Fuel tank operating dynamics question
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,596
Likes: 37
From: Orange County CA
Fuel tank operating dynamics question
I am trying to better understand how weight / balance changes in the car as fuel level changes. With a full tank it seems obvious that the weight of the tanks on each side would be approximately equal. As fuel is burned off during a race does the fuel get used equally from each tank? Or is it taken from one tank first and then the other. Is there something that keeps the fuel level equal in both tanks?
Thanks for the help,
Charley
Thanks for the help,
Charley
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,226
Likes: 45
From: Castleton VA
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
Right tank drains first, then left.
The fuel pump in the left tank powers a jet pump in the right tank (actually just a jet-powered siphon) to transfer fuel from the right tank to the left.
So, even though the fuel pump is always taking fuel out of the left side tank to send up to the engine, the left side is constantly being refilled from the right tank until the right side is empty.
The fuel pump in the left tank powers a jet pump in the right tank (actually just a jet-powered siphon) to transfer fuel from the right tank to the left.
So, even though the fuel pump is always taking fuel out of the left side tank to send up to the engine, the left side is constantly being refilled from the right tank until the right side is empty.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,596
Likes: 37
From: Orange County CA
Right tank drains first, then left.
The fuel pump in the left tank powers a jet pump in the right tank (actually just a jet-powered siphon) to transfer fuel from the right tank to the left.
So, even though the fuel pump is always taking fuel out of the left side tank to send up to the engine, the left side is constantly being refilled from the right tank until the right side is empty.
The fuel pump in the left tank powers a jet pump in the right tank (actually just a jet-powered siphon) to transfer fuel from the right tank to the left.
So, even though the fuel pump is always taking fuel out of the left side tank to send up to the engine, the left side is constantly being refilled from the right tank until the right side is empty.
Thanks again,
Charley
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,058
Likes: 9,820
From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
Even though the right side goes to empty first I bet the left side is pretty close to empty when that happens so the balance isn't really affected that much.
Bill
Bill
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,502
Likes: 82
This link will help you understand how our fuel systems work...
http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/...el+Tank+System
Last edited by Motorhead-47; May 16, 2011 at 07:19 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,226
Likes: 45
From: Castleton VA
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
What's the basis for this?
EDIT -- There's no reason to believe that the tiny amount of fuel required to operate the car at anything but WOT is significantly draining the left tank, ceratinly not faster than the jet pump syphon is refilling it from the right tank (and the right-to left transfer is constantly occurring, even when the engine fuel demand is near zero (as when sitting at a red light idling). There's just no reason to believe that the right-side transfer/make-up isn't *way* ahead of the demand on the left side 99.9% of the time.
Conclusion: Left tank stays full until right tank is empty.
Last edited by mneblett; May 16, 2011 at 07:20 PM.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Pro
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 547
Likes: 3
From: Silicon Valley California
St. Jude Donor '09-'11
This seems like a strategic blunder in design.
If the left side (driver's side) tank remains full while the right side drains, and the driver is sitting by themself on the left side, the left side is always overweighted, except when fully filled or nearly empty.
Given that the fuel must first enter the reserve tank last in this design, I'd have been more than happy to walk to the other side of the car to fill up if that put the reserve tank on the driver's side and the primary tank on the right for better L/R balance.
If the left side (driver's side) tank remains full while the right side drains, and the driver is sitting by themself on the left side, the left side is always overweighted, except when fully filled or nearly empty.
Given that the fuel must first enter the reserve tank last in this design, I'd have been more than happy to walk to the other side of the car to fill up if that put the reserve tank on the driver's side and the primary tank on the right for better L/R balance.
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,502
Likes: 82
This seems like a strategic blunder in design.
If the left side (driver's side) tank remains full while the right side drains, and the driver is sitting by themself on the left side, the left side is always overweighted, except when fully filled or nearly empty.
Given that the fuel must first enter the reserve tank last in this design, I'd have been more than happy to walk to the other side of the car to fill up if that put the reserve tank on the driver's side and the primary tank on the right for better L/R balance.
If the left side (driver's side) tank remains full while the right side drains, and the driver is sitting by themself on the left side, the left side is always overweighted, except when fully filled or nearly empty.
Given that the fuel must first enter the reserve tank last in this design, I'd have been more than happy to walk to the other side of the car to fill up if that put the reserve tank on the driver's side and the primary tank on the right for better L/R balance.
