I want to determine just how many miles on average our 8's can drive once the light comes on before you are truly empty. I am assuming that since I got to 265 miles the last time (before my mods), filled up (12.9 gallons) and had 3 gallons left in the tank, that I probably had another 30-35 miles maybe.

What has everyone else been getting?

 

Do a search Izzy. There is a recent, lengthy thread that discusses this very thing.

 

are you saying that you get less milage the lower your fuel level gets?

 

it would apear so, 265 miles on 12.9 gal is about 20mph, and with 3 gals left you should get about 60 more likes out of the tank (if you continue to drive the same way).

I notice im my car that when the it gets to E i still have a bit left in the tank, so it might be more like 40 miles for him from light>E, cause no one wants to run the car all the way down to nothing.

I do notice the while my gauge stays very even as it drops (about the same miles for each 1/4 tank) it does get more 'sensitive' as it gets lower. I notice that when im at the point where the light is about to come on, if I accel fast, or go up a hill i can get the light to come on for just a sec till I return to a cruise or flat surface, also right after it has come on if I brake hard or go down a hill it will go off. interesting.

I personaly love the fuel gauge in this car, best ive ever had (this is the 3rd car ive owned, but only one of many ive driven)

here is another thread with similar topic, some of the post also awners the question about when the light comes on : https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/ode-my-fuel-gauge-68955/

 

Mine comes on when im about to run out of gas. However, it rarely comes on because I fill at 3/4.

 

Of course, everyone knows that.

 

apparently not everyone knows that or he wouldnt have asked. please explain why mielage would go down. one would think that since you have less fuel in the car the car weighs less so your mileage should increase.

see not disagreeing with everything you say. just trying to educate myself.

 

I think he/she is saying that with fewer gallons of fuel in the tank, the less distance you can travel (than if you had a full tank, e.g.,). He can't be referring to less MPG. Can he/she?

 

You just like disagreeing with her, admit it :D :p

 

I'm not referring to less gas mileage when closer to E. I was implying that I could have pushed the car close to 300 miles before I would have been scared that I would have the engine stop. That's not to say that 3 gallons of gas left and 265 miles so far would mean it would go over 300 miles, just I didn't want to push it.

I just wanted to know how many gallons are left in the tank once the light comes on so I can determine how long I have left before the E in my gauge turns to W = Walk.

Looking at the other thread - https://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php...54&postcount=6 it seems that if the light comes on between 245-265 (seems average) then I have roughly 30-35 miles left before I am in trouble. So it's probably safe to assume that at 280 miles I better find a gas station soon. I am going to try this on my current tank and see how many gallons it takes to fill-up when I hit 280 miles. I would have tried it earlier as I just hit 250 miles and was just below 1/4 tank, but the wife took the car out last night for the first time and decided to fill it up for me. Thoughtful but screwed up my theory... oh well.

 

my experience is that the actual level is highly inconsistent

 

my experience has been that the light always comes on at about 13 gallons used. i guage this from the fact that after the light comes on and i go tothe stastion i usually fill up with 13.5 gallons. i have gone 340 miles and filled with 14 gallons after travelling for 20- 30 miles with the light one. so mine at least is pretty consistent

 

why isnt anyone else questioning statements like that?

 

I just let it go :D

 

howdoes that help her learn?

 

She seems to know alot already!

 

yes exactly . i agree . i dont mean to imply she doesnt. her post about etanol was ver helpful.


but anybody that makes statements like the one here or like " brake squeal is usually caused by low brake fluid" should be called on to explain them. if you or i made them several of the more knowledgeable folks on here would set us straight.

 

You're getting 24 mpg??? Damn. Or did you mean *240* miles?

My light is on at around 230-250 miles... and it takes 13 gallons or so at the time.

 

yes on all highway trips i get 23-25. 2 tanks in a row on that trip i got 23.99. nemisis8 was with me and got 24 mpg for his first time as well.

 

I can go 35 miles once the light comes on and have done it many times. I get between 19 & 23 MPG normally without driving it very hard. I let it loose to redline once a drive, usually near the end. Drive on........!!
Jeff B.

 

edit: NM

maybe I'm just hoping that one day i'll break 20mpg.

 

I HATE all you high mileage chumps!!!!!

My light comes on @ 120 miles which means
I need to get my butt to a gas station fast.
If not, my mpg will be one human power...

 

If you've used 13 gallons when the light comes on (mine is usually 13.5) then your mileage at the above stated 120 miles is 9.23 mpg!! If that's right then I highly recommend a real serious letter to Mazda if you're doing nothing more than normal driving.

 

Sorry I guess I just assumed eveyone knew about this. You see pressure in the fuel tank changes from a full tank to a low fuel tank and also air bubbles can get into your fuel pump and line, on a low tank baffules in the tank are there to prevent the slashing and shifting of fuel in the tank but air bobble might still get past them, when you have these little air bobbles get to your injectors intead of shooting a mist the injecters start spitting and using more fuel. and that gives you less MPG.

 

Thanks for the advise. 90% City Driving @ 35 to 45 mph using A/C 50% of the time.
I have an AT so I really can't do much "spirited" driving.
I use the highest octane available here @ 91.

My Service Department wants to let one of their monkeys drive the car for a week to check my honesty.... er, I mean, my mileage.
Yea, like thats going to happen...

My lease is up in 10 months.
I'll just sweat it out until then (even with skyrocketing gas prices)