I know I was pushing it....the needle was on the E for waaay toooo long. I got home just fine. Got up in the morning to go to work......DAMN!! It would only run for about half a second and die.

To make a long story short, the Xfire took exactly 16.1 gallons to fill until the pump stopped on its own. Got in 16.25 gal before the pump would cut out from overfill.

I was 9 miles from getting to 400 miles. Calculating MPG: 391/16.25 = 24.06.

Not too bad!

FYI, I got about 20 miles out of it when the needle was actually on E.

 

Thanks for the info. Good to know how long you've got when thre guage says it is empty.

 

Don't try that in an AIRPLANE !

 

:roll: Hmmmmm Saturday, July 31 .... Peoria, AZ .... Ran out of gas .....
I guess that's why you didn't join us at The Pavillions for the "Phoenix Ice Cream-Up" huh?? :wink:

 

...and if you're lucky you didn't damage or significantly reduce the life of your fuel pump!

 

Ya, didn't catch that one. Do they have a Coldstone Creamery there? Then I would be really, really sad! I have seen the McDonalds, though.

So, has there been a "meet" there at the Pav's that I missed, or are you pullin' my leg?

 

You Missed It!!! We drove all the way from Las Vegas to be there last night!!! Look under "Meets" ... the next one is planned for August 21st in Las Vegas ....another in September in Las Vegas. If you aren't checking "Meets", YOU ARE MISSING A LOT OF SMILES!! :wink:

 

Thought the gas tank was only 15.9 gallons???? Maybe that is why I am getting 18 mpg.....I am calculating it wrong?

 

Says 15.9 here too...am I being dumb?

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...pic.php?t=1269

 

From what I understand, the 15.9 is the total, which includes the 2.1 reserve. In other words, the main tank is 13.8 and the reserve is 2.1. I was able to get in 16.25, which is only 1/3 gal more than stated max cap.

On figuring your mileage, you should reset the trip odometer to 0 at a fill-up, and on the next fill up, divide the mileage on the trip odo by the number of gallons it takes to fill it back up.

The total gas tank size shouldn't be used in the MPG calculation, unless you do something dumb like me and drive it out of gas!

Example:
1. Fill up
2. Reset Trip Odometer
3. Drive for 3 days
4. Fill up and notice that it takes 8.0 gallons to fill back up.
5. Note that trip odo states 160.0 miles.
6. MPG is 160/8.0 = 20.0 mpg.

Notice that it doesn't matter the what the fuel tank capacity is.
Many people don't know how to do this properly!


The key is to be consistent on how full you fill the tank. I always go to the same gas station. I always let the pump stop on its own. And I always give it three more low volume shots and let the pump shut off flow for me those three times. And try to get gas at the same temperature everytime, i.e., always in the morning or always in the evening. This is because the density of gasoling varies depending on temperature, and gas pumps dispense on volume, not density. All of this ensures that when you filled it up with 10.00 gallons, you really used 10.00 gallons.

Most of this is not obvious to many people until they do it a few times....

I do about 90% freeway driving at about 75 mph, and I consistently get 23.5 to 24.0 mpg. (I have the 6-speed).

 

fuel tanks are often slightly bigger than stated in the owner's manual. the fuel tank capacity also doesn't include the filler neck. the underestimated capacity, along with the fact that the gauge reads "E" while there are still a couple gallons left is used by manufacturers to prevent premature failure of the fuel pump. the risk that you run when running near empty, or completely out of fuel is that the high pressure fuel pump will overheat. since most fuel pumps reside inside the gas tank and are cooled by the gasoline flowing through and surrounding the pump, they can overheat and fail if there is not sufficient fuel in the tank. so running on "E" probably isn't something you want to do on a regular basis.

also, topping off the tank once the pump automatically shuts off isn't a good idea either. in addition to the environmental factors (spills, vapors, etc.) you can also saturate and damage the carbon filter that is part of your emissions system. not to mention that the fuel you are paying for can be recirculated back into the gas station's tank. if you've ever noticed that sometimes when you start filling up the pump wants to shut off a couple times before it flows properly - this is often the result of the residual vapors left in the pump from the previous customer.

 

We need to report fuel economy using mpg, but we need to indicate whether we are using real Gallons or US Gallons. Since our gallon is bigger, we should get more mpg for the same driving conditions etc.

I am in the middle of an economy experiment. Should have some figures at the weekend. Will report in both sets of units.

 

Ah....I see - Thanks guys

 

When the EPA determines the fuel economy of cars they do it without measuring how much fuel is in, or added to, the fuel tank. Instead they collect and measure the exhaust products to calculate fuel consumption while the vehicle is running on a dynomometer.