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European, Metric and American Automotive Conversion Factors

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BMW 5-series E28 fuel consumption gauge

BMW Fuel consumption gauge in litres per 100 kilometers.
The US gauge is calibrated in MPG, in reverse.

I have conversions both to and from US units.

EUROPEAN and METRIC to US

These are for converting from European literature, press releases and web sites. They also are for converting from gauges and dashboard computers.

Horsepower Multiply by 0.986 (Europe uses a slightly different standard than SAE).

Newton-meters to foot-pounds Multiply by 0.7376.

Fuel Economy: Litres/100 km to MPG Divide 235 (235.2146) by l/100 km. Example to convert 10.0 litres/100 km to MPG: 235 / 10.0 = 23.5 MPG.

Acceleration 0 - 100 km/h to 0 - 60 MPH Multiply time by 0.95. 100 km/h is 62.1 MPH. It takes longer to hit 100 km/h than 60 MPH. The energy required for acceleration varies as the square of the velocity. Actually 0.9324 is the square of (60/62.1). Unlike the other conversions, acceleration values will vary from this calculation if there is a shift point between these two speeds. That's why 0.95 is closer to reality and unlike the other figures is somewhat variable. Mercedes specified some Diesel acceleration times for 0 - 55 MPH, for which you need to multiply by about 1.19 to get the time to 60 MPH.

Kilometers to Miles or km/h to MPH Multiply by 0.621 (0.6213711922), or divide by 1.61 (1.609344).

Litres to US Gallons Multiply by 0.264 (0.2641720524), or divide by 3.785 (3.785411784).

US to EUROPEAN and METRIC

These are for Europeans to convert from US literature and my websites.

Horsepower Multiply by 1.014 (Europe uses a slightly different standard than SAE).

Foot-pounds to Newton-meters Multiply by 1.3558

Fuel Economy: MPG to Litres/100 km Divide 235 (235.2146) by MPG. Example to convert 23.5 MPG to litres/100 km: 235 / 23.5 = 10.0 l/100 km.

Acceleration time 0 - 60 MPH to 0 - 100 km/h Multiply time by 1.05. 60 MPH is only 96.6 km/h. The energy required for acceleration varies as the square of the velocity. This factor is the square of speed ratio, or (96.6/100)^2, or 1.0725. Unlike the other conversions, acceleration values will vary from this calculation if there is a shift point between these two speeds, so I've found it closer to 1.05 in most cases.

Miles to Kilometers and MPH to km/h Multiply by 1.61 (1.609344), or divide by 0.621 (0.6213711922).

US Gallons to Litres to Multiply by 3.785 (3.785411784).

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