Get a good night's sleep beforehand (although better IMHO to split the trip over two days).
The UK TV program managed to drive and Audi A8 diesel from London to Edinburgh and back (~800miles) on a tankful, but this probably means cruising at 56mph (90kmph), which makes for even more time behind the wheel.
The most economic speed is normally 56mph. On big BMW's the auto boxes change up into top at this speed in part because this is the speed that EU consumption figures are given for.
If you go slower a lower gear will be selected, giving more revs and higher consumption.
If you go faster then you just use more fuel.
Interestingly on the 735i that I had cruise control on, it used to do better with cruise set than with me holding a steady speed with the accelerator.
thanks everyone, for posting ;-) turns out- i'm *terrible* at articulating a question. gas/petrol prices, gas mileage, stops for gas, stops for breaks, etc weren't even my concern(s).
every car has got a capacity, right? a capacity that says 'ok, it can go only so far/long (distance-wise and time-wise) before it needs a solid break'. that's the capacity i was talking about when i was talking about my 99 323i ;-) it's an old car, has 78K on it, and is generally well maintained, but y'know, i've never taken on such a long trip before, so i thought i'd ask. i guess a 900-mile trip is nothing.
thanks again for sharing your experiences and adding your thoughts to my concern. i definitely feel much better now ;-)
btw, go through this link when you get a chance (i'm sure it's been posted elsewhere too, but it still gave me a kick; there was another link on bbc that i can't find now- that's even funnier, htis one is ok):
BMW's almost uniquely have a little indicator that tells you when it needs a service (and what sort). Driven gently you can go ~15,000 miles before the orange light comes on.
No, not really. It's acutally the driver who needs a "solid break," not the car. Casual hwy driving is very easy on a car and it can pretty much go on forever if not for the fact that you need to add gas, use a restroom, or feed yourself. The startup of a cold engine is what generates the biggest wear and tear.
Ehh.. it's not really that old and 78K miles is nothing if it was well maintained like you said it was. Enjoy the drive.
I have a '98 Z3, 2.8 litre 5-speed. 55 - 65 mph in 5th gear, cruise control and top down highway driving gives me 25 to 26 mpg. 75 to 85 mph, same conditions gives me 28.5 to 30 mpg.
Interesting. My '97 Z3, 2.8 5-speed averaged 30 to 32 mpg at 55~65 and about 28 to 29 mpg at 75~85. Are you measuring actual miles driven divided by gallons used, or are you relying on the OBC?
Mostly the obc. I did the math when we first had the car, but /I gave it up when I realized the OBC was accurate, at least on a long trip with steady driving between fillups.
No a car doesn't have a capacity before needing a rest. Machines don't need rest. As long as the fluids are maintained it will run until it wears out, maybe 500k for a BMW.
I wonder what this line in the article is supposed to mean?
"AT THE END of the road, when the engine was taken apart, Mobil's engineers discovered that the wear measurements were the same as the manufacturer's specifications"
Do you think it meant the measurements were within build specs? or that they had reached the manufacturers upper wear limits, or just that it was within the mfr. wear limits?
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