BMW 318i's poor FC (second hand car )

[Azarael]

My friend bought a 3 year old E46 318i, and the car seems to run well, mileage is about 70K .... the only issue is that the fuel consumption is really bad, about 7km/L on octane 98 and 6.5 km/l on octane 95. He has not owned a BMW before and is shocked about the poor FC of the car. Is it possible the car is naturally underpowered ?

 

Any suggestions what to do ?

[Caravan]

Underpower should not cause poor fc. u just go slower that's all. Unless he is trying to keep up with faster cars.

[Relagsingh]

a car is considered underpowered if its hauling a big chunk of metal. it will cause poor fc.

[Rtth84]

should be insufficinet torque than power. torque is needed to move the car. it can have only 100+ hp but if it has 250+ nm at near idling speed then no problems.

[Throttle2]

it's an E46 meaning it's quite old by now.

So perhaps require a good round of servicing etc...could be many reasons contributing to FC. but 7km/liter is truly bad. In fact as bad as my 525i

So it certainly doesnt make sense.

 

something IS NOT right.

[Friendstar]

my manager's 318i E46 also giving 7+km/litre

 

he said "this fellow drinks"

 

so tell ur friend not to be shocked.

 

doesn't mean that 318 is a smaller brother of 5 series means it'll drink less

 

many a times its not the case.

 

FC is just a too complex issue.

[Maxxtotal]

is E46 the previous generation 3 series?

[Maroon5]

no leh bro....the fc is ok for this car....i drive this car quite often (not mine la)...on highway on 100kmh the fc is easily in the 12-13km/l range...in fact the car's fuel optimum speed is 120kmh....overall no prob for 10km/l.

 

ur fren is right...95 petrol jus cant do for this car...

if the check light is not on, its not a servicing issue....

i thk ur fren shd check the tyre pressure for starters...good luck

[inlinesix]

BMW is meant 2 b driven hard. Anyway, it is poorer power to weight ratio as compared to its slightly bigger bro, 320. I guess u also post d same q in BMW-SG. Ask ur fren 2 check it out. There should hav quite a lot of read up on E46.

[Qr25vet]

My friend bought a 3 year old E46 318i, and the car seems to run well, mileage is about 70K .... the only issue is that the fuel consumption is really bad, about 7km/L on octane 98 and 6.5 km/l on octane 95. He has not owned a BMW before and is shocked about the poor FC of the car. Is it possible the car is naturally underpowered ?

 

Any suggestions what to do ?

confirm 3 year old??? @ 1st i was thinking that he might be driving the earlier batch 318I which is the single cam engine...that has no power....the E46 318I which comes with the twin cam N42 or N26 engine is not underpowered by any means....

[Zirco]

This is one in my shortlist too. Time to do somemore research

[Relagsingh]

should be insufficinet torque than power. torque is needed to move the car. it can have only 100+ hp but if it has 250+ nm at near idling speed then no problems.

 

er... ok. generally speaking underpower means having an engine with low performance

[Throttle2]

my manager's 318i E46 also giving 7+km/litre

 

he said "this fellow drinks"

 

so tell ur friend not to be shocked.

 

doesn't mean that 318 is a smaller brother of 5 series means it'll drink less

 

many a times its not the case.

 

FC is just a too complex issue.

 

You are right

 

doesnt mean 3er will drink less than 5er

But.................the 318i simply doesnt drink at 7km/liter unless he is super heavy footed gunning the car everywhere he goes.

[Porker]

Der,

 

The guys above said it all. Ask your friend to check it out. I suspect its his driving habit. I achieve avg 8.6 km per litre for mine. Mine is 1.8 tons but I seldom go above 2,500 rpm in city driving. Highway different story cos can lut

[Magfocus]

Thats cos yours is a manual and is so torquey..

 

I get about 9km/l normal driving..incl some highway runs.

[Miles]

My friend bought a 3 year old E46 318i, and the car seems to run well, mileage is about 70K .... the only issue is that the fuel consumption is really bad, about 7km/L on octane 98 and 6.5 km/l on octane 95. He has not owned a BMW before and is shocked about the poor FC of the car. Is it possible the car is naturally underpowered ?

 

Any suggestions what to do ?

confirm 3 year old??? @ 1st i was thinking that he might be driving the earlier batch 318I which is the single cam engine...that has no power....the E46 318I which comes with the twin cam N42 or N26 engine is not underpowered by any means....

 

Right. E46 318i pre facelift (1998-2002) is actually 1.9L single vanos unit. Not surprising if its a drinker.

The post facelifted E46 318i (2002-2005) uses 2.0L 143bhp valvetronic double vanos engine. this one should get you about 9-10km/L, unless heavily modded with bodykits, spoilers and wide 18-19" rims.

[Friendstar]

yes!

 

the nicest 3 series ever

 

timeless masterpiece

[Porker]

Feels slightly bored already Still love it many many but the V8 or Flat 6 beckons