From the master of silly questions.
My '96 owners manual says the 'vette has a 20 gallon fuel tank. I have never even gotten close to getting near that much in the tank, even when I run it down to only one bar showing. I think the best I could ever squeeze in it was 18, and that was babying the last 2 gallons in, literally a spoonfull at a time. I'm not sure it's even possible to "top" one of these tanks off, is it?

What about any others? Had any luck getting better than 18 gallons in at one time?

Karl

 

same here!

 

Most I ever put in was 17.1 and that was after I was past the reserve where it said "Check Gauges" and the range said "LO"

 

I don't trust that range indicator. I found when traveling out to the west coast, that I can be averaging over 30 mpg for the first three to four hundred miles, and then encounter some hilly terrain and only be getting lower twenties.

Yet the range indicator is calculating the miles left to travel on the overall average of 30 mpg, which really now at 23 mpg is no longer valid and gives me a false sense of security in thinking I can actually travel further than I really can.

I know I was cruisin on nothing but fumes when I coasted into Bakersfield Cal after getting well over 500 miles on that tank of gas I put in at Flagstaff Ariz. The bar indicator was on empty but the range indicator said I could still travel another 100 miles. It was there that I could only manage to get 16.3 gal in the tank.

All I can figure is there must be one helluva air pocket in the tops of my fuel tank. Twenty gallon capacity...no way!

Karl

 

ya know, i would think you could reset the average mpg and the miles left would show for what you were getting right then.

 

:iagree: :confused: Maybe we're getting ripped off here. The most I've ever put in was 18 gallons. That was with ZERO miles remaining on the tripmeter, NO bars left on the guage, the reserve light blinding me, and the fuel pickup sucking air on hard left turns.

The float must be hitting the bottom of its travel (or contacts) before it bottoms out in the tank.

Sure beats my F*rd though.. I'm running a 12-gallon float in a 20 gallon tank. I've ran outta gas a few times with that setup.:crazy:

 

Going off on your question, here is mine. I have always thought my Instrument Cluster is not giving telling me the truth. I can drive 200 miles and the car will show that I have 3/4 tanks full. When I hit the 245 miles then it will tell me I have half a tank. Is this correct? Does it mean that I can drive over 400 miles before having to refill? I always get scared and fill up at 230 miles. I have an 87.




[Modified by My87, 1:44 PM 1/31/2003]

 

I've put in 19.2 gallons into my 92 LT1 auto. Must'a been running on fumes.

 

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Quote
"I have always thought my Instrument Cluster is not giving telling me the truth. I can drive 200 miles and the car will show that I have 3/4 tanks full. When I hit the 245 miles then it will tell me I have half a tank. Is this correct? Does it mean that I can drive over 400 miles before having to refill? I always get scared and fill up at 230 miles. I have an 87."
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If I fill the tank only to the point where the gas valve shuts off, the fuel used pretty much agrees with what you said.

But if I try to "top the tank off", by squeezing in a little bit more at a time, I can go 200 miles before the gauge gets off the full bar and 400 miles on a half tank. Now, you know I can't get no 800 miles out of that Corvette on a tank of gas.

It may be a 20 gallon tank, but it's my guess the designers only intended for the user to only put 17 or 18 gallons in at a time and that's what the bar gauge is calibrated for. Maybe it's to leave room for expansion or something like that.

I know it's not really important, but I was just curious if it was just my car, or is everybody's like that.

Karl

 

the light comes on with about 2.5 gallons left. you should be able to go another 40 miles or so after the light. the fuel pick up is just off the bottom of the tank so it wont suck the trash off the bottom. i ran my 72 out of gas and got the passenger to hold the fuel pick up down with a tire tool and we made it to a gas station. that will be harder with a c4 because the fill tube is smaller and you cant see in there.

 

I make many cross country trips in my vette thoughout the year. I have the infamous 84 x-fire setup, and I get about 400 miles at 25 mpg most of the time before I chicken out and get gas when the guage is at a 1/4. Sometimes after a 1/4 I can only go 40 miles, sometimes well over 100. :auto:


[Modified by flannel_man, 1:06 PM 1/31/2003]

 

Ok so I should not panic when I see I driven 200 miles and my vette says I have about half a tank?

 

As for the upsetting readings on the fuel level indication, I have been having the same problem. Last week, I drove three trips of 500 miles or more. If I fill the car up (letting the pump click off twice) then I can go about 250 miles before a bar drops of the indicator. At about 300 miles, a second bar disappears. At 350 or so, it loses another bar. By 380 or 390, I get nervous and head to the pumps. At this point, I was able to put 14.8 gallons. This shows 25.6 mpg of hard driving. At this rate, I should have had 133 miles to go. When I pulled into the station, I showed a quarter tank.
My theory is this:
The fuel indication is a "rate" indicator instead of a direct quantity gauge. In other words, the computer takes the average miles per gallon and does something unknown with it.
Basically, around town, with lower mpg, the indicator reads normally. On the highway, it estimates rate until empty instead of quantity.
Now, this is highly unlikely. It's too expensive and complicated.
I'm a pilot and airplane gauges are notoriously inaccurate. (By the FAA, they must only be accurate at zero.) So, we compute all our distances and fuel usages. So, that's what I've started doing in the Corvette. I just use my average mpg and go from there.

Now, a funny (embarrassing) story:
I had test-driven two Corvettes, the only ones I had been in. The third one, now my baby, was driving along nicely when it started surging and bucking. I decided it was time to head this piece-o-crap back to the dealer. (I wasn't used to the fuel gauge and since there were no bars, I didn't notice low fuel. There was also no low fuel light!!)
Anyway, as I turned it around, I figured out that it was definitely a low fuel or blocked fuel line issue, probably the former. So, I tried my best to continue to the gas station...no such luck. I go to this trailer, ask to use the phone and as I thank them and leave, the woman says, "Are them REALLLLLL leather pants?" I said yes and her eyes get wide as she asks, "Well, can I touch 'em?" :eek::confused:
Anyway, how big is the tank?? I put 19.8 gallons in the car.
I guess I've been of NO help, except to answer the tank size issue. Good day folks!!
Jaclyn

 

My understanding is that auto manufacturers allow the "full" indicator higher than the max capacity of the fuel tank. In addition, the "empty" indicator is a good bit above actual empty. These measures are to avoid customer disastisfaction when you run out of gas. SO, you would have to drive your car well below "empty" before you could get close to 20 gallons in the tank.

 

I have run mine down to the point of no bars and the reserve light coming on. I stopped in and got gas and put in 17.0 gallons. I was talking to a friend of mine that has a 94 and was telling him that I was surprised that I still had 3.0 gallons when the reserve light come on. He said that he has pushed it on a trip and found that when the bars are gone the reserve light comes on steady then when you keep going it will start flashing the next thing is your out of gas. I will take his word for it, I will stop before then :lol:

 

Them bars must be accurate because when mine gets to two bars, she'll generally take about 16 gal to fill back up. Looks like two gallons per bar is pretty accurate. :yesnod:

 

I guess, when it gets warmer, I'm just gonna have to carry a couple gallons of gas with me and purposely run it out of fuel and then see what it will actually take to fill.

I would really hate it if the pickup somehow allowed some crap to get all the way to my injectors though by running the tank dry. I would think GM still uses the "sock" filter at the tank and I've read there is an in-line filter somewhere before the injectors.

Thanks for all the input and ideas guys...at least now I know it just ain't me.

Karl

 

:iagree: Was thinking the same thing. We run with a gallon on the back and see how far I get. One thing for sure is on your question you put "Another Silly Question" I guess it wasn't silly after all. Thanks everyone. I will let you all know how it goes. I am going to do it this week.