Miles to empty on 2017 86?

[Scrappydoo]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Hello tukai , congratulations on your new car and welcome to the forum ......

I see ol @dnieves addressed your question.

I reckon the maker of these cars figured that the owners would be good looking and have above average intelligence (because they made this choice of this car to buy) so they could estimate the miles to empty from looking at the fuel gauge ......

I remember back-in-the-day I had an old VW bug that would let you know that you were getting low on fuel when the engine stopped running ...... until you reached down and flipped the lever to open up the reserve tank.

Now, we have "miles to empty" indicators; lights that come on; gongs that go off ........ for those drivers that are so distracted and/or impaired that they don't notice the fuel gauge ......


humfrz

I remember the beetle thing. The lever was on the centre between the driver and the passengers feet?

[Scrappydoo]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

My low fuel light comes on about once a week. I also fill up about twice a week though.

Once every two days for me. Too often to worry about it.

Still only 21days to go

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Scrappydoo

I remember the beetle thing. The lever was on the centre between the driver and the passengers feet?

Yep, you recall proper. If the lever was "up" and you turned it to the right, it would allow another gallon of gas to be used when the engine started to sputter. Now, one had to remember to turn the handle back to the UP position when filling the tank ...... daaaaaaa!


humfrz

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by dnieves

I kind of remember the gas shortage on the news and they did odd/even days based on your license plate. Not a good time to own an American gas guzzling boats -hence the ascension of the compact Japanese automobile . Go figure something that's fuel efficient and doesn't need repairs every month (even though they were small and prone to rust).


BTW- my coworker said households got around the odd/even restriction by swapping plates.

Yep, I sorta got around it by using my 1956 Ford PU truck (that I very seldom drove) as a nurse tank ...... and siphon out if it as needed.


humfrz

[MuseChaser]

Originally Posted by murdoc

Isn't it more like all the water I drink comes out of a pitcher with boogers in it, and i'm getting booger water whether I fill my cup or not?

And also i'm stirring it before hand and drinking it with a straw?

LOL.. Yeah, but wouldn't you rather stir a single booger in 10 gallons of water before sipping than in a cup of water? Chances are a LOT better you'll be sampling booger from the one-cup serving.

A quick google search about the inadvisability of letting your tank get real low yielded the following..

http://www.clark.com/low-gas-tank-can-be-costly
http://www.bankrate.com/auto/dispell...sky-car-myths/

Both mention the issue of gas being used a cooling medium for in-tank fuel pumps and possible fuel pump damage. I'm ashamed to admit that I don't know if our cars have a second small pump in the tank or not..

http://www.bankrate.com/auto/bad-dri...k-your-wallet/
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2...-on-empty.html
https://www.bellperformance.com/blog...ur-Fuel-System

That's just the first couple... I could go on all day. I'm sure you could probably google "empty tank damage myth" or something and come up with an equal number of hits.. it's the internet... EVERYONE'S right, and EVERYONE's wrong. You just pick who you think is the rightest, I guess.

I tend towards the conservative side in almost all things, so I figure why take chances just because it MIGHT work out OK.

In my first post on the subject, I said "I don't know if I'm right." I stand firmly by that statement.

Love,

Barry

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by MuseChaser

LOL.. Yeah, but wouldn't you rather stir a single booger in 10 gallons of water before sipping than in a cup of water? Chances are a LOT better you'll be sampling booger from the one-cup serving.

A quick google search about the inadvisability of letting your tank get real low yielded the following..

http://www.clark.com/low-gas-tank-can-be-costly
http://www.bankrate.com/auto/dispell...sky-car-myths/

Both mention the issue of gas being used a cooling medium for in-tank fuel pumps and possible fuel pump damage. I'm ashamed to admit that I don't know if our cars have a second small pump in the tank or not..

http://www.bankrate.com/auto/bad-dri...k-your-wallet/
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2...-on-empty.html
https://www.bellperformance.com/blog...ur-Fuel-System

That's just the first couple... I could go on all day. I'm sure you could probably google "empty tank damage myth" or something and come up with an equal number of hits.. it's the internet... EVERYONE'S right, and EVERYONE's wrong. You just pick who you think is the rightest, I guess.

I tend towards the conservative side in almost all things, so I figure why take chances just because it MIGHT work out OK.

In my first post on the subject, I said "I don't know if I'm right." I stand firmly by that statement.

Love,

Barry

Now you are talking running out of gas and that is a whole different topic than running low.

Full tank, half tank or half a gallon anything in there needs to come out. Either it gets burnet off or evaporated though combustion or gets captured by the filter. You really are not diluting anything by keeping the tank full all the time. That booger is going to come out at some point and it doesn't matter how much fuel is in there when it does.

[BertoFT]

I normally go 330-350 miles between fillups (2x per week). I'm close to 70,000 miles and haven't noticed any changes in efficiency. I also do oil changes every 8-10k miles. Did the same with my previous car, 2005 Mazda 3, until I got rid of her after 170k miles. Never dropped my average mpg's, never lost any oil either.

Off topic: my Mazda 3i mpg is just 1-2 higher than my FRS (32-33 vs 31-32)

Edit: my daily route to work is 90% hilly highway.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[Overdrive]

Originally Posted by MuseChaser

Our cars don't have a "range" function, i.e., miles-til-empty. Not to get preachy, but letting the tank get ultra-low to maximize your savings on fuel because you can save a few cents per gallons is really false economy. Yes, we have fuel filters in our systems, and most gas stations probably have some form of filtration built into their delivery systems too, but it's inevitable that a certain amount of crap builds up in the botton of our tanks. It may not be as big a problem now as it was decades ago, but no matter how you slice it, the last gallon of fuel in your tank is always dirtier than the previous gallons because the concentration of dirt is higher.

In all my cars, I treat 1/4 tank as "empty," especially when I'm on the road and am not sure where the next reputable gas station is.

You can save an extra 50 cents on a fillup by running the tank very low, or you can take an extra measure to protect your fuel system by filling up before the dirt-to-gas ratio gets uncomfortable in your tank. Your call.

I'm not saying I'm right.. that's just my thoughts.

Enjoy your car!


Barry

While I do subscribe to this school of thought overall, I think early on in the car's life when it hasn't quite gone through a few hundred tanks of gasoline it isn't really going to be an issue or cause any damage. That said, maintaining that pushing-the-envelope practice long-term is sure to make it a valid concern.

[nos145]

470-530km with winters in winter.
540-580km with stock summers in summer.
stock everything.
automatic tranny.

i drive like a grandma. actually, i put it in snow mode most of the time in summer because i enjoy the drive much more.

[FR-Sky]

When the light comes on, I think you have about 1.5 gallon left.
But I think you should fill your car when 1/5 left becus it is bad for your fuel pump if you drive low on gas.

[spike021]

Looks like the 2017 Limited BRZ does have a drive range 'estimate' on the Drive information screen, but you probably have the classic monochrome display, which probably doesn't have it.

[Wondark]

True story.

There was this little old lady I knew who would top off the tank every time she went for a drive. Goes to the grocery, fast food, visit family, and always filled the tank. She had issues starting the car one time and took it to the mechanic. The fuel tank was nearly full of water and debris. There are lot's of reasons I could think these happened to the little old lady but my thoughts are this.

Would this have happened by running the fuel/water/debris mixture till it was low (or near empty)?

and

What is a fuel filter for?

I think water and debris of some sort is going to get in there anyway. Postponing when it gets in your fuel mixture by not letting the tank get low doesn't seem like a fix for it.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Now you are talking running out of gas and that is a whole different topic than running low.

Full tank, half tank or half a gallon anything in there needs to come out. Either it gets burnet off or evaporated though combustion or gets captured by the filter. You really are not diluting anything by keeping the tank full all the time. That booger is going to come out at some point and it doesn't matter how much fuel is in there when it does.

Originally Posted by Wondark

True story.

There was this little old lady I knew who would top off the tank every time she went for a drive. Goes to the grocery, fast food, visit family, and always filled the tank. She had issues starting the car one time and took it to the mechanic. The fuel tank was nearly full of water and debris. There are lot's of reasons I could think these happened to the little old lady but my thoughts are this.

Would this have happened by running the fuel/water/debris mixture till it was low (or near empty)?

and

What is a fuel filter for?

I think water and debris of some sort is going to get in there anyway. Postponing when it gets in your fuel mixture by not letting the tank get low doesn't seem like a fix for it.

[8RZ]

Gasoline is a solvent and cleaning agent. I remember a shop I worked at opened up the tank of a 70s Buick that had over 300k on the ticker; tank was surprisingly clean on the inside still.