Road Trip Review

[nusevad]

Hey guys, I just took a 500 mile road trip this weekend to visit some college friends back at school. Have some interesting observations and stories to tell!

Well the trip is from NYC to State College, PA which is about 250 miles each way, so round trip its a little over 500 miles. The most interesting thing was the gas mileage i was able to get...going there I got 21.8 going mostly 80ish but there was a few areas of traffic on I-80 that slowed me down.

Coming back I was able to achieve 22.8 MPG! (pic below) Now some of you might think or say, driving the M is not about getting good gas mileage and whatnot, and I agree with you! I wasnt trying to get the best MPG!!! Even though the average speed shows 75.5 I hit 100+ many times, overtaking other cars and once hit 130+, details below.

Back at school the M got alot of compliments/stares/people snapping pics/death glares/etc. Needless to say shes a attention whore. I was also ecstatic to see another e92 m3 on the road, it is SSII and the owner is also a member on this forum, I asked him where he was heading and to my surprise he was going back to the same apartment complex where i was staying!

Coming back home was quite interesting...a Acura RSX Type S was teasing me, so i took the bait, dropped it 2 gears down, and was 10 CL in a blink of a eye. This was where I hit 130 for a second, I quickly backed off but the car felt so stable as if it were going 80. RSX blew past me with a ricer fly by and I got a blast of the harsh sound coming from his huge fart car. BTW I-80 in the middle of rural Pennsylvania is virtually deserted except for the usual tractor trailers, otherwise I would never go that fast in areas of high volume traffic.

A few miles down the road a C6 appeared and this run was more tame and friendly. The C6 stayed on me but wasn't able to pass, got and gave thumbs up before he exited.

For the rest of the trip it was pretty much back to going 80-90ish (traffic pending) This was why I was so surprised at my final gas mileage reading. Overall the car is getting better and better with each mile, better gas mileage and the revs comes so easy. Your going 90mph+ without even realizing it.

I think im going to need a V1 very soon....

[M2381]

So you've been riding around without a radar detector all this time?

I feel so awkward/unprotected without one

[Razzy]

Originally Posted by M2381

So you've been riding around without a radar detector all this time?

I feel so awkward/unprotected without one

Heck why not. Hope you had fun.

[skierman64]

Fifth, nice review. I also took a road trip this weekend, NJ to Pittsburgh and back for the Pitt/Iowa game, 700 miles. I got 21 mpg. I'll post a review later.

Lots of PA state troopers, zero tickets.

[M3101]

22.8 MPG with an average speed of 75.5 MPH is Brilliant......Nice write-up.

[NYSPEM3]

going 100+ on an interstate without a V1 AND a laser jammer AND a fast rabbit? that's BALLSY.
i have a V1 but i still wound't do triple digit. a well-placed instant-on radar shot and i'll be toast. going 40+ on the interstate can land me a trip in the paddy wagon.

[Radiation Joe]

Originally Posted by M3101

22.8 MPG with an average speed of 75.5 MPH is Brilliant......Nice write-up.

This mileage does not sound too different from the e46. I drove from upstate NY to Allentown PA on Friday and back up this morning. With cruise set at 80 (actual more like 73 mph), full throttle accelleration to 110 - 120 out of each toll booth, I got an indicated 24 mpg. This is realistically 22 mpg, because the speedo and the trip computer are optimistic by 10% in the e46 M3.

The question is whether the speedo/trip computer in the e92 is equally as optimitstic. If so, an indicated 22 mpg is actually 20.

[mkoesel]

Nice writeup FifthStreet. Sounds like you had fun on the interstates.

And Radiation Joe, I agree - it does not sound too much different than the E46 at that Average Speed. I still think that this can be a 300-miles-per-tank car if you drive a lot of highway, even if you do some high speed blasts like FifthStreet did.

However, I don't necessarily agree that the E46 was optimistic. I find the average MPG readout is pretty good. Here's the thing - automakers cannot legally design a car with an odometer that reads low. So, what you can do is just set the trip odo at fillup, then next fill up divide that number by the number of gallons just put in the car. There again, gas stations aren't allowed to lie about how much gas they are selling you. You then have two reliable numbers with which you can calculate MPG. When I used to do this on my long commutes to Ohio and back, the number I calc'd was pretty close to what the car told me for average MPG, as long as I also reset the average MPG guage when I filled the tank.

[AwesomeM3]

Thanks for the write up Fifth. Sounds like you had a great weekend, and no speeding tickets...even better!

[Radiation Joe]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

However, I don't necessarily agree that the E46 was optimistic. I find the average MPG readout is pretty good. Here's the thing - automakers cannot legally design a car with an odometer that reads low. So, what you can do is just set the trip odo at fillup, then next fill up divide that number by the number of gallons just put in the car. There again, gas stations aren't allowed to lie about how much gas they are selling you. You then have two reliable numbers with which you can calculate MPG. When I used to do this on my long commutes to Ohio and back, the number I calc'd was pretty close to what the car told me for average MPG, as long as I also reset the average MPG guage when I filled the tank.

For four years I've been comparing my indicated mpg against measured mpg. The indicated mpg is typically higher than my measured by about 1 - 2 mpg or roughly 5% to 10%. I use 10% as a conservative estimate. I use the construction zone radar speed indicators to calibrate my speedo (they aren't always accurate, either) and average about 7% difference. I was curious if the e9x M3 drivers were experiencing similar differences.

[n3985]

Ballsy indeed, call me next time and I'll lend you my V1.

[BRDHNTR]

Laser jammer won't do anything in Pa, but I feel naked w/o my RD. Funny thing is that even that is useless in most of Pa w/o a rabbit as well. I was traveling on I-476 in Pa, and because there wasn't a rabbit, I would go over 75mph indicated. Good thing b/c as I turned a bend my RD went from nothing to full blast K band. The bears in Pa love their instant on.

Oh and good write-up, I do road trips like that almost every weekend and my experience is 21mph going a little quicker w/ 6mt.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by Radiation Joe

For four years I've been comparing my indicated mpg against measured mpg. The indicated mpg is typically higher than my measured by about 1 - 2 mpg or roughly 5% to 10%. I use 10% as a conservative estimate. I use the construction zone radar speed indicators to calibrate my speedo (they aren't always accurate, either) and average about 7% difference. I was curious if the e9x M3 drivers were experiencing similar differences.

I hear ya. I've never seen a 2mpg difference myself, but 1mpg was somewhat common though as I recall. FWIW, from what I've found the 335i is about the same as far as accuracy.

[valeram]

Nice write-up. Not to hijack this thread but I also did some drive yesterday and here are my results.

Average Speed: 60 (on a 55 mph country road, 30 minutes drive) - Consumption was 24.5
Average Speed: 74 (on a 65 mph state hway, 30 minutes drive) - Consumption was 22.4

[nusevad]

I know I-80 like the back of my hand, I used to drive home every other weekend while I was school so I know where all the 5-0 hide out, just gotta becareful of the ones that sneaks up on ya. I wish I coulda snapped a pic ofthe speedo hitting 130 but it wouldn't be too smart to take a hand off the wheel LOL.

And I think 300+ miles is very doable.

Nan I'll def. give u a call next time haha