After years of building horsepower with boost pressure and revs, I've wandered down this new road, hypermiling. It started after simply being annoyed with crummy winter mpg values, ranging from 19-22 mpg. Granted, this car has a mixed EPA of 22mpg, but i was curious what the potential was....which led me here! I am now achieving consistently 35mpg according to my uncalibrated obc, but everything im doing is working! Here is what i have changed
The car
2002 BMW 330i 4 door 5-speed manual with 138k miles
Physical mods:
Heat/vacuum formed kidney grill covers-
made from .010" petg film and mylar taped to stock grilles
ABS mirror delete panel- just one side....DS to follow (legal in IL)
custom heat formed and sanded to fit the OEM mirror void.
50psi cold tire pressures. ( 44max rated)
Spare tire delete (have AAA and am a risk taker)
2" lowered suspension- h&r race springs
Driving changes
Never turn on heat till car is fully warm
Upshift at 1500rpm or sooner
Drive without brakes... Make my 15.2 mile commute with zero brake application regularly
EOC down hills with low speed turns near the bottom, and when approaching fresh red lights from a distance
That is primarily what I do, and have achieved better than expected initial results. My goal is 40 mpg, and I'm interested to see what other bimmers are achieving. Many more mods are on the drawing board!