When is an empty tank not an empty tank?
Discussion
Hi all
I have an early mk2 mx5. I was off out for a meeting today and had been a little lapse on topping up the tank
I wasn't far from my destination, trip clock showing 305 miles sine last full up and the needle on the 'white line' that I think represents empty
Except no, the needle went past this line and the car kept going. So, with no fuel warning light, where is actually empty? Have I been wrong all along and the line isn't empty, but actually the 'E' is indicative of empty??
I have an early mk2 mx5. I was off out for a meeting today and had been a little lapse on topping up the tank
I wasn't far from my destination, trip clock showing 305 miles sine last full up and the needle on the 'white line' that I think represents empty
Except no, the needle went past this line and the car kept going. So, with no fuel warning light, where is actually empty? Have I been wrong all along and the line isn't empty, but actually the 'E' is indicative of empty??
I've never got more than 42L in my Mk2 either and that's when the needle is on Empty
Table of my fuelups in the table at the end of this page
https://www.fuelly.com/driver/furtive/mx5-miata
Table of my fuelups in the table at the end of this page
https://www.fuelly.com/driver/furtive/mx5-miata
HaylingJag said:
when you guys say 325 miles is it miles or KMS? my eunos has a MPH speedo but the odo reads in KM's and i get about 320km between fill ups. Maths says im getting about 30mpg assuming an 8 gallon tank
D
Except your car has a 45L (10 gallon) fuel tank D
Edited by MX-5 Lazza on Friday 30th August 08:39
HaylingJag said:
when you guys say 325 miles is it miles or KMS? my eunos has a MPH speedo but the odo reads in KM's and i get about 320km between fill ups. Maths says im getting about 30mpg assuming an 8 gallon tank
D
So if my maths are correct and it's a 10 gal tank that equates to 20mpg!D
That's even worse than my paltry average of 22mpg!
You really shouldn't clog it everywhere
.Cheers, Pewe.
pewe said:
HaylingJag said:
when you guys say 325 miles is it miles or KMS? my eunos has a MPH speedo but the odo reads in KM's and i get about 320km between fill ups. Maths says im getting about 30mpg assuming an 8 gallon tank
D
So if my maths are correct and it's a 10 gal tank that equates to 20mpg!D
That's even worse than my paltry average of 22mpg!
You really shouldn't clog it everywhere
.Cheers, Pewe.
The only way to know for sure is to measure it correctly i.e.
Fill to the brim.
Set odometer to zero.
Drive until your normal fill-up level.
Fill to the brim.
Check to see how many litres you put in and miles driven.
(Miles/Litres) * 4.54 = MPG
None of this guesswork or fag-packet calculation. This is the only way to give a true MPG.
I always measure mine this way - every fill up. I use it as an engine health-check. If the mpg changes for any reason (other than hooning
) then it's an indication that there could be a problem.its a bad habit and a false economy to run the car to the empty mark .
if youre in the habit of doing that then one day your last chance petrol station that you use in such circumstances will be shut and you'll be screwed .
thats without mentioning the sediment that gets drawn into the fuel lines
or that youre leaving yourself open to possible prosecution if you embark on a motorway journey knowing you have insufficient fuel to complete it .
or that hard shoulders are very dangerous places to be these days .
i tend to treat 1/8 th full as very empty and needing new fuel fast
i care about the car and my own personal safety too much to quibble over a few quids worth of fuel always held in reserve or to play a gambling game as to where the eventual running out mark will be
if youre in the habit of doing that then one day your last chance petrol station that you use in such circumstances will be shut and you'll be screwed .
thats without mentioning the sediment that gets drawn into the fuel lines
or that youre leaving yourself open to possible prosecution if you embark on a motorway journey knowing you have insufficient fuel to complete it .
or that hard shoulders are very dangerous places to be these days .
i tend to treat 1/8 th full as very empty and needing new fuel fast
i care about the car and my own personal safety too much to quibble over a few quids worth of fuel always held in reserve or to play a gambling game as to where the eventual running out mark will be
Edited by cosmo smallpiece on Saturday 31st August 13:46
Edited by cosmo smallpiece on Saturday 31st August 13:48
Edited by cosmo smallpiece on Saturday 31st August 13:52
cosmo smallpiece said:
its a bad habit and a false economy to run the car to the empty mark .
if youre in the habit of doing that then one day your last chance petrol station that you use in such circumstances will be shut and you'll be screwed .
thats without mentioning the sediment that gets drawn into the fuel lines
or that youre leaving yourself open to possible prosecution if you embark on a motorway journey knowing you have insufficient fuel to complete it .
or that hard shoulders are very dangerous places to be these days .
i tend to treat 1/8 th full as very empty and needing new fuel fast
i care about the car and my own personal safety too much to quibble over a few quids worth of fuel always held in reserve or to play a gambling game as to where the eventual running out mark will be
May I ask how many miles a year you cover? Most of the above is utter drivel. If you know the range then you know the range. Less fuel is less weight!if youre in the habit of doing that then one day your last chance petrol station that you use in such circumstances will be shut and you'll be screwed .
thats without mentioning the sediment that gets drawn into the fuel lines
or that youre leaving yourself open to possible prosecution if you embark on a motorway journey knowing you have insufficient fuel to complete it .
or that hard shoulders are very dangerous places to be these days .
i tend to treat 1/8 th full as very empty and needing new fuel fast
i care about the car and my own personal safety too much to quibble over a few quids worth of fuel always held in reserve or to play a gambling game as to where the eventual running out mark will be
Edited by cosmo smallpiece on Saturday 31st August 13:46
Edited by cosmo smallpiece on Saturday 31st August 13:48
Edited by cosmo smallpiece on Saturday 31st August 13:52
In my daily I cover 30k a year and to be honest filling up becomes a chore. The longer you can leave it the better.
eltax91 said:
The longer you can leave it the better.
Amen, brother. With my Mk1 I pull the nozzle out so I can keep squirting more and more fuel in slowly until it comes to the very top of the filler neck. I'm sure Mr Safety could tell me about the hypothetical situation in which my filler neck springs a leak, but I think I'll know that's happened when petrol leaks out all over the floor when I'm filling. Vajazzle said:
cosmo smallpiece said:
thats without mentioning the sediment that gets drawn into the fuel lines
That's a myth. The fuel pump draws from the lowest part of the tank anyway so any sediment and crap will be drawn up long before the tank is empty. That's why the fuel pump has its own filter screen and there's an inline filter too. I can do 400km driving around time that's where I tend to fill up again can an have risked it too 430km, on a long motorway journey can get 500km or more.
95% of my journeys are town driving at only do 10 miles a day so if I do run out never far from a petrol station btw never yet run out of fuel.
I drove up to Norwich & back this weekend. 180 miles each way. Filled up before I left home, drove all the way up and most of the way back before refilling. It hit the empty mark on the A11 but I still drove all the way along the A505, down the A1(M), A414, A405 before refilling just before joining the M25. That's 45 miles after "empty". The needle was well below the empty mark (as usual) but I still only got 44.48 litres in so there was still around 5 litres left (over a gallon). I'd done 263 miles on that 44.48 litres so was averaging 26.8mpg so I had another 26 miles to go before being empty.
I don't see any sort of "risk" involved in that in the slightest, quite the contrary. I know my car, it's capabilities and the range very well so I'm never likely to get caught out with an empty tank.
I don't see any sort of "risk" involved in that in the slightest, quite the contrary. I know my car, it's capabilities and the range very well so I'm never likely to get caught out with an empty tank.
ok
everyone can play a game of roulette as to where the true empty mark is for all i care .
and then end up one day with a needless walk to a petrol station when you guess wrong !
lets just hope the car you left by the side of the road hasnt been targeted by souvenier hunters or vandals while you were away .
the thought of that in itself would be enough to keep a gallon or so in reserve for me .
you can also have as many fuel filters as you like but any sediment still gets drawn into the fuel lines .
it may be stopped by a filter but a blocked filter in itself can lead to a poor running or a non working car .
i used to drive a petrol tanker and those hoses that are used to connect to the tanks are dragged round in the dirt
a filthy job it is
after what i seen from the inside of that business i'll just keep a gallon or so in constant reserve in the tank of my car thanks
anyhows putting yourself willingly in the position where you and your pride and joy may end up stranded and in possible danger all for the sake of a fivers worth of fuel is beyond me anyway
everyone can play a game of roulette as to where the true empty mark is for all i care .
and then end up one day with a needless walk to a petrol station when you guess wrong !
lets just hope the car you left by the side of the road hasnt been targeted by souvenier hunters or vandals while you were away .
the thought of that in itself would be enough to keep a gallon or so in reserve for me .
you can also have as many fuel filters as you like but any sediment still gets drawn into the fuel lines .
it may be stopped by a filter but a blocked filter in itself can lead to a poor running or a non working car .
i used to drive a petrol tanker and those hoses that are used to connect to the tanks are dragged round in the dirt
a filthy job it is
after what i seen from the inside of that business i'll just keep a gallon or so in constant reserve in the tank of my car thanks
anyhows putting yourself willingly in the position where you and your pride and joy may end up stranded and in possible danger all for the sake of a fivers worth of fuel is beyond me anyway
cosmo smallpiece said:
the thought of that in itself would be enough to keep a gallon or so in reserve for me.
You obviously didn't read what I wrote. When I filled up, I squeezed in 44.48 litres. As I have a 50 litre fuel tank, that means I still had around 5.5 litres left i.e. 1.2 gallons. That's exactly what you are saying I should keep "in reserve". With your comment you just justified exactly the way I treat the fuel gauge.When you fill up, do you ever take any notice of how many litres you put in?
You also didn't take any notice of what Vajazzle posted. Take a look at where the fuel pick-up is in the fuel tank. If there is any sediment in there it wouldn't make any difference if the tank was empty or full, it would get sucked up. That's by design. If there is sediment, it's much easier to get rid of it by replacing the fuel filter than having to remove & flush the fuel tank.
Thanks for being concerned about me having to abandon my pride & joy at the side of the road but there is no risk of me running out of fuel so if it happens then that won't be the cause. A breakdown is much more likely but as it's a modified car, I keep it very well maintained and check it over/service it all the time, not just at service intervals so it's probably less likely to break down than yours. I also have AA membership so even if it did happen I'd just sit in/near the car and wait for recovery
Edited by MX-5 Lazza on Sunday 1st September 19:26
cosmo smallpiece said:
ok
everyone can play a game of roulette as to where the true empty mark is for all i care .
and then end up one day with a needless walk to a petrol station when you guess wrong !
lets just hope the car you left by the side of the road hasnt been targeted by souvenier hunters or vandals while you were away .
the thought of that in itself would be enough to keep a gallon or so in reserve for me .
you can also have as many fuel filters as you like but any sediment still gets drawn into the fuel lines .
it may be stopped by a filter but a blocked filter in itself can lead to a poor running or a non working car .
i used to drive a petrol tanker and those hoses that are used to connect to the tanks are dragged round in the dirt
a filthy job it is
after what i seen from the inside of that business i'll just keep a gallon or so in constant reserve in the tank of my car thanks
anyhows putting yourself willingly in the position where you and your pride and joy may end up stranded and in possible danger all for the sake of a fivers worth of fuel is beyond me anyway
It's not for the sake of a fivers worth of fuel though is it you plank? We are all putting the same amount of fuel we would put in anyway, just us sensible ones are doing it less often over the year!!everyone can play a game of roulette as to where the true empty mark is for all i care .
and then end up one day with a needless walk to a petrol station when you guess wrong !
lets just hope the car you left by the side of the road hasnt been targeted by souvenier hunters or vandals while you were away .
the thought of that in itself would be enough to keep a gallon or so in reserve for me .
you can also have as many fuel filters as you like but any sediment still gets drawn into the fuel lines .
it may be stopped by a filter but a blocked filter in itself can lead to a poor running or a non working car .
i used to drive a petrol tanker and those hoses that are used to connect to the tanks are dragged round in the dirt
a filthy job it is
after what i seen from the inside of that business i'll just keep a gallon or so in constant reserve in the tank of my car thanks
anyhows putting yourself willingly in the position where you and your pride and joy may end up stranded and in possible danger all for the sake of a fivers worth of fuel is beyond me anyway
I'm guessing you are running around with 2 spare 1gallon cans full of petrol in your boot, just in case you can't find a fuel station when you get to qtr tank remaining?!
funnily enough
i remember reading an article where the AA and RAC bemoaned the fact they get a lot of calls mainly from young men who have ploughed on regardless of the the fact the gauge is indicating zero and the low fuel warning light is on .
upon reading it i thought it was probably just young fellas who drive a non descript hatch who would rather spend the money on a night out or a new pair of jeans than in the basics of car maintenance
but ...
lo and behold its people who purport to being car enthusiasts !
yeah right ...
lets have a game of chance where the car is screaming out for more fuel but we will still just plough on regardless .
that passes for a car enthusiast these days does it ?
why not run the car dangersouly low on oil or water and have a bit of a gamble there as well ?
theres me thinking its the nanny state that includes questions as to how to check the oil level in the driving test
turns out theres dipsticks who will do just that ..
run a car in a condition where its liable to stop at any moment
blimey
if i'm a plonker god knows what that makes you
i'd achieve a lifetime ban if i was to print what i'm thinking
probably a ban for my grandchildren as well come to think of it
i remember reading an article where the AA and RAC bemoaned the fact they get a lot of calls mainly from young men who have ploughed on regardless of the the fact the gauge is indicating zero and the low fuel warning light is on .
upon reading it i thought it was probably just young fellas who drive a non descript hatch who would rather spend the money on a night out or a new pair of jeans than in the basics of car maintenance
but ...
lo and behold its people who purport to being car enthusiasts !
yeah right ...
lets have a game of chance where the car is screaming out for more fuel but we will still just plough on regardless .
that passes for a car enthusiast these days does it ?
why not run the car dangersouly low on oil or water and have a bit of a gamble there as well ?
theres me thinking its the nanny state that includes questions as to how to check the oil level in the driving test
turns out theres dipsticks who will do just that ..
run a car in a condition where its liable to stop at any moment
blimey
if i'm a plonker god knows what that makes you
i'd achieve a lifetime ban if i was to print what i'm thinking
probably a ban for my grandchildren as well come to think of it
Edited by cosmo smallpiece on Tuesday 3rd September 00:43
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