Hi folks,

For a little fun, I thought to find out what folks do when they get low on gas. The only problem with my approach is the passengers seldom understand why I'm not worried about a flashing gas indicator. <grins>

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

When my gas light comes on I just keep driving, same speeds. I may have my eye out for a station, but I can go at least 40 more miles so I don't have to start looking right away.

Couldn't find my real answer, though at a quarter tank is probably the closes. For the frequently local driving that I do, I simply integrate gas purchases with planned travel based upon minimizing per gallon expense by avoiding extra driving to buy gas or paying a higher price than at my preferred station.

When in less familiar territory, I do my best to do the same and the cruising range of the TCH and Garmin NAV Fuel options help immensely.

Don't want to hijack the thread, but this and the TCH 700 mile tank thread leave me with a non-engineer's nagging question. Doesn't actually running out of fuel always pose a risk of system damage to any modern ICE vehicle?
I let this assumption guide my planning.

Perhaps I'm scarred or brain damaged from the my teen driving years..... (Gas at 29-36 cents per gallon). I really never developed a taste for leaded gasoline through a siphon hose and have yet to taste unleaded or ethanol based products..

Silver Shadow

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."

how about adding, "upon low gas alarm continue about normal activities until its convenient to fill up"

I pay attention to the gas gauge once it gets to 1/4 tank but don't buy gas until it's down to 2-3 bars on the gauge. Last time I went down to about 1 bar (when the gas indicator lit up) and there were still about 1.5 gallons left in the tank.
My previous car got "iffy" at 1/4 tank. One minute it looked like 1/4 tank...a few minutes later it looked almost empty. I hate that uncertainty. The Honda's gauge is a lot more accurate.

actually, i have used the spare gallon trick once. i was trying to make it to 800 miles on a tank. got to 795 or so.

what i usually do is run it until i am at 10 times the mpg (showing 75mpg, so i go 750 miles). then i calculate if i can get to the cheapest gas in the area on my next commute, or do i have to stop locally to fill up. lately i tend to just fill it locally. even a ten cent per gallon difference is only a buck with a whopping ten gallon tank.

2000 Honda Insight. Kenwood MP3 head unit, Blaupunkt door speakers, dual Cobalt amps, 3 MTX stealth subs, 4th very-high-mounted brake light, Sumitomo tires, yellow-top, hot induction air mod, tinted, SG2, MIMA, center armrest.


best tank 82 mpg

Actually, I usually start to think about getting gas when I am down to 2 bars and actually go get it when I am down to 1 bar. Don't live that far from favorite gas stations. Voted for the 1/4 tank as is probably closest.

Not sure if its a myth or not but I've always gone by the 1/2 fill up. Gas evaporates as I've been told, so always filling up in the morning on a 1/2 tank gives small increases on savings over time.

Add that to the other myth to always keep the tank 1/2 in the winter.

Both myths but I'd rather play it safe and follow.

My real answer doesn't appear as an option, but would be something like "On low fuel alarm, smile, knowing that the car will go another 100+ miles before I really need to fill up".

That was my first thought when I read the "When ICE stops, use spare gallon and drive towards gas station" choice. So far, two people claim they always do it that way.

Doesn't always waiting until the tank is dry and you are completely out of fuel, bad for the vehicle? Gosh, I did that just once, years ago, by accident and I still remember that draining the tank dry resulted in the fuel filter clogging, etc. I can't imagine any doing that over and over again, on purpose.

Best single LD trip: 35.3mpg