Opinions on driving on empty

[RandomFact314]

What do you guys think about driving to the last gallon or even half a gallon in your car?

I have been aching to have my first EVER 400 mile tank and I have been pushing my luck, 375miles.... 380..... 385 was a little crazy and my last tank I finally hit 390 so I'm so close but I'm always putting in 10.6 to 11 gallons on a 11.9 gallon tank.

Is that REALLY that bad for your car as far as overheating the fuel pump? I don't care much about the crap everyone says is at the bottom of the fuel, thats what the fuel filter is for.

Whats the most you guys have ever added to your car and what was the max? I put in 11.239 in my 11.9 -- and as I figured out from my CRX, you WILL run out before the full 11.9

[Frank Lee]

Put a small gas can in the trunk then do whatever floats your boat.

[redpoint5]

You won't overheat the fuel pump, so go for it as long as you are ok with the hassle of running out.

I put 4.74 gallons into my motorcycle the other day. It has a 4.7 gallon tank, and it was the second time in a row that I ran it out while just barely coasting to the gas station.

I've run my diesel truck out twice, and each time it brought to my attention the fact that my lift pump had died. Can't bleed the fuel lines without a working lift pump, and running without it for long durations will eventually kill the expensive injector pump. So, in these instances it was actually a good thing to run it out.

[AndrzejM]

Berta has a "double" tank setup. It's one tank but divided into two spaces because the main shaft running to the back in the middle of the tank. Anyway there are two lift pumps with some circulating hoses to level the amount of fuel in each space. I was trying to join 1000miles club recently and probably I could achieve that, but first bubbles of air was sucked into the fuel lines. I know that because when I was killing the engine it has a trouble to start again, I've needed to crank it much longer to start. So for now I haven't runned out of fuel yet. I'm a bit afraid because of this double pump setup. If it'll brake it will be twice as expensive as any other setup to fix.

[mcrews]

If just for fun than do what frank lee says.

if for weight reduction, take uot the spare tire. However, you'll probably notice VERY little change in mpg.
Someone once posted that we'd all be better off just losing 50lb in personal weight!
car would get 'slightly' better mpg.....and we'd be a hell of alot healthier!!! lol

[PressEnter[]]

I usually go past the fuel light on every tank, and with the diesel, believe me I have no intention of ever running it dry. The most I've put into my 14.5 gallon tank is 14.45 gallons...but I top off the filler neck, and I suspect I really had at least another gallon. I know of one guy who routinely puts in more than 15 gallons.

The furthest I've gone so far is 731 miles on a tank

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by RandomFact314

What do you guys think about driving to the last gallon or even half a gallon in your car?

To what point ?

If you're doing it to reduce weight, it's fairly pointless - those few extra pounds won't give much difference in mpg.

If you're doing it just to get those 400 miles on one tank, you'll have to drive more fuel conserving still, in the first 350 miles
That's where you can make a difference - not in those few last miles.

[user removed]

I generally refill long before I get close to empty. On cars with the pump in the tank, repeated running out of fuel events are blamed on early pump failures, the fuel is the pumps coolant.

I guess it's appealing to some. but I prefer to always have some reserve, especially during hurricane season, when you can lose power and gas supplies for days. Last time that happened I had every tank full, 65 gallons of fuel. The wife was working at the local high school shelter and they ran out of gas in their generator. I gave them 6 gallons to fill it. Some lights and coffee are a real blessing when you have nothing else except a roof over your head and a mattress on the floor. Got the neighbors generator running and saved the food in my refrigerator. Got 14 showers out of a 40 gallon hot water heater.

regards
Mech

[toc]

Cool the pump. It's cheaper.

[RobertISaar]

i have anywhere from a 16.1 to 17.7 gallon tank(GM documentation contradicts itself quite a few times). guage reads empty and needle doesn't move at about 15.3 gallons. i'll generally fill up around the 1/4 mark though, fuel as a coolant is a lot better than air.