I was wondering what kind of gas mileage you guys get with your cars. I have an 89 525i and get around 19.8-20 (21 on a really good day). Is this normal?

I get 22-24 and beat on it daily. 1995 525i

I get 22-24 and beat on it daily. 1995 525i

hm... is it because mine is older?

Yeah, one thing that always helps - replace your O2 sensor(s) and fuel injectors at some point. Those are things that aren't usually replaced, but because of normal wear and tear, lose efficiency. There was a thread about the fuel injectors recently, search for that, and the oxygen sensors. Mines doing a hot 17-20 mpg city now....but that's because it's chipped and it's a touring that rarely has just me in it. :shifty

Yeah, one thing that always helps - replace your O2 sensor(s) and fuel injectors at some point. Those are things that aren't usually replaced, but because of normal wear and tear, lose efficiency. There was a thread about the fuel injectors recently, search for that, and the oxygen sensors. Mines doing a hot 17-20 mpg city now....but that's because it's chipped and it's a touring that rarely has just me in it. :shifty

It hasn't been long since i replaced the injectors...but maybe it is time to replace the sensors....or maybe im just too fat:(

My 89 535 gets around 22.4 mpg on a 50 mile daily commute with a 60%/40% highway back road split and some aggressive driving thrown in. I would think the 525 should get better gas mileage than a 535.

My 89 535 gets around 22.4 mpg on a 50 mile daily commute with a 60%/40% highway back road split and some aggressive driving thrown in. I would think the 525 should get better gas mileage than a 535.

Well i usually do only city driving, maybe that's why? School and back or around town. I rarely get on the freeway and if i do ill be cruising between 80-100.

My 95 530iA gets 19mpg on the 600mi round trip I just did. I'm rolling on 18"s though.

6 mpg on the turbo:buttrock

I get about 19 or so on the 525i m20.

fuck i have 1992 525i m50 and get 7.5 MPG what tha hell could be wrong

6 mpg on the turbo:buttrock

I get about 19 or so on the 525i m20.

:buttrock I will one day (the day when i can pay for gas) want to be like you

no seriusly, my 525i is bone stock nothing done to it, no chips no one bit of anything

whats wrong could it be the O2 sensor, or what

no seriusly, my 525i is bone stock nothing done to it, no chips no one bit of anything
:confused Check for leakage in your fuel tank........:stickoutt

nope just started doing it, after i put an O2 up side down

nope just started doing it, after i put an O2 up side down

?

i got 22-23 with the touring loaded to the roof, and stuff in the floor boards my wife and 2 kids on the freeway.

was pulling 20-21 on my daily commute the two weeks between changing the ATF and the transmission's sudden death.

i got 22-23 with the touring loaded to the roof, and stuff in the floor boards my wife up front and 2 kids on the free way.

was pulling 20-21 the two weeks between changing the ATF and the transmission's sudden death.


Yeah, but I've got 0-60 all over you! How does my big black cloud of rich taste back there? You are still back there right? I can't see you through the cloud, turn your lights on :D

Hoping to pull 25+ on the freeway @ 80 and 22 around town on the 3.23 LSD and 5 speed :) need to change the fuel filter to get that I'm sure.

hmm... I wonder how much quicker the m50 iT-M would be 0-60 if I left the 4.10 in...



looking at the numbers, should drop a full second 0-60 with the stick.
Still would have to swap the 4.10 back in before running you 0-60 :)

17.5MPG with my 540, drive it like I stole it.
10MPG with the 535 on trackdays.

20mpg

When I had a m20 525i, it never got above 17 unless I drove reaaaaaaal slowly.

I average somewhere in upper 20's hwy and around 18ish city.

I average between 24-27 depending on location, always fairly aggressive driving.

I got about 25mpg on a trip to the Outer Banks this Summer in the touring. Average speed was around 80mph with the AC on and three people two bikes and a surfboard on the Thule racks, which aren't known for their aerodynamics, also had the whole cargo area full of luggage and booze. BTW this is with a 3.64 rear. Around town with an average commute of 1.5 miles a day I get about 16-17mpg.

I have a 94 525iA M50 with 236k on the clock and i get 22mpg!!! With gas being about 3 dollars a gallon it makes me miss my old honda 4 cylinder.

10.3 city, 13 highway. :redspot

17-19mpg mixed (mostly city)

15-16mpg all city

23.6-25.3 hwy

I have a 94 525iA M50 with 236k on the clock and i get 22mpg!!! With gas being about 3 dollars a gallon it makes me miss my old honda 4 cylinder.

hm...I actually had to pick between the 525i, a civic or a lexus with alot of miles....the 525i was the only one that wasnt automatic and was alot of fun to drive...the only downside is the mpg

I Average 13.5 Now That I Drive In Bumper To Bumper 5 Mph Traffic Down I4 Every Morning.

I Was Getting About 16.5 Driving A Mixture Of City/highway

I Get About 18.5 On Trips

man you m30 guys make me super happy to have an m50... :)

Horrible, but I really just start it, go to work (4 miles) and go home, or somwhere around town, but I am usually in the 13 mpg range...it sucks, I need a 5spd swap and a chip.

getting about 40mpg........


525TDS :D

'89 M20 auto.

13mpg aggressive SF driving
17mpg regular suburban driving
24mpg 80mph highway driving
28mpg 65mph highway driving

Get the straw outa ya teeth earl, the rest of the world has turned & left ewe behind. Y'all ever herd of metrics?
I'm getting 600 KILOMETRES to a tank of gas, that costs me about $100, thats about 35km to 5 litres witch in way old school terms is about 25 mpg, freewat @140 (km/h) that is folks.
Even worse thats my old rat, E23, had an E34, 525, were'nt much better!!

man you m30 guys make me super happy to have an m50... :)

Good gas mileage is tedious anyway...

Exactly! If ewe cant afford the gas, catch a bus! Buy a diesel, car pool, buy a Toyota, drive it like your granny!

I got a '95 525i manual, all stock, I get between 22 and 24 city, on the highway it does around 30 MPG, as well as 32 or so. It's a very, very fuel efficient car. But to get this type of hwy mileage, I take it real easy and coast a lot. Sometimes the OBC will show me numbers like 34 or 35... That's only on long highway trips though.

I get about 18 city/25 highway on my 95 530i. Not bad for a V8:buttrock

i'm getting 11mpg in my 530ia, but i kinda drive like a pissed off teenager...

I average somewhere in upper 20's hwy and around 18ish city.

Actually tested today and I get 28MPG HWY@80MPH. 22MPG Mixed
I'll do CITY this weekend and report back.

then how am i not able to barely get about 18 mpg ~.~
16 -17 most of the time each fill up

then how am i not able to barely get about 18 mpg ~.~
16 -17 most of the time each fill up


try some general maintenance. plugs, filters, oil, ect.....




I can get 20-25 in city easily. Well, easily is very hard because I usually drive like a bat outa hell. <which gets me about 17mpg or less:buttrock

never new all E34's suffered from shitty fuel efficiency. i average about 15. drive her daily but definitely don't beat on her too much....only what she likes and begs for. and when she's being naughty and needs a spanking.

i drove about 350 miles on 3/4 of a (16 gal) tank... not sure of the mpg, but i was impressed either way... with the weight equivalent of 3 adults in the car. NO CRUISE. uses too much gas.
94 540iA - alusil swap - tranny swap as well - about 100K on drive train and 155K on the body.

'piece' out.

so far i get like 14.x . but that is driving real pussy-foot.
i am going to change fuel filter, and all that stuff and see what i come up with then

mine has been changed oil every 3000 and i only have 58k now must be the commute from around the bay. i managed 18 this last fill up pretty happy :)
Well i must admit to something a few bursts pass 100 really does burn gas ;) probably why such low.

9.3 L/100km highway
13.5 L/100km city

I'm getting just under 20mpg in mixed driving in the black car(headers, MAF, chip, 89oct). The best has been 23 and the worse was 16.
The red car is a whole other story. 16highway, 12 mixed, and 5 for aggressive driving.

Hehehe.... 99.9mpg average for me actually. Okay, I lied, I reset the computer rolling down a hill...

Has anyone had their O2 sensors replaced and noticed much better fuel efficiency? (sorry if someone posted and I didn't see it.) I almost considered possibly thinking about maybe starting to potentially remove the ecu chip, and realized I couldn't live without it.

sigh... Somewhere around 20L/100 K... gas being at $1.25 a liter... it makes me sad... i reeeeeeeally need an O2 sensor...

RESURRECTION!

I'm obsessed with MPG lately and wanted to compare.

My 1990 525iM with a 4.10 rear swapped in, plus a chip, K&N panel and no rear muffler gets 23-24mpg in mixed driving with me driving like a fucking grandma and coasting a LOT, downshifting to get the MPG gauge to peg while coasting, and shutting the engine off at long lights (seriously), mixed with a haul ass moment redlining it in two gears maybe once or twice a day. The rest of the time I'm driving slower than you've ever seen.

On the freeway if I go below 70mph I might get 25-26mpg if there's no headwind. From 70-80mph I get 23-24mpg. The 4.10 hurts there I guess. When I had the stock 3.73 rear I got a good 2mpg better at all times.

I should just get a taller rear and some nitrous. I took this car to the drag strip as it is modded right now and trapped 83mph, and I can shift damn fast, so that's pretty pathetic. This car is running well too.

An M50 VANOS swap would help too. My girlfriend's 2004 325iM gets more than 30mpg at like 85mph on the freeway, and cruising on open roads around town gets about 35mpg at 40-50mph. That car is incredibly fuel efficient. If I owned it and drove it like I do my 525i, I'd probably average 10mpg more than my 525i.

RESURRECTION!
I should just get a taller rear and some nitrous. I took this car to the drag strip as it is modded right now and trapped 83mph, and I can shift damn fast, so that's pretty pathetic. This car is running well too.

Damn, you would think with some mods it would be quicker than that. What do m20 525im's trap stock?

btw, don't bone stock 535s trap in the 89-90mph range?

Damn, you would think with some mods it would be quicker than that. What do m20 525im's trap stock?

btw, don't bone stock 535s trap in the 89-90mph range?

Yes they do. Of course they have another 40hp to work with.

About my car's trap, I forgot to mention the 18" M5 wheels. Those things have to be heavy as all hell so I'm sure they hamper acceleration slightly.

I try not to calculate it on the M5 as it is a bit depressing.
I average about 17, a good mix of HWY(about 80-90mph), and lots of stop and go traffic and city driving. I also like to give it a bit in 2-3 gear.

im constantly stuck from 18-19. I changed my air filter last service, O2 sensor was said to be changed recently. I guess id have to go to the fuel filter next.

I desperately want 20 or more per gallon. I stopped filling up the tank all the way which has been saving me to some amount how much i spend at the pump per month.

Yes they do. Of course they have another 40hp to work with.

About my car's trap, I forgot to mention the 18" M5 wheels. Those things have to be heavy as all hell so I'm sure they hamper acceleration slightly.

Yes, but I thought chip + gears would make it quicker than that.

Have you looked into upgrading to a m30 afm? it's a cheap 5-6hp.

I've been averaging around 20 in the M5, mostly city.

- Patrick

Yes, but I thought chip + gears would make it quicker than that.

Have you looked into upgrading to a m30 afm? it's a cheap 5-6hp.

If I won't lose any more gas mileage, sure.

I measured the distance traveled on the odometer vs gallons it took to fill up and got 17MPG. This $65-$70 a fill up is killing me. :(

300 miles per tank. That's uh......

300 miles per tank. That's uh......
I get around 450kms per tank, that's about 278 miles Google tells me.

EDIT: That's just around town, getting about 18.5 L/100km, highway driving I do half that, so would get about 900km from a tank about...560 miles

I made it from Anaheim to here with only one fill up... :) topped tank 20 miles after I left, was too tired to stop for gas more than once on the way back.

Make it from here to dallas on a tank wiht a top up about 60 miles out of town.

about 400 something per tank freeway at 70-80.

Yeah, I live in the desert, once you pass the next town, either way it is nothing but empty country for hours. So I fill up.

Man I cant believe how hard those 525's are on fuel, I get about the same in my M5 and thought that was bad, at least I'm packin some serious HP!!

I have a 92 525 5spd and average 24-26 mpg with mixed driving :redspot

money is tight past few months... ive been getting a good 45-50 mpg :) by driving and looking at the economy meter all the time lol

good economy AND torque? you TD guys suck...
;)

yer it does cost the equivalent $175 to fill up though :P

hoping to improve my economy and performance with my new boost controller :D

Wow.. you guys have bad gas mileage. I get like 17-20 mpg city with some spirited and smart driving. That is in an automatic 540 with a 3.64 (maybe .46) LSD. Max is 25 on the highway with car completely full to roof and cruising close to 80.

re-resurrected ;)
I just did the math on my first tank through my 535iM... 18.5 mostly city. Which sounds about typical I guess, but still disapointing. I'll try some of the maintenence items some others posted and see if it changes.

last run from full tank topping up with approx an additional 15-20 litres so 95-100 litres of diesel
running to and fro work which is built up areas with a few miles of motorway in between, plus a run up and back to the airport, approx 200-250 miles total of fairly constant speed driving i averaged 30mpg (us) or 35mpg (uk) i think i got that right....
however a us gallon of diesel does cost $9 !!!!!!!!! here....
so lets say 33 miles to $10

how far do you get on $10?

re-resurrected ;)
I just did the math on my first tank through my 535iM... 18.5 mostly city. Which sounds about typical I guess, but still disapointing. I'll try some of the maintenence items some others posted and see if it changes.
18.5 is awesome! I've done 95% city driving since I reset my obc and it's telling me my average is 13.8 and I'm thrilled! Before I changed my distributer I was at 10.1 . Maybe it's time to do o2..

l...however a us gallon of diesel does cost $9 !!!!!!!!! here....
so lets say 33 miles to $10

how far do you get on $10?

I paid $3.89/gal...
$10/3.89 = 2.57 gal
2.57gal x 18.5mpg = 47.5 miles

I'm on my 3rd tank with my 91 525 5spd...So far it has been between 22-23. That is bit more city than highway driving for my commute to work. I am taking a road trip this weekend in it and hope to see better than 25.

when i bought my 95 540i, it was doing 13.2L/100km, so about 18 mpg! Now last time i checked it was around 18L/100km, 13 mpg haha! I removed the interior of each cats...i dont know if it's for something.

'91 535iM:

20.8 mpg driving "normal", spirited around town and 75-80mph on the highway.

22.8 mpg driving grandma like around town and going 65-70mph on the highway.

21mpg in a mixed city/hwy cycle using premium.

I get around 18-20 mpg driving 60/40 Street/Highway. I have an EAT chip too.

I have been averaging 16-17 mpg in city driving and 22-24 mpg highway with the big bad V8 in Texas with A/C running and sport mode.

About 28MPG on the highway, 16MPG in the city, and about 9MPG when school is in session.

My OBC usually reads anywhere from 14.5 to 16. All city. When I bought the car it read 21, as the previous owner used it mostly for a highway commute. I'm not about to assume the OBC is 100% accurate, though, and I've never checked my mpg the old fashioned way.

I have been checking my OBC the past week, and it is always less than what the numbers actually work out to...what kills it (I think) is when I set fire to the onramps, it takes forever to make up for those numbers in the OBC but I'm not sure if it is as bad as it would like me to think it is. :D 21ish combined.

MY OBC read a steady 19.6/.8 mixed city/hwy. Filled up today and calculated the "old-fashioned" way and was pleasantly surprised, ~22mpg! '90 535i/5. :cool

1990 525 auto mixed city hwy 20.8MPG

My OBC usually reads anywhere from 14.5 to 16. All city. When I bought the car it read 21, as the previous owner used it mostly for a highway commute. I'm not about to assume the OBC is 100% accurate, though, and I've never checked my mpg the old fashioned way.

i have the same :D mpg

About 20-22 in town, depending on the gas I use.

I have been averaging 16-17 mpg in city driving and 22-24 mpg highway with the big bad V8 in Texas with A/C running and sport mode.

Damn I wish I had a V8. You are getting the almost the same mileage as six bangers and none of the power deficiency.

I get about 24 mpg in my 1995 525im with EAT chip and 30/70 city highway driving. Before chip, I was getting only 22 mpg. By my calculations, the chip pays off itself within a year and after that it's a profit. Who said that adding power is not economical?

you guys are really lucky!!!

man, i drive my 535i to school everyday and get 9.8mpg (at least that's what my obc reads)... i live in a city with a lot of hills though.

Gas is really killing my budget, and to make it worse gas stations are being closed for at least 10 hours a day!!

I get 21 average with my 540i/6 and 3.64 LSD. 19 in town and 26 highway.

you guys are really lucky!!!

man, i drive my 535i to school everyday and get 9.8mpg (at least that's what my obc reads)... i live in a city with a lot of hills though.

Gas is really killing my budget, and to make it worse gas stations are being closed for at least 10 hours a day!!

What? 9.8 Mpg? :eyecrazy Are you sure that you don't drive exotic?
Try calculating it with a conventional method ( with a calculator)

yeah, just 2 weeks ago I drove a 4runner, really gassed that thing... hard.
But hey, gas was heavy on me.

This car I swear I love it and really take care off it! so nooo... no exotic driving, no "stepping on the gas as soon as it turns green" hahaha.

I think I should keep a record of miles/gas/money for at least a week.

I usually get 16 MPG around town and I recently got 25 MPG on a 200 mile trip.