I was told when i was young to not let your gas tank run low because it then sucks in fumes which is bad. I dunno if thats true but i always try to fill up near the half a tank mark. I dont let it get down to a quarter tank. Does anyone else do this? Does this matter or am i psycho?
of course, all my friends run on empty with the light on

 

well when ur low on gas, the fuel pump doesnt have as much fuel to dissipate its heat into it; so the fuel pump works harder on low gas and heats up more if u get what im saying. But on the 350z's, i hear once we get to empty we still have 5ish gallons left, so there is plenty of reserve left in our cars. On other cars i try to fill up before reaching empty, but with the Z i dont mind that much since i know there is atleast 4 gallons left from personal experience, (going to empty then filling up the whole way).

 

I drive it until the light comes on.

 

At least by the time it gets down to the last marking one gauge, it doesnt cost any more to run on a full tank than it does on an empty tank!

 

Old fuel tank were made of steel and rusted with time. You'd run the risk of getting deposits sucked by the pump if the level was too low.

Hurray for plastics today !

I wait for the reserve light and then drive an other 40 miles...

 

I prefer to keep no more than half a tank to keep vehicle weight down.

 

I fill at light.

 

haha, i used to do that, i wondered how many other people did, sure beats the hell out of stripping your interior out

 

i fill up after the computer reads.."25 miles to empty, 20, 15, then ----" that's when i get worry.

 

Usually I get gas after eating at Taco Bell.

 

+1.

 

In my q45 I am on my third gas pump, I never let it get lower than 1/4 tank now, for the same reason you mentioned.

 

I let mine go all the way down to the 1/4 mark. To me it seems like thats when the gas consumption seems to slow down. Maybe its the shape of the tank, maybe when I see I'm low on gas I loosen up on the throttle?

 

There are various possibilities why gas gauges are not linear.

Here is some info, although I dunno if it necessarily applies to every car out there.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/fuel-gauge1.htm

 

After it shows empty 2 or 3 times...

My gauge goes to empty, then back up to 1/4 tank, and I fill up 2 or 3 times after that... :P

 

During huricane season in my town which has been hit with 2 hurricanes in less than a year, you never let your car get anywhere close to a 1/4 tank. If a hurricane gets anywhere close people freak out and all gas stations are emptied of gas by SUVs with 50 gallons worth of jugs in the back. Then you are stuck with no gas and you can't evacuate. Storm can be hittin Monday and stations will be out of gas Thursday before in my town. During non hurricane season I take it pretty close to DTE ---. Never put more than 18 gallons in my 20 gallon tank.

 

Thank god im not the only one with this problem.

 

Perhaps the person who told you about "driving on fumes" meant simply that you were about to run out of gas.

Back in the olden days of carburetors, running out of gas wasn't so bad. With modern fuel injectors, car manufacturers recommend that you avoid running out of gas because that could harm the injectors. Probably this is why they leave a ~5 gallon reserve when you hit "empty."

In very wet climates, you might get water condensation in your tank. The water settles to the bottom so you probably want to refill sooner to avoid sucking gas (and water) from the bottom of the tank.

Diesel engines are more sensitive to moisture in the fuel, so they have filters to capture water before it reaches the engine. My dad had a few diesel cars that had a collection chamber with a release valve on the bottom. When you saw water collecting in the chamber, you would squeeze the release valve and the water would drain out.

I've always run my cars to "empty" or more, depending on my proximity to a gas station, then fill-up completely. I've never had a problem with that in Texas. Also, less gas means less weight and better gas mileage. So, my gas mileage is an average of tank-full mileage and tank-empty mileage.

 

Funny you should ask this morning my DTE showed about 15 miles but when I got to work it now displays --- I'm sure there is a good amount left because most modern cars now a days safeguard drivers. I agree with one of the above posts there should be another 4-5 gallons.

 

+1...hell i won't even let mine get below 1/2 now!