I currently drive a 2001 540i with auto and I am planning on purchasing a 2004 m3 with s-tronic. How does the gas mileage compare of these two. I would appreciate your help. thanks

You are going to buy a performance car (that carries a GAS GUZZLER TAX when new) and you are worried about gas mileage? Interesting.

FWIW, I believe it is rated for 16/22.

S-tronic?!? Do you mean SMG? There is no slushbox for the M3, either 6mt or SMG.

Bren nailed the mileage and I usually average around 16-17 in brisk mixed driving. Hwy is usually 21 while averaging 80-85mph.

I was just curious about the difference. I am not worried about it. SInce now my car is a 8 cyl and much heavier I just needed to know how different is the gas mileage on a m3 with smg. My average is about 16.3mpg between city and freeway.

I was just curious about the difference. I am not worried about it. SInce now my car is a 8 cyl and much heavier I just needed to know how different is the gas mileage on a m3 with smg. My average is about 16.3mpg between city and freeway.
I don't know how hard you guys are romping on your car at highway speeds; but at highway driving I get 28 mpg. My mod's may help with breathing/exhuming capabilities though.

I also get 21 in the city with a few brisk bursts here and there to open her up.

Also how big the the M's gas tank? 14 or 15 gallons? That being said I get about 380 miles out of a full tank to almost empty with light on.

If I am doing a strict road trip with no city miles I can get 420-430 miles before light comes on.

wow, totally different than my 540. Are there any major differences between 01 and 03 m3? I will try to find an 03 at $40k or less. What should i look for when i test drive one or when i pop the hood9 Any common problems)? thanks

With my wife and I both driving the car here and there, we average 18.5-19 mpg mixed driving. On the highway at 80-90 mph, we get just under 26. Our car has VERY few mile, 3,500 to be exact, so I suspect it will actually get slightly better as the miles increase.

The M3's speedo reads 5% faster; therefore, the mileage readout gives you a reading that's 5% above the actual. I get about 21-22 mpg (true,) whether I'm on a long trip (going fast) or around town/fwys.

The M3's speedo reads 5% faster; therefore, the mileage readout gives you a reading that's 5% above the actual. I get about 21-22 mpg (true,) whether I'm on a long trip (going fast) or around town/fwys.

The speedometers on most E46 M3s are closer to 10% fast, so you have an unusually accurate one. But, the odometer is accurate, so mileage calculations should not have to be adjusted.

I'm doing a running count of mileage every tank and the electronic reading is consistently 5% above what the actual mpg calculates.

After about 2500 miles my low is about 18 and my high is 25. I seem to get the best mileage on the highway going 80-85. These cars are extremely sensitive to the mix of highway/city driving.

I'm doing a running count of mileage every tank and the electronic reading is consistently 5% above what the actual mpg calculates.

I thought the "mileage" you mentioned referred to the miles traveled from the odometer, not the gas mileage calculation. I have found the electronic mpg calculations in all cars to be too inaccurate for reliable use. And although my speedometer is 10% fast, the odometer mileage is dead on, so that reading apparently comes from a different input.

I don't know how hard you guys are romping on your car at highway speeds; but at highway driving I get 28 mpg. My mod's may help with breathing/exhuming capabilities though.

I also get 21 in the city with a few brisk bursts here and there to open her up.

Also how big the the M's gas tank? 14 or 15 gallons? That being said I get about 380 miles out of a full tank to almost empty with light on.

If I am doing a strict road trip with no city miles I can get 420-430 miles before light comes on.
Holy Cow! :eyecrazy

I don't come anywhere close to that, and it's not like I'm romping on it at every light. Just for giggles, I decided I use one tank to see just how much I could increase my mileage. I combined hard accel while short shifting and then maintained speed (the best method according to a recent article in R&T). The result of this boring means to driving was 20mpg mixed. I have to fill-up every 240-250 miles with the light on. Your mileage is just freakish!

BTW, I had my friend pace me in his 996 and my speedometer was pretty much spot on with his. So either mine is accurate or both of ours aren't :stickoutt

I've gotten as low as 6mpg to upwards of almost 30mpg ... depends on how hard you push the "go" pedal.

Usually get around 17 city and 22 highway

Holy Cow! :eyecrazy

I don't come anywhere close to that, and it's not like I'm romping on it at every light. Just for giggles, I decided I use one tank to see just how much I could increase my mileage. I combined hard accel while short shifting and then maintained speed (the best method according to a recent article in R&T). The result of this boring means to driving was 20mpg mixed. I have to fill-up every 240-250 miles with the light on. Your mileage is just freakish!

BTW, I had my friend pace me in his 996 and my speedometer was pretty much spot on with his. So either mine is accurate or both of ours aren't :stickoutt
I can't imagine only getting only 240-250 miles per tank. That's ridiculous. I shift at around 2.5k when driving around town.

Wouldn't hard accel and short shifting waste more gas?

I short shift and slow accel...gets me 340+ everytime.

I can't imagine only getting only 240-250 miles per tank. That's ridiculous. I shift at around 2.5k when driving around town.

Wouldn't hard accel and short shifting waste more gas?

I short shift and slow accel...gets me 340+ everytime.
then where is the fun in having M3?

Texas World Speedway, TMS, Motorsport Ranch :D

I use to be a little speed demon; but slowly grew out of the phase after a few tickets. Doesn't mean I don't open her up every now and then on public roads :D

don't know, don't know.... shifting at 2.5k is way to low for me. At these engine speed you can't make the speed limit in some states :) i can't even make it shift at these RPMs using auto mode with on first shift-mode.

And when you need to make a fast pass you will need to down shift 2, 3 gears.

Not for me:) I guess there are people who can make advertised MPG. Me, I get 230, 250 miles out of tank. Oh well.

I prefer instant passing power without having to downshift 3 gears... of course my mpg suffers because of it.

don't know, don't know.... shifting at 2.5k is way to low for me. At these engine speed you can't make the speed limit in some states :) i can't even make it shift at these RPMs using auto mode with on first shift-mode.

And when you need to make a fast pass you will need to down shift 2, 3 gears.

Not for me:) I guess there are people who can make advertised MPG. Me, I get 230, 250 miles out of tank. Oh well.
Well I use to be like that, but then this thing called age creeped up on me and that lead foot lost some weight.

In my 1997 2.8 Z3 I was only getting 12 mpg, I romped on that thing all the time..and the mod's didn't help. Ahh I miss those reckless days :)

18 mpg.

I can't imagine only getting only 240-250 miles per tank. That's ridiculous. I shift at around 2.5k when driving around town.

Wouldn't hard accel and short shifting waste more gas?

I short shift and slow accel...gets me 340+ everytime.
You would think the hard accel/short shift technique would be more wasteful, but that's what the engineers from Ford and Honda said in the article. You can probably find the article on RoadandTrack.com. It was in last month's issue (not the current one).

I dunno if I can physically shift that low. It would drive me nuts. I'm not saying I pin it in every gear, more like 3-4k, but I guess we should also consider that you have a coupe while I'm driving a SMG 'vert. IOW, she's an overweight pig with aerodynamics somewhere between a Mack truck and the Empire State Building.

Bah...it is what it is.

i can see the needle move down towards e when i drive

my average over the past 5500 miles is 18.5 mpg according to the computer screen on the nav.. right inside that 16/22 range I guess.