fuel gauge behaviour
Discussion
cre8toruk said:
Hi
Upon starting my 111s, i note the the fuel gauge light is showing.. after about 5 mins the light goes off and i seem to have more fuel showing on the gauge...thoughts anyone ?
Upon starting my 111s, i note the the fuel gauge light is showing.. after about 5 mins the light goes off and i seem to have more fuel showing on the gauge...thoughts anyone ?
Admiral Akabar said:
It's a trap!
seriously - think of the fuel gague as more of an indicator of the rough amount of fuel that might, possibly, be hiding in the tank. And use your trip meter as a more accurate indicator.
The real fun comes when you discover you have 10l in your tank still, but that because you've parked on a slope the fuel pump can't pull any of it through.
Also the moment it says REFILL, panic. You might have 10l left, you might have nothing. I've filled up within a mile of it coming up once and put in 40l.
Also the moment it says REFILL, panic. You might have 10l left, you might have nothing. I've filled up within a mile of it coming up once and put in 40l.
The real fun come when you have swirl pots additional fuel pumps and your car shows 11 litres but you have just run totally dry. On this set up the fuel pressure remains unchanged until basically the last drop. No coughing, No spluutering, 50 yards and then its dead, on the M25.
It was very lucky I was on the slip road not the o/s lane.
Never..... ever..... trust a lotus fuel gauge. Count the miles.
It was very lucky I was on the slip road not the o/s lane.
Never..... ever..... trust a lotus fuel gauge. Count the miles.
^^^^^^ What he said.
We often do Euro trips with large groups.
We fill up together to stay in sync but the fuel gauges are all over the place.
Much radio banter: I've got 2 bars left, I am still half full, mine says empty but wait a minute now it says 2 bars WTF.
Never trust a Lotus fuel gauge.
I can't imagin how the V6 supercharged Exige will fair with just 40 litre tank. It will be reading half full then 10 mins later you will be at the side of the road waiting for the AA.
Ex77
We often do Euro trips with large groups.
We fill up together to stay in sync but the fuel gauges are all over the place.
Much radio banter: I've got 2 bars left, I am still half full, mine says empty but wait a minute now it says 2 bars WTF.
Never trust a Lotus fuel gauge.
I can't imagin how the V6 supercharged Exige will fair with just 40 litre tank. It will be reading half full then 10 mins later you will be at the side of the road waiting for the AA.
Ex77
Thorburn said:
cre8toruk said:
Heh yeah.... filled up took 28 litres... which means i had 4 left... only did 135 miles do mpg wasnt great...
Should have had more than 4 left, it's a 37l tank + the filler pipe isn't it?In answer to the OP, the gauge is rubbish. I can park my car across a slight slope when it's half full and it'll read empty when I start it up again. Parked on the flat it seems pretty consistent, though.
Exige77 said:
^^^^^^ What he said.
We often do Euro trips with large groups.
We fill up together to stay in sync but the fuel gauges are all over the place.
Much radio banter: I've got 2 bars left, I am still half full, mine says empty but wait a minute now it says 2 bars WTF.
Never trust a Lotus fuel gauge.
I can't imagin how the V6 supercharged Exige will fair with just 40 litre tank. It will be reading half full then 10 mins later you will be at the side of the road waiting for the AA.
Ex77
Well that's all very well but how do I know how many miles it should have done ? My 2nd fill up ever and it did 135 miles... which if I put in before what I put in now would equate to 23mpg or Rubbish as I like to call it.... :-) So how many miles should I expect, full tank to full tank ?We often do Euro trips with large groups.
We fill up together to stay in sync but the fuel gauges are all over the place.
Much radio banter: I've got 2 bars left, I am still half full, mine says empty but wait a minute now it says 2 bars WTF.
Never trust a Lotus fuel gauge.
I can't imagin how the V6 supercharged Exige will fair with just 40 litre tank. It will be reading half full then 10 mins later you will be at the side of the road waiting for the AA.
Ex77
cre8toruk said:
Well that's all very well but how do I know how many miles it should have done ? My 2nd fill up ever and it did 135 miles... which if I put in before what I put in now would equate to 23mpg or Rubbish as I like to call it.... :-) So how many miles should I expect, full tank to full tank ?
I've never managed to get under 200 miles from a tank in mine on the road, even on my commute (which is only four miles so mostly run cold). On a long, fast cross-country run I get closer to 300 miles. On the motorway 350 is possible if you REALLY try. If you're getting under 30mpg there's probably something wrong.
The Lotus fuel gauge, a fun game all in itself.
As mine is a weekend warrior I just throw juice in whenever I take it out or if the empty indicator is being very persistent/persuasive/annoying/convincing (delete as applicable). Having said that, I have found new homes for far too many fuel-cans...
As mine is a weekend warrior I just throw juice in whenever I take it out or if the empty indicator is being very persistent/persuasive/annoying/convincing (delete as applicable). Having said that, I have found new homes for far too many fuel-cans...
kambites said:
I've never managed to get under 200 miles from a tank in mine on the road, even on my commute (which is only four miles so mostly run cold). On a long, fast cross-country run I get closer to 300 miles. On the motorway 350 is possible if you REALLY try.
If you're getting under 30mpg there's probably something wrong.
Well that is the worry yes.... one of the attractions was the fuel economy (and a lot other things too mind you)... Will monitor and get it looked at if it's not right next time.If you're getting under 30mpg there's probably something wrong.
I'll aim for 200 miles and see...
8.
schrodinger said:
I think this is a bit pessimistic.
Seloc wiki says tank capacity official = 36 l, but a completely empty car could be up to 45l to fill.
I've certainly done 20-30 miles with _no_ bars showing on the gauge... and then put 40l in it. (and also breathed a big sigh of relief)
I put 42 l after running out(!)Seloc wiki says tank capacity official = 36 l, but a completely empty car could be up to 45l to fill.
I've certainly done 20-30 miles with _no_ bars showing on the gauge... and then put 40l in it. (and also breathed a big sigh of relief)
Never trust the official data or the gauge.
Btw, my 1999 111S did around 34 mpg of mixed driving.
20-22mpg was only achievable on the track
kambites said:
I've seen 50 slip-streaming lorries on the motorway. Anyone claiming to average 52 is either lying or has bought the wrong car.
I'd guess that was a 1.6l car on a long motorway run.When I had one for the day I got just over 40mpg out of it in a mixture of around town driving, motorway and country lane thrashing of it. Had bang on 40mpg out of my S1 on a very boring drive to Scotland, so the 1.6 is definitely more economical than that.
chris7676 said:
schrodinger said:
I think this is a bit pessimistic.
Seloc wiki says tank capacity official = 36 l, but a completely empty car could be up to 45l to fill.
I've certainly done 20-30 miles with _no_ bars showing on the gauge... and then put 40l in it. (and also breathed a big sigh of relief)
I put 42 l after running out(!)Seloc wiki says tank capacity official = 36 l, but a completely empty car could be up to 45l to fill.
I've certainly done 20-30 miles with _no_ bars showing on the gauge... and then put 40l in it. (and also breathed a big sigh of relief)
Never trust the official data or the gauge.
Btw, my 1999 111S did around 34 mpg of mixed driving.
20-22mpg was only achievable on the track
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