Have you seen the light?

[Matt Knight]

After 6 years and 32K miles of ownership, I have finally seen the light.



This was on a 500 mile trip in the Columbia River Gorge and right before the light came on I was feeling like Kramer on the test drive.

The needle was well below the red mark when the light came on at 399.5 miles on the trip meter.

It took 15.8 gallons to fill her back up; there was still 2.7 gallons in the tank.

These cars are fantastic; I averaged 25.6 MPG while cruising at 70-75 with the AC on.

I would love to hear Primer's sharing their stories of how many miles they've squeezed out of a tank of gas.

 

[shawn110975]

I play that game on trips its fun and its always 5am and no open gas stations on the interstate LOL never ran out of gas yet knock on wood.

but your about as far I have gone with the needle though I know that when you look directly at the needle straight on I have gotten the needle to not touch the red paint. by a hair that was scary

 

[JD Cross]

On Aug 28 1998 I drove 412.6 miles from Vancouver BC to Portland OR and filled up in Portland with 17.2 gallons for 24.1 mpg.
Next biggest was Aug 6 99 and drove 325.6 miles and filled with 16.4 gallons driving through the Rockies, Vancouver to Edmonton AB.

 

[Blackhorse06]

LOL! I am so glad you posted this, I was thinking about it last night when I drove home. I was beginning to think that there was not a low fuel light in this car. I have let the tank run down a few times but never "saw" the light.

 

[docjohn]

funny thread title btw...http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/151700-Low-Fuel-Light?highlight=fuel+warning+light

 

[NSX9]

A couple of my mates, both in NSX's, did a run from Melbourne to Adelaide (Australia) in one tank full each. Its just over 700 km which is 435 miles and I don't think the low level lights came on. One was a original Type R with the shorter gearing as well. (but I suppose you could argue the R engine is slightly more efficient!) Its a fairly flat run with 1/2 the distance at 63 mph speed limit and 1/2 at 68 mph, both heavily enforced by the constabulary! And way toooo slow in a such a nice car. I often run mine down to the Fuel light comes on around town, not quite as game in the outback, it can be a long way between drinks.

 

[heySkippy]

I've seen the light, but very infrequently. Unlike the picture in the OP, my needle shows a clear gap between the "E" red line and the needle before it comes on. I'm pretty sure I'll need over 16 gallons once that light is on.

Looking at my spreadsheet, the emptiest my tank has ever been required 17.185 gallons to fill.

 

[Aluminsx]

It's good to see the light at least once so you know how much fuel you have left when you see it. I would not make a habit of it though. Lots of stuff on the bottom of the fuel tank (at least that's what my father used to tell me).

 

[heySkippy]

It's good to see the light at least once so you know how much fuel you have left when you see it. I would not make a habit of it though. Lots of stuff on the bottom of the fuel tank (at least that's what my father used to tell me).

That never made sense to me. The fuel pickup is at the bottom of the tank, so if there was crap down there what difference would it make if the tank was full or empty?

 

[Hapa88]

I think I see the light every time I turn on the car, but it goes off immediately. :smile:

 

[JLCoolman]

Plus you have fuel filters for a reason.

When I first bought my car, I drove it back from Miami to Valdosta/Georgia border without stopping or getting out of the car once for gas or restroom breaks. Pretty sure I hit over 460 miles on that trip.

The light was definitely on and i probably filled up 18.5 gallons.


A trip back from Chicago the car almost managed 28 mpg (27.8-9) and we weren't driving slow, especially in the mountains.

 

[Lamini]

i put in 410miles last week on the highway. I couldve easily done another 20+ as i was not even at the bottom line, light was not on. This is a little surprising as i never made it to 300miles/tank on my local daily commute!

 

[Honcho]

I'm lucky to get 300 for my stop and go commute (I VTEC a lot lol), but I hit 405 miles a few weeks ago after a trip to Cheyenne and back.

 

[blodi]

Only time I've ever seen the light was when I drained the tank to change the fuel pump out. Before that, I thought it didn't work!

 

[arista5]

not me, longest single drive was less than 100 miles :frown:

 

[Aluminsx]

That never made sense to me. The fuel pickup is at the bottom of the tank, so if there was crap down there what difference would it make if the tank was full or empty?

I agree with you but according to Consumer Reports there can be some harmful things that I didn't even think about:

Waiting until your gas tank is almost empty before a fill up can be pricey, could be dangerous and downright inconvenient. “While the cases are rare, there is real potential of a costly mechanical problem,” says Consumer Reports Auto Test Center shop supervisor and certified mechanic John Ibbotson.

The gasoline acts like a coolant for the electric fuel-pump motor, so when you run very low, this allows the pump to suck in air, which creates heat and can cause the fuel pump to wear prematurely and potentially fail. The repair could end up costing a couple hundred dollars to fix—much more than the $4.00/gallon fill up.

 

[docjohn]

not me, longest single drive was less than 100 miles :frown:

.....but I'm sure you have seen the light on you tow vehicle :wink:

 

[USAFguy22]

A rare occurrence, but I got just under 25mpg on my ctsc 91 (with full bolt ons and low boost pulley) averaging 70-75 mpg

 

[B2FiNiTY]

*ahem* 70-75 mph haha.

 

[Dynamic-uzed-auto]

I see the light often lately, I've been driving the hell pit the car this year. Great on gas btw

 

[heySkippy]

A rare occurrence, but I got just under 25mpg on my ctsc 91 (with full bolt ons and low boost pulley) averaging 70-75 mpg

I'm waiting for a full year to pass (happens in September) but preliminary results indicate my fuel economy went down about 5% when I put the CTSC on.

 

[Buddy]

There's a low fuel light?

 

[nsxot1c]

There's a low fuel light?

x2. I've owned my car 12 years and have never seen it.

 

[Matt Knight]

*ahem* 70-75 mph haha.

The speed limit was 65. Although I might have found myself doing 80 on some freshly paved sections:biggrin:.

Has anyone here managed to drive at 65 (or less) for an entire tank of gas? I don't think I could do it.

I don't drive many highway miles and frequently see 65 in second gear.

 

[Rope]

I used to get around 415 before it came on if I drove it nice on the streets and cruised at 80 on the freeway but since going to the 4.55 I now will get around 325-350 before it will come on.