Fuel Range.. how far past zero can you go?

[swathdiver]

The shop manual should tell you all what the percentage and gallons of fuel remaining in the tank when the light goes on and off and how much fuel is on board at each position of the needle.

 

For example, the GMT900 1500 Suburban and Yukon XL have a 31.2 gallon fuel tank.  The light comes on between 11-17% and at about 3.8 gallons.  The light goes off 14-26% or 5.1 gallons 

 

In practice, when the light comes on it can easily take 26-27 gallons.  Most ever was 29.04 gallons.  Average fill is 21.04 gallons.

 

Full is 88-98% - 29.4-30.9 gallons

3/4 is 68-78% - 23.5 gallons

1/2 is 50-55% - 18 gallons

1/4 is 30-35% - 11 gallons

E is 0-13% - 0-4 gallons

 

So Wiggums, you want to know then how much fuel is left aboard when the light comes on and what kind of mpg you are getting at that time to calculate the distance.  Let's say you have 4 gallons left when the light comes on of which an unknown quantity is not usable.  Say it's two gallons and you're on the highway without a load you can probably go 40 miles before flaming out.  Same scenario while towing might not last 20 miles.

[Wiggums]

I travel 450 miles to Hermosillo in Mexico regularly. I'm always cutting it close when I get down there, I don't like filling up in the middle of the Mexican desert. Sometimes, cars play it safe and tell me it's zero while I actually have 50 more to go, sometimes zero is really zero. I never drove the Benz again because gas mileage sucked and there was no cushion. Quite a few times, I've been able to put in a couple gallons more than what the tank size is supposed to be. I thought other owners could be able to tell me what it's like.

[swathdiver]

16 minutes ago, Wiggums said:

I travel 450 miles to Hermosillo in Mexico regularly. I'm always cutting it close when I get down there, I don't like filling up in the middle of the Mexican desert. Sometimes, cars play it safe and tell me it's zero while I actually have 50 more to go, sometimes zero is really zero. I never drove the Benz again because gas mileage sucked and there was no cushion. Quite a few times, I've been able to put in a couple gallons more than what the tank size is supposed to be. I thought other owners could be able to tell me what it's like.

I don't think there are enough 2019 driver's on here with enough time in them to really know yet.  Get a couple of Wavian USA Jerry Cans and keep an extra 10 gallons on board.  They do not leak nor will they stink up the interior if you keep them inside the cab.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Wavian-USA-JC0020RVS-Authentic-System/dp/B011AJF0PE/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1V6O4PX0HQYK7&keywords=wavian+usa+jerry+cans&qid=1553932135&s=gateway&sprefix=wavian+u%2Caps%2C159&sr=8-2

 

If you buy one or more, be sure to get the real spouts, not the government ones they are forced to sell them with which are junk.

[Wiggums]

Just about all the jerry cans I've had stunk up the car so I gave up on that. I'll give this a shot, many thanks!

[gearheadesw]

I fill up like 2 to 3 times a week, put on a lot of miles, and run my truck down to less then a quarter of a tank continuously, never a problem with decades of this practice in any make truck. The fuel pump thing always makes me smile, do we think the fuel pump is just sitting there in the tank sitting straight up off the bottom? There's a recess the pump sits in, so unless you're on a steep angle, the fuel will always be surrounding the pump. So when you are running way low, the pump still is surrounded by fuel, not much, but enough to protect it from being run to the point of heat build up and failure.

But I have never run this truck out of fuel, so I have no idea how far past zero you can run.

[Daverado]

On 3/30/2019 at 3:34 AM, Wiggums said:

I never drove the Benz again because gas mileage sucked and there was no cushion.

Because there was no cushion?  That's part of your reasoning?

 

The "cushion" you are referring to doesn't make any difference in how much fuel goes in and how much comes out.  Your "cushion" is a mythical number generated by the computer.  You stopped driving a car because you didn't like its magic number?

 

The magic is consistent though.  If 0 is 0, then you gas gas before 0.  If 0 is -50, then you get gas before -50.  Get gas before you really run out.  What's the difference?  You're asking because you say its important to know, but you stop driving cars when you know and you don't like the answer?

 

SMH... and I don't know why because nothing this guy says should really be expected to make sense at this point.

 

[Wiggums]

I know you said something... I see this:

 

You've chosen to ignore content by Daverado

[CadillacLuke24]

This is why I love forums

 

I go off of Miles to Empty. It is disturbingly accurate. I've had times where I was within miles to the good of the Range saying I'd be bone dry, backed the speed down a bit, and made it no sweat. I try not to push it that far, but I generally go until the range reads LOW and then fill up. 

[Wiggums]

29 minutes ago, CadillacLuke24 said:

This is why I love forums

 

I go off of Miles to Empty. It is disturbingly accurate. I've had times where I was within miles to the good of the Range saying I'd be bone dry, backed the speed down a bit, and made it no sweat. I try not to push it that far, but I generally go until the range reads LOW and then fill up. 

It really varies among cars. Sometimes I do it out of necessity. My drive is unpredictable especially when it involves the Mexican border where the wait can range from 30 minutes to 4 hours and I am stuck there.

 

Some allow me to go 50 miles past 0, I can name a few examples. One was while in Belgium and I didn't know all the gas stations in the city were closed on Sundays. That was how I discovered the VW was very generous! I try to fill up when it hits 50 miles. Right now, I'm emptying my tank to fill it up with summer gasoline so I could see how many miles a gallon difference it would be. That was one of the reasons I asked here.

[steve841]

I ran mine down to low fuel ... then 25 miles was the last stated range.  I can confirm, it made it 24 miles.

 

Engine literally stalled pulling up to the pump.

[BigBlueLB756]

You can go until the engine says "chug, chug" and then gets really quiet.

[diyer2]

On 3/29/2019 at 6:36 AM, Silverado4x4 said:

Just plain dumb to let your tank run that low before filling up as the fuel pump in the tank relies on the fuel to keep the pump cool. Doing this will greatly reduce the life of the pump then people that do this will blame GM on putting in junk pumps. 

Not hear say IMO, fact.

The fuel also lubricates the pump, directly related to cooling it.

 

If you replace your vehicles every 3 or 4 years run it down if you can't find the time to fill it up.

 

I do fills at half a tank, or 1/4 when on the road.

 

When I was buying a fuel pump at the dealer for my 93 Silverado the service guy asked how many miles were on the truck. When I told him the mileage he replied you don't run your gas tank low do you.

 

Our Honda has a 105 K miles with the original fuel pump.

 

[lt1z]

I have run mine down far enough that the auto start/stop came back on even with the button turned off. I took that as a sign I had better stop right away lol

[garagerog]

Been an interesting and somewhat amusing thread so far, but with warming temperatures and the return of flying insects, it becomes a bit of a mute point to those that drive any miles on the highways or interstates. Florida has their lovebugs, Alaska claims the mosquito as their state bird and so on. When I brought my late father's K1500 out from Wa. state to SC in August of 2016 there were times where I was lucky to go 180-200 miles, down to about 5/8 of a tank when I was desperately searching for a gas station, to use their squeegee on my windshield, not for the gas, but of course I gassed up while I was at it. Especially in SD along I-90, they had some hummingbird sized bugs, at least they seemed that big,  it doesn't take many of those splattered on your windshield until visibility becomes a safety issue. BTW, SD is a beautiful state and a lot to see and do there.

[Wiggums]

3 hours ago, steve841 said:

I ran mine down to low fuel ... then 25 miles was the last stated range.  I can confirm, it made it 24 miles.

 

Engine literally stalled pulling up to the pump.

That's good to know! Looks like zero is zero then.