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tctopcat 
Newbie 
Joined: 20-December-2004 Location: Norwich Status: Offline Points: 17 |
 Topic: Thirsty E30 320i!!!Posted: 20-December-2004 at 12:22 |
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Just bought myself a 1990 320i SE... looks great but
uses more juice than the QE2! Getting 16mpg urban/extra-urban??? is this for real? Are these cars known to guzzle petrol or is there something up? Drive it like a granny but doesn't seem to make any odds... also strong smell of petrol when in/around the car! Any advice would be really helpful... or if they really are this thirsty does anyone want to buy it?! 
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Hammer1
Groupie
Joined: 11-August-2003 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 97 |
Posted: 20-December-2004 at 17:50 |
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My old 320i use to do around 16-17 around town driving like a granny Most people reckon the 320i is the worse on juice and thats why i stuck a 325i engine in mine,got slightly better mpg and it bloody well shifted too compared to the 320i. Still the 320i is a smooth sweet engine but sadly not the best on juice.
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e36 318ti sport
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Rhys
Moderator Group 
Coffee addict... Joined: 02-February-2003 Location: from the Latin locātiō Status: Offline Points: 10053 |
Posted: 20-December-2004 at 18:32 |
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yep, around 16 urban on my old one. put foot down and watch the econometer drop.. Usually got around 30+ on a run.
Nice and smooth, but as said the 325 is better. |
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V reg Rustbucket Merc C220 Cdi estate
J Reg Saab 900i 16v '63 Ford Anglia 105e deluxe R reg Honda PC50 moped.. No BMW as yet... |
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Kevin_E30_318iS
Really Senior Member II
Joined: 14-December-2002 Location: Ireland Status: Offline Points: 883 |
Posted: 20-December-2004 at 18:40 |
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The 320i is known as a very thirsty car, but the strong smell of petrol doesn't sound good. Does it occur all the time, when you fill the tank, or just after starting from cold?
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Kevin_1990_318iS
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tctopcat
Newbie
Joined: 20-December-2004 Location: Norwich Status: Offline Points: 17 |
Posted: 21-December-2004 at 04:18 |
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Thanks guys that's put my mind at rest a little... pain
in the ass mind you as I sold my '87 325 6 months ago and changed for the 320 thinking it would be more eco...! As for the petrol smell, it's intermitant. Usually when driving at low speeds? |
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Eamo
Moderator Group
Joined: 13-May-2003 Location: Ireland Status: Offline Points: 3450 |
Posted: 21-December-2004 at 04:45 |
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try changing the fuel and air filter - this may help
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GT6-M3
Senior Member II 
Joined: 11-August-2004 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 237 |
Posted: 21-December-2004 at 15:01 |
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Good god, I get 30mpg out of my E30 325i! That's driving like a grandad to and from work which is about 7 miles each way through towns. On the motorway it goes up beyond 35mpg too. |
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If anyone like old cars with big BMW engines, take a look at www.gt6.org.uk
sign the guestbook, you know it makes sense! |
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Hammer1
Groupie
Joined: 11-August-2003 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 97 |
Posted: 21-December-2004 at 18:08 |
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30mpg! Never got close to 35mpg on the motorway either |
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e36 318ti sport
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GT6-M3
Senior Member II
Joined: 11-August-2004 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 237 |
Posted: 22-December-2004 at 09:08 |
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Seriously though, I drive like I'm 1000 years old, never exceed the speed limit and around town I'm usually in 4th by 25mph. Planning ahead helps too, if a light goes red before you get to it, why stop at it when you can slow down beforehand and give it a chance to go green again. Also, if the guy in front's turning right and there's stuff coming the other way, hang back a bit and chances are they'll have moved before you need to stop, although that does rely on not ever driving anywhere near the back of anyone else's car |
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If anyone like old cars with big BMW engines, take a look at www.gt6.org.uk
sign the guestbook, you know it makes sense! |
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Simon325i sport
Really Senior Member II
Joined: 13-November-2003 Location: South Wales Status: Offline Points: 1022 |
Posted: 22-December-2004 at 11:46 |
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Official BMW figures show the 320i as having worse MPG than the 325i. You could help things along by changing the diff to a higher ratio. My sport when doing 4000rpm, is usually just under 100mph, where as the Touring (320i), 4000rpm is nearer 80 mph, so this explains the higher fuel consumption. But like has been said, smell of fuel isn't a good sign either, as has been mentioned try giving the car a good service, what's the idle like??? I recently replaced the fuel filter on the touring, and the one that was on there had "Made In W.Germany" written on it! It made quite a difference! |
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tctopcat
Newbie
Joined: 20-December-2004 Location: Norwich Status: Offline Points: 17 |
Posted: 04-January-2005 at 12:54 |
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I've just replaced the fuel filter... difficult to age the
one that came off but it had loads of black stuff in when I drained it out! when you say it made quite a difference to yours in what areas? mpg? Thanks Tom |
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Simon325i sport
Really Senior Member II
Joined: 13-November-2003 Location: South Wales Status: Offline Points: 1022 |
Posted: 04-January-2005 at 15:57 |
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Can't say I noticed a huge difference in MPG, but the car certainly feels a lot perkier. |
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Globulator
Groupie
Joined: 28-December-2004 Location: Cambridge, UK Status: Offline Points: 53 |
Posted: 04-January-2005 at 18:18 |
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My e30 325i is quite thirsty too, but I'm not going to
drive it around like an economy competition because that's not why I got a 2.5litre BMW... It seems to use more than a turbo 911 though which is a bit puzzling - I expect it needs a bit of a tune up, maybe there are a couple of obvious things to check? It starts of quite easy to stall when cold but always pulls well and has power - I guess I should look at the plugs. Air filter is new as I always put new ones into any car I get - but slightly irrelevant with an air-flow sensor. Check the top of the fuel tank where the neck meets it - check for leaks/rust - you want to aim for all of your petrol at least going through the engine once 
Graham |
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Globulator
E30 Red 325i Cabriolet - 1986 
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therealmccoy
Really Senior Member II
Joined: 27-April-2003 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 552 |
Posted: 05-January-2005 at 03:31 |
I thought that was called common sense and reading the road?? I don't think my girlfriend would be too impressed to hear that I am a grandad
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Thirsty E30 320i!!!
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wouldn't want to know what the mpg would of been if i gave it some?!?
and i thought i was doing pretty good when my 325i got upto 18mpg around town and that was only 5 or 6 mpg down on bmw figures...I really hate london traffic 
tctopcat wrote: