My car has not one but TWO trip odometers and I reset “A” each time I fill up. When the gas light blinks on I reset “B,” and if I’m just going normal work-day commutes I can get at least 45-50 more miles, which is about another three days of driving. If I’m on a road trip I try to combine stops so I’ll go ahead and refuel if we’re stopping for something else, as long as we didn’t just get gas an hour ago or something. The only “right” strategy is what works for you.
I use the two bar rule, and then I divert my way home slightly to pass my favorite gas station. (Which sometimes is time neutral when the freeway is extra crowded.)
My roommate in college and his dad played chicken with gas, trying to get the tank as empty as possible so the other person had to buy. My father, on the other hand, gave me a gas credit card (this was a long time ago) since he hated the car to be low on gas.
When I travel it depends on how far apart the exits are. When was coming back from Disney a week ago I got gas before the Grapevine, because there was a brush fire and a big backup, and I didn’t want to worry. Then I got more when I had lunch, since the gas station was so convenient.
I do more or less what you do. I drive until I get a warning. That warning is about 30 miles before it claims it’s empty, but I can go another 30 miles or so past that. Usually I plan out how I’ll fill up once it hits empty, whether it’s most convenient to do it right away or perhaps when out doing other things. Sometimes I’ll fill up before that, but that’s usually only if I know I’ll be going by a particularly cheap gas station and I’m low enough that it’s worth my time.
This is silly for a few reasons. First, the savings aren’t that much. Assuming even use, you either average half a tank of gas or a quarter tank of gas. For a 1 gallon tank, that’s a 4-gallon difference. Gas weighs about 6 lbs per gallon, so, 4 gallons is about 22.5 lbs. The average car weighs 4079 lbs, so that’s 0.55% increase in mass of the car, on average. Using some other numbers I found in Google, that works our to a fraction of a penny per gallon. So, the money savings are basically lost in rounding error.
Second, you’re effectively doubling your visits to the gas station. Sure, you spend less time at the pump each time you fill up, but you still have the time and hassle of it. I dunno how much I’d need to save to be worth that, but certainly far more than a fraction of a penny.
Get over it. Unless you change your driving habits, you’re still spending the same amount, but now instead of paying a certain amount less often, you’re spending less more often. But now you’re wasting your time too because you’re stopping more often.
It depends on how much you’re saving. I used to know someone that would drive to the cheapest gas station in the area to fill up, it was like $.15/gal cheaper. The problem was, it would take 10-15 min to get there and that much back, plus the cost of the fuel for that. Once you factor in the fuel cost, she was basically spending 30 minutes to save about 50 cents. Totally not worth it.
That said, if I were going by there, I’d fill up if I was missing enough gas to make it worth the time to stop, for me, usually less than half a tank.
If you can make it convenient because of errands, by all means. For my last job, I did something similar, because I could get a little over a week on a tank, so I’d just fill up and do my grocery shopping on a certain day. If I missed it, it might fall on a day where time was limited and get annoying. Unfortunately now I can’t make it a week anymore, so I just have to fill up when I can.
What? I certainly have known people who didn’t like to go below half a tank, partially for that reason, but also to avoid evaporation. But, really, if I’m in a situation where I’m going to need a lot of gas, barring the apocalypse, I can allot enough time to fill up. Sure, once electric cars become more of a thing you can be sure I’ll plug it in every chance I get, but with gas, not worth the time.
I have heard some advice that seems to make sense but haven’t verified, like the aforementioned keeping the tank high to avoid evaporation, or filling up early in the morning so it’s cooler so the gas is slightly dense and thus you get slightly more for the same price. Even still, I’m inclined to think most of those types of schemes result in similar fractions of a penny.
Really, if range or money is the big concern, you’ll see MUCH better results with changes in your driving technique, slower stopping and starting, keeping your tires properly inflated, etc.
Most of the time I wait until almost empty, then fill it up. 95% of everywhere I drive is within a six mile radius of my house. I can wait until the light comes on and still fill it up the next day, though I usually don’t wait that long. In winter, however, I try to keep it above half because of the whole slide off the road and have to keep the engine running to avoid freezing to death until help arrives thing.
I drive for a living (sort of), and the gas is on the company dime (even my private fuel is paid for on the fuel card, and then I pay a rate per mile I drive.). As such, I try to minimise time spent in the fuel station, so I fill up to the brim and let it drop down as low as I dare.
I’d imagine that amount of savings gets lost in the noise of variable gas prices in the first place.
Yes. For example, a 2012 Ford Fiesta has a 12 gallon tank and a 2012 Ford Fusion has a 16.6 to 17.5 gallon tank.
My 2008 Saturn Vue has a 17-19 gallon tank.
My strategy is price based. I fill up when I’m traveling through an area where I know gas prices are cheap.
Like Gatopescado, I have an expendable discount. (Mine is at a conveniently located grocery store, so I don’t have to go out of my way to use it.) It makes sense to buy as much gas as I conveniently can under that discount, so in the normal course, I wait until the tank is nearly empty, then fill it full.
On road trips, I keep rough mental track of what towns are ahead of me, how far, and what fuel options are likely to be available there. (Phone apps have made this easier.) I start prioritizing it at about half a tank, unless I know there’s a really long empty stretch coming up, so I can choose a good combination of price and accessibility.
The fuel at gas stations is almost invariably stored underground, in my experience. That should limit changes to its temperature.
I let the light come on then fill it up. The fuel computer says it’ll do about 140 km once the light comes on (diesel) but if you let it get down to about 70 km to go the display goes blank which makes me nervous. I try and fill up before that happens. It does about 900 km between fills.
I set the trip meter when I fill the tank and drive at least 350 miles. If the light hasn’t come on yet I’ll drive until it does, then fill the tank, usually within 20 miles. I can get 40 miles after the light comes on.
I prefer to fill up when it hits half a tank, because Be Prepared.
However, my gas rewards card gives me bigger rewards if I consistently put in more than 8 gallons at each fill-up, which means I have to let it get just below half-full.
Luckily, given my normal driving schedule, I burn off slightly more than 8 gallons every 4 days.
So I fill up every four days. If I really wanted to get the most from my system, I should let it get as close to empty as possible on the fill-up that gets me my largest discount per gallon, but that is too much math.
I have a dual-fuel car, and alternate which fuel I use each time I fill up. And I refill each one when they get to 1/4 of a tank. So, one week I’ll start off with a full tank of gas and a 1/4 tank of petrol, and the next week it will be a full tank of petrol and a 1/4 tank of gas.
I must say, I’d rather run the gas more as it is less than half the price of petrol @ app $ 0.50 (AUD) per litre at the moment.
Fill until low fuel light comes on. Then fill again. Simple. I’ve never run out of gas in my life, but when the "low fuel"light comes on on my car (Mazda 3), I still have plenty of gas (I would guess at least 50 miles, and these owners anecdotes seem to confirm) to go. I’ve never tested it to the limit, though. My tank is 13.2 gallons, and when the light comes on, a fill-up usually is around 10.5 gallons. Typically, I believe it’s 1-2 gallons for when the fuel light goes on.
I get 8 gallons every 2,300 miles. So, about once every two months. (Chevy Volt)
i do, however, have to plug in every night in my garage.
I wait for it to be just above the red zone, then fill it up.
It’s even more complicated when you live in a winter plagued location.
In the summer I typically fill up when it gets around 1/4 tank, but in the winter I try to not let it go below half. Not because I might get stuck in the snow - no, it’s because I might have to fill up in the bitterly cold wind and snow. When the weather is horrid I’ll let the gas dip lower instead of standing outside freezing. This of course makes long weeks of frigid weather particularly unfriendly.
We live in an extremely high probability earthquake zone in the PNW. It’s been way too long since the last 9+ seismic event. Having been through a 9.0 quake, I’m a firm believer in keeping the car gas tank at least half full, and the RV tank completely full, since it has an on board generator. Anyone living in disaster-prone areas like the Gulf Coast would be smart to do the same.
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I must say, I’d rather run the gas more as it is less than half the price of petrol @ app $ 0.50 (AUD) per litre at the moment.
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I’ve only heard of “petrol” being a synonym for “gas” so what’s the difference between the two in Australia?