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Thread: E36 MPG is terrible

  1. #1
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    E36 MPG is terrible

    I knew the mpg of e36 is not great, but still shocked that rented Chrysler cruze and accord takes so little effort to speed ahead and takes half gas to drive the distance. Is that because car technical advancement and heavy weight of e36? Why do you guys still keep e36 ?

  2. #2
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    We love that car, the E36, most of us here kept ours for decade or more, its just that, mine is also not the best on fuel, 10L will see ya some 80- 100KM, but its becoming more of a classic thing now if you well maintain it.. it is what it is..if I want a fuel saver I would grab a 4 cyl something thats new or whatever.
    "So we've come to the conclusion that BMW just has parts laying around they decide to throw on cars for no reason."

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  3. #3
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    I bought my e36 M3 with the clear conscious that it would get much better fuel mileage than the e39 M5 I used to have. 22-30 is much nicer than the 12-18 I got in the M5. It's all a matter of expectations. The M3 is tied in fuel mileage capability with my 62 Austin Healey Sprite. Since the Sprite only has 56 hp, the M3 is the much faster of the two cars.

    If I wanted to drive boring cars, I could get something that gets good fuel economy.

    Overall, I am quite impressed with the economy of the M3, I can drive it much more spirtedly without the economy hit you get with a 4 cylinder turbo engine.

  4. #4
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    smiles per gallon > miles per gallon

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  6. #6
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    25 years of technology makes things more efficient? Who'd have thought.

    - 98 m3, techno/anthrazit cloth, 124k and officially worthless - 89 m3, alpine/black 143k and officially old - 2000 323it, tiag/grey, 169k and officially boring

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by yxd0018 View Post
    I knew the mpg of e36 is not great, but still shocked that rented Chrysler cruze and accord takes so little effort to speed ahead and takes half gas to drive the distance. Is that because car technical advancement and heavy weight of e36? Why do you guys still keep e36 ?
    Because we like them.

  8. #8
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    I have following questions:
    1. The steering wheel is very stiff and heavy comparing with other cars, or my steering wheel Assembly get issues? I still have PS leaking after recently repair.
    2. After releasing gas pedal, the car seems have some friction that it doesn't slide very far. The rented car can slide double distance.
    3. The brake has delayed effect, unlike rented cars. But seems similar to my previous Saab 95. Not sure if it's because of heavy weight.

  9. #9
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    If the Honda is a 4 cly then is will get way better mpg, but even the v6 I believe does very good.

  10. #10
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    E36's are not generally known for having extremely heavy steering, but the perceived weight of the steering usually goes up with modifications. Often times drivers prefer this characteristic as usually it provides more feedback to the driver. When comparing to the cars and drivers of today it is possible that you might be experiencing a lack of power in your forearms.
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  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by yxd0018 View Post
    I have following questions:
    1. The steering wheel is very stiff and heavy comparing with other cars, or my steering wheel Assembly get issues? I still have PS leaking after recently repair.
    2. After releasing gas pedal, the car seems have some friction that it doesn't slide very far. The rented car can slide double distance.
    3. The brake has delayed effect, unlike rented cars. But seems similar to my previous Saab 95. Not sure if it's because of heavy weight.
    It sounds like you would prefer a newer car.

  12. #12
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    Well, I doubt your conclusion. I don't have another e36 to compare. Together with my PS issue, I'm not sure which is the main cause. I just feel my steering wheel is getting heavier.
    Modern car is very plastic heavy. I can hand push down the hood of the rented Chrysler cruze.

    - - - Updated - - -

    I'm average Joe who like new toys. I just try to figure out if this is normal for e36 or my car has problems.

  13. #13
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    yours is normal...except the mpg. I was getting 25-30 on my M3 stock (now around 18-20 after mods and a heavy foot mod).

    Do you have any CELs? recent maintenance?


    As for your rentals taking half the gas, do you mean fuel or half the gas pedal travel?

    -If travel - new cars are all drive by wire, and by 50% travel they're at about 90% throttle
    -If tank - I'm guessing both those are larger tanks than the E36, could be wrong, but I seem to only ever get to 13gallons in my M, I think it's technically a 14.x gallon tank.
    Last edited by Moron95M3; 02-11-2019 at 12:12 PM.
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  14. #14
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    I mean the distance car travels after releasing the gas pedal.

    I used to get P0430 catalyst system efficiency below threshold bank 2 error in Jan 3. I want to make sure if it's real regardless of o2 sensor so I cleaned the error code and it hasn't come back yet.

    Rented Chrysler cruze has 60L tank which is close to 16 gallons, close to 62L e36. Above moderate weekend driving cost $11=4.8g, just a bit cross a quarter meter reading. My e36 would have crossed half mark.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by yxd0018 View Post
    I have following questions:
    1. The steering wheel is very stiff and heavy comparing with other cars, or my steering wheel Assembly get issues? I still have PS leaking after recently repair.
    2. After releasing gas pedal, the car seems have some friction that it doesn't slide very far. The rented car can slide double distance.
    3. The brake has delayed effect, unlike rented cars. But seems similar to my previous Saab 95. Not sure if it's because of heavy weight.
    My wife has complained at times that my car feels like the power steering isn't working. It's much heavier than it was / is on our Camry, Mazda MX-6, CTS-V, and Escalade. Maybe less assist = more feel? Maybe you need a power steering flush?

    For the gas and brake (and steering, too) - new cars have significantly more assist / boost in the braking system and steering system. I always feel like the brakes are super grabby and the power steering feels like it's not even connected to the wheels when I rent a new car or drive someone's new car.

    And the throttle calibrations are all over the place. All new cars use electronic throttles rather than a mechanical throttle cable like the E36 has. And this is significant because of turbos.

    With everything being turboed these days, they over-throttle to get the turbos spinning and then under-throttle once the boost is there. I was always surprised how peppy the rentals I had were at half throttle, but then I realized that they didn't have anything left to give - the last 50% of pedal travel basically gave you the final 10-20% of available throttle. The OEMs just wanted them to seem peppy without the driver knowing they were actually thrashing it at 80-90% throttle.

    In addition, the E36 (and all other M3s, and maybe all BMWs in general?) have the gas pedal hinged at the bottom, which also creates a different feel than you'd find in a normal car.

    So our E36s are very analog. 10% brake pedal mean 10% brakes. 25% gas pedal means 25% throttle. And that's the joy of driving these. New cars are not just electronic, but even inputs are very digital. The wheel spins with ease even when cornering. You move the gas pedal 10% and get 40% throttle response. You barely touch the brakes and hit your face on the steering wheel.

    I'm also not sure why you keep bringing up weight.

    For reference, an E36 is only heavy compared to a Lotus or a Miata or a similar-generation Civic. It's about the same as a similar generation Accord / Camry, and about the same as the current Cruze, too. It's lighter than any current mid-size (Accord / Camry), and similar or just a bit heavier than the current Civic. It is the lightest RWD sedan you could buy (in the US) in the last 25+ years (though there are some RWD coupes that were lighter). This car is only heavy if you're used to a Miata, EG Civic, or an RX-7.

    -Josh: 1998 S54 E36 M3/4/6 with most of the easy stuff and most of the hard stuff. At least twice. 271k miles. 1994 E32 740il with nothing but some MPars. 93k miles.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by yxd0018 View Post
    I mean the distance car travels after releasing the gas pedal.

    I used to get P0430 catalyst system efficiency below threshold bank 2 error in Jan 3. I want to make sure if it's real regardless of o2 sensor so I cleaned the error code and it hasn't come back yet.

    Rented Chrysler cruze has 60L tank which is close to 16 gallons, close to 62L e36. Above moderate weekend driving cost $11=4.8g, just a bit cross a quarter meter reading. My e36 would have crossed half mark.
    A stuck brake caliper or poorly adjusted parking brake could be causing both of these problems with efficiency / coasting distance. Get on a highway and drive for 10-15 minutes without touching your brakes. Downshift / coast to a stop. Get out and feel your brake discs. If any of them are hot, they're sticking.

    -Josh: 1998 S54 E36 M3/4/6 with most of the easy stuff and most of the hard stuff. At least twice. 271k miles. 1994 E32 740il with nothing but some MPars. 93k miles.

  17. #17
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    My 328 has gotten 30+ mpg on road trips. My new VW Alltrack does better around town but highway mileage is only in the upper 20's, even my AWD e46 gets nearly the same highway mileage. Not all new cars get good gas mileage.
    Last edited by jmo69; 02-16-2019 at 02:21 PM.

    Gave away my BMWs, driving a VW and an Audi now.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by yxd0018 View Post
    I have following questions:
    1. The steering wheel is very stiff and heavy comparing with other cars, or my steering wheel Assembly get issues? I still have PS leaking after recently repair.
    2. After releasing gas pedal, the car seems have some friction that it doesn't slide very far. The rented car can slide double distance.
    3. The brake has delayed effect, unlike rented cars. But seems similar to my previous Saab 95. Not sure if it's because of heavy weight.
    1. BMW steering is heavy vs other cars. At first I didn’t think PS was working either. Btw once PS starts to leak I replaced the steering rack and then PS pump gave out. Very annoying and expensive.
    2. If you are in gear and let go of gas, could be that you have more backpressure and engine RPM isn’t dropping as fast. Clogged catalytic converters could increase back pressure
    3. after I switched to ceramic brake pads I have to apply more pressure to brake pedal to stop than organic pads. But I don’t have to clean wheels every weekend


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  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by shadze36 View Post
    smiles per gallon > miles per gallon

    Got an old hippie type rocket scientist I work with. He had a GTI back in the day and never fails to talk about how much fun it was. But he's also very eco-conscious and has decades worth of mileage records, he actually tracks his mpg though cars over his lifetime. His sons recently started driving and I'm trying to pitch him to get something that will instill a love of driving. He's not driven anything more exciting than a toyota minivan or prius in a long time. Once I get the silver vert on the road in a week or so, I'm going to take him for a ride and make him drive back

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