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- i wonder if anybody drives like me. well i never drive with a full tank of gas, or a half tank of gas. it always a 1/4 full. i wait till i get on empty and then just put $3 of gas. my car is a daily driver but i usually can stretch that gas for a whole week.
- but somebody today was telling that running low on gas can do harm on my car. is this true? the guy seems to be knowledgable about cars but i wonder if he was bsing me.

 
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running out of gas is bad for sure. im not sure about running low though

 
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Yes, running low on gas is harmful to your engine. Especially if you have been driving the car for some period of time. The gas are not residue free and residue tends to sink. If you driving low on gas, there might be chance that those residue might get pump into your engine.

 
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ya, it's worth adding in the extra money to fill up your tank. Also if you have snow in the winter, your fuel line can freeze if you have less than 1/4 tank of gas, causing big problems (shouldn't have to worry about snow now though).

 
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when the gas is below 1/4 tank, it takes a couple seconds longer to start, that's all im aware of on this.

 
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Yeah I had problems in my area before I moved with people stealing gas so I never kept a full tank but I never had any issues that I came across but I always had premium in there so who knows

Nick

 
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COMMON CONCERNS WITH RUNNING ON A LOW TANK: RESIDUE FROM PETROL WILL SINK TO THE BOTTOM OF THE TANK, THEREFORE UPPING THE CHANCES FOR THE RESIDUE TO CLOG THE FUEL INJECTORS.

 
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^Why are you yelling? [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG]

 
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[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/IMG] i wasnt yelling... just amplifying my voice.

 
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Not only is the residue an issue when constantly running a low tank, but you will tend to build up moisture in the form of water in your tank that eventually gets into your fuel system. That is why problems are common in winter. The only benefit to running a low tank is that it makes your car faster. If your not planning to race it's a good idea to fill your tank.

The car that started the website.

 
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A while back I wondered the same thing. Not because I run around on a quarter tank, but because I let it get pretty low before I fill up. A friend that was a mechanic at the time told me that it would suck in the residue and sediment off the bottom of the tank and make the tank rust itself. Of course the rust isn't a problem anymore. My 93 accord had 150k when I got rid of her, bless her heart, a few years ago. I always drained her to the last drop. I never had a problem.

 
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I also heard that it is bad to run on low fuel because our fuel pump is cooled by fuel, is it true?

 
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some idiot ran out of gas on a freeway overpass yesterday in his Honda Accord

 
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people are always trying to say to keep the fuel above an amount, people have always said that... but think for a sec...

doesnt your tank pickup off the bottom, regardless of fuel level??!?


just a thought [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG]

 
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<< people are always trying to say to keep the fuel above an amount, people have always said that... but think for a sec...

doesnt your tank pickup off the bottom, regardless of fuel level??!?


just a thought [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG] >>



That's a very good point. I have often pondered that myself. Hmmm....I guess the theory is the residue and stuff floats or something...Hell, I don't know.

 
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The residue will build up over time. When you run low fuel the concentration is greater. When you run low fuel all the time the concentration is greater all the time. Plus the water build up. Same deal - concentration. Good gas makes a huge difference too. Go to any tuner shop and ask a mechanic to see the top of a piston from a motor that got fed cheap gas all the time. There is a thick black residue of carbon build-up on it. Same thing on oil quality. Look at the bearing from piston cheap vs. good oil. You normally get what you pay for.

The car on the website.

 
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i always keep it atleast half tank

 
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<< some idiot ran out of gas on a freeway overpass yesterday in his Honda Accord >>

[IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG]

Nah, that's not funny... it could be me. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/IMG]

 
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good comment family man... you summed up what I had to say

 
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3-4 mos ago the dealer had to drop the gas tank on my '01 EX to to replace a little clip that was letting gas evaporate (had check engine light). I asked the service advisor if the gas was evaportating from the regular fuel line that feeds the egine and he said "yes, that's why they dropped the tank, so they could get to it". So it looks like the answer is it feeds gas from the top of the tank, unless I misunderstood him or he was full of it because sometimes the service advisors make up stuff. I watched them drop the tank (I freaked out because I wasn't prepared for that) because they had the engine bay doors open. They only droppped it a few inches but it was very noticeable from where I was standing.
Then again I 'm thinking that if you 're running on an 1/8th or 1/16th of a tank the line/tube that sucks the gas out must reach pretty far down low into the gas tank and would definitely take in residue no matter how filled your tank is.. That's one thing I know the least about, the gas tank. Probably because I never had any gas tank related problems or leaks with all my cars before until now.

 
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I don't know, seems like it would be hard to draw the gas from the top of the tank if you ask me. Well, unless they have some type of anit-gravity system going on in there. It is a honda though....LOL

 
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at the end of the tube that sucks up the gas, there is this device that makes the tube float. so when the gas tank is full the tube is near the top, and when the tank is low it is near the bottom. I am pretty sure this is how it works, correct me if I,m wrong [IMG]i/expressions/moon.gif[/IMG]

 
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- i have another question: if the residue from the gas builds up by running low on gas, would just buying those fuel injectors cleaner solve the problem epecially if bought every two weeks or something to that effect.

 
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Get some of the Total Fuel System Cleaner from Royal Purple. Here is their website retail locator. I don't think you need this every two weeks. Once or twice a year should do you fine. Just keep your tank topped up unless you are racing.

The car and the website.

 
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Running low on fuel won't hurt a thing. Remember that the fuel passes through a filter before getting to the injectors, so you might clog the filter but thats it.

Also you would have to be getting gas from a crappy station, the fuel coming out of the pump is also filtered twice. I use to work at a gas station many years ago and they had the tanks pulled from the ground. There was probably 100 gallons of gas left in the 8000 gallon tanks that were in the ground for ten years. We shimmed up on top of them and put a hose down to draw out the fuel with a pump, they were as clean as could be, in fact everyone at the shop filled up their cars.