Topping off the tank
 

After the fuel nozzle does its auto-shutoff thing, how much more fuel, if any, can you get into the tank?

1.3L

Oh my goodness 1.3L Don't put another drop in the tank after the nozzle shuts off the first time. The car has an overflow tank and you could put gas in there that will never be used. It does not flow in the gas tank once yours get low enough. That's what my service manager at the dealership said. I would need to look at the RX's service manual to verify that myself but they had not reason to lie so its best not to put in any more gas. Once the nozzle shuts off on mine the gas gage shows its full.

1.3L you have the front tag on your car in your state?

My previous car (Accord) would take 2 or 3 more auto-shutoff's of the nozzle. The first time I did that on the RX8 I had a nice little fuel spill. Now it's just a quick squirt to the nearest 5c after the first shutoff.

There is no overflow tank. Fill with gay abandon! The dealer has it wrong.

I struggle to get a quarter of a gallon in there after it's auto-shutoff.

Gomez.

Ok, then I need to see or someone on-line here in the club with a service manual needs to look at the gas tank and see if there is an overflow tank. I don't have any problems leaving the shut off alone since my gage shows the tank if full and the needle is a tad over the full mark. Why would the dealer service dept tell me that then? They just don't know much about RX's? This is a combo Ford/Mazda dealership. Different service departments but they use the same garage and same mechanics.

© 2003-2004 Mazda.

What am I looking at? :p

-Rupes

My dealer specifically told me NOT to overfill the tank and stop at the first click as things can "really get messed up" when I was discussing gas mileage calculation.
Didn't say what would get messed up but I have stopped at first click ever since....?

DO NOT FILL BEYOND THE AUTO-SHUTOFF. The dealer has it right, but for the wrong reasons. There is no overflow tank, but there is an evaporative emissions control system which can be damaged by over-filling the fuel tank system.

I did a bit of research into this some months ago, and wrote about it in this minor gas gauge question thread. Read down to my posts, I included links to articles about overfilling causing damage to the evap emissions system.

Regards,
Gordon

Nope. The RX-8 is smarter than the average bear, Yogi! It has a fuel shut-off valve in the line to the charcoal canister that closes during refueling, fuel sloshing or vehicle rollover. You can't get fuel into the charcoal canister. Refer Service Highlights manual page 01-16-11.

Fill with gay abandon ;) .

Regards, Gomez.

all you're doing is putting air in ur gas tank which messes up the mixing of gas. according to my friends... dotn know how credible they are but yah... just dont do it

Your car should have an "Overflow Tank" for coolant...but not for gasoline.

Saddle Bags :D

1.3L

Hi Tayninh,

Haven't received my plates yet, but when I do I plan to not install the front plate.

1.3L

Not to worry, I haven't tried that yet. The reason I asked the question is because my first tank resulted in 21.7 MPG for mixed driving and my second tank full dropped dramatically to 16 MPG (but that was almost completely city driving). It occurred to me that perhaps I didn't get the tank full on the second fill up.

I once owned a '91 Exploder that was very difficult to completely fill up. If I had the time and patience, I could get another 2 gallons into it. On the other hand, my '90 Nissan pickup is FULL when the auto-shutoff kicks in. It won't take another teaspoon full without overflowing onto the pavement.

1.3L

Get smarter friends. The gas stations they go to are selling compressed air? If anything other than carefully calibrated gasoline is coming out of the nozzle your state's department of standards and measures needs to be informed immediately.

The 8 has a very well designed fill system. When it clicks off the first time there is less than 1/10 of a gallon more that will fit.

Given the oddly shaped gas tank, I'm wondering if giving the vehicle a hearty rocking would allow a bit more fuel to be added once it seems "full". Sort of like burping a baby.... ? Haven't bothered to check it myself yet, but if I was in one of those "next gas 175 miles" places, an extra quart might be more important.

Have you tried to rock the 8?
 

you need to be Hercules to get it to rock! Damn!!! :eek:

Who Cares!!!!

so uh.... i cant pump my own gas

i live in nj where you cant pump your own gas. the attendants get really upset when i tell them to stop pumping when it clicks...i am moving to pa soon to help with my car insurance bill, so i wont have to worry anymore

More than once, I've had the gas pumps NOT click off, and had them overflow. This was at a Shell and at a Moble1 station. Since then I've been very careful and listen to the tank closely. I can usually hear as the tank reaches near full and stop.

lol!

w0rm where did you find that picture?

1.3L, I just got my plates last week and one of them mysteriously disappeared into the bowels of my trunk. So, that makes at least two of us here in So. Cal. with missing metal on the front of the car. A Corvette-driving buddy of mine did get a fix-it ticket last week and put his front plate on, but says it was only $10.

Oh, and just to stay on the subject of the thread, I wouldn't try to top off the tank.

About two mouth fulls after it shuts off the first time :D

I fill mine up as much as possible every time, to be more consistent with the MPG figures, and I can always get 1.1 gallons more in after the first auto shutoff.

This has been consistent across brands of pumps, different cities, etc. You do have to be pretty patient for the last couple of tenths, though.

i let the hose do the auto-shutoff last night while refueling and then proceeded to leave. after starting the car, i noticed my gas gauge was 1/4 less than full. ok, do the math. we virtually have a 16 gallon tank. half a tank would be approx 8 gals which would leave 4 gals for 1/4. (easy math done for symplicity) after driving for 5 miles, my gauge didn't increase, so i figured it was safe to believe it was not going to go up. i've known some cars to do this. anyway, i put another 3.6 gals in it after making another stop. i'm happy, the car is happy and the gas station is happy.

yamajj

I normally take note of how much goes in compared to how much "room" is showing on the gauge.

Man, I can't believe we burned two pages of thread on this lame-o topic!

I can't believe I actually read it too!

Note to self: Get head examined.

well its not really lame considering folks are confused by topping off the tank. Gas waisted, spill overs on the ground, overflow tank issues and on and on. Yep its amazing how a simple question keeps getting answers for days on end. 13L!!!! thanks for the question, sometimes this is more fun than the Lounge!! good grief!

Off topic as replied earlier:

I don't use my front liscense plate either. Although it is law in Ohio, it's not a moving violation and dosen't effect my liscense or insurance, it's just a fine. I'm exersizing my right of living in a free country and I'll just pay the fine if I get pulled over. Hasn't happened yet though since I picked her up in March.

Look Out
 

I always topped off the tank on my last car... this RX-8 puts gasoilene all over the pavement on the first attempt to top off. :eek: