Driving Experience : 325i M-Sports

[hsiengloong1985]

Dear All,Have taken delivery of my 325i M-Sports last week and have clocked up approx 400km. However few things that i have noticed since my previous rides were all JDM:1. High fuel consumption : Was previously told that fuel consumption would be approx 12L/100KM but now my OBC shows a high of approx 26L/100KM. That is really high as i have only managed to clock about 350km on a RM100 tank. I'm not a heavy footer definately and the highest that i have went was 3000 rpm and that was because i was driving it a high speed. Other than that, my car seldom goes above 2k rpm.. I wonder what's eveyone else's FC on their 325i..2. Sluggish start : Very sluggish start from standstill as compared to my previous JDM Honda Accord 2.4. Previously all i needed was to tap the pedal and the car really jerks forwards. NOw with my UDM, i tap on it but there is no response. In fact, only after i really tekan hard, only the car moves. Any reason why is it so? But, above 50/60kmh the car really accelerates without any issue3. DTC/DSC : I have tried dis-engaging DSC by pressing the DTC button (note that DSC is de-activated by DTC is engaged), and the pick-up form standstill seems more responsive and the car seems lighter as compared to when DSC is turned on. Any reasons in this? Actually, i do not need DSC 'ON' during standstill pick-up because i dont tekan my car hard and definately my wheel wont spin.4. Engine noise : I noticed a few times when i was at home accelerating the engine. When i tekan the pedal, and the engine speed climbs, at about 1k rpm there is a short whirling/clinging noise like as if there is a loose screw. Its just for a 1-2 second thing and when engine speed biulds up above the 1k+ rpm, there sound disappears. Sounds more like a screw lose..Anyway, its a great car to drive, i swear by it but just that its a totally different driving experience from my previous JDM that makes me curious.

 

[Eggie86]

Is your ride brand new? Perhaps the engine hasn't been run in yet bro.

 

[whiteknight88]

Hey Hsiengloong..

I'm driving an 08 325i E92, believe it should be the same engine? Anyways :

1) I agree with the fuel consumption... I top up RM120 for full tank and gets 400km out of it... so about RM0.30/km? But of coz there's the occasional flooring when i have a jerk up my ass... just sometimes

2) Sluggish start : I believe this just needs some getting used to.. japanese fuel pedal design is hanging from above and we get used to pushing down with our toes only so it feels responsive somehow. With the bimmer, the pedal is now attached to floor of car, hence the right foot position would be to place your whole foot on the pedal and push down bigger part of your foot on the pedal and you will feel the responsiveness. Not easy to explain but hope I'm making some sense here.

3) Never really compared DTC on & off so no comments.

4) Never noticed the clinging sound u mentioned when flooring.... only sweet 6 potter singing and I love the song it plays

 

[hsiengloong1985]

Hey Hsiengloong..

I'm driving an 08 325i E92, believe it should be the same engine? Anyways :

1) I agree with the fuel consumption... I top up RM120 for full tank and gets 400km out of it... so about RM0.30/km? But of coz there's the occasional flooring when i have a jerk up my ass... just sometimes

2) Sluggish start : I believe this just needs some getting used to.. japanese fuel pedal design is hanging from above and we get used to pushing down with our toes only so it feels responsive somehow. With the bimmer, the pedal is now attached to floor of car, hence the right foot position would be to place your whole foot on the pedal and push down bigger part of your foot on the pedal and you will feel the responsiveness. Not easy to explain but hope I'm making some sense here.

3) Never really compared DTC on & off so no comments.

4) Never noticed the clinging sound u mentioned when flooring.... only sweet 6 potter singing and I love the song it plays

Hi Whiteknight88,

Thanks for your inputs. Really enlightening especially when i'm still adapting to my first conti ride lol.

However, like you have mentioned, itthe sluggish start could be because of my hesistance to floor the pedal although my sales person has told me so as well. I have this thinking of driving like a JDM where i only need to tap it. In fact, i have a phobia of really flooring my pedal as the fuel consumption is really really high now so flooring it would only make it worse, typically.

I have only once tried to floor half the pedal and yes i feel that the car is mroe responsive but still, it does not give me the jerk as compared to my previous cars. Never try flooring it tho as the car is still new

BTW i wonder, does FC actually improves as i drive my car for a longer period??

Also, does anyone experience those clinging sound? Other than the sweet 6-potter growl...

Thanks!

 

[astroboy]

1. 350km on RM100 is about 15L/100km, not 26L/100km. Reset the counter depressing the left OBC stalk button. After run in, FC shall come down. My 320i is clocking 14+L/100km, so you shouldn't complain.. Go highway, reset FC counter, stay at 160kph, you'll be amazed at the single digit FC. I did 8.8L/100km on my 320i, urs can do better!.. :top:

2. BMW call it "civilised take off", on purpose to promote comfort, u want more drastic pickup, tekan more only.

3. DTC allow more wheel slippage, means for icy roads. That's why u felt pick up better. DSC is a very good safety driver's aids to regain car control shall your wheels lost traction due to over aggressive corner taking. Its a live saver in the wet.

4. Monitor the noise and get it inspected when time permits.

 

[racheltoh]

After you have done your run in, you can re-set your FC. I think i m one of those lousy drivers out there. I m clocking about 14L/100km. This is city driving, lots of jam, lots of potholes, lots of braking. and this is based on auto mode.

The pick up...u will get used to it. I hope this is not a hindrance to you la. What you want is the power n speed when doing long drives and cornering..

 

[Vroom325]

Hi Whiteknight88,

Thanks for your inputs. Really enlightening especially when i'm still adapting to my first conti ride lol.

However, like you have mentioned, itthe sluggish start could be because of my hesistance to floor the pedal although my sales person has told me so as well. I have this thinking of driving like a JDM where i only need to tap it. In fact, i have a phobia of really flooring my pedal as the fuel consumption is really really high now so flooring it would only make it worse, typically.

I have only once tried to floor half the pedal and yes i feel that the car is mroe responsive but still, it does not give me the jerk as compared to my previous cars. Never try flooring it tho as the car is still new

BTW i wonder, does FC actually improves as i drive my car for a longer period??

Also, does anyone experience those clinging sound? Other than the sweet 6-potter growl...

Thanks!

Hi,
1. Ur FC is way too high, it can't be. Do you have a lot of city stand still drive? Also I think partially coz engine not run in yet. My 2004 e46 325 with only 5 gear can also reach 380km with 3quarter tank.(I normally refill when the need approaches last quarter) That's like about RM100 with 97 price, which is about 8km+/litre. If i have more hiway drive, it will go to about 9km+/litre.

2. Sluggish start? Guess what, I asked the same question when I took over. You are actually starting off with only the 2nd gear by default if I am not mistaken. Push to manual 1st gear & start off, then you will know the difference. Or, at normal D mode, just tekan quick on the pedal for about 2-3inches, the computer will sense your urgent need of power, instantly you will shoot off.

AB is correct that it's like dat for comfort. After you remember how it pick up with 1st gear, imagine if you were to do that everytime. First thing you will be tired, second, you just have to step on brake more often then usual.

Enjoy ur ride! This is a very well balanced machine for comfort & driving pleasure! :top:

 

[whiteknight88]

great info vroom... learnt a lot there

 

[Vroom325]

u r most welcome.

Enjoy! It's a joy ride!:top:

 

[hsiengloong1985]

1. 350km on RM100 is about 15L/100km, not 26L/100km. Reset the counter depressing the left OBC stalk button. After run in, FC shall come down. My 320i is clocking 14+L/100km, so you shouldn't complain.. Go highway, reset FC counter, stay at 160kph, you'll be amazed at the single digit FC. I did 8.8L/100km on my 320i, urs can do better!.. :top:

2. BMW call it "civilised take off", on purpose to promote comfort, u want more drastic pickup, tekan more only.

3. DTC allow more wheel slippage, means for icy roads. That's why u felt pick up better. DSC is a very good safety driver's aids to regain car control shall your wheels lost traction due to over aggressive corner taking. Its a live saver in the wet.

4. Monitor the noise and get it inspected when time permits.

Hi AB, thanks for your reply...

BTW, i thought its normal for the 320i would have a better FC as compared to the 325i as it is a higher CC car lol.. OK, i will go back and try to reset the meter later..

2. Tekan more = higher FC only lol.. Its already way too high for me now to go and tekan it more hehe..

3. If by turning off DSC can help in pick up i might as well turn it off but then when the car is running then only turn it on (to save my life, touch wood). Wondering if there's any side effect in turning this thing on-off on a daily basis...

4. Yeap, i plan to send my car back for an inspection sometime next week. The sound is just, worrying..

 

[hsiengloong1985]

Hi,
1. Ur FC is way too high, it can't be. Do you have a lot of city stand still drive? Also I think partially coz engine not run in yet. My 2004 e46 325 with only 5 gear can also reach 380km with 3quarter tank.(I normally refill when the need approaches last quarter) That's like about RM100 with 97 price, which is about 8km+/litre. If i have more hiway drive, it will go to about 9km+/litre.

2. Sluggish start? Guess what, I asked the same question when I took over. You are actually starting off with only the 2nd gear by default if I am not mistaken. Push to manual 1st gear & start off, then you will know the difference. Or, at normal D mode, just tekan quick on the pedal for about 2-3inches, the computer will sense your urgent need of power, instantly you will shoot off.

AB is correct that it's like dat for comfort. After you remember how it pick up with 1st gear, imagine if you were to do that everytime. First thing you will be tired, second, you just have to step on brake more often then usual.

Enjoy ur ride! This is a very well balanced machine for comfort & driving pleasure! :top:

Hi bro, thanks for the knowledge.

BTW, yeap my driving has always been a city drive with plenty of stop-n-go movement. BTW your FC is amazing, i wonder how do you achieve that especially in city drive with lots of stop n go. Even BMW mentioned that the 325i would have an fc of 12L/100KM. BTW, most of the time, i'm having at least 2-3 people (including me) in the car.

2. BTW wont it kill off the gearbox faster by starting the car in 2nd gear? No reason actually for it to start in 2nd gear, then what's the point of having the first lol. Might as wel just having 5 gears and combining the first and second together with a longer ratio...

Oh BTW, my average speed thus far after drivin for 400km is only 26km/h lol...

 

[Vroom325]

Hi bro, thanks for the knowledge.

BTW, yeap my driving has always been a city drive with plenty of stop-n-go movement. BTW your FC is amazing, i wonder how do you achieve that especially in city drive with lots of stop n go. Even BMW mentioned that the 325i would have an fc of 12L/100KM. BTW, most of the time, i'm having at least 2-3 people (including me) in the car.

2. BTW wont it kill off the gearbox faster by starting the car in 2nd gear? No reason actually for it to start in 2nd gear, then what's the point of having the first lol. Might as wel just having 5 gears and combining the first and second together with a longer ratio...

Oh BTW, my average speed thus far after drivin for 400km is only 26km/h lol...

Er...

1. 12l/100km = 8km+/litre, that's kind of normal. The computer is accumulated data. Also forget about those data on the brochure lah... What I do everytime after i pump the petrol, I record the mileage say for exmaple 380km divide by the petrol filled in, say, 45litre, u get 8.4km+/litre. This is my old habit years back...

2. Not really, with 2nd gear I think it's just a nice pace to move out.(to me) 1st gear will be too tiring, if everytime I have to dash out like that. Try it then you will know what I am talking about. The car practically dash out... I think 2nd gear is good enuf for me. Anyway, I know it will answer depending on how I step on the gas and it respond by dropping gear instantly when I need the power... So, whatever gear it starts off with, doesn't really matter to me. Just change your gear oil every 40-50k km and don't always kick down super hard, ur GB shud serve u for long time.

Bro, more gears better fuel economy leh... Ur drive also should be less jerky. I had a 1st gen Mazda 6 before when my fren was driving an E90 320, it has a better fuel economy then mine! :listen:

3. average speed thing, again it's accumulated. What about your jam time? I actually don really pay much attention to it. In fact I pay attention more on the fun it provides me.

 

[viewfinder]

...
1. ... but now my OBC shows a high of approx 26L/100KM. That is really high as i have only managed to clock about 350km on a RM100 tank.

2. Sluggish start ...

.

Either you accidentally just reset the OBC when you took a glance, or the OBC counter has kaput More likely the former. Each time after refueling, I would reset the OBC and the number would start off very high like above 30+ L/100km and quickly trickle down 10+ after few minutes.

Doing math on your numbers above, it equals 13.605 L/100km, which is not bad for city/highway combo.

Sluggish start? Hmm just move over to Ds

 

[hsiengloong1985]

Lol, fun is one thing to me but maintaining it is another. I dont buy those people telling me that if can afford this car, FC and the maitainance cost doesnt matter cos its still money after all..

But nevertheless, my jam time ( & idling time) is rather long lately cos i have been using the car to run errands e.g. dropping my sis n mom off the shops, and etc.

I think i need to set a habit to reset my FC counter everytime i taruk minyak. Since its accumulated, at least it gives me a rough idea of how much i have used up and etc.

 

[Vroom325]

Either you accidentally just reset the OBC when you took a glance, or the OBC counter has kaput More likely the former. Each time after refueling, I would reset the OBC and the number would start off very high like above 30+ L/100km and quickly trickle down 10+ after few minutes.

Doing math on your numbers above, it equals 13.605 L/100km, which is not bad for city/highway combo.

Sluggish start? Hmm just move over to Ds

Want the horse run well, gotta feed them enuf with nice stuff.
Don't expect Japanese car fuel economy on our car. Not too bad actually...
My previous job, the MD was having a cefiro V6 3000, the mileage was bad. Something like5~6km+/litre! Dat's slightly better then a heavily modified RX-7...

 

[MSport]

Sluggish? Switch to DS laa......

Else the SB and VB is also available.

Reset your OBC first. Then try again.

 

[lude]

i was driving a jdm as well before this.. daily driven lightly tuned evo going thru kl traffic.. fc was 7km/l due to stop-go traffic with morning/evening blast on penchala link..
with the 323i i got close to 9km/l when i went easy on the throttle during the first 2k km of ownership but somehow bad habits die hard.. i drive it now like how i would the evo and im not getting any better than 7km/l..
what your 325 fails in fc.. it makes up in handling and stability..

 

[hsiengloong1985]

Having said that, anyone tried a shoot out on 2 seperate scenarios : 1 with DSC on and 1 with DSC off but DTC on?

I'm not sure how much better the time would be but i dfinately do feel the diff with DSC off. My guess is that, with the better pick-up with DSC off, FC would also improve...

 

[supergripen]

BMWs or in general continental cars are not optimized for city stop go driving.Its not surprising that the fc suffers when driven in such manner/environment.For that,small lightweight small engined cars are more likely to give better consumption.

Our BMWs are made to be driven in a european driving environment,where motorways and highways are commonplace.Folks drive between cities and towns via long smooth stretches of tarmac,at high speeds in the case of Germany.This is where the engine and drivetrain efficiency comes into play.Handling wise,well,BMWs handles well everywhere.

My 335i does 9km/l on the highway,mostly at high speeds.A trip from Sepang to Penang(382kms) consumes just over half a tank of RON97.Mix that with some rural and town driving(Parit Buntar and Kulim),I managed 580kms on a tankful.

If u want ur town/city driving to yield low fc figures,u'll need to get something else.A small Perodua perhaps?

ps - The fc figure u gave at the start of the thread is just wrong.I don't think u're reading ur instruments right.U need to understand the system/computer to extract the best out of it.

Oh yeah,I used to drive a Subaru Impreza STi prior to this.

 

[viewfinder]

Having said that, anyone tried a shoot out on 2 seperate scenarios : 1 with DSC on and 1 with DSC off but DTC on?

I'm not sure how much better the time would be but i dfinately do feel the diff with DSC off. My guess is that, with the better pick-up with DSC off, FC would also improve...

You are most welcome to conduct this science experiment and let us know the result:top: Just make sure you don't/never turn off DSC on wet road/rainy days.

Another safer variation for you to try out... activate cruise control whenever you get a chance of long stretch of city road. Keeping constant throttle ought to improve FC... but may kill the fun of driving.

Remember as Jeremy Clarkson put in the M3 vs Prius FC trial, it's not what you drive, it's how you drive