BMW E53 X5 3.0i Fuel Economy Capabilities
 

I thought this might interest you guys so I wrote it up!

I recently took a nearly 3,000 mile trip with the X5. At one point I encountered a very long 55mph construction zone where there was absolutely no traffic. I set the cruise control at 61mph. When I did this, I realized that my on-board fuel range calculator kept climbing. And climbing. And climbing. It kept climbing to a point when the distance on my trip meter (which I had reset at my previous fuel stop) and remaining fuel range equaled nearly 650 miles. I then started doing some mental math. If these calculations were correct and I divided them by what I approximated the fuel capacity to be (25 gallons) it yielded me a theoretical 26mpg. “Bullshit,” I thought to myself; “this thing is WAY OFF.” But then I noticed that the remaining fuel range and the trip meter were BOTH increasing at the same time. There came a point where the trip meter and remaining fuel range equaled nearly 665 miles. I then thought to myself, “ok, could this really be plausible? Could I get MORE than 650 miles out of a tank? Could I get 26mpg? Could I get MORE??? (Well, these calculations were a bit off because the tank is actually larger than 24 gallons, but not by much – and there are other variables explained below).

The following thought then entered my mind: “And what about the fact that I had not driven so conservatively since my last fill-up? Maybe, just maybe, could I get 700 miles out of the tank if I drove at a conservative, yet reasonable, speed??? And what about the fact that the fuel range goes to “- - - -“ before the fuel tank dries up? I damn well could get OVER 700 miles out of a tank!

I consulted the econometer to see at what speed the X5 returned the highest mpg. I started playing around with speeds on my cruise control and I found that the X5 3.0i’s “sweet spot” is at an indicated 64.5mph (62.5mph GPS-verified). At this speed, the econometer was at its highest (to the left of the unmarked hash mark). I don’t know what that hash means, but it appears to be 25mpg. The challenge was on. I was going to try to get over 700 miles out of a tank (i.e. over 26 mpg) under “reasonably conservative” driving habits.

Having decided I would test this out, I stopped for the night and planned on getting up really early to beat traffic so I could get as much of an uninterrupted run as possible. Before going to bed, I opened up my owner’s manual to get the precise BMW fuel specifications. I came to find out that my 24-gallon fuel tank capacity was wrong, but not too far off. The manual states that the fuel tank capacity is approximately 24.6 gallons and that the reserve is approximately 2.0 gallons (for the 3.0i – according to the manual, the V8 cars have a 2.5 gallon reserve tank). This equals a total of approximately 26.6 gallons of fuel. That means that if I could find a way to make the tank return the 700 miles I guessed it could earlier in the day, it would mean the car would return a theoretical 26.31mpg. An SUV RETURNING OVER 26MPG?!?!?! Maybe the car computer wasn’t full of shit earlier when I calculated a rough 26mpg (even based on an incorrect 24 gallon fuel tank capacity). Needless to say, I couldn’t believe my calculations. I was itchin’ to get going the next morning to see what would happen. I went to bed VERY motivated to realize my calculations.

For reference, here are the specs of the test mule:

Vehicle: 2003 X5 3.0i
Odometer: 138,000 Miles
Transmission: Automatic
Suspension: Completely Ruined Stock (needs all new bushings, ball joints, and shocks)
Oil Consumption: 1quart/3,000 miles (NOT A TYPO)
Miscellaneous: Aerodynamic inefficiencies such as protruding front left wheel well liner (adds drag and therefore decreases fuel economy)
Cargo: Approximately 100lbs of personal items in the trunk
Tire Pressures: 36psi Cold tire pressure (BMW recommends 39 so I was working the car harder; more friction, more drag, lower fuel consumption – stupid mistake)
Temperature: High ambient temperature reached into the high 90s
Route: Midwest Mountains (constant acceleration/deceleration up/down hills hurts fuel economy)
EPA Official Fuel Economy: 19mpg (highway) (that’s a theoretical 505.4 mile range at the maximum 26.6 fuel tank capacity BMW lists).

I rose at 4am the next morning to brim the tank until it was vomiting fuel and then sorted my tire pressures. My strategy was simple. Slowly accelerate up to speed, take as few pee-brakes as possible, and keep her at the 62.5mph “sweet spot.” (During my econometer testing the day before, I actually noticed that 52.2mph gave a slightly higher fuel economy than 62.5mph, but that’s not a practical speed to maintain on a highway. After all, I want this write-up to be as realistic as possible. 62.5mph is much more reasonable (and realistic), even in 70mph zones. Trust me, it’s actually not bad going 62.5mph in a 70mph zone – I thought I was going to tear my hair out but I was totally fine). With that, I set off.

During this test, I only came off cruise control 3 or 4 times and took 3 breaks. Of course, in the interest of staying realistic, I ran the air conditioning, radio, and charged my phone and GPS all at the same time for the duration of the test. Here are my findings with pictures for proof.

Picture 01: Computer readings shortly after topping up

Picture 02: Climbing

Picture 03: Climbing to a theoretical 666 mile range

Picture 04: Still at a theoretical 666 mile range

Picture 05: Theoretical 686 mile range (COULD THIS BE POSSIBLE?!?!?!)

Picture 06: Theoretical 686 mile range (This is starting to seem possible!!!)

Picture 07: Back down to a theoretical 668-mile range (damnit!)

Picture 08: Back up to a theoretical 680-mile range!

Picture 09: Up to a theoretical 685-mile range!!!

Picture 10: Down to a 671-mile range (the torture!)

Picture 11: Up to 680!

Picture 12: Down to 675

Picture 13: Down to just over 660

Picture 14: Hash marks after traveling 662.7 miles!

Picture 15: Finally, I ran out of balls after coming so close to my goal of 700 miles

Picture 16: I brimmed the tank until it was vomiting fuel again to see how much fuel I had consumed

That’s it – a total of 683.1 miles on a single tank of fuel in an utterly ruined 2003 X5 with tire pressures a bit below spec, A/C on, radio on, and the GPS and Phone drawing power. With a total fuel consumption of 25.59 gallons, that’s an unbelievable 26.69mpg. Having approximately 1.01 gallons left in the tank, I could have theoretically travelled another 26.69 miles for a theoretical fuel tank range of 709.8 miles!

Caveat: to be completely conservative and remove doubt, I’ll adjust the total mileage covered. Because the indicated speed was off by 2mph, it is plausible that the trip computer is off by the same margin (since both readings come from the wheel speed sensors). This means that I may have travelled a slightly shorter distance than the trip computer says (yeah, I didn’t think about verifying the distance via my GPS unit – my mistake). Being that this drive took about 12 hours, I’ll say that there may be a 24-mile distance discrepancy (2mph x 12 hours). Even at such a discrepancy (659.1 miles), the X5 still returned 25.76 miles per gallon.

Once more, think about the mule I used as the test subject and imagine what a perfectly operational X5 could do. I’d be willing to put my money on a solid 27-28mpg even after the adjustments for the wheel speed sensor discrepancy (kicking and screaming, but I honestly think it’s possible). At the consumption volume of this test (25.59 gallons), that’s a potential 716.52 miles – well over the 700-mile range I theorized the X5 could potentially achieve. And that’s adjusted for the speed/distance discrepancy built into the wheel speed sensors!

What a car. What a brilliant motor the M54 is.

I’m a believer.

Note: The server is not allowing me to host any pictures at the moment. Could a moderator please let me know if there's a problem with the server or if it's an intermittent glitch? Thanks!

I believe under the right conditions almost every car can do pretty damn well. In my 1995 bmw 325i MT5 I got 32 MPG with cruise and a little city traffic over 250 miles. Those are some verry impressive numbers none the less. Inflate those tires and do it again!

Totally achieveable. '03 4.4 X5 here, at 70/75 mph I have managed almost 600 miles GPS indicated (the ODO is generous on miles traveled) on a tank. I do the 1100 mile run (GPS again) between FL and TX on 1 stop regularly with 40 miles to E showing on the OBC upon arrival. Zero oil consumption engine but I do mix 10 ozs of Lucas upper cylinder lube in each tank. I laugh when I see the commercial for the Jeep Cherokee and they BRAG how it can go 500 miles on a tank.

Couple of comments.

1) Your tires were not underinflated, they were overinflated. Spec is 32 psi, from memory. The 39 psi figure is if you are cruising over 100 mph (ie autobahn), with a full load of luggage and 4-5 passengers. See your manual.

2) The odometer is not likely to be off. The speedometer is electronically adjusted to overread when it gets the signal from the wheel speed sensor, the odometer is not.

3) The theoretical sweet spot will be the lowest speed that you can hold top gear with the torque converter in lock up mode. It will be lower than what you were running, due to air drag.

4) I didn't see a mention of fuel AKI, but assume it is 89 or 91. Shouldn't matter. However, the amount of ethanol matters significantly. Ethanol will provide a 4% or so mileage reduction due to the lower energy content in E10. Maybe you had ethanol-free fuel.

My 2003 3.0 returned 27.5 mpg (Imperial) regularly on the highway; that works out to 23 mpg for the smaller US gallons. My highway trips include crossing the Coast, Kootenay, and Rocky mountains so I could do better on the flats. I drive for economy just as standard practice on long trips. Our speed limits tend to be lower here so it is less of a struggle than if we had higher limits. I can see that I could have achieved 30 Imperial (25 US), but your figures are impressive.

Cain't wait to try this on 5sp M/T - I know the dif between our normal 80mph and the 72mph for our trip was a nice surprise (21.5 incl blue ridge mountains) so I'll check it out - thanks!

I found the ODO in the X was just short of being exact to the GPS distance shown with new, full tread tires full inflation. It would click off a mile about 50ft B4 the GPS would. As the tires wore the 50ft distance has increased to well over 100ft per mile. That condition has shown itself in a overreading of distance on the ODO when compared to the GPS distance after a long trip.

Good write up, believable info & data.
Have seen 23 on a full tank day trip, but under 'ideal' conditions and less than cop attracting speeds.

Back at the mpg ranch, I would have a difficult time doing our usual 'runs' to NJ/NY etc., at that kind of low(er) speed and the attendant attention/process necessary to obtain better than our 'usual' mpg, trip-wise. Couple that with our high rpm at speed 5 spd manual, and it simply 'is what it is' for us in our '01 X.

For fun/curiosity, I have done some full tank conservative speed/careful driving 'trips' in our '02 VetteVert, and our best was 33 point something, over nearly 600 miles. That car is our 'econo car' in almost any usage. :)
GL, mD

1) Hrm, I must have read the door jam specs incorrectly. Ok, so strike that one off the list.

2) If that's the case, as supported by one of the posters in this thread who compared it with GPS accuracy, I guess my mpg was truly above 26mpg. Impressive!

3) Right. That's a good point. However, as I said, the 62.5mph "sweet spot" was what I found to be the most realistic and reasonable given average highway speeds.

4) I use 93. The pumps all said "fuel may contain up to 10% ethanol" so there's really no telling. Maybe I had some ethanol in there; which would mean that the fuel economy would be even better with non-ethanol fuel.

5) My trip took me through the midwestern/southern "mountains/hills" of Kentucky and Tennessee. In fact, my highest elevation was about 1,300 feet. So I wasn't on flats the whole time - it was half and half. The remainder of the trip took me through Georgia and into Florida where it is relatively flat. Considering that, as I forgot to do in the original post, maybe the fuel economy could have been EVEN higher.

Oh, and one more thing I forgot to mention. The mule has the original spark plugs and injectors and I don't exactly know the last time the air filter was changed - but I do know that it was over 60,000 miles ago.

Sheesh!

Great write up! :thumbup:I have witnessed on several occasions my '04 3.0 6-speed manual, getting 28 mpg or better on highway. One morning at about 4am coming back from Park City heading home, (lots of mountains) I was able to sustain 30.5 mpg most of the trip home (about 150 miles). It dropped to 28.9 due to a 7500ft mountain pass in a canyon and was snowing. I did not use cruise control and maintained speed near 70 mph (non-corrected.) I "egg-shelled" the throttle and carried momentum as best as possible. Ambient temp was in the teens. I turned it into a game on my way home to help me stay awake. That was the best I have seen on this beast. 10% ethanol with a lucus upper cyclinder blend. Tire pressure at 35 psi.

I woke my wife up when I got home and showed her. She was impressed and laughed at my pure geekness and went back to bed.

My X is not bone stock and has an CAI, Shark injector, and free flow exhaust after the resonator.

I will conduct further tests in the future. I will be adding stainless steel headers and Kw coilovers. Maybe a change in ride height and or rake might lower drag coefficients.:dunno: I'm also considering changing out my 4.10 diffs for the 3.64 (in the 4.4i). Not sure how that would play out as it changes the optimal torque range to a higher speed. And as we all have figured out, air drag is part of what is killing out mpg's. The one fellow who has done this reported an average increase of 2 mpg's. Not sure yet if I will try this.

Does anyone know if not having the disa valve vane (the flap) present affects your mpg's, efficiency, and or power output? I pulled the Vane last fall as it was failing and the metal cap pin was working itself out and heading for the intake valves. Good thing I caught it.

the speed is measured in the tire rotation impulses coming from the Hall sensor in the left rear tire (and matched to the other readings).

The '06 E53 X5 4.8iS with the stock 20" staggered tires is measured at:

4229 impulses per km in speedometer
4282 impulses per km in odometer

As the tires wear out, the covered linear distance changes in relation to the rotational distance of 4229 (or 4282 clicks) clicks read by the car systems.

This involves math beyond my sleepy eyes at this time of the day, something like a Pi, tire diameter, blah, blah, blah...

Theoretically it is possible to "calibrate" the speedometer to match the odometer readings by altering the number but I don't know if this will affect any other systems, otherwise functioning properly with the factory values...

That's awesome. We have a 2002 X5 3.0 automatic and average about 25mpg on our trips from southern california to Napa CA.

cheers

Re; those extreme fuel top offs.
 

Remember that extreme fuel top-offs can cause trouble with the sensors in the evaporation systems.

The best I've done in my 3.0D is 1000kms in one tank (625 Miles) that is breaking it up (about 250kms city & 750kms highway)

that mileage is damn impressive for a gasoline burner! :thumbup:

**Bumping this thread - On my 3.0 5MT, I run Shell 93 octane, NGK plugs were changed about 2 years ago (non iridiums), original coils, injectors, etc, and I add Lucas UCL every tank - Rotella T6 5w-40 oil just changed and used for last few years.

I'm going to have to increase my tire pressures a bit since they are a bit low, and I'll admit my driving recently is about 60/40 highway/city and on the highway we are cruising at 75 mph or so, but my last few tanks have been noticeably lower in trip mileage.

I've gotten approx 370-385 miles to the last few tanks, usually it easily gets 400+, right around 420-430. I'll increase tire pressures to 35 (I do have the heavier 20" wheels), and report back.

DISA is rebuilt
No vaccuum leaks
AFE pro dry S filter has 10k miles on it since last cleaning (intake)
New fuel filter (Mahle) waiting to be installed on my workbench
Coolant Test OBC 7 is showing 88C-90C driving, up to 95C at idle or slow speeds
Conforti Shark Injector going to be loaded up onto the DME this weekend as well

Anything else I'm missing from a mileage standpoint? Perhaps Iridium plugs, Vanos seals?

Leave the Jersey shore and move to Miami. :rofl:

:LOLOLOLOLOL:

I've registered as high as 26.2 mpg on the trip computer running an indicated 70 mph, but only on days when the ambient temperature was over 100 degrees! Our long distance trips usually come in at 21-22 mpg since I traditionally encounter a headwind no matter what direction I'm driving... I have to admit I'm really looking forward to the first trip in the CEO's 428i though. She's averaging over 25mpg with 70% city driving.

2002 X5 3.0 (Automatic) 291,800 miles
2014 428i 13,000 miles

2004 325i sold at 123,600 miles
2001 325i sold at 66,000 miles

You and I both want those 3.64 diffs.

Next time try with out cruise control, even on my F10 five series it leaves a bit of throttle on going down hill....or even better get your wife to drive, my wife borrowed my 5 series with her buddies to do a road trip and got 870 kms, best I've ever got near to is 600km...go figure :-)

Got 1000km out of a 335d I had easy...

Cheers
stu

Misses must wear a smaller size shoe than you.

I love that on a trip in my '05 3.0d the range counter is pinned at "999" for the first two hours! :thumbup:

^way to rub it in on the gas engine guys man! :angryfire

:D

The thread title should add "...and lack therof."

Well... I should point out that's in kilometres... but it's IS kinda cool. :rofl:

I have had around 1,300km from the 90 litre tank on a trip. Was a serious tail wind for part of it though, so it doesn't really count. :D

Yes you do! Love my diff swap.

Okay, I gotta know. How's 1st? and 6th? right now, 75 is roughly 3K. I was curious to know how much of a difference the 3.64's would have. Fuel economy?

^I'd like to know about fuel economy improvements as well with the 6MT - its probably even more dramatic on my 5MT.

75mph in my 5MT is approx 3700rpm

So, your 5th has a 1:1 ratio, Multiply that by the 4.1:1 and you get a 4.1:1 Final drive ratio. Now, If you did a diff swap, you could get your ratio to 3.64:1. (Thats your 5th ratio of 1:1 multiplied by the new diff ratio of 3.64:1.) Your final ratio with the diff swap of 3.64:1 would be just slightly higher than 6th gear with the 4.1 diff, which is roughly 3.5 ish. Thats pretty sweet...

I'll take a video with 5th gear and 6th gear comparisons at different benchmark speeds as well as the full spectrum from 1st gear. 1st gear is absolutely better. I'm headed to SLC tonight for a concert (silver sun pickups) so I can show you how it pulls through a climb in the canyon, highway entrance at 80+ and a bonus. I'll also show you mileage snapshots during the trip to kinda give you an idea. My city mileage is about 19-20 consistently and highway is almost always 25+. I got 30-31 mpg on a trip over the summer coming back from the Tetons. This was US 89 scenic route with lots of fun twisties and mountains.

Your mileage will almost always plummet in the winter due to winter fuel blends.

No need to mention the mileage I get.

The most accurate way to check mileage is to fill the tank, write down the odometer mileage, drive to 1/4 tank or less. Fill it up, subtract the current mileage from the initial reading and divide that difference by the number of gallons needed to refill the tank. To get even closer accuracy, follow the same procedure for several tanks of fuel then add the mileage results together and divide that by the number of tanks burned.

That's how my android ap calculates it... use Fuelog at every fillup. I'm averaging about 18.39mpg from the 4.8is (since August) with a best of 20.76mpg coming back from Cali. Doing 65mph though this thing I'm sure could hit 22mpg. Here in TX though it's hard not to utilize the 80mph speed limits.

I average 19-20mpg (US) suburban daily driving. 18mpg has been my worst, 21 has been my best.

Video of 30 mpg and 3.64 diff/ gear comparison
 

Here you guys go. Here's 30 mpg. The first part is a spirited entry on the interstate. The second part I made the video continuous to prove a point. Sorry, its a bit long, but watch the whole thing. I engaged auto bahn mode at the end. I also had my Thule Roof rack on....dought!

The best I have ever gotten was 34.5 mpg on a trip for a consistent 200 miles. I had 4.10 diffs and shark injector and exhaust work. My goal is at least 40 mpg and a range of 999. I would like the most efficient e53 X5 in the world title...... the edrive F15 will have me beat. For now. I tune my cars for performance, and efficiency is a welcomed consequence.

Hand calculated mileage is very close to my obc, so I use it. +/- 0.86 I do run my own blend of fuel additives, however, this is 91 octane non-ethanol, with a few ounces of Lucus upper cyclinder lube only. Nothing special.

I'm going to be running a Euro 2 tune for the MS43 DME with headers after Christmas. The other M54 based forums have reported an nice performance bump with no cel's for catless headers and SAP (Secondary Air Pump) deletion. This set-up can pass emissions, and I will explain how in a different thread. I will be putting high flow cats eventually as a responsible compromise.

https://youtu.be/scA4atX8M18

One word...Awesome!:thumbup: You have me convinced. I gotta do the swap, like now...haha Keep us updated with that tune information. Would really love to follow in your footsteps. Also, what mods do you have to your cluster? I like the look.

:wow:

HOLY $#!+ That's awesome!

:thumbup: Thanks Guys.
Here's my cluster in the day. Its just a indi-glo overlay. It has two color tones to choose on the fly and separate dimming control as well. You can find em on ebay, etc. My needles are red, cluster overlay in carbon, and black chrome rings. We share the same cluster as the e39 5 series, so use that as well when you search. The M sport badges are my own little touch. I know some may not like it. To each their own.

Looks good! Where are each of the gauges wired up to? Also, are you going to use e46 headers from online and modify them? I'd assume they'd need to be lengthened.

I would recommend these..... Fit 92 99 BMW Stainless Headers E36 323 325 328 M3 2 5L 3 0L 3 2L | eBay

I would have gotten them, but at the time all the had were these....
Performance Exhaust Manifold Headers Fits BMW E36 91 99 2 5L 2 8L 3 2L L6 | eBay

On my other x5 I pulled the trigger on Active Autowerk headers. They were e46 330 headers. In our application, the 330/325 headers work just fine, but as you said, need to be modified. Since my AA headers were coated, i had the muffler shop modify the input side of the mid-section. Ebay headers are ideal for us. The first set I posted I think would be best, as the would be easy to modify. But, they all would work as there is some light modification, e36, e46.

The gauges are super slick. Wires fit neat, snug, and all tie together and the controller can be mounted neatly and does'nt look like crap. Very simple to install. The power wires just splice off two wires off the cluster simply.

That is awesome! Would definitely do that if I had a 3.0 6spd truck.

On a side note... sooooo many warning lights. LOL, my OCD was in full tilt watching that.

LOL! I know! I was going to address that. They are all false or now fixed except the airbag light, which came on when while doing the passenger door handle carrier. :rolleyes: Brake light is off now that I have the new sensor installed, cel due to sap, which is fixed. Damn it Jim! I'm full time in school and working darn near full time so those little things have gotten away from me. I keep the wife's X3 in top shape and deal with mine......

Great, I go to the fuel economy thread to keep my mind off these and here they are lol!

GD, so M52 or M54 headers, either will work just fine on the cylinder head side?

And can you expound on the Euro tune, and where/how to get it?

Ryan - awesome video bro and thanks for posting it up, when you get the Euro 2 tune can you Shark over it? Just got my Shark installed and loving it so far, I'm hoping I pick up a few mpg with the AFE intake and my 4.8iS exhaust - Let me know how the Euro 2 tune would pass emissions and I'd definitely consider putting headers with high flow cats on my X5 to have the power increase and more efficiency.

J

Those look sweet. What would happen to the O2 Sensors?

g300d, Glad to be of service my man. Yeah they all bolt up just fine to the head. I'm compiling data on the Euro 2 tune and will do a write up to make things clear. Flashing your DME/ECU is not for everyone and has some risk. Once you have the appropriate software,and cable, you will need fair amount of knowledge and a brass pair.... ;)

Jay, Hope you love the shark. I loved mine. Drive it for a few months, and then pull it for kicks and see how lethargic the X is without it. Interested in your impressions. Unfortunately, I don't think the shark tune and euro tune are compatible. We'll have to look into that. Stay tuned. My favorite upgrade by far was headers. The exotic, intoxicating sound, the power, my X5 was transformed. I can go on and on. We'll have some headers on your beast and emissions ready no problem.

Tec, just have some bungs welded in for the post cats. Not hard, nor expensive. They can always be capped depending on your chosen set up; ie o2 extenders, aftermarket high flow cats, or tune.

Thanks for clearing that up GD!

Looking forward to the Euro reflash write up. :)

Just refreshed my DME today with Euro 2. Pretty scary, but everything worked no problem. Now, I can delete the SAP and put some headers on :D

^This is awesome - do you have emissions testing in MN?

I think the Shark is compatible with the Euro 2 - you just have to have the stock (or Euro 2) DME tune loaded, and then flash over the Euro 2 DME with the Shark Injector - best of both worlds

Yeah, it wasn't too difficult. I could probably do a writeup if green dragon isn't in the mood. ;) We don't have emissions testing here. I could potentially see one problem for everyone with emissions testing -- In key position 2, the CEL doesn't light up, meaning the car isn't tracking emissions. Pretty sure this is an immediate fail for emissions. After a little research, it looks there might be a way to run a wire from the Oil pressure light, or there appears to be some custom software that has the check light enabled in pos 2.

Hold on there Tecboy...before you go talking about wiring up that CEL you have to tell us about putting in the Euro software in the first place! :stickpoke

:D

Awesome buddy! Proceed with a write up! I'm finding the same thing with the work arounds on the pos 2 cel check. I've read it can be coded or just jumpered like you said. Please tell me your impressions on the Euro 2 tune! Word is that the car is more responsive, feels peppier, and less throttle lag, which sounds familiar to installing a shark injector. Can you confirm? If you can shark it, I'm absolutely doing it. I got a nice mpg bump on top of everything else when my last X was sharked. Anyways, good work man!:thumbup:

Okay, Will do! I think there might be a subtle power increase. But, 1st definitely feels better when I give it hell. It's not so jerky and it seems to be smoother between gears. I would really like to see what some eBay headers would do. My understanding is that we could apply a shark tune over the euro software. What do you think? Eventually, I'm going to put the ESS supercharger on it. 330ishHP and estimated 0-60 in the mid 5 second range! I'm going to have more fun than the V8 guys. :D

The Euro 2 tune is more like a different stock file, so as long as the Shark is being installed after the Euro2 tune I don't see why you couldn't load it, technically the Euro2 tune is just another stock tune so you should be able to flash with Shark, etc

Just my thinking. I will say the lower gears are MUCH less jerky since the Shark, much smoother throttle and power delivery in the lower gears and rpm's. I can only imagine someday combining the Shark with the Vanos rebuild :)

According to the FAQ's, they're claiming that the shark injector is US/Canadian spec only and not compatible with Euro spec cars and Euro DME's software. I'm going to keep digging.

Jay, I've been thinking about a vanos rebuild as of late, as my valve cover gasket has begun to weep..... Which then has me thinking that it's time for a oil separation/catch can build as they are or can be related with crankcase pressures, etc........... Looks like January is filled with Super-Saturday/night maddness with pizza, liquid fat necture (also know as mountain dew) and some petroleum based dipping sauce.

^If you are going to do the VCG and Vanos rebuild, and if the CCV is not in good shape, just do the BavarianE39 bypass and connect the check valve to the VC, much simpler IMO than a catch can (moisture collector)

I'll look into the bavarian e39 bypass. Thanks for the heads up buddy.

What do you other manual guys get for MPG on the highway? Doing 75 in 6th gear, I can't seem to get the MPG gauge to go above 20. It has been awhile. But, I seem to recall the auto doing better. Makes me want that 3.64 diff swap even more.

All highway I'm at 20-21 mpg, I don't have the 6th cog though.

75 MPH is at 2750 RPM for me with the automatic. The aero factor really seems to come into play at that speed though and my mileage averages 19-20 MPG. As long as I keep my speed around 70 MPH and RPMs at about 2500, I have no trouble getting 22+ MPG.

2002 X5 3.0 293,400 miles
2014 428i 14,200 miles

2004 325i sold at 123,600 miles
2001 325i sold at 66,000 miles

Damn, maybe I should start copying Green Dragon.:rofl: A 10mpg bump would be nice.

+1, on several all highway road trips per year, using the tank fill ups and arithmetic method.

My OBC mpg readout has only been reset three or four times in 106,000 miles and it currently reads 20.4 for a long hunk of miles.

Around town, short shifting and driving Miss Daisy, it is less.

Getting more than 21 in a 5 spd, even on highway trips, ain't gonna happen over a tank or two or more, in my experience. At $2 and change a gallon, even for the Premium fans, who cares. ;)

GL, mD

Great mileage! My gauge moves so fast sometimes I look in the mirror expecting to see if there is a trail of fuel. If I tried to drive with an egg under my foot I would need several dozen before I burned a tank of gas.

Might want to include peace of mind and time in the consideration. Putting aside a constant speed over 500 miles is not realistic, If I drive 60 verses 70 over 500 miles it will take me over an hour longer to reach my destination.

While the cost is greater, if I am traveling 500 miles one way, I rent something. Not for greater mileage but because the risk of something going wrong on an E53 is greater than the risk of something going wrong with the rental, and if it does they give me another. I won't have tools to fix most things that could go wrong on my X, likely be in a place I can't do the work, I won't know the capability of anyone that does the repair and there is a good chance I will be waiting for parts or leaving it behind and renting something anyway. On longer trips greater peace of mind seems quite meaningful.

I haven't cleared my MPG readout in two years and it always reads 20.
It's funny my 330i manual reads 23mpg. It has the same engine and is probably 1000lbs less and RWD. I am very impressed with the X5.

Our 330i manual always read in the 27mpg range. Probably 50/50 mixed driving. Perhaps you are driving the 330i in a spirited manner? :D Can't say I blame you, they are fun to drive. Used to take ours out to the windy country roads every so often.

Yup, busted! I drive the 330i pretty hard. it is just so much fun. I bet If I did a mellow road trip it would get 30.

Been trying to overcome the 999km maximum range displayed;
even changing to miles it wont display over 620 miles maximum, so I re-coded the whole cluster including odometer and trip meter to miles, but it still wont display over 620 miles....:pullhair:

3 numbers for range!

Yes, three digits maximum for the range, but that doesn't in itself explain why the Range in miles is limited to 620 ?

The range is displayed as the distance you can travel until you run out of gas at the current MPG you are generating as calculated by the computer.

Yes, obviously, but you're missing what I'm trying to say- I can drive 150 miles whilst the range is stuck at 620 miles, before it starts to go down - 620 miles is the maximum apparently that can be displayed... I was hoping there was a way around it

Sorry if I misunderstood. Don't know if/why there would be a max range unless it was impossible to drive that far on a tank of fuel. I'm curious. Other than it shouldn't be that way, do you have another reason to want to increase the range capability?

Come to think of it, I think your right. I can't recall what the highest displayed range was (in miles, but there were occasions that 800 + should have been reflected in the range but wasn't. I know I've seen 620. Time for a hyper mileage run to confirm.

My range capability is great , only the limitation of being able to show a maximum 620 miles, but I guess it's because 620 miles is about 999 km, which is the maximum that can be displayed.
I thought by switching from KM to miles, I'd out smart the cluster!
But no go...

[QUOTE=deepblonde;1074472]My range capability is great , only the limitation of being able to show a maximum 620 miles, but I guess it's because 620 miles is about 999 km, which is the maximum that can be displayed.
I thought by switching from KM to miles, I'd out smart the cluster!

I was asking why you would like the display to be able to show a higher number of miles than 620? Are fuel stations farther apart than 620 miles?

[QUOTE=bcredliner;1074477]

Psh Max didn't have a range gauge on his V8 interceptor.

Nothing like the economy and consequential range of the 3.0 Diesel. Saw 39.7 on the display for a period on the same day. Granted I am not doing 75 mph, but our police have a firm dislike to exceeding the 110 km/hour limit, though they readily accept the $'s when you are caught.