iamdub
Full Access Member
This is why pumps have been in their own bucket for the past 25 years or so.
Ran out of gas! 2008 LTZ
- Thread starter ridewot
- Start date
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This is why pumps have been in their own bucket for the past 25 years or so.
iamdub
Full Access Member
Word.
I've been running E85 exclusively for a few months now. Pretty much ever since I switched to the physical alcohol sensor. It stays so cheap here. Was $1.95 at one station a few weeks ago but it's been hovering around the $2.05-$2.45ish range lately. Here, as long as it's at least 27% cheaper than premium (cuz it's actually ~E65ish), it's a win.
if you run out of gas with the volts bigger bro the Tahoe hybird you would never even be able to get it started again..
seriously the vehicle self bricks when it runs out of gas...
but Prius’s don’t ever run outta gas… like ever..
me too! My inner nerd shines hard when I start explaining to people that if you multiply the cost of premium by 0.30, then subtract the product from the initial premium cost, and ensuring the difference is greater than the cost of E85. It's not just cost-effective; there's a potential 20% boost in engine performance!
iamdub
Full Access Member
I wouldn't say 20% boost in performance, not in this platform. With a boosted and tuned car, quite possibly. Still, in our rigs, it's something. I can never remember the specs that GM outlines, but I think it's something like +6HP and +13TQ. E85 compared to regular/87 is a loss due to the decreased fuel mileage, unless you have really expensive regular gas. I have to have high octane whether it be 91/93 or E85, so it's pretty much always a win with the cost. The extra performance is just icing on the cake. Hell, when my 5.3 was all original it ran better on 91+.
I was over exaggerating a bit in my nerdy rant, your numbers sound much more accurate. Having a 6.2 with a mild cam I’m also in the 92+ or E85 predicament, and more often then not E85 is usually the best bang for the buck (pun intended.) I last filled up for 2.20ish/gal at one of the few stations in my city that always has the best prices, some stations around here are asking nearly the same amount as 87…
iamdub
Full Access Member
It's not exaggerating if referring to a modded boosted car. The Ecoboost 4-banger Muffstain, in factory form and on 93 octane, gains something like 35 HP over what it does on 87. Modded and tuned on E85 could easily scale these figures up for 20%+ gains.
Marky Dissod
Full Access Member
When it ran out, where you on level ground, or was the vehicle tilted?
Haven't 'ran out' in over 20 years by using this advice, nevermind vehicle make & model, on 3 continents:
If it says you have under 1/4 tank left, you better already be pulling into the gas station.
intheburbs
Full Access Member
Advice? Yeah, don't accept the range number as gospel. Worst my Suburban did to me is run out with it showing 81 miles to empty. Now, granted, I had already driven 586 miles on the one tankful, and if I took the time to do the math (15 mpg x 39 gallons = 585 miles) I would've realized the range readout was wrong.
I've stopped using that readout entirely. What I have found to be extremely accurate is the FUEL USED reading. That's always within a tenth of a gallon or two when I fill up. It just took a little while to get in the habit of resetting it at every fill-up.
OK, a couple things just to add to this,
1.) As we might know, electric fuel pumps in the tank cell itself have pretty much been the standard for most vehicles for the past few decades. Electric fuel pumps need fuel to keep them cool, as in the pump itself needs to be submerged in fuel. In theory low fuel levels are detrimental for electric fuel pumps for two reasons. For one, the lack of fuel as a “coolant” if you will, will cause the pump to get hotter than normal. For two when fuel is VERY low the pump is now sucking in junk and debris that normally would probably not find its way into your fuel system otherwise. For those of us not fortunate enough to top off the tank to full twice a week, we live with the guilty conscious of knowing we are possibly causing premature damage to our fuel systems (ie: the pump itself, but possibly other components too). It is what it is. *IF* you can, always keep the tank as full as possible, preferably above 1/2 tank. I understand that this isn’t always practical for most people.
2.) I agree with the aforementioned posts that it’s probably not a good idea to take the display readout of how many miles to empty as gospel.
That being said, I’ve never heard of such high mileage estimations given by the computer while actually having basically empty tank as I’ve read in this thread. I’m wondering if this isn’t a GM thing.
I had an F250 that was issued to me as a company vehicle. I was the original driver of it since new. One day I had to make a 400+ mile round trip, I filled the truck up to completely full before getting on the interstate. I kept the truck in eCo mode for the majority of the trip. A/C on full blast the whole time, maybe about 10 mph over the speed limit for most of the trip. I was keeping my eye on the miles to empty display and it had gotten down to 10 miles to empty by the time I made it back to the city limits. I ran into some rush hour traffic and even though the gas station was only a mile and a half away, by the time I made it, the display read 2 miles until empty. I was impressed I managed to make it and thankfully never ran out of fuel.
With my newly acquired 2018 PPV, on the road trip back home the needle was getting very low. We were in a gas station desert and literally within seconds of the gas pump light coming on, an exit sign appeared for gas stations coming up. I’m glad I didn’t see this thread beforehand, because I probably would have been extra paranoid about running out of gas !
Anyways.. You can always just average out your typical MPG x fuel tank capacity to have a secondary idea of how much longer you can actually go regardless of what the display says. For example if you average 15 MPG, and have a 26 gallon tank, then a typical range would be 390 miles. 15 x 26 = 390. Of course that’s not entirely accurate either with many variables on the MPG side, but gives you a general idea.
1.) As we might know, electric fuel pumps in the tank cell itself have pretty much been the standard for most vehicles for the past few decades. Electric fuel pumps need fuel to keep them cool, as in the pump itself needs to be submerged in fuel. In theory low fuel levels are detrimental for electric fuel pumps for two reasons. For one, the lack of fuel as a “coolant” if you will, will cause the pump to get hotter than normal. For two when fuel is VERY low the pump is now sucking in junk and debris that normally would probably not find its way into your fuel system otherwise. For those of us not fortunate enough to top off the tank to full twice a week, we live with the guilty conscious of knowing we are possibly causing premature damage to our fuel systems (ie: the pump itself, but possibly other components too). It is what it is. *IF* you can, always keep the tank as full as possible, preferably above 1/2 tank. I understand that this isn’t always practical for most people.
2.) I agree with the aforementioned posts that it’s probably not a good idea to take the display readout of how many miles to empty as gospel.
That being said, I’ve never heard of such high mileage estimations given by the computer while actually having basically empty tank as I’ve read in this thread. I’m wondering if this isn’t a GM thing.
I had an F250 that was issued to me as a company vehicle. I was the original driver of it since new. One day I had to make a 400+ mile round trip, I filled the truck up to completely full before getting on the interstate. I kept the truck in eCo mode for the majority of the trip. A/C on full blast the whole time, maybe about 10 mph over the speed limit for most of the trip. I was keeping my eye on the miles to empty display and it had gotten down to 10 miles to empty by the time I made it back to the city limits. I ran into some rush hour traffic and even though the gas station was only a mile and a half away, by the time I made it, the display read 2 miles until empty. I was impressed I managed to make it and thankfully never ran out of fuel.
With my newly acquired 2018 PPV, on the road trip back home the needle was getting very low. We were in a gas station desert and literally within seconds of the gas pump light coming on, an exit sign appeared for gas stations coming up. I’m glad I didn’t see this thread beforehand, because I probably would have been extra paranoid about running out of gas !
Anyways.. You can always just average out your typical MPG x fuel tank capacity to have a secondary idea of how much longer you can actually go regardless of what the display says. For example if you average 15 MPG, and have a 26 gallon tank, then a typical range would be 390 miles. 15 x 26 = 390. Of course that’s not entirely accurate either with many variables on the MPG side, but gives you a general idea.
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It’s come up a few times here but not often so it doesn’t seem to be a systemic problem with these. That said, when it has come up, replacing the fuel pump (has the fuel sender on it) was usually the solution.
I had this happen to me on a 2007 Land Rover LR3. Gauge showed 1/4 tank left and the engine quit on the highway in Denver. Barely got off the highway, called AAA for a tow, and the guy came with a gas can just in case. Put a gallon in and we were back on the road. New fuel pump fixed it there, too.
Another tidbit of fuel gauge info for you
Your model is known to have the fuel tank pickup tower the rear, so if find yourself parking downhill with less than 1/4 tank on the gauge, it won’t start. I experienced it twice! I learned after the first time, but tee making tee time was more important than fuel stop.
Your model is known to have the fuel tank pickup tower the rear, so if find yourself parking downhill with less than 1/4 tank on the gauge, it won’t start. I experienced it twice! I learned after the first time, but tee making tee time was more important than fuel stop.
Marky Dissod
Full Access Member
If you intend to keep your vehicle for 'the long haul', seriously consider buying a replacement fuel pump now. They won't get any cheaper.
YES. I have experienced this. Not the no-start, but the fuel gauge being off depending on how I park. Our driveway slopes away from the house at about a 7% grade. If I pull straight in when my tank is low and leave it parked for a while, when I start it again I gain between 1/8 and 1/4 tank of fuel on the gauge, which then takes several miles of driving to slowly correct. The opposite is true when I back in.
