I usually fill mine when two candy corns have gone dark (NAV equipped), rather when just two remain lit. Even so, I end up putting 6-8 gals in it.

On a trip I did get it down to 30 miles remaining on the tach, but not by choice...

I can't see the point of holding out as long as possible before fill-ups. The downside is that it may do damage, and (in California) you can get a ticket if you are on a freeway when you run out. The upside is that you save a little time by fewer fill-ups.

When the price of gas is going up, it costs more to wait to fill up.

 

Very true... except for the weight savings when you have less gas in the tank. Don't forget that the opposite is also true. When the price of gas is going down, it costs more to fill it up sooner.

 

No problem with this other than spending twice as much time at gas stations filling up. Why not fill up when it reaches 3/4 tank? Think of how much less water there will be in the fuel tank and how cold the fuel pump will always be. I bet that will make the engine last well over a million miles. Each to his own! My point is to not run out of gas and to have a reasonable expectation of the actual miles remaining of the mini is when driven at a constant speed, near empty. It sounds like <14.3 gals when you want to push it to the limit.

 

Well, here in earthquake country (California) you never know when the next quake will hit that will knock out power so no stations can pump gas. So why wait until breathing fumes to fill up. I always fill up when I get to 3 candy corns remaining lit. Of course I only fill up once a month anyways with as little as I drive.

 

STOP SAYING THIS.

A 12 inch long filler neck with a diameter of 2 inches holds .163199 gal of fuel. For a filler neck to hold 1 gallon, it would have to be 74 inches long with a 2 inch diameter. Look at the filler neck on RealOEM.com. I can tell you it's not anywhere near 74 inches.

 

Explain to me then how a 13.2 gallon tank holds more than 13.2 gallons. Are you saying that the specifications for both generations of new MINI are flat out wrong?

I'm not necessarily saying you're wrong about the filler neck, but up until this point, there has been no better explanation for the "significantly greater than 13.2G" capacity at the gas pump. You are the first person I've seen to use measurement numbers to say it is incorrect.

All I know is... after the first "click" where the pump stops, I'm often able to put yet another 0.2 or 0.3G in with a few more clicks. According to your information, that would mean I've filled up the entire filler neck again after it already tripped up the gas pump.

I'm all ears. Seriously. Not being condescending.

 

From the 2008 Owner's Manual:

Fuel tank capacity
If the range displayed is less than 30 miles/50 km, be sure to refuel; otherwise engine functions are not guaranteed and damage could occur.

MINI Cooper
Approx. 10.6 US gallons/40 liters, including the reserve capacity of 2.1 US gallons/8 liters.

MINI Cooper S
Approx. 13.2 US gallons/50 liters, including the reserve capacity of 2.1 US gallons/8 liters.

 

Yep. It's physically impossible for the filler neck to hold the extra 1+ gallon of fuel. The diameter and length of the fuel lines are also too small to account for any great additional amount of fuel. So, the capacity of the tank must have been incorrectly stated in the Owners Manual.

 

As I understand it the volume of gasoline is effected quite a bit by the temperature. Could this be part of the difference?

 

I'm no fuels expert, but yes... Gasoline does expand .125% for every 1ºC. But, we're all experiencing the additional capacity no matter what climate we live in. I've added 14 gallons of fuel when the outside temperature has been 2ºF and 86ºF.

The capacity listed in the Owners Manual is incorrect. That's what we should all agree upon... until someone drops the fuel tank and measures it by hand.

 

I've removed my tank before and have to agree the filler neck is no bigger than the opening for the nozzle and is 2ft long at the most.No way even a half gallon will fit in there.The sticker on the tank says 50 liters.

 

Just a guess, but the stated tank capacity may be determined by filling it with no filler neck and sitting on a table until it gets full to the top opening. Looking at OXYBLUECOOP's photo there are some raised bubbles on the top. Maybe when it's attached to the filler neck (which won't hold anywhere near a gallon) and filled from above those undulations on the top get full of gas whereas they wouldn't fill if the tank were on a table. Eh? I don't "pack the neck" when I fill up routinely, but when I did I could only get .1-.2 extra gallons in there by hand.

 

The only thing that I have ever heard that happens when running out of gas on a fuel injected car is that it tears up the injectors cause all the crap at the bottom of the tank gets sucked into them. I have never chanced running out of gas by pushing a car that far. Though once my Sentra was low and I almost ran out while sitting in line at the gas station. That was some BS right there

 

Isn't the fuel pickup located at the bottom of the tank (where all the water & crap in the tank hangs out)?

 

I'd be curious to know if the pump internals are really cooled by the fuel in the tank surrounding the pump, or if they're mostly cooled by the fuel being drawn through the pump.

 

"Full" isn't always at the top of the tank. The filler neck will usually meet the tank somewhere a little down the side so that there is some vapor space above the fuel. When filling a tank, the simple energy of fuel flowing in at ~10gpm can force the fuel in and across the tank to a level above "full" before the pump clicks off. In a poorly designed fuel/evap system, when you overfill (force it in after the 1st click) you're forcing fuel out of the tank and into the charcoal canister.

 

Fuel Filter.

 

It is cooled by the fuel passing through the pump and to some degree by the surrounding fuel. I have ran fuel systems such as Holley D.I. systems and the external pumps get very warm and do not last as long. Plus they are noisy. Not saying it is the same thing but picture what happens to a warm piece of metal when it is dropped into cool water.

Here are a couple of automotive based website which lists reasons why a pump can fail. http://www.tomorrowstechnician.com/A...ing_grade.aspx
http://www.airtexproducts.com/AIRTEX...x_TTS_2008.pdf

 

This is true, data to verify this is pretty much non-existent just as data saying it isn't a cause is also non-existent. I do know the harder and warmer an electrical driven motor is ran that the life expectancy does diminish. I think it may be more of a personal thing just as the age old arguement of which is better an automatic or manual transmission, sunroof or no sunroof, stripes or no stripes.

Maybe we can get a grant from the government to perform some testing and finally get this cleared up.

 

Doing this also ruins your fuel injector.

 

I ran out of fuel in a '96 Chevy 1500 I had, that was a $385 mistake. One I won't make again in ANY other car!!

 

I posted to another thread this week that I got down to --- by mistake and drove several miles after that. I filled up the same way I always do and put in 14.3 gallons. I really don't want to do that again.

 

i got down to 28 miles left and one bar on the highway with a 34mpg tank average and then i slowed down, i was in a hurry before >75mph, 65mph cruise control after and reset it and was getting 40 mpg and it went up to 31 miles left when i pulled into the gas station. i put in 13.986 gallons (two clicks past) and probably had at least one gallon in the tank when pulling into the station, thats what i assumed what happened but that would mean that i'd have 15 gallons in the tank!! i say that because at 403 miles odo i slowed down when it clicked to 1 bar and i drove another 13 miles on that one bar and at 40 mpg 13 miles would take .32 gallons so i assume i have one gallon remaining. i've always figured that each bar is equal to 1.32 gallons but who knows really.

 

You're living dangerously.

I've never had a car with an accurate fuel gauge, and the MINI is no different. I wouldn't trust it beyond 60 miles left and two bars (or are they candy corns?).

People have run dry with it reading more than 28 remaining, and the running dry can be expensive.

 

I'm too afraid of running out of fuel....I always take Murphy in as soon as I hear the reassuring "boop-BOOP-boop-BOOP" sound, and see the 60 mile countdown on the tach!