The tank is 20 gal. but how do you explain this weirdness?

Last weekend I finished my first tank of gas... travelled about 430 miles total on the tank. The needle was almost on empty and the empty light came on shortly. By the time I reached the gas station it stayed on constantly.

I filled the tank when the pump clicked at about 16 gals. Caught me by surprise so I pumped more, but it clicked quickly again. Get back in and started the car, the needle is indeed on full (actually passed full).

Do you think it's the pump that was clicking prematurely (if so why needle appears full?) or could it be something else? I can't wait until next fill up to see what happens... anyone can explain this or seen this before? Thanks!

 

The full capacity of the tank is 20 gallons. The usable capacity is about 17.5. Something to do with a fuel pump in the tank that must stay submerged for cooling, or so I've been told.

 

I've heard of people going on for ages after the light comes on... I think I went a good 20 miles once, and now I've learned that it just means "watch out, we're out of gas in like 100 miles or so... "

The tank is 20 gallons, but if you fill up as soon as the light comes on, you'll see that you can take only 16-17 gallons max, so the reserve must be a good 3 gallons and change. You can't go by the "DTE" estimate either, as I've driven a good amount on it on "*"

 

Yeah, that's what I heard too aboout the fuel pump. I haven't pumped more than 16 gallons either. So with 430 miles, that gave you well over 26mpg, for a 3.5 liter, 3500lbs, 18 in wheels sedan. I think that alright

 

i did the same thing. drove 460 miles thinking i was on fumes and could only put in 17.5-18 at the pump

 

yep !! its all true...when the light comes on you have about 4 gls inthe tank so just keep on rolling...it doesnt mean you have to stop and start freaking out to find a gas station...

well, mine is giving me 19.7mpg now that i am taking it to communte to and from work... before it used to be between 22 and 22.5 in the city and 28 > in the hwy... i think it is all due to the frequent stops i got to do while on my way to and from work...or not ??

luigi

 

Yeah, getting groceries sux the mpg's. I did a Laughlin-Vegas (about 90 miles) run in constant 3-digit speed and got about 29.5 mpg.

 

Well, if you can believe the readout, mine shows over 30 MPG on the highway and I average between 24-25 in the city.

I can almost believe the 30 MPG on the highway given that I have a six speed and I run synthetic oil (Mobile 1 5w30), but 24-25 in the city? Then again, I don't turn a lot of RPMs (keep it in high gears mostly).

BTW, I read somewhere that the drag was reduced .02 by the little spoiler on the end of the SE. I can't recall if that makes it .30 or .28 for a Maxima so equiped, but that is pretty slippery in either case.

 

.28 with the little spolier, woosh!!!!!!

 

what does this mean?? sorry...but can you draw me a small picture about this ?? thanks !!

 

The coefficient of drag...how clippery a given object is. Things like squares are horrid (think Hummer)...things like tear drops (think airplane wing) are good.

It relates to the amount of wind resistance a given vehicle has when combined with the frontal area.

In short, a Maxima with this little spoiler will get slightly (oh so slightly) better gas mileage and have a higher (in theory...governer limited in real life) top end.

Here is some interesting info about the subject:
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/shaped.html
http://www.skytran.net/18EnergyEff/02Energy.htm

 

Cool, thanks for great info. I knew there's certain amount of reserve for all cars, I guess I just didn't expect almost 4 gal on reserve. Other cars I drove seem to have 1 to 2 gal.

430 / 16 = 26.875 MPG. That's wonderful for 265 horses pulling this spacious sporty sedan! It's mostly freeway at around 70 mph, and rpm under 3k all time (as adviced by dealer to break in the engine for 1st 1000 miles). So yep I haven't experienced the real power of this baby yet. I am already very happy with the pick up even under 3k rpm, can't imagine the grin on my face when I eventually get to push it.

I read on nissanusa the spoiler will improve drag from .30 to .28. Just didn't know the it will also increase fuel efficiency. I thought wings on sports cars introduce down force which help stablizes under high speed but increase fuel consumption a little. I guess the wing on Maxima makes it more aerodynamic than creating down force. Heck why would I care? All I know is it looks great!

 

When you push it for the first time, as you grin from ear to ear, grab the wheel with BOTH hands.

 

I second this advice...I've almost lost control while pushing my max to the limit...damn torque steer is crazy!

 

i thought it was bad to run a car that low on fuel. cuz you get all the crap at the bottom of the gas tank. i always fill up at a 1/4 tank. correct me if im wrong.

 

It's bad if you never run it down. If you do it all the time it make no difference. What does make a difference is the type of fuel you use. Only use reliable stations. I avoud the ones with the pumps that look like there 30 years old. Imagine the taks that hold the fuel in thos stations. Yuk! I always run my gas down. Did it on my 98 and no problems at all. Sunoco 94 al the time for me,

 

Like said before: 20 gal. capacity. guage reads completely Empty at 16 gal. This is so you have time to get gas at your convience (no hurry for cheap gas) and so you don't run on low levels developing problems.

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