Gas tank size

[zpiloto]

Does any body know how much fuel can be put into the tank over what the manufacturer says the size is? For example lets say the manual says you have a 12.0 gallon tank how much extra gas will it take to the top of the filler and how do they figure what the maximum capacity is? Also is there a standard for the low fuel light is it set at a certain amount of gas remaining?

[trebuchet03]

Originally Posted by zpiloto

Also is there a standard for the low fuel light is it set at a certain amount of gas remaining?

I'm going to say no... My current car's low fuel warning comes on at 1.8 gallons -- my last car was 2.6 gallons

As for how much you can squeeze in... I think that also depends on the design. Probably mostly how long the fuel neck is (and its diameter).

[psyshack]

There is no rule. I fill my Civic and Accord to the brim,,, right up to the filler neck edge. Both cars I can get almost 2 gallons in after pump click off. If I wanted to burp the tank Im sure I could get more in them. I take what I can get and know Im not going to flood out the evp. system.

I had a Chevy once with the huge evp. canister on the frame by the rad. I over filled the tank on it once like I do my Hondas and gas ran out it.... Well DUH!!! the canister and vent line where set at half a tank with what was a small pee trap in the line.

There is no rule for this other than looking at a picture of your tank/fuel system and using your best judgement...

psy

[Bill in Houston]

I would think that the possible overfill amount varies by car. When I was hanging with the hybrid crowd, several reported 2 gallon overfills, and they were abused for possibly filling the evap cannister and causing worse emissions.

There is definitely not a standard on how many gallons are left when the low fuel light comes on. On my E, it comes on with about 3 gallons left.

[JanGeo]

What I heard is if you have a yellow low fuel you have 2 gallons and red is 1 gallon. Over filling well it depends upon the location of the vent hose - mine is in the filler area at the bend where the fuel nozzle goes in so not a problem since it pours out before the hose gets below the fuel level but there may be a pocket of air in the top of the tank too but it would not make sense to vent there. As far as fill up to the top is to the top 11.9 gallons is my capacity and I ran it dow as low as I dare to and put in 11.1 gallons filling it to the brim - usually it takes 1 gallon after the first shutoff click.

[GasSavers_steve]

Hey I hope I have the right guy...let me know if not. Sorry to post here but it wouldn't let me email you....

I've a 96 firefly with rust in the same spots as yours gave out on but I have to make a 300 mile trip before fixing it up or scrapping it...

When yours finally went how did it go and what specific driving habits do you recommend if I have to drive my car a bit?

I mean, slow (under 55) no hard turns or braking, avoiding potholes...but what else? I think mine's somewhat less rotten than the pix you posted

http://server6.theimagehosting.com/a...&user_id=48646

In fact here are my pix..there's still quite a bit of good metal on the bottom of the control arm mounts...but not a great deal connecting THAT to the frame

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/...10&uid=4454085

in case it won't load...picturetrail.com
then sbellerby

very interested in your comments...or anyone else's that might know how to baby a rusted frame near front lower control arm mount

S

[JanGeo]

Yup it's me . . . First thing I noticed is the steering started requiring more left to go straight about 30 degrees from center for about a month but towards the last few miles I noticed that the steering started feeling really loose like I was driving on ice then I went through some steep hills and turns on a bumpy road crossing a railroad track braking hard which probably really broke it loose then accellerated hard up a hill left sweeping turn that finally did it in . . . as I reached the top of the hill which leveled off it really started to pull left I braked gently and check the tires for a flat then took off slowly and it kept pulling left I applied a little brake and the wheel broke loose and locked against the back fo the wheel well skidding to a stop at the curb and that was all she wrote until 3 hours of welding got her mobile again but it didn't leave the yard after that - then the gas line rusted out and when the registration expired I removed the plates and told my buddy to haul it to the junk yard.

If you can get someone to mig or stick weld some vertical beads around the bottom of the chassis then it could last a while. My biggest problem was that the alignment shim area was gone so it would require a lot of work to get it welded in the right position. And after driving it around in the grass yard with the quick welding it just didn't feel right so since I had the xB running so well I gave up on owning two cars at the same time. I do miss it on long trips on the highway . . . can't beat 50+ MPG.

OMG!! That looks way worse than mine 2 weeks before mine failed I did a brake job on the bad side and it looked like it was ok - no holes like you have there. If anything the front edge is the important part to weld up with anything you can add to strengthen the front of the bar area that the suspension pivots on since the rear of the bar is helped with the trailing arm. The front of my "horn" was what bent outwards when it failed.

[cems70]

I owned a '95 Honda Civic VX hatchback from new until I sold it a couple of months ago w/ 225,000 miles on it. It was a 10 gallon tank, and I could regularly overfill by 5 gallons after the pump clicked off as long as the pump was very sensitive and allowed me to let it trickle in. I never saw the gas sitting in the filler neck...it always settled back down. My maximum overfill (to see how much overfill I could do) was 5.5 gals. I didn't want to do more because I was concerned it might cause a problem. I used to get 750+ miles per tankful on a regular basis. Never had any problems with the engine running strangely.

I now have a '95 Civic DX hatchback and have so far overfilled 2 gals. The gas seems to settle down in the filler neck the same way as my VX did, so I anticipate being able to do some massive overfills on it as well.

Steve

[JanGeo]

huh ???? you put 15 gallons in a 10 gallon tank?

[SVOboy]

He didn't say he put in 15 gallons, he said he put in 5 more after the pump shut itself off.