528i Gas Mileage

[528imwayne]

I was wondering what kind of mileage other members are getting on the highway.I'm getting 26.1 at the present time.

[xpcgamer]

Don't do much highway but strictly city I am at 20 to 21MPG.

[walpole5]

I have the manual tranny and get 32 mpg on long highway drives. In mixed driving, I get between 26 and 28mpg.

[Zeros and Ones]

wow you guys are getting crazy gas mileage on your 528i.

My computer reads to me 21.7 and the most I have ever got is 22.6. So in other words not more than 370 mils on a full tank. That is crazy good. Congrats guys!!!!!

[spdycpu]

I was wondering what kind of mileage other members are getting on the highway.I'm getting 26.1 at the present time.

After replacing a cracked oil hose connecting to the oil sep., putting on a new MAF, replacing the exhaust CPS and new Vanos gaskets I'm getting about 32-33 on the highway. Before that I was at about 28 or so.

[Cyrix2k]

wow you guys are getting crazy gas mileage on your 528i.

My computer reads to me 21.7 and the most I have ever got is 22.6. So in other words not more than 370 mils on a full tank. That is crazy good. Congrats guys!!!!!
I think there's something wrong with your car or you drive like a maniac... an M5 can do better than that (highway)! I usually sit a bit north of 25 for mixed driving (mostly highway) in my 540 and 28-29 for pure highway. I just did a bit less than a 1/2 tank of city driving and the rest highway; the low fuel light illuminated about 410 miles into the tank and that was with some rather aggressive driving thrown in as I was following my body in his new e46 m3 :D

[ross1]

Having just completed a near 3000 mile road trip my '99 528 did around 25 mpg. Depending on speed and conditions we saw as high as 29.7 to a low of 18.7 while on an extended run at triple digits.

[nike001]

My computer says 18.6

[Xenocide]

30-32mpg Highway on fresh copper plugs and recently cleaned my MAF after having some missing issues.

[gverrault]

I reset my fuel economy gauge when getting on the highway and on a two hour drive with the cruise set at 75 I get around 34 - 35 mpg. 75 seems to be the most efficient speeds so far as I have seen. Around town I usually get a little over 22.

[Dubxl152]

Wow! im doing mixed driving and i get between 16.5 and 17.8 mpg!.... Even when im driving super conservative its no better than 18 mpg. On long highway drives with cruise control im getting 22mpg. Is that normal with an automatic 02 530i with Dinan chip.?

[Zeros and Ones]

I think there's something wrong with your car or you drive like a maniac... an M5 can do better than that (highway)! I usually sit a bit north of 25 for mixed driving (mostly highway) in my 540 and 28-29 for pure highway. I just did a bit less than a 1/2 tank of city driving and the rest highway; the low fuel light illuminated about 410 miles into the tank and that was with some rather aggressive driving thrown in as I was following my body in his new e46 m3 :D

Nope... I drive rather calmly and when I say that I have my auto change gears around 2500 rpms. The car is fully maintained and has no problems. No leaks no nothing. My biggest problem is my vanos and that is it. I have some dinan goodies but nothing to kill the gas.

[weasel like]

I average 21 or so around town and 25 or more on the highway. Probably time for a tune up...

[dclifford]

2000 528iT 5MT: 25 - 27 mixed driving.

Last tank was around 440 (short thruway trip) and this tank just over 400 (not done yet but it says 19 to go).

I can't believe it........what a great automobile.

I have said it before BUT this has been a dream car since the E39 Touring came out!

[528imwayne]

Thanks to all the members that subscribed so far.After reading your responses it seems my mileage may be a little on the low side 26.1 highway. I am a fairly calm driver, and when possible I set my cruise control at around 70-75mph. I'm thinking a spark plug change might get me a few more mpg but in reality with our cars being almost the perfect blend of performance and style, not to mention comfort, the mileage posted by our members is pretty decent all and all.

[NYZ93]

16.3
trying to work on it
I drive FAST:D

[titan510]

what can I do to improve my mpg?

I get about 20-21 mpg, drive very conservatively (depending on traffic around 60-70mph)...

is it time for some new O2 sensor? I'll try to clean my MAF tonight....any other suggestions? engine is running smooth and no codes.

[Xeniczone]

2.8L w/ Manuel tranny, I get 22 Town 34-35 Highway. My average is 26.7 I drive a lot more in town than I do highway.

I typically shift between 1500 - 2000 RPM. It will give you a slow acceleration, but great gas mileage. Plus what are you trying to prove by accelerating fast. Your car has BMW written on the back of it. Only people that drive Honda's floor it of a stop light to show how loud their car is and how slow it can accelerate.

[BMW5Ryder]

99 2.8L auto - Im getting right at 23-25 mpg with mostly city driving. Hoping for more after I work on a couple misfire gremlins this weekend.

[Aristeros]

what can I do to improve my mpg?

I get about 20-21 mpg, drive very conservatively (depending on traffic around 60-70mph)...

is it time for some new O2 sensor? I'll try to clean my MAF tonight....any other suggestions? engine is running smooth and no codes.

I get about the same mileage as you and it's deff not the O2 sensors because I've got brand new ones in there and I do drive conservatively most of the time and lots of high way miles I don't know how the hell these guys bull off 26 and upwards.

[crdiscoverer]

I don't really trust these fuel consumption threads because they are just like d*ck size contests. A lot of guys are going to say whatever incredibly high value they saw ONCE and then "what a great car this is" "I'm getting Prius mileage". In reality, my car with practically a new engine gets at most 19mpg city (12L/100km), and around 25 highway(8L/100km), under really controlled conditions and barely any stops. For the guys who are reporting between 18 and 22, you're right on spot for a 8+ year old E39.

BTW, my owners' manual says that when new, the car made 9.9L/100km (23 US mpg) mixed.

[Aristeros]

I don't really trust these fuel consumption threads because they are just like d*ck size contests. A lot of guys are going to say whatever incredibly high value they saw ONCE and then "what a great car this is" "I'm getting Prius mileage". In reality, my car with practically a new engine gets at most 19mpg city (12L/100km), and around 25 highway(8L/100km), under really controlled conditions and barely any stops. For the guys who are reporting between 18 and 22, you're right on spot for an E39.

BTW, my owners' manual says that when new, the car made 9.9L/100km (23 US mpg) mixed.

Haha nice analogy. My number is 21.

[Cyrix2k]

^meh, I do way better than that on a regular basis. FWIW, I think my 540 does about as well on the highway as my eta. Back roads / city is a much different story, but the 540 is a highway monster. My eta was reporting 29.4 mpg during my trip to/from columbia which is about 50 miles each way iirc. My 540 would be around 28 for the same trip. I can't check the math on the e30 because the odometer is f'ed up (it actually works... but randomly stops working like everything else in that car). Back roads... I wasn't even driving it nicely and it was reporting 30.5 mpg. I beat the living crap out of it and maintained over 20 mpg!

[Xeniczone]

I don't really trust these fuel consumption threads because they are just like d*ck size contests. A lot of guys are going to say whatever incredibly high value they saw ONCE and then "what a great car this is" "I'm getting Prius mileage". In reality, my car with practically a new engine gets at most 19mpg city (12L/100km), and around 25 highway(8L/100km), under really controlled conditions and barely any stops. For the guys who are reporting between 18 and 22, you're right on spot for a 8+ year old E39.

BTW, my owners' manual says that when new, the car made 9.9L/100km (23 US mpg) mixed.

Good assumption, but wrong. I really do get 22 Town, 34 Highway on a 98 BMW 528i/5spd. So Prius and Smart cars can suck it because my car is actually practical.

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/3201/img0432q.jpg (http://img405.imageshack.us/i/img0432q.jpg/)
http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/7210/img0431nr.jpg (http://img35.imageshack.us/i/img0431nr.jpg/)

[Aristeros]

How about what's your avg mph:mpg ratio? Mine is 26.4mph:21.0 mpg.

[crdiscoverer]

Good assumption, but wrong. I really do get 22 Town, 34 Highway on a 98 BMW 528i/5spd. So Prius and Smart cars can suck it because my car is actually practical.

I averaged 36mpg in a 100mi trip once, but it was ONCE, and the road was perfect for hyper-miling. You can show me pictures of your car doing 45mpg and I can too. During my normal 6 mile commute to work and back, I can get no better than 20mpg, even when I know the car can achieve 35+ mpg.
These threads only make E39 owners insecure because they're not getting 30mpg in a 8 year old, 2 ton car with a 2.8L engine... oh noes!

[Cyrix2k]

^Seriously? My figures are quoted at "normal" highway speeds - 70-80 mph. I think that's why my eta didn't do as well as I expected, it tachs way too high at 80 while the 540 just lumbers down the road. My 25 mpg combined is normal commuting with stop and go traffic. Obviously the region will have an impact on mileage; I live near sea level & most of my driving is on decently flat highway.

[crdiscoverer]

^Seriously? My figures are quoted at "normal" highway speeds - 70-80 mph. I think that's why my eta didn't do as well as I expected, it tachs way too high at 80 while the 540 just lumbers down the road. My 25 mpg combined is normal commuting with stop and go traffic. Obviously the region will have an impact on mileage; I live near sea level & most of my driving is on decently flat highway.

You're totally right, and that's precisely what makes these threads worthless, we all drive in different environments and they hurt or help mileage accordingly. I live more than 1000ft ASL, my commute is less than 10 miles (w/hills), and I barely average 20mph during weekdays. Your V8's 25mpg is normal under your conditions, my 528i ~21mpg is normal under my conditions.

[titan510]

for what it's worth my daily commute consist of pretty much flat land @ close to sea level. About 20 miles on the freeway and about 3 miles city. Just filled up yesterday that tank got me 340 miles with 16.9 gallons.

[jmalin72207]

jesus christ, time for me to dig into my car for sure. I am getting 24 even with that being mostly highway with an average hwy speed of 75-80.

[AlpineBmwM3]

Wow! A lot of you are doing an excellent job for gas mileage!

My father usually takes my car to work everyday, so it's mostly backroad driving. The 528i gets 23 MPG.

[Xeniczone]

You're totally right, and that's precisely what makes these threads worthless, we all drive in different environments and they hurt or help mileage accordingly. I live more than 1000ft ASL, my commute is less than 10 miles (w/hills), and I barely average 20mph during weekdays. Your V8's 25mpg is normal under your conditions, my 528i ~21mpg is normal under my conditions.

There are a lot of things that go in determining gas mileage. If one understands these they can kind of improve there gas mileage.

All of these can affect gas mileage.
-I6 or V8
-Auto or Manuel
-Shifting RPM
-How fast one accelerates
-How much stuff is in the car
-How fast one drives
-Terrain

Of course most of gas mileage is lost during acceleration. So the most important of these is shifting RPM, how much stuff is in the car, and how fast one accelerates.

For example I used to have two solo barics in my trunk and my gas mileage average went from 27.3 to 26.7.

Driving 80mph on the interstate compared to 70 won't create a big difference. But someone that floors it of every stop light, in and automatic that shifts at 4000 rpms will see dramatic gas mileage drop compared to a person that drive a manuel and eases of each stop light and shifts at 1800 rpm.

[ins0ma]

My '97 auto seems to be averaging about 300 miles from full to 1/4: mixed city and highway; putting my foot down pretty regularly on on-ramps and while passing, with judicial use of the kick-down button. It seems like 80 is a sweet spot on the highway, the RPMs right at 3K, with plenty of available torque on demand when I want it. In city driving I lay back and try to coast as much as possible -- I see no point in rushing towards red lights, and since driving in slow traffic sucks any way you cut it, it makes sense to me to take it easy and conserve fuel as much as possible in that driving environment. Windows and sunroof open, AC off, minimal use of pedals, etc.

I've tried driving "conservatively" vs. "spirited" and haven't really noticed all that much difference in my fuel costs. I've been getting all of my gas at Shell stations, and the biggest factor affecting fuel economy I've noticed is the type of gas I buy. The one "experimental" tank of 89 octane I put in delivered only 200 miles from full to 1/4, and there was a noticeable performance lag. My last fill-up was with "V tech" (I think that's what Shell calls it) and perhaps it's a "placebo" effect, but I'd swear that the car performs better with it. I'm currently on track to end up with the same 300 miles 'till 1/4 that I get with the "normal" 91 octane, but my car seems to respond well to the "ultra-premium." I think the "V tech" costs about $.16 more per gallon than the "normal" 91 octane, but if I continue to notice a bona-fide performance difference I think it's worth the small-change-per-gallon in up-front cost, as long as the MPG doesn't suffer too terribly.

And for what it's worth, if there were more Chevron outlets in my area, I'd try their "ultra" product too. BP has "Invigorate," but having been born in southern Louisiana, I can't bring myself to give that corporation any money at this particular time. . .