[Travel] When do you top up the fuel in your car?

[swindonseagull]

If on 1/2 tank will top up to full whenever I pass a supermarket/applegreen filling station

 

[Lindfield by the Pond]

When it gets to about half empty.

I don't trust the supply chain these days, dating right back to the fuel tanker strike twenty years ago.

I also reserve the right to be paranoid.

My brother went to Blackpool and back on a tank of fumes during that strike, as he was the only one with fuel in the tank. 56mph all the way home.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Once a week

 

[Since1982]

I drive a Mazda RX8, so pretty much every time I touch the accelerator.

 

[spongy]

My petrol light comes on when 50 miles left according the gauge and trip computer.

Since I've gone from 80 miles a month driving to 30 miles a day I've been watching my consumption a lot more carefully.

My car does 30mpg if I'm VERY careful and drive like my mum as its rather juicy and recently played petrol station roulette.

Bottled it at 4 miles to empty knowing it was 5 miles to the petrol station on my route.

Car has a 55 litre tank and managed to squeeze 49 litres into it.

So I actually had 6 litres to play with. So maybe 38 miles until I actually ran out despite what the trip computer said.

Having the needle below the empty line is never a good thing for the heart though. I'm trying to trust the modern technology rather than the old fashioned gauge.

 

[Icy Gull]

I once ran out of fuel in the pyrenees with the gauge showing 1/4 full. Since then I very seldom go below 1/3. I have NEVER filled up at a Supermarket petrol station either

 

[spongy]

I drive a Mazda RX8, so pretty much every time I touch the accelerator.

I drive a tuned Focus ST at 300bhp so same. Now its my daily commuter my driving style has completely changed. Into 6th gear ASAP.

But the extra power and torque helps keep revs down though as i can use higher gears for slow driving.

When I use the Mrs 1.5 diesel BMax I now don't criticise her for having to change down a gear to get up a relatively shallow hill.

 

[Since1982]

I drive a tuned Focus ST at 300bhp so same.

Nice. Fancy one of those.

 

[spongy]

Nice. Fancy one of those.

Mines an older 06 plate. Bought it back in late 2013. Then a month later the Mrs got pregnant. So very glad that after owning 3 two door coupes in a row I wanted a 4 door!

As standard the car has 225bhp (I think the rx8 had 228bhp?) My mate had one and we had a comparison evening. He was certainly quicker in the twisty stuff but I was quicker in a straight line.

The RX8 handles better being lower but the Focus is more comfortable to drive and much more user friendly, especially as its now a family car. But since I upgraded a lot of the engine (induction, intercooler, pipework, re map etc) the ST is the much better car than the RX8 in my opinion..... its much easier to get a 6 year old and also a 19 month old into the rear car seat in a Focus and there's also a boot big enough for all the crap that having young kids involves too.

 

[jackanada]

My first car had two problems.
Firstly the fuel guage didn't work at all.
Secondly it had a pinhole somewhere near the top of the tank, so if you filled it up you'd just spray several litres of petrol over the road.
I was the rain man of refuelling roulette with that car. Managed a few months without either spilling fuel or running out until finally conked out as I pulled off the A27 and glided to a halt 6 feet short of a pump.

 

[upthealbion1970]

Always when the light comes on and brim it with v power diesel, never supermarket rubbish. 140000 mile mondeo diesel with a remap and egr delete. Recently had a leak off test done on my injectors and all perfectly fine. Also stick a Liqui Moly diesel cleaner through it once a year. 4 1/2 years and 45000 miles with no injector problems at all.

Egr valves are a more common problem than injectors but that’s a whole other discussion

 

[bhafc99]

I drive a Mazda RX8, so pretty much every time I touch the accelerator.

How do you find the time to put petrol in? Surely you’re too busy topping up the oil?

All joking aside, fantastic car. Had one for about three years, loved it.


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[BadFish]

After the light has been on for a while and I doubt that I can make my next journey without running out.

or

When I fancy a bag of crisps or a snickers bar.

 

[KeegansHairPiece]

Always when the light comes on and brim it with v power diesel, never supermarket rubbish. 140000 mile mondeo diesel with a remap and egr delete. Recently had a leak off test done on my injectors and all perfectly fine. Also stick a Liqui Moly diesel cleaner through it once a year. 4 1/2 years and 45000 miles with no injector problems at all.

Egr valves are a more common problem than injectors but that’s a whole other discussion

Is it the Liqui Moly Super Diesel Additive?

Ford SMax diesel here, 85k miles, 11 years old, supermarket rubbish only, regularly serviced on schedule no problems to date (other when missus filled it with petrol...). Going to keep her running until kids no longer need running about (car not the missus) and hopefully more choice on electric. So happy to get a preventative additive.

 

[Since1982]

Mines an older 06 plate. Bought it back in late 2013. Then a month later the Mrs got pregnant. So very glad that after owning 3 two door coupes in a row I wanted a 4 door!

As standard the car has 225bhp (I think the rx8 had 228bhp?) My mate had one and we had a comparison evening. He was certainly quicker in the twisty stuff but I was quicker in a straight line.

The RX8 handles better being lower but the Focus is more comfortable to drive and much more user friendly, especially as its now a family car. But since I upgraded a lot of the engine (induction, intercooler, pipework, re map etc) the ST is the much better car than the RX8 in my opinion..... its much easier to get a 6 year old and also a 19 month old into the rear car seat in a Focus and there's also a boot big enough for all the crap that having young kids involves too.

Sounds about right, an RX8 will always win in the corners but doesn’t have the straight line speed. Mine is a late mid life crisis / hobby car so no worries about kids. I can though get two bass guitars, amps, assorted other gear plus one passenger in when gigging (as I remember from the distant past!)

 

[Since1982]

How do you find the time to put petrol in? Surely you’re too busy topping up the oil?

All joking aside, fantastic car. Had one for about three years, loved it.


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At least partially true! Or just doing an oil change. Mine gets one every three months.

 

[mikeyjh]

When it gets down toward 1/4 full - We're about an hour from any petrol station open after 6pm so it's better to be safe.... That said, I have just realised I've normally got a 5l can on site as backup, good thread!

 

[Worried Man Blues]

Quarter tank since the car is so old I can't be reliant the flap will open so i need enough petrol to get back to my garage to fix it!

 

[Elbow750]

I've only got a small one ( petrol tank!) so mostly when the low light comes on, unless I'm driving past a decent priced petrol station when getting low. Or of course I'll fill up if going on a long journey. Remember those those??

 

[Elbow750]

Quarter tank since the car is so old I can't be reliant the flap will open so i need enough petrol to get back to my garage to fix it!

I once had a Cortine which read fuel full for ages before it started to go down. Then at about a quarter full it dived down to empty within 20 miles. Caught me out a couple of times, and of course no low level fuel lights in those days.