-
Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
Psy's G30 540i
- Thread starter PsyCLown
- Start date
These G30s 540i and 550i giving me boners.
Congrats bro.
Congrats bro.
PsyCLown
Well-known member
So a quick update, got a few things done and more to come soon.
I really enjoy driving this car, its a great mixture of comfort with some power.
Replaced the grills with gloss black dual slat grills, looks better much! The OEM ones were wrapped black by the previous owner and the wrap was starting to peel. Looked shit.
I ordered a pair of cheap gloss black mirror covers, but they did not fit so will need to source a suitable pair of mirror covers at some point.
Also had ZF do the gearbox service and replace the diff oil with BMW diff oil - so that offers some peace of mind. Due to the higher mileage I was a little worried, but after they checked the oil they were happy with the condition of the gearbox oil and were happy to proceed with the service. Loaded xHP as well, still playing around with it but enjoying it so far.
Unfortunately it seems BMW still cannot get it right with the door handle material which breaks down and gets sticky, still happens on the G30. So I purchased some covers which are great!
Before the cover:
After the cover:
The car also went to Sauber Technik for some pampering:
I really enjoy driving this car, its a great mixture of comfort with some power.
Replaced the grills with gloss black dual slat grills, looks better much! The OEM ones were wrapped black by the previous owner and the wrap was starting to peel. Looked shit.
I ordered a pair of cheap gloss black mirror covers, but they did not fit so will need to source a suitable pair of mirror covers at some point.
Also had ZF do the gearbox service and replace the diff oil with BMW diff oil - so that offers some peace of mind. Due to the higher mileage I was a little worried, but after they checked the oil they were happy with the condition of the gearbox oil and were happy to proceed with the service. Loaded xHP as well, still playing around with it but enjoying it so far.
Unfortunately it seems BMW still cannot get it right with the door handle material which breaks down and gets sticky, still happens on the G30. So I purchased some covers which are great!
Before the cover:
After the cover:
The car also went to Sauber Technik for some pampering:
need_4_speed
Active member
What's your average fuel consumption? I've heard some b58 owners claim an average of 7 l/100km
TurboLlew
Honorary ///Member
KR_19
Well-known member
I have a Gen1 B58 for 4.5 years. 7l/100km is easily achievable on longer distance highway trips. As for it being an "average", its highly unlikely.
Sent from my SM-F956B using Tapatalk
PsyCLown
Well-known member
🤣 Nowhere near that!
I must be honest, it has taken me a bit of getting use to regarding the fuel consumption but I knew she was going to be heavy I have just never owned a vehicle as thirsty as she is. So a bit of adapting.
Average fuel consumption varies a lot, I reset it between each refill so I get an average per tank. Let me start by stating that I seldom drive highway, if I do a bit of highway driving I can get around 12L/100km as highway is generally still a smaller portion of the total distance I travel per tank. If I reset before I get on the highway then consumption is obviously lower. I think the drive up from CPT to JHB I averaged high 7.xL/100km
If I am in bumper to bumper traffic I have hit 16L/100km before as one is mostly idling and she is heavy so stop / go is not her favorite thing to do, if traffic is flowing like it has been today then average can drop to 13 or 14L/100km or lower. This is general driving, not revving her out at every opportunity I get.
The other thing I have noticed is that the average fuel consumption, despite being reset with each refill doesn't seem to be too accurate.
My last refill I had traveled 385km and my fuel gauge stated I had 131km to go (just under a quarter of a tank). So a possible 516km out of a tank (68L) which would equal 13.2L/100km yet she was stating an average of 15L/100km on the cluster 🤷♂️
Comparing my average fuel consumption to my friends M240i (F22), naturally his is better than mine as its a lighter car and he has 18" rims vs my 20" rims but he is not that far off from me in the grander scheme of things.
This recent fuel price increase also offsets a lot of the potential savings one might get with going for a diesel. Had I not gone for a 40i, it would have been a 30d.
What I am curious about is what @Bugger is averaging in his M550i now that he has had it for a while. Also what is your split like in terms of highway vs urban?
M550i is a very appealing next step up, for one day when I decide to change.
Bugger
///Member
Oi vey, where do I begin.
My commute is from Northcliff into Sandton via Linden, Greenside, Parkhurst and Craighall. The traffic is horrendous. I am currently burning through a quarter tank a day with the traffic, and I top up at half a tank when I can. So right now my average consumption (based on my cluster reading) is 17.4/100kms. I don't think it's realistic though, as when I got the car I think everything had been reset, and I reset it mistakenly one day doing something. So it HATES traffic, as any V8 would I suppose.
On the open road though, completely different. I have had to go through to Pretoria a few times and visit my folks out in Kensington, and on the freeway it basically idles at 130kph. So on that 17.4 I can see a .2 to .3 reduction on the freeway. I should start resetting between fill ups to see if I can get a more accurate reading. I haven't gauged what range I'm getting on a full tank yet, but I can't imagine it being much. I think the car is a lot more frugal than I suspect, it's just the traffic that's a killer. One thing I have noticed, the economy is worse in Eco Pro than in Comfort, I don't know why that is but it is something I have picked up. I don't drive the car the way it should be driven though, old age I guess.
On the X4, my wife basically potters around the neighbourhood, and that B58 is never taken above 2,000rpm now that she's using it. But the consumption, and these are on short trips, is about 14/100kms, and she uses a tank a month basically. And her consumption was reset when they replaced the battery on the car at the start of March.
But nothing compares to the 760..... 19.6/100kms AVERAGE.
PsyCLown
Well-known member
Thanks for the insight, that really helps and puts things into perspective. Sounds a lot more realistic compared to the original 14.5L/100 or there abouts.
Would be interesting to see if your average consumption is also off when working it out manually based on the distance travelled per tank.
Bugger
///Member
Yeah I'll get to doing some maths around that. I have noticed that if I drive the car with the paddles instead of in full auto I am able to control the revs a lot better, so I find the car to be more economical when doing that. Taking the X4 to Cape Town on Monday, so will feedback as to what the consumption is on that trip, think the B58 will enjoy the open road.
Here’s my M40i’s consumption since I bought it. Mine sits between 11&12l/100km between fill ups. This is for mixed driving and probably more in town driving than open road lately. On the few ocassions from CT to Mbay I easily average around 10l100km staying just below the auto arrest limits.
That 4.2 figure was some mistake can’t remember what.
I think these B58’s offers very good economy for what you get out of the car.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
PsyCLown
Well-known member
So a quick update.
I have had the 540i for over 6 months now and I've really enjoyed driving her!
I had a minor coolant leak and some oil consumption issues, so decided to take her to Bosch Astroserv (now SCS Automotive) and I cannot praise them enough.
Bit of a drive from me but well worth it, the videos and constant updates throughout the entire process along with the transparency will have me going back for sure!
Over and above the coolant leak and leaking oil cooler, there was some additional maintenance carried out at the same time. Altogether the below is what was carried out:
Replaced injectors
Replaced Fuel Purge Valve
Replaced oil filter housing & oil cooler
Replaced both engine mounts
Replaced 6 of the coolant pipes/flanges which commonly give issues
Replaced the guibo
Replaced valve cover
General service with new spark plugs & new front pads
She feels greats and a bit more responsive as well since I got her back, at some point I suspect I might need to look at replacing the charge cooler as these do tend to start leaking at some point but for now mine is still good.
I have added some extra carbon bits as well, will take photos when I get a chance and post some pics.
She still puts a smile on my face each time I drive her and quite rare seeing a fellow 540i on the road. See a lot of 520d's though, the 20'd are everywhere!
I have had the 540i for over 6 months now and I've really enjoyed driving her!
I had a minor coolant leak and some oil consumption issues, so decided to take her to Bosch Astroserv (now SCS Automotive) and I cannot praise them enough.
Bit of a drive from me but well worth it, the videos and constant updates throughout the entire process along with the transparency will have me going back for sure!
Over and above the coolant leak and leaking oil cooler, there was some additional maintenance carried out at the same time. Altogether the below is what was carried out:
Replaced injectors
Replaced Fuel Purge Valve
Replaced oil filter housing & oil cooler
Replaced both engine mounts
Replaced 6 of the coolant pipes/flanges which commonly give issues
Replaced the guibo
Replaced valve cover
General service with new spark plugs & new front pads
She feels greats and a bit more responsive as well since I got her back, at some point I suspect I might need to look at replacing the charge cooler as these do tend to start leaking at some point but for now mine is still good.
I have added some extra carbon bits as well, will take photos when I get a chance and post some pics.
She still puts a smile on my face each time I drive her and quite rare seeing a fellow 540i on the road. See a lot of 520d's though, the 20'd are everywhere!
Cannot agree more on the 520ds. Took me a while to find a clean g30 530d
Q where is SCS automotive?
Think its Bmw SA that made these silly decisions. Surely in other countries you get them in Lci? I think
We also didn't get any of 540d and M550ds. And to consider the M550d is the fastest stock diesel by any manufacturer. Yes you get them in the X cars but they slower due to weight
PsyCLown
Well-known member
I assume due to the M550i being offered and from what I can tell, it does not appear as if the 540i sold particularly well - based on how few are available on the used market.
I wonder what price would have been for the 540i vs M550i if they had kept the 540i in LCI.
Yes, other countries have the LCI 540i as well as the xDrive versions.
Perhaps a bit of useless info, but a lot of other countries seem to have received their G30 with the 1234yf refrigerant which seems to cause massive aircon issues and requires the dash to come out in order to replace the evaporator. A very common and expensive repair.
In SA ours came with R134a refrigerant luckily, so we do not experience this issue. So a win for us locally at least.
SCS Automotive are based in Boksburg (Corner Top Road & Michelson Road, Anderbolt).
