I have started a new thread on my 35mpg first tank, so as not to hijack this one.
https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...4708#post84708

 

I am on my 9th tank (see "Compare") and all have been in excess of 500 miles. Best was most recent at 580. There was always enough gas left for another 50 miles at my normal driving speeds. As i have said before, I wait after the yellow 'tank early-warning until all the white bars are gone and then look for a gas station in the next 10 - 20 miles.

 

So how many gallons of fuel are actually in the tank when the last bar disappears?

 

Based upon my fillups, I would guess it is about 1.8 gallons.

 

I have only topped off once and was able to get 744 miles on a tank. 5 of my last 6 tanks have gone over 600 miles.
MY TANKS

So far, I have been filling up shortly after losing the last bar.

 

Remaining? About 5.5 litres or 1.5 gallons US or 1.25 gallons Imperial. (I only fill to the first click)

 

I'm still looking for the answer to my question and others on the list -- what is the maximum volume of our tank based on total fuel depletion? Some people say an additional 1.8 gal (reserve) past the first click, etc. These are all hypothetical. Why? I finally had a chance to put this to the test today and the third paragraph enforces a prior rumor.

I ran a lousy 41.5 mpg calculated on the 590 mile tank. What is awesome about this though is that I put in 14.233 -- that's 14.233 gal of fuel. The car was on a relatively level surface instead of being tipped in the direction so the filler neck would hold more fuel. I had some bad driving in the past week (construction traffic ruining an otherwise stellar day, etc.) so the total miles is nice but the mpg was poor.

As for the rumor of the car's ability to run on IMA only once out of fuel? Well, sit here and be amazed that the car DOES run on IMA-only if the car is out of fuel. I won't say it is neck-snapping performance when on IMA only but it WILL get you down the road to the next gas station. I was actually not paying attention to the IMA charge meter on the way to work but I knew the trip was going to be interesting. I might have been out of gas for 5 or 10 miles but I really noticed it when the car was climbing a hill and I was almost to the floor with the accelerator but slowing down and struggling to maintain 45 mph then 40 mph then 35 mph. The exit ramp was right there so I took it but headed the wrong way and had to go UPHILL for half a mile before being able to turn around to the gas station. The car was slowly running out of IMA charge but it *did* make it slowly up the hill and back down the hill to the gas station. After pulling away from the pump I noticed that the IMA charge meter was at absolutely Zero so that part when the car was out of fuel it DID run on the IMA only.

Now I don't know if the car shuts off the fuel pump and injectors prior to running the tank dry or if it just waits until starvation or maybe it keeps pumping fuel when there is just air left.

And I guess I win for the record of distance driven past the last fuel bar. The light will come on for, say, all of Wednesday and I'll drive another 60 miles on the light until the last fuel bar goes away. I'll usually drive another 50 miles routinely past the last gas bar and at least two or three times I have gone 100 miles past the last fuel light and at the next fill-up I only put in 10.5 or 11 gal so that meant there were still 1-2 gal remaining in the tank. I've confirmed that the tank holds 14.25 gal and sometimes at about the 500-mile barrier I will do a check of the dash and if it reads 48 mpg then I'll hit the on-screen calculator and multiply 48 mpg time 13 gal for 624 miles to the tank and I know I can safely go another 100 miles before even needing to think about fueling.

I felt like the Seinfeld episode today though. Glad to have found the limit (and also glad that my wife wasn't in the car as I would have never heard the last of it). Now I'm looking for a free weekend so I can test this theory out and hit 750 miles and drive from Pittsburgh to Indianapolis and back (365 miles round-trip). I can't this weekend but maybe one of these days I'll make a stab at it.

 

Shoebox303 asked:
I'll cross over 1,000 miles on this tank driving home tonight breaking both my 1,000 mile barrier and making my summer goal. I missed this goal by only 17 miles last June!

Although close, I don't think this is a world wide record for my vehicle.
-Steve

 

I got all excited and pulled fuse 2 inside fuse box Fuel pump.

well the car didnt move on the iam and i now have the check engine light on. Doh!

off to the dealer monday for confession and a reset.

maybe nex ill pull the plug on the pump itself and see what happens

Steve

 

Hot Georgia - I'll set my goal at 700 miles first and then 750 miles and ultimately 1,000 I guess. Around Western PA it is not ideal as it is not flat at all (a recent trip to the Eastern panhandle of WV and the dealership where I bought my car, Leesburg Honda in Virginia) I left Pittsburgh at a near elevation of 900 feet and crossed over the I-76 turnpike hills of 2,000 feet multiple times. Sure the downhill helps the economy but it doesn't make up for the loss climbing the mountains. So I can't wait until I make a drive out through OH, and IN, and IL, and beyond where I'll be able to attain some personal goals.

I haven't had a chance to buy one of those "octane booster" bottles in the car or a similar-sized bottle of gas that is sealed well to not leak. I calculate that if a gallon is 128 ounces and a helper bottle is 12 ounces that it is 10% of a gallon and would get me 5 more miles down the road at 50 mpg.