Out of Gas
How far can you get on a tank of gas?
You know that when the little, red light showing that you’re out of gas on your car comes on, you have a couple miles before your car dies, right? Oh, well, I know none of my readers have ever let their tank get down that far, but, you know, theoretically. But, how far can you get?
Personally, I try never to get lower than 1/4 tank before I’m pointed at a gas station, but, well, with it being payday today, it occurred to me that, sometimes, people don’t have a choice! As cash-strapped as I’ve been over the years, sometimes, I’ve had to think about whether or not to drive someone and spend money on the gas. Thankfully, that’s not quite so true any more, but, I do worry about adding in some padding to my budget to allow for suddenly inflated gas prices.
Still, it is an interesting question, isn’t it?
When you’re down to that last little drop of gas, how far can you get before refueling?
Ponder no more! Instead, go to Tank On Empty, find your car, and find out. Or, at least, find out a fairly good estimate. And, of course, if you are one of those people who like to, or have to, push their luck, add your results to the site to help others!
(If you’re interested in specifics, check out how far a gas guzzler, the Crown Victoria, like I’m currently driving, does!)
I have driven my honda civic to the brink – but have never run it out of gas. I know it will go at least 40 miles because I drove it that far once. One of these days I’m going to put a gas can in the trunk and run it dry just to see how far it goes. According to the web site it should be able to go 44 miles on average, but some people have gone much further (some say 100 miles). The thing I’d like to know is how much gas does my tank really hold? I have put as much as 13 gallons in it – but like I said, I’ve never run out.
Comment by Cheri — 7/2/2011 @ 12:41 am
Cheri – Don’t Do That! Seriously, it could damage the car.
But, I have to admit, running out of gas like that is one of my several completely unreasonable fears which can be totally managed, but embarrasses me anyway. Also? It is kind of a fun website, I thought. Proof, in a way, that you can find any bit of information on the Internet, somewhere!
Comment by the Network Geek — 7/2/2011 @ 5:40 am
Cheri, the geek is right. Modern fuel injected cars have the pumps submerged in tank, and use fuel to cool the fuel pump. As you get below 1/4 tank, the pump is no longer submerged in fuel, and has no way of cooling itself. Oftentimes you see people who “Just put in 10 bucks” burn up a fuel pump, which costs anywhere between 500-1500 bucks to repair, depending on the vehicle.
Comment by Wes — 7/3/2011 @ 7:57 am