Do you top off?
 

I had a thought (just the one) about the percentage of people who top off their gas tank vs those who do not. My parents always top off but I always refuse.

So here's a poll to settle my curiosity.

FYI: if you don't know what topping off is; it's when you're filling your car with gas and the pump automatically shuts off with a full tank but you squeeze the nozzle again to get that extra bit of gas in your car.

Depends on the gas. If it's 94, top off! If I gotta get 91 in a pinch, I'll just get enough to get me to where I need to go and to a gas station with 94.

Usually, unless I am going to a drivers event (autoX or back road cruise with friends).

EDIT:
I didn't realize what the real meaning of "topping off" was. I NEVER top off.

Only when gas is really cheap or I have a lot of money hehe

I get OCD about it and need to top off to hit the nearest $.50 mark.

I've always assumed doing so could force fuel into the evap vent tube which is somewhere near the top of the tank. I can't imagine that would be good for the shut valve or the canister.

Full service stations sometimes top off.

Self serve, I never top off but I always shake the gas nozzle furiously to get that last drip of gas in to my tank. :bellyroll:

I am guilty of doing it sometimes... Bad for the charcoal canister though.

Wait, I thought you meant top off as in a full tank of gas. Are you referring to squeezing in more gas even after the nozzle stops?

Nope, no top off, even out here .....;)


humfrz

Is there a benefit to squeezing more in after it automatically stops? I always thought it was full when it auto turns off, and putting more in would be bad... :/

There's a chance you may put fuel into the charcoal canister among other things in the EVAP system when you do this. I've seen it a couple times. That's typically why they advise against doing it. When you fill up, vapor forms in the tank. That extra space you're filling with fluid is also there to give the the fuel vapors space to expand.

I know some people will still say they do this all the time with no problems. However this is how I've been trained from the manufacturers I've worked for in the past so I'm simply just passing on the information.

Never EVER. Some stupid Oregonian gas station attendant broke the float or sensor in the tank on my Fit from topping off. Now the needle reads way off and the car is puffing on fumes by the time it reads 1/4 tank and it dies completely shortly there after.

I know that it was caused by topping off because the needle was always very accurate until the first time my tank got topped off by this lady. It was on that very tank that I experienced running the car dry for the first time, looked down at my gas gauge in confusion as I was stalled out on the side of the road and it was reading barely a needle's width under the 1/4 mark.

I ALWAYS (like clockwork) stop at the click for the sake of consistent MPG calculations so I had never topped the car off before, and it was my first time going to Oregon so I didn't know that all the gas station attendants like to top off the tank in order to make easy change by going to the next whole dollar amount. What is with that? Apparently the moment I cross the border I'm an infant who is incapable of pumping his own gas? :mad0260:

I have since figured out that I need to tell the attendant "fill it only to the click, don't top it off" every time I get gas in Oregon, but ugh... talk about a rude welcome to your state. "Oh hi, welcome to Oregon. Here let me break your gas tank for you!" Definitely gave me a bad first impression of the state. :brokenheart:

Now THAT is a wise move .... :clap:



humfrz

Strange weird pointless thread really...just sayin..

Never.

I stop it at the first click.

Here's something from the EPA Site.

http://www.epa.gov/donttopoff/

So save yourself some money.

I just fill up the tank. I thought this poll was trying to see if people save weight by keeping less fuel in the tank, thus improving mileage/performance.

yo, fuck oregon gas station attendants!

Actually, looks like it's not so pointless. Seems like there's some good information being given here.

I didn't know the details on why it was a bad idea, but I've never done it anyway. I'm satisfied with the click.

I guess since we are on the subject: Credit Card or Cash??

I usually pay cash so I won't go over board.

Would you force your child to finish their food when they're already full?? My auto professor always told us it was a terrible idea to top off. The site of it is unappealing to me as well =/

I don't top off the tank in my cars but often do in my 4 Runner. For some reason the 4 Runner will cause the pump to turn off well short of a full tank. (About 3/4 of a gallon short) I've got 171,000 miles on the 4 Runner and have never had any problems with topping the tank off.

Also another thing to consider, especially in hot weather, is thermal expansion of the gas in your tank. Underground in the storage tank, the temperature of the gas is likely near 52 degrees. Once it is in your tank it will warm up to air temperature and gasoline will expand as it warms. This shouldn't be a problem if you continue to drive your car for awhile after your fill up. However, if you fill up and top off right before parking the car it could cause some of the problems others on this thread have talked about.

I used to, until I found out the extra gas is probably going right back into the stations tanks. In the long run that's a lot of wasted money.

One of my science teachers when I was in high school ( I went to a gifted school with great teachers so I actually trust this guy) told us then when you do that you are wasting your money since the eval system catches most of it and you don't get the extra fuel. IDK, he was a great teacher and was always on the money s I tend to trust this guy, even years later when I independently verified some stuff.

Lol i thought i was the only one who did that. Sometimes gets me strange looks from onlookers.

Nope never.. I like to keep light weight lol.. full tank= lower mpg=aka heavy.. but I have a heavy foot sometimes :bonk:

In my 20s topped off all the time but did not shake. Now in my 30s never top off but do shake the crap out of it. Nothing worst then to pull out and make a mess - no sexual pun intended!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I always top off to the nearest .x0 or .x5

In NJ it's not self serve so I've made it a point to get to know my local stations and their guys and I pump my own gas at any of the places in my town. If I'm paying by card, I don't go past the first click but if it's with cash the nearest $0.50 will do since the attendants don't like digging for change and they tend to go to the next whole dollar.

Always.

In some cars, if you stop fueling when the pump stops automatically, you'll wind up with a quarter-tank-full -- Porsches come to mind. If the pump's fuel flow rate is close to the tank's max fill rate, the sensor will trip prematurely. And of course, this also depends on the pump's design and settings.

In the BRZ, I can easily add another half gallon by "topping up" gently. That's about 15 more miles of gas station avoidance per tank and the "excess" fuel gets consumed in the next few minutes (SoCal...).

It specifically says to not do that. So I don't. Once it automatically kicks off I pull out. :lol:

I've gotta start doing this, but I'm all over the place so I don't have a "usual" gas station. 90% of attendants just let the gas cap drop on to the paint. You'd think they would have a tiny bit more respect for cars but none of them give a shit. I really don't see why pumping your own gas is literally against the law. At least give me the option.

I guess I'll just have to send the paint touch-up bill to Exxon Corporate :iono:

I'm with you, humfrz

I bet your car and your girlfriend appreciate that :bellyroll:

When on a road trip and trying to get max mileage, I will fill it up until I can see it sitting in the filler neck. Only problem was that when I had my G5 GT when I did that, I got the service engine light coming on for 40-50 miles. Because of breathers and fuel re-circulation plumbing, it forced gas (instead of vapors) through the re-circ circuit causing the light to come on.

Always stopped at the first click. I've seen people topping off and splashing fuel out. Not worth the risk. Then station attendants have to come out and clean up the spillage and also risks damaging the paint with the overspill

The progression:

In your 40's, you will focus on releasing the gas cap cover before you get out of the car.

In your 50's, you will focus on remembering to screw your gas cap back on.

In your 60's you will focus on remembering to take your gas card out of the machine.

In your 70's you will try to remember to take the filler hose out of tank before driving off.


humfrz

I'm 24, and I frequently forget that already. Is that a bad sign?

pcporo, I see you have been down those roads ...... :)

But ...... why are you driving in the "passing" lane ...... there won't be any cars for at least 100 miles ..... :happyanim:


humfrz

Well, yeeeees ..... :( ..... chrisl ....... in YOUR 50's, you will have forgotten why you pulled into the gas station .... :bonk:


humfrz