[Pablo68]

Someone asked a whole back what the capacity of the 335i tank is. Today I found out...60 litres

The fuel reserve warning came on showing 50 miles left at a journey avg of 28mpg (6.2 miles per litre), so 8 litres left. I pulled into a filling station within a couple of hundred yards and the nozzle clicked off at 51.9 litres. So there you have it, exactly 60 litres ( give or take a dribble )

[joz]

I'm pretty sure it is also listed in the manual

[Pablo68]

Originally Posted by joz

I'm pretty sure it is also listed in the manual

It is but people asked because the oil burners have 57 litre capacity.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Pablo68

Someone asked a whole back what the capacity of the 335i tank is. Today I found out...60 litres

BMW are right then, when they say approx. 60 litres for the petrol models, including the 335i.

HighlandPete

[dopper99]

You only need to look on BMW's website and it lists the fuel tank capacity for both diesel and petrol models.
All petrols are 60 and all diesels are 57 litres.

http://www.bmw.co.uk/en_GB/new-vehic...ical-data.html

[Pablo68]

Yes I know all about bmw manuals etc but the point is someone wanted confirmation because it was thought odd that petrols have 60 litre tanks and diesels 57. Just trying to help.

[dopper99]

Originally Posted by Pablo68

Yes I know all about bmw manuals etc but the point is someone wanted confirmation because it was thought odd that petrols have 60 litre tanks and diesels 57. Just trying to help.

Ok, see your point....

[BMWSKI]

Thanks Pablo

[Tengocity]

Yes, I asked about it last week! I wondered where that 3 litres went... something must be filling the space?!

I had it on zero range the other week yet got no more than 54 litres in to it.

[Afy360]

I think every pump is different.

No to pumps are the same and you will always get different readings including the price!!!!! Even if it's the same price per L at another pump.

I just find it hard to believe that every pump even with the same price per L will give you the exact same amount of fuel.

[MarkG_M5Comp]

Originally Posted by Afy360

I think every pump is different.

No to pumps are the same and you will always get different readings including the price!!!!! Even if it's the same price per L at another pump.

I just find it hard to believe that every pump even with the same price per L will give you the exact same amount of fuel.

Fuels pumps must deliver within something like 6ml or 2p accuracy of something similar - there will never be a 3L difference!

[ben_e71]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

Yes, I asked about it last week! I wondered where that 3 litres went... something must be filling the space?!

a litre of diesel takes up more space than a litre of petrol. So the tanks are the same size but you can get more petrol in to it.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by ben_e71

a litre of diesel takes up more space than a litre of petrol. So the tanks are the same size but you can get more petrol in to it.

I wondered if it was something like this, but a Litre is volume measurement! If fuel was dispensed by weight then it would make more sense to me.

[ben_e71]

sorry it was a joke ...

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by ben_e71

sorry it was a joke ...

But I think you may be (inadvertently) right actually!

[Wo-Wo]

This is my main gripe, the Audi can be specked with a bigger tank just wished the 3 could've been.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by BigNPT

This is my main gripe, the Audi can be specked with a bigger tank just wished the 3 could've been.

Agreed. A 70 litre tank would be great!

[Ti Rich]

It used to be that the diesels have the fuel pump in the tank, hence the reduced capacity.

[digitall.rebel]

Originally Posted by ben_e71

sorry it was a joke ...

For a second I thought hang on... is that true? lol you almost had me.

[E34E39F30]

There's another factor, which is the difference between the specified fuel tank capacity and the actual one.

I did well over 400k in my E34 - about 1000 fills - which had a nominal tank capacity of 80l (this and my E39s were all petrol). I long ago got into the bad habit of running to near empty (much of the mileage was long-distance commuting, and it was a pain to come off the motorway to fill up), and the limit of what you could draw on was about 78l, occurring at about 10 miles after 0 on the OBC.

By contrast, all my E39s (2 saloon, 1 touring), which have a nominal 70l capacity, take significantly more than that (I've probably filled them a bit over 600 times in total). I tend to fill up at the convenient moment at or near 0 on the OBC, at which point all took well over 70l (there was no observable difference between the saloons and the touring). All three would go to about 15-20 miles after 0 on the OBC, I routinely put over 73l in them, and my record fill was 75.25l (I brim the tank when I fill, but not to the point of spilling the gold!). I trust the pumps, if only because I get such uniformly consistent results when filling a tank that's this empty.

I've only ever run out on 5 or 6 occasions, and I have always carried 10l in an excellent BMW fuel can that fits in the spare wheel. It's one of the main changes I'll have to make to my habits when the F30 330d comes (a) because I don't want to be so cavalier with that engine / fuel system, and (b) because without a spare I've nowhere easy to carry that can!

FWIW, the limited experience I had of actually running out taught me that (1) (not surprisingly) steepish slopes when very low could cause the last litre or two to be inaccessible, and (2) if you reached the point of spluttering you wanted to add at least 5 litres to get going smoothly again.

[Tengocity]

In the interests of 'science', perhaps a couple of people (one diesel, one petrol) with an F30 could volunteer to run out of fuel, and then let us know how much it takes to fill up!

Handy to know how much is really left when you do get really low. not sure it's good for a diesel engine though!

[NISFAN]

Thanks Pablo for confirming