On Thu, 4 Sep 2014 19:26:12 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

wrote:
On Thu, 4 Sep 2014 08:32:05 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:

Moe DeLoughan wrote:

Back when I was a young 'un, I drove an old beater with an
unreliable gas gauge. I got in the habit of setting the trip
odometer every time I filled up and noting the miles I'd used on
that tankful. I knew when I'd put about 250 miles on, it was
getting close to time to fill the tank. It's now a habit. I never
look at the gas gauge, I check my trip odometer.

The gas guage causes me to look at the trip odometer. That decides
if It's time to get gas. The trip odometer is a way more accurate
indicator of how much gas is in the tank.

Unless you left the vehicle idle, or it sprung a leak, or someone used
a "mexican credit card", or your brakes started to drag, or you pulled
a heavy load or had heand - all of which will cause the vehicle to run
out of gas sooner than the odo would indicate.

I don't do the first few thing, and if I'm driving with unusual loads, I'm smart
enough to compensate. I'm not trying to use every last drop in the tank either.
The fact is that in my experience, gfas gauges are very inaccurate and
non-linear.

s are not made to be "accurate" or "Linear". They are simply a fuel
level indicator. They are GENERALLY very repeatable. I have never,
personally, owned a car that the fuel guage would read too low one
time and too high the next, and I've only had one that would
effectively run out of gas before the guage showed empty - and on that
one (1995 Pontiac TransSport) it wasn't a guage issue. If I hit rough
road (washboad) with lessr than 1/4 tank the bottom of the plastic
tank would shake so much the fuel pickup sucked air, and the engine
ran out of gas. Bleed the air out of the injector rail, and it would
start right up and go another 70km or more on smooth roads.
Most cars are set up to turn on the low fuel warning with a 20 mile or
30km "reserve". I had one that when it said empty it WAS empty, and
one that would go 100km after the guage stopped moving below empty -
but both were CONSISTENT that way.

I DO zero my ODO at every fillup - and I DO watch the trip meter - but
I watch the fuel guage to determine when I need fuel. My Ranger can
give me 15MPG, or it can give me 27MPG - and that is a BIG difference
in the number of miles I get on a tank!!!!!

Same with the Taurus. 22-34MPG depending on road conditions, fuel,
speed, temperature etc, all on the same trip (3000 miles) over a 2
week period.