Miles till Empty Information
05-05-2010, 06:00 AM
#1
Miles till Empty Information
Evening All,
Just some food for thought - thought this would be useful information for some.
Put in gas today for the first time since the date of purchase. I was expecting gas to cost me around $66, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was ~$56 from Chevron (Supreme, obviously). The website says that the G holds 20 gallons. The ~$56 was about 17.2 gallons of gas. I'm assuming the remaining 3 gallons are how much till completely being empty (stall). Note, I filled up with roughly 22 miles left of the "range" meter. I guess that puts the last 3 gallons as our "miles till complete stall"...yes? In addition to that remaining amount, does anyone know if we have a reserve for gas? Example - range hits 0. I'm assuming we do. Does anyone know how big it is? Is it included in the remaining 3 gallons? We probably have...what...30 miles after the range hits zero (reserve)?
Eric
Just some food for thought - thought this would be useful information for some.
Put in gas today for the first time since the date of purchase. I was expecting gas to cost me around $66, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was ~$56 from Chevron (Supreme, obviously). The website says that the G holds 20 gallons. The ~$56 was about 17.2 gallons of gas. I'm assuming the remaining 3 gallons are how much till completely being empty (stall). Note, I filled up with roughly 22 miles left of the "range" meter. I guess that puts the last 3 gallons as our "miles till complete stall"...yes? In addition to that remaining amount, does anyone know if we have a reserve for gas? Example - range hits 0. I'm assuming we do. Does anyone know how big it is? Is it included in the remaining 3 gallons? We probably have...what...30 miles after the range hits zero (reserve)?
Eric
05-05-2010, 06:57 AM
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I drove to work yesterday with the range saying 36 miles. ITs a 29 mile trip and when I got to work it said 34 miles remaining. When I went ot leave It said 0 miles remaining for the entire ride home. I got gas when I got home and put approximately 18.2 gallons in.
I have often wondered how they came up with the 20 gallon tank, but what I figure is the floatation device that is used to set the resistance that the fuel gauge needs to display the level or computer needs to determine miles remaining is meaningless when you get to a point of a hitting bottom. Depending on the size of the tank in the car, you could easily have 2 gallons and the floater all the way down. What I want to know is how much will the fuel pump pump before it sucks air? Is it located at the same height from the bottom of the tank as the floater?
I have often wondered how they came up with the 20 gallon tank, but what I figure is the floatation device that is used to set the resistance that the fuel gauge needs to display the level or computer needs to determine miles remaining is meaningless when you get to a point of a hitting bottom. Depending on the size of the tank in the car, you could easily have 2 gallons and the floater all the way down. What I want to know is how much will the fuel pump pump before it sucks air? Is it located at the same height from the bottom of the tank as the floater?
05-05-2010, 08:15 AM
#3
First...when you fill up your gas tank, if you stop the first time it clicks off you are NEVER filling your tank up to full. The pump is set to automatically turn off when the backpressure gets to a certain point. So you need to wait for it to click off, let the pressure die, fill up a bit, let the pressure die, etc.
Second...the "range" meter as you call it, is an estimate and gets exponentially more inaccurate the closer to [E] you are. When it says 22 miles to empty, go out and floor it or take a corner really hard. It will say 0 in about 2 seconds. Did you drive 22 miles that fast? Of course not.
There is no hidden gas reserve on any car, you are trying to think about this miles till empty way to simplisticly.
Hayabusa--the tank really is 20 gallons...why do you wonder how they came up with it? They deisgned a tank to hold 20 gallons, and then wrote that down...
As far as your fuel pump question...if you are driving below 1/4 tank you are going to burn your fuel pump out so fast it will shock you. The fuel pump (on just about every car) is located above the bottom of the tank and so anything below ~1/4 tank is putting tons of unneeded stress on the pump. Plus, if you are using the gas down that low you are pulling TONS of sediment and other crap into your fuel lines. If you want to do that to your car fine, but I don't.
05-05-2010, 08:59 AM
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This has been a minor annoyance of mine since I got the car. At first, I would be freaking out, thinking I was going to run out of gas. Then get to the pump and put maybe 17 gallons in. Even with the meter showing ****, I still have never even put 18 gallons into the car. So I don't pay much attention to it now. The only thing is, it's easy enough not to look at the miles to empty, but it's a little harder to ignore the warning light on your dash (and associated beep).
But I will say, the mpg counter is pretty dead-on. I reset it on each tank, and when I fill-up, I calculate my mpg the old fashioned way (miles/gallons to fill) to compare. They match up (unlike my Audi -lol).
But I will say, the mpg counter is pretty dead-on. I reset it on each tank, and when I fill-up, I calculate my mpg the old fashioned way (miles/gallons to fill) to compare. They match up (unlike my Audi -lol).
05-05-2010, 09:01 AM
#5
Yeah the MPG calculator is dead on every time I do it by hand and compare. But that has nothing to do with how much gas you have left...
If you are driving your car till the warning light comes on there is something wrong
If you are driving your car till the warning light comes on there is something wrong
Last edited by hispeed-lowdrag; 05-05-2010 at 09:25 AM.
05-05-2010, 09:21 AM
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I guess there's something wrong with me, being a tech-weenie and all... I like to "test" these engineers because I love what they do.
That being said, I've noticed that you'll get stall with only a gallon left in the tank due to "slosh". Here's the funny part: the weenies at NASA and DoD have countless studies on slosh, slosh factors, behavior, etc. In a sentence, that 1 gallon can't always be where you want it when you want it. I'd follow HS-LD up there^ don't push it unless you're fearless (or crazy-stupid) like me. I also don't push it often because, as he put it, I don't want to stress my fuel pump. That little guy is a work of art!
The most I've ever filled is 19-and-a-quarter and I had to be careful. The only reason I did something this stupid is because I was on a flat-straight for many miles and wanted to see how the system worked. Bottom line: when you have "no miles left", you have ~3 gallons or ~50 miles depending on your driving conditions.
That being said, I've noticed that you'll get stall with only a gallon left in the tank due to "slosh". Here's the funny part: the weenies at NASA and DoD have countless studies on slosh, slosh factors, behavior, etc. In a sentence, that 1 gallon can't always be where you want it when you want it. I'd follow HS-LD up there^ don't push it unless you're fearless (or crazy-stupid) like me. I also don't push it often because, as he put it, I don't want to stress my fuel pump. That little guy is a work of art!
The most I've ever filled is 19-and-a-quarter and I had to be careful. The only reason I did something this stupid is because I was on a flat-straight for many miles and wanted to see how the system worked. Bottom line: when you have "no miles left", you have ~3 gallons or ~50 miles depending on your driving conditions.
05-05-2010, 09:30 AM
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Wow, you guys really overthink things. It sounds like this is your first car. If the tank is 20 gallons and you filled up 17 gallons, then yes, 3 gallons were in your tank and if you used it all up, it would be empty and the car would stall.
Hispeed-lowdrag is dead on right about the range estimate being exponentially inaccurate toward empty and that you ideally shouldn't run your tank low. People think that if they go to the gas station more frequently, then they are spending more money. You are spending on what you use whether you fill up every three days or everyday.
Hispeed-lowdrag is dead on right about the range estimate being exponentially inaccurate toward empty and that you ideally shouldn't run your tank low. People think that if they go to the gas station more frequently, then they are spending more money. You are spending on what you use whether you fill up every three days or everyday.
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05-05-2010, 10:04 AM
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If our DTE shows zero "miles to empty" at 17 gallons used, the G must have a 3 gallon reserve built-in, like the other vehicles I had. What am I missing?
I could "test it" myself like I've done for other vehicles, but figured you guys already know the answer.
05-05-2010, 10:12 AM
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Well I guess there's something wrong with me too, for thinking that a modern car should be able to drive fine below 1/4 tank 
Like I said, yes, I've driven it **** miles to empty, but it's never needed more than 17 gallons at a fill-up. If our cars fuel pump can't handle driving with "only" 3 gallons in the tank, that's a problem. Actually, Infiniti has a problem, because I have a warranty
Like I said, yes, I've driven it **** miles to empty, but it's never needed more than 17 gallons at a fill-up. If our cars fuel pump can't handle driving with "only" 3 gallons in the tank, that's a problem. Actually, Infiniti has a problem, because I have a warranty
05-05-2010, 10:15 AM
#10
Every car I drove, when the analog needle dropped past empty, I had at least 1+ more gallons in the tank. I thought of it as my "hidden reserve".
If our DTE shows zero "miles to empty" at 17 gallons used, the G must have a 3 gallon reserve built-in, like the other vehicles I had. What am I missing?
I could "test it" myself like I've done for other vehicles, but figured you guys already know the answer.
If our DTE shows zero "miles to empty" at 17 gallons used, the G must have a 3 gallon reserve built-in, like the other vehicles I had. What am I missing?
I could "test it" myself like I've done for other vehicles, but figured you guys already know the answer.
The Distance To Empty guage will NEVER show 0 miles to [E] at the exact same fuel level, it is dependant on how you are driving and it does a calculation based on said driving. And like I said earlier, it gets massively less accurate the closer to [E] you get.
I feel badly for any car you owned that you drove until the needle was at/past [E]. That is so bad for the car
05-05-2010, 10:18 AM
#11
Well I guess there's something wrong with me too, for thinking that a modern car should be able to drive fine below 1/4 tank
Like I said, yes, I've driven it **** miles to empty, but it's never needed more than 17 gallons at a fill-up. If our cars fuel pump can't handle driving with "only" 3 gallons in the tank, that's a problem. Actually, Infiniti has a problem, because I have a warranty
Like I said, yes, I've driven it **** miles to empty, but it's never needed more than 17 gallons at a fill-up. If our cars fuel pump can't handle driving with "only" 3 gallons in the tank, that's a problem. Actually, Infiniti has a problem, because I have a warranty
Plus, the fuel pump situation is not an Infiniti thing, that is the way every car I've ever seen has been designed...as well as every military vehicle on every base I've ever been on...it's not an Infiniti anomoly.
05-05-2010, 10:31 AM
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The car didn't seem to mind at all, and was hard to put it aside for the new G.
05-05-2010, 10:36 AM
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So, does our G have a "hidden reserve" when DTE says zero miles remaining?
I'm hearing "yes", since some ppl are running their cars below zero DTE and filling up with much less than 20 gallons (i.e. some say 17 gallons). Does that make our "hidden reserve" 2-3 gallons?
I'm hearing "yes", since some ppl are running their cars below zero DTE and filling up with much less than 20 gallons (i.e. some say 17 gallons). Does that make our "hidden reserve" 2-3 gallons?
05-05-2010, 10:47 AM
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^ One car for 19 years?? Damn. I've only been driving for that long, and I'm on car #16! (and I'm not rich by any stretch) My name is John, and I have a problem..........
And FWIW, I've never replaced a FP either.
And FWIW, I've never replaced a FP either.
05-05-2010, 10:53 AM
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^ what he said. We're currently designing new maintenance systems for the Army and a fuel pump is part of the puzzle. Just like you want your oil and filter to be clean and shiny, you also want your fuel delivery systems to be "well oiled", for lack of a better analogy.