[ddemeterio5]

Hi everyone, I am a newbie and bought my first car last year and am very happy with it so far. I have the Steptronic transmission and am getting 22 mpg in mostly highway driving and a tiny bit of local road driving. When I'm driving on weekends I like to go to sports mode or manual to hear that engine roar and how it sounds when you shift gears. I love its brakes, handling, and how it does corners at fast speeds.

However, on weekdays when I'm driving to work I'd like to optimize my gas mileage. So can anyone give me some tips on how to get better gas mileage. Is it true that the faster you shift gears to get to the 6th gear the more mileage you will get? Is it advisable to shift to neutral when you are coasting to a stop light? If I do manual mode and shift gears fast will it be better than the DRIVE position? I'm sorry to sound like a moron but this is my first car and I don't really know much about engines and transmissions. Your suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[noflash]

1. Is it true that the faster you shift gears to get to the 6th gear the more mileage you will get?

Not necessarily. It depends on how fast you are going. Shift too soon and you will bog the engine.

2. Is it advisable to shift to neutral when you are coasting to a stop light?

No. Just keep your foot of the gas.

3. If I do manual mode and shift gears fast will it be better than the DRIVE position?

Prob. Not.


Other things you can do:

Let your car break in.
Increase your tire pressure.
Keep it out of sport mode.
Don't floor it.
Use cruise control.
Lower your speed.
Turn off your a/c.
Get lighter wheels and tires.
Take that keg out of your trunk.
Get the turbonator -- Kidding!

[jamesna120]

i have heard in many occasion that putting transmission gear into neutral to save gas is dangerous since you will cut off the power going into your wheels.. also wouldn't it cause stress to the trasmission if you went back to D mode from neutral at a high speed??? sorry to answer your question with another question.. but, is it really safe to go back and forth between neutral and drive while crusing???(sort of like money shift) anyone care to expand their thoughts on this???

[noflash]

Originally Posted by jamesna120

i have heard in many occasion that putting transmission gear into neutral to save gas is dangerous since you will cut off the power going into your wheels.. also wouldn't it cause stress to the trasmission if you went back to D mode from neutral at a high speed??? sorry to answer your question with another question.. but, is it really safe to go back and forth between neutral and drive while crusing??? anyone care to expand their thoughts on this???

Well, it's less safe, because you have no engine braking -- only from your pads. Also, you are an additional second away from having power if you should need it in an emergency situation.

I am not certain about damage to your tranny from doing it, but I lean toward no real damage, simply b/c BMW allows you to do it, right?

[LEDZEP]

Hello and welcome. Your first car is supposed to be a 10 year old beater... not a brand new BMW... but I won't lecture.

The tips given above by noflash are good ones and I don't have much to add. Look at the MPG guage in your instrument cluster while you're driving from time to time. Make mentall notes about what driving habits reward you and which ones punish you. When you are able (traffic and conditions allowing) try to stick to the good habits. Stop and go driving is the worst. If your lifestyle and beaten path require that, then there is little you can do.

As far as shifting into neutral when slowing down - you might save $1 over the course of a year. I woundn't bother with it. I don't think jumping in and out of neutral will cause too much hard to the tranny - I think it's very similar to applying the clutch in a stick shift car then releasing again in the same gear. I don't see a financial benefit in doing it though.

The only other suggestion is to do what I do - only drive downhill. Luckily, my daily commute is downhill both ways.

[David328M-Sport]

i cannot see a difference in fuel useage between using the a/c and not using the a/c in the e90.

[noflash]

Originally Posted by LEDZEP

The only other suggestion is to do what I do - only drive downhill. Luckily, my daily commute is downhill both ways.

You're slowly going to hell, aren't you?

[noflash]

Originally Posted by David325Australia

i cannot see a difference in fuel useage between using the a/c and not using the a/c in the e90.

Well, technically, the less accessories you use, the less fuel you use.

Do note, that just because the A/C light is lit does not mean the compressor is on. Our cars are too smart to let us control that!

[england1987]

From my knowledge turn off the A/C, use cruise control whenever possible(the car does know best in this respect), coast down hill, slow steady acceleration, if you see a redlight ahead of you slow down so that you don't have to come to a complete stop(keep the car rolling). Take the quickest route to where ever it is your going. your car and it will you.

[ashecnc]

I live in a very mountainous area, up hill and down everywhere, I get 25-28 mpg on my computer. Wonder why yours is less.

[ase2dais]

Originally Posted by noflash

Let your car break in.
Increase your tire pressure.
Keep it out of sport mode.
Don't floor it.
Use cruise control.
Lower your speed.
Turn off your a/c.
Get lighter wheels and tires.

Listen to this guy ! it worked for me, from 21mpg to 25-28mpg thats average driving, not even Hwy.

The big secret was cruise control, I set cruise most the time at 35/45/50/60 mph, for i cant afford anymore tickets, and dont gas the pedals, step on it gently. btw - Ive also noticed if not in cruise, DS mode gets better gas mileage than D or M, of crse for that matter. Dont ask me how I just noticed the gas mileage indicator saying so!

Doing this awhile, it becomes a habit. and you'll apprecaite the power and the handling of the car even more, when you let let it ripped once in awhile and be your sex-slave!

Its 50-60miles saved more per tankful, about 2-3 gallons at a savings of $5-$9 per fillup. $130-234 dollars a year more in your pocket. (a fillup every 2 weeks)

[ddemeterio5]

Thanks for all your suggestions. Need to work on my driving habbits. I welcome all your suggestions except for turning off the A/C which may be too hot for me and don't want to open the windows coz' it's too noisy and won't be able to hear the radio. I have not used the cruise control feature yet. I will play around with cruise control and see what happens. I consider myself lucky to have this as my first car and I'm loving it everytime I go and drive. By the way, the car has already 7000+ miles on it and I check the tire pressure once a week. I put air pressure based on whatever the driver door label says +1 psi. Life is good, even better when I'm driving my BMW 3-series!

[noflash]

[england1987]

O.K. I'm just curious. Does it make sence that you get the best fuel economy by driving at or below the RPM of highest torque? Since thats where the keep it going power is. Feel free to correct me.

[noflash]

Originally Posted by england1987

O.K. I'm just curious. Does it make sence that you get the best fuel economy by driving at or below the RPM of highest torque? Since thats where the keep it going power is. Feel free to correct me.

Click and Clack (of Cartalk) say ~48mph will give you the best mpg. Anything over and all of a suddent the wind resistence doubles it's affect on mpg.

[noflash]

Not to totally hog this thread, but last night in strictly highway driving for about 10 miles I got the computer to read 34 mpg. Highest I've seen without resetting it a 70mph and coasting.

[imageWIS]

Although, if you live in SoFLA…no A/C is not an option.

Jon.

[ase2dais]

Originally Posted by noflash

Not to totally hog this thread, but last night in strictly highway driving for about 10 miles I got the computer to read 34 mpg. Highest I've seen without resetting it a 70mph and coasting.

The way I understand that is, you re getting 34mpg at you current driven miles and the amount of fuel used. So, that would be recalculated again as miles driven and gas used increase, until you get the final read-out at the station fill-up.

Ive done the manual calculation at times and it always matches what the onboard Gas/trip mileage indicator says, maybe+/- 1 mile.

[Ghunger]

Hmm, wonder how much lighter wheels would actually help the mileage. **tries to convince self that buying lighter wheels is actually an investment and will save money in the long run**

[desinole]

I am not so sure about the cruise control.

By activating the cruise control, you are setting the speed of the car, so if you are going on a slight uphill, the car will suddenly acclerate and if you are going down hill, the car will drop RPM's.

Atleast, this is true in most other cars. I have not driven an E90 with the cruise on, so there is a chance that I could be wrong.

Also, Driving at 60 MPH (if you can) will give you the best mileage in any car.

And like others mentioned, let the car stay in drive and avoid any hard accleration and breaking, you should be able to get the best mileage.

[yujini]

Uhh...activating cruise control will actually use more gas.
I recommend you not to use cruise control at all if you are trying to save gas.

[petesamprs]

There's three variables here:
i) How many miles you drive a year,
ii) How much your gas costs, and
iii) what MPG you're getting.

Assuming 12k/yr (like on my lease) and $2.25 average gas price over the year, here's what you'll pay based on how you drive:
MPG____$/year
16:____$1,688
18:____$1,500
20:____$1,350
22:____$1,227
24:____$1,125
26:____$1,038

Personally, after having spent so much for the car, I would rather get the most enjoyment out of it for the $400-500 extra it'll cost me in gas.

In short, I'm all in favor of getting better gas mileage without taking away from the drive (more tire pressure, lighter wheels, no A/C, etc), but I won't sacrifice any part of the driving experience for it.

Of course, if you drive a ton of miles/yr or pay a lot for gas, or both, you might have more incentive to drive more conservatively.