[lbjgh]

Just thought I'd share this screen capture... all highway with the cruise set.

Mileage took a dump as soon as I hit the congestion of city streets but neat just the same.

[rmeir]

wow

[BMRu4ia]

In the real world driving, do you think most 35i drivers save more gas than 28i drivers? My theory is that with so much power (35i) on tap, one might not feel the need to put the "pedal to the metal" all the time unlike a 28i driver who might want to squeeze every once of power out of the 4 cylinder turbo.
??

[April1]

Originally Posted by lbjgh

Just thought I'd share this screen capture... all highway with the cruise set.

Mileage took a dump as soon as I hit the congestion of city streets but neat just the same.

I had touched 35 mpg but with speeds restricted to 65mph. But this average was not including startup and street road driving until hit the freeway.

In short, touching 35 to 38 mpg is feasible with X3 28i or 35i.

[rmeir]

65? how can u drive at 65? i cruise at 80 and it feels like 30

[BMRu4ia]

Originally Posted by rmeir

65? how can u drive at 65? i cruise at 80 and it feels like 30

28i or 35i owner?

[April1]

Originally Posted by rmeir

65? how can u drive at 65? i cruise at 80 and it feels like 30

You got to have 65 years of experience to limit the speeds to 65

[Le Chef]

My wife drives at 80 on the highway and gets 20 mpg max. Town driving it's in the low teens.

[DouginNC]

I drive pretty easy and I'm averaging about 26 Mostly Hwy. with some city. I don't know how you guys are doing 30 miles per gallon.

[n55x3]

I can usually get 28 mpg when I'm doing an early morning cruise to our cabin. This pic was taken on arrival, before I hit the foothills I was pushing 29 mpg. Then the last several miles are all up hill so it dropped to around 27 mpg. Still pretty impressive. I have a tuned Subaru legacy GT that can only dream of getting 27 mpg on this exact same drive. Cool stuff BMW!!

[lbjgh]

BMW has done a great job of economy with our 2 tonne cars... The 8spd is likely a significant contributor with respect to economy.

Interestingly fuel economy is better in ''drive" than in neutral. I was in the habit of bumping the trans into neutral on long down hills or costing up to intersections in my last car. I've noticed with the BMW that in neutral the real time monitor indicates 1.7L/100km but when the car is left in "D" the monitor will often note "0" L/100km

[lukeeesteve]

Originally Posted by lbjgh

BMW has done a great job of economy with our 2 tonne cars... The 8spd is likely a significant contributor with respect to economy.

Interestingly fuel economy is better in ''drive" than in neutral. I was in the habit of bumping the trans into neutral on long down hills or costing up to intersections in my last car. I've noticed with the BMW that in neutral the real time monitor indicates 1.7L/100km but when the car is left in "D" the monitor will often note "0" L/100km

When you put a modern day car in neutral, the engine still runs as fuel goes into the cylinders to keep the engine running. If you leave it in drive, no fuel is burnt as the wheels at this point drives the engine.

[snowboardjoe]

I would say any reading while the car is in neutral would be unreliable. That's not driving. Neutral is only be used for special situations where you need the car to roll with the ignition on. Regardless, the engine is always burning fuel if it's running (drive, neutral, park, etc.).Just because you're going downhill does not mean that the fuel is cutoff. It's still burning fuel, but at a very, very low rate.

In my opinion, shifting into neutral while driving creates an unsafe condition. Brakes, power steering and other functions depend on the engine running at a speed above idle under normal driving conditions. Running the car in neutral while coming down a hill at speed puts the car (and you) at a disadvantage. I have a friend that does this and it drives me insane. No fuel is saved by this practice.

[lbjgh]

The steering and brakes work just fine in neutral.

In the 'great white north' and before ABS and stability control, using neutral saved my bacon several times especially in icy conditions.

I think I read a post by Lotus7 that said the motor would stop injecting fuel on deceleration and the motor just becomes a big air pump.

Originally Posted by snowboardjoe

I would say any reading while the car is in neutral would be unreliable. That's not driving. Neutral is only be used for special situations where you need the car to roll with the ignition on. Regardless, the engine is always burning fuel if it's running (drive, neutral, park, etc.).Just because you're going downhill does not mean that the fuel is cutoff. It's still burning fuel, but at a very, very low rate.

In my opinion, shifting into neutral while driving creates an unsafe condition. Brakes, power steering and other functions depend on the engine running at a speed above idle under normal driving conditions. Running the car in neutral while coming down a hill at speed puts the car (and you) at a disadvantage. I have a friend that does this and it drives me insane. No fuel is saved by this practice.

[Patton]

After 30 mls on cruise control set on 70 my display reeds 48,3 mpg

[n55x3]

Power Steering isn't effected by engine RPMs on this car as it's a 100% electrical unit.

Got me thinking though, I wonder if the Brake Energy Regen works when in neutral? Does the little meter at the bottom of the speedo go into the Blue section when in neutral and rolling?

[lukeeesteve]

Originally Posted by snowboardjoe

I would say any reading while the car is in neutral would be unreliable. That's not driving. Neutral is only be used for special situations where you need the car to roll with the ignition on. Regardless, the engine is always burning fuel if it's running (drive, neutral, park, etc.).Just because you're going downhill does not mean that the fuel is cutoff. It's still burning fuel, but at a very, very low rate.

In my opinion, shifting into neutral while driving creates an unsafe condition. Brakes, power steering and other functions depend on the engine running at a speed above idle under normal driving conditions. Running the car in neutral while coming down a hill at speed puts the car (and you) at a disadvantage. I have a friend that does this and it drives me insane. No fuel is saved by this practice.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/_mob...?click=main_sr

If you don't want to read the whole article,

"Almost all vehicles show a pulse width of zero when coasting while in gear. Zero, as in there is no fuel injected at all. Yes, the engine is turning over, the pistons are going up and down, the water pump, alternator and a/c compressor are working, so technically you can say the engine is running, sort of. But it's not consuming any fuel. And that goes for automatic or manuals. "


Regardless, It's always good practice to leave a car in gear. Having power instantaneously available is always safer.

[lbjgh]

If I recall correctly the efficiency meter is not displayed in neutral.

Originally Posted by n55x3

Got me thinking though, I wonder if the Brake Energy Regen works when in neutral? Does the little meter at the bottom of the speedo go into the Blue section when in neutral and rolling?

[Polar_Bimmer]

Remember, Canada = imperial mpg, USA = US mpg

Imperial gallon = 160 oz or 4.5 liters
U.S. gallon = 128 oz = 3.8 liters

As the imperial gallon contains more, we go further with our gallons. Which seems to give a better gas mileage on the computer.

In Canada we generally calculate fuel consumption in liters per 100 km (l/100km)

1 km = 0.6 miles

[lbjgh]

Frank,
Lessons for our american friends?

It is a good point though... But I believe mpg are displayed in US gallons since we use SI measurements.

I did take a picture in L/100km too so I can tell you shortly if mpg is imperial or US.

[lbjgh]

The car displays US mpg

Originally Posted by Franck_Qc

Remember, Canada = imperial mpg, USA = US mpg

Imperial gallon = 160 oz or 4.5 liters
U.S. gallon = 128 oz = 3.8 liters

As the imperial gallon contains more, we go further with our gallons. Which seems to give a better gas mileage on the computer.

In Canada we generally calculate fuel consumption in liters per 100 km (l/100km)

1 km = 0.6 miles

[02420X3]

33.1 US MPG is certainly respectable for a non-diesel. The best that I have legitimately achieved so far is 29.2, but that was with a slightly heavy foot, and over a 150 mile distance. And then there was that Lexus that annoyed me for a few miles...

I can play with the system and make it show false readings of 40 or 60 MPG or more, but it's not sustainable, and is best achieved downhill immediately after a reset.