the US.
BTW - did anyone see the article on methods to conserve fuel in the latest BMW magazine? They were talking about using the start/stop button to kill the engine if you'll be sitting longer than 20 seconds. Also, they mentioned getting up to speed as quickly as possible - similar to statements in some threads on the topic here.
04-07-2006, 05:30 AM
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I drove to Turku and back (370 km or 230 miles) the other week
and the constumtion was 8 liters / 100 km.
That is about 29,5 mpg.
The avarage speed was close to 100 km / hour (about 62 mph).
Long periods of driving at cruise speed of 140 km/h (87 mph),
some overtakings and a lot of 37 mph speed limits.
So mpg's over 30 is not that unusual for the gasoline six-in-line E60 engines.
The BMW diesels get easily over 35 mpg.
and the constumtion was 8 liters / 100 km.
That is about 29,5 mpg.
The avarage speed was close to 100 km / hour (about 62 mph).
Long periods of driving at cruise speed of 140 km/h (87 mph),
some overtakings and a lot of 37 mph speed limits.
So mpg's over 30 is not that unusual for the gasoline six-in-line E60 engines.
The BMW diesels get easily over 35 mpg.