Gas Guage

[MikeM.]

Peace of mind also helps alleviate elements out of ones control. Such as idling for an hour or two due to a highway wreck. Often one creeps along thus preventing an opportunity for shutting down the vehicle. Just another reason I see no need to push the limits of frugality.

True, you need to be aware of potential hiccups. I'll admit, I don't have much experience running out of fuel (only once when I was young and mindless and forgot my motorcycle was ALREADY on reserve.) However, as far as I know, running out of fuel is not typically fatal. I've made it 34 years without running out (or getting stressed) so if I do run out once in my remaining 25-35 years, oh well. But I don't plan on it.

With me it's not about saving money (although it does rub me wrong to pay $0.30-$0.40 more per gallon than 30 or 40 miles away, right on my normal route). It's about a number of things; convenience and fuel quality and consistency. You see, if I fill up when I still have almost half a tank, the new gas blends with the old and it's difficult to discern subtle differences in the way my vehicles run on fuel from different stations.

 

[banjos-n-beer]

I guess personal experiences help reinforce our opinions. I've never run out of gas either, but I came close on a return trip to college. In addition to a blinding rainstorm that seriously impeded traffic, the gas station at my predetermined rural exit was closed for repairs. This was before smartphones, and in an area completely foreign to me. Luckily we made it further down the highway to a functional station before running into difficulty.

As for poor quality gasoline, I've only experienced that once in my life. And that was when I was a child and I recall my father complaining about it. That was like mid 1980s.

 

[MikeM.]

As for poor quality gasoline, I've only experienced that once in my life. And that was when I was a child and I recall my father complaining about it. That was like mid 1980s.

In 2011 I filled my Ducati from a pump labeled 92 or 93 in Tofino on Vancouver Island and about 3 miles down the road the engine was not the same beast. It started and ran but it was rough and harsh (not missing though) and very much down on power. I think it was simply regular labeled as premium (which the bike requires). I rode to my nearest friends house who was happy to take it off my hands to dump in his old pick-up. Filled up again with premium down the street and all was back to normal.

I can often feel subtle differences in the way the engine runs after filling a nearly empty tank in the CX-5, in my Volvo S-80 and in all of my motorcycles. Not so much in my F-150 (although some fuel does return better MPG's). In the CX-5 the new fuel kicks in in about 1 mile, maybe a bit more if I'm going easy. Some fuel makes the engine feel smoother and sometimes more powerful. But major in your face differences are indeed rare.