gas gauge reading

aemeijers wrote:
> On 6/3/2011 10:22 PM, liu wrote:
>> Thank you all for the information. I'm trying to figure out a way to
>> make a pretty good guesstimate on how much gas has been used and left
>> by looking at the location of the needle. It looks like I'm not going
>> to reach a very accurate reading.
>>
>> I calculate my MPG every time I fill up the gas tank (BTW, my 1994 4
>> cyl. is a little over 40mph highway at 60MPH, 25 o 27 mph city at
>> earlier traffic time). I also made a record on the location of the
>> needle before adding the gas and after adding the gas.
>> Based on my record of before-and-after needle positions, I estimated
>> the following
>> empty to (0) = ~2 to 2.5 gallons
>> (0) to (1) = ~2 gallons
>> (1) to (2, mid point) = ~4 gallons
>> (2) to (3) = ~ 6 gallons
>> (3) to (4) = ~ 4 gallons
>> 2 more gallons you can add after it reaches the top.
>>
>> Because I can never tell accurately when it actually reach each scale,
>> my numbers are probably off.
>>
>
> Like others said, forget the gauge- use post-it notes or the trip
> odometer, if you have one. Run it near empty, record the miles on the
> clock. Run it near empty again, and record the miles again. The
> difference is your maximum miles before you start looking for an open
> gas station. Fill it every time, and record the miles every time. When
> the odometer says you are getting near your empty point, fill up. I
> tend to top off when the gauge gets below half, in case price spikes,
> and so I don't have to think about it. That, and $60+ fillups depress
> the hell out of me. :^/
>

Just a warning to all those Camry owners out there who are still
filling the tank completely to calculate fuel economy: the vapor
recovery system is likely to fail, and the filler pipe start leaking.
After battling these issues for several years we now just fill it
*almost* all the way. Problems solved. You can prevent them the same
way. You don't get an exact fuel economy reading, but if you already
know what the car averages, you can use the odometer to make sure it
hasn't suddenly started guzzling gas.

In article >, Leftie > wrote:
>
> Just a warning to all those Camry owners out there who are still
>filling the tank completely to calculate fuel economy: the vapor
>recovery system is likely to fail, and the filler pipe start leaking.
>After battling these issues for several years we now just fill it
>*almost* all the way. Problems solved. You can prevent them the same
>way. You don't get an exact fuel economy reading, but if you already
>know what the car averages, you can use the odometer to make sure it
>hasn't suddenly started guzzling gas.

Hasn't this been the case for just about every car made since the late
eighties? It's not anything specific to the Camry.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

"aemeijers" > wrote in message
...
> On 6/3/2011 10:22 PM, liu wrote:
0) to (1) = ~2 gallons
>> (1) to (2, mid point) = ~4 gallons
>> (2) to (3) = ~ 6 gallons
>> (3) to (4) = ~ 4 gallons
>> 2 more gallons you can add after it reaches the top.
>>
>> Because I can never tell accurately when it actually reach each scale,
>> my numbers are probably off.
>>
>
> Like others said, forget the gauge- use post-it notes or the trip
> odometer, if you have one. Run it near empty, record the miles on the
> clock. Run it near empty again, and record the miles again. The difference
> is your maximum miles before you start looking for an open gas station.
> Fill it every time, and record the miles every time. When the odometer
> says you are getting near your empty point, fill up. I tend to top off
> when the gauge gets below half, in case price spikes, and so I don't have
> to think about it. That, and $60+ fillups depress the hell out of me. :^/
>
> --
> aem sends....

WOW US$60 to fill up if I read that correctly.
What a bargain.

I have a 1995 4 banger. Had it since new. 105.000 miles.
15 Gallon tank , so that's 15 X 4.5 for litres.
1 litre = GB£1.35 = US$2.16
15 gallons = 67 litres.
Fill up costs GB£91 = US$145.

What can I say but ***********************

Johnny UK

"Johnny Melvin" ) writes:
> "aemeijers" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On 6/3/2011 10:22 PM, liu wrote:
> 0) to (1) = ~2 gallons
>>> (1) to (2, mid point) = ~4 gallons
>>> (2) to (3) = ~ 6 gallons
>>> (3) to (4) = ~ 4 gallons
>>> 2 more gallons you can add after it reaches the top.
>>>
>>> Because I can never tell accurately when it actually reach each scale,
>>> my numbers are probably off.
>>>
>>
>> Like others said, forget the gauge- use post-it notes or the trip
>> odometer, if you have one. Run it near empty, record the miles on the
>> clock. Run it near empty again, and record the miles again. The difference
>> is your maximum miles before you start looking for an open gas station.
>> Fill it every time, and record the miles every time. When the odometer
>> says you are getting near your empty point, fill up. I tend to top off
>> when the gauge gets below half, in case price spikes, and so I don't have
>> to think about it. That, and $60+ fillups depress the hell out of me. :^/
>>
>> --
>> aem sends....
>
> WOW US$60 to fill up if I read that correctly.
> What a bargain.
>
> I have a 1995 4 banger. Had it since new. 105.000 miles.
> 15 Gallon tank , so that's 15 X 4.5 for litres.
> 1 litre = GB£1.35 = US$2.16
> 15 gallons = 67 litres.
> Fill up costs GB£91 = US$145.
>
> What can I say but ***********************
>
> Johnny UK
>
>
>

You should change your moniker to 'Johnny UK be gettin' ripped off!'.

What 4 bangers in the UK have tanks that big (67 litres)?

What's the average driving distance per year in the UK? I'm betting it's
about 7000 miles per year. In North America it's 12,000 miles per year.

In Ontario Canada the gas (petrol) is $1.289 CDN per litre, which is
$5.85 CDN ($6.13 USD) per Imperial gallon. In US gallons it's $4.88 CDN
($5.11 USD). Fuel cost per year for a Canadian is only slightly less than
for people in the UK.

The total tax in Ontario is $1.794 CDN per Imperial gallon ($0.395 CDN
per litre). Retail price plus 44.18% tax equals pump price in Ontario.

Your retail price before-tax is not much different than the retail price
before-tax in North America.

Your pump price has 130.76% tax added in. You need to get in the face of
your MP's. They have been living large on your dime... er shilling for too
long!

My understanding (5 years ago), is that gasoline (petrol) in China is
SUBSIDIZED. In China they pay no tax AND the Chinese Government
pays the oil companies profit (the subsidy). They fill(ed) their tanks at
less than WHOLESALE (oil company cost)!


Johnny Canuck be-gettin' ripped off! and is goin' to get in the face of
somebody... with gloves dropped!

AMuzi wrote:
> cpliu wrote:
>> I drive a 94 Camry which still works great after 180K miles. I've been
>> record the gas gauge reading trying to know fuel efficiency in the
>> past few years.
>>
>> I'm a little puzzled on how it works and the accuracy of the reading.
>> My observations:
>> I suspect the sensor is in the front part of the tank as the gas level
>> drops when you climbing up the hill, and goes up when driving down the
>> hill.
>> The level goes up and down sometimes. In the middle of the driving, it
>> may go 1 to 2 mm below and it would go up again a few minutes later.
>> Maybe it relates to the condition of the road?
>> The level usually drops (and not coming up again) at a bigger distance
>> than a gradual drop. I may stay on full first. going down and up a few
>> times, then it drops to 2/3 above the next scale down.
>> The level location may be the most accurate when you first start up in
>> the morning. Usually it's a little lower than the previous night. But
>> it will go up again similar to the previous day due to moving.
>> I suspect the temperature makes a difference too.
>>
>> So basically, it's hard for me to really know how much gas I've used
>> daily thus the MPG, and how much gas exactly is left. Are there new
>> cars that provide more accurate reading, something similar to MPG
>> indicator in some of the cars?
>
>
> A fuel gauge is not useful for that purpose.
>
> Fill tank, record mileage.
> On next fill, note fuel volume used and distance traveled.
>
> If one keeps a simple log, any errors get smoothed after more fill
> iterations
>


I would add that, since this incarnation of the Camry is prone to
filler pipe and vapor recover canister problems, you don't actually fill
it completely. Just wait until you hear the sound of the air rushing out
of the filler change pitch, and stop right there. Again, once you get
the hang of it any errors will average out over time.