Approximate The Data For Yourself

Hey -

Here's an idea - drive your car until the gas light comes on. Keep track of how many miles you drive from this point until you reach the gas station. Fill up, and calculate your gas mileage (you do use your trip odometer or keep a log, don't you?). Now, how much gas did it take to fill up your tank? Subtract that amount from the total capacity of your tank and you'll get an approximation of how much fuel is in the tank when the empty light comes on. Take your gas mileage (miles per gallon) times the amount of fuel you just calculated (gallons) and add the miles you travelled between the light coming on and refueling. This number is a good approximation to how far you can travel once that light comes on.

The benefits of this method: 1) It adjusts based on your current average mileage - meaning, if you neglect to maintain your car or something drastic changes and you lose 10 miles/gallon on your mileage, you will have a corrected distance to travel once the light comes on at each fill-up. 2) Calculating your gas mileage each time can alert you to problems with your car - i.e., really need an oil change, need new plugs, bought bad gas last time, etc.

The downsides of this method: 1) Got to do math every time you fill up 2) Got to keep a log of your mileage, or use your trip odometer solely to track mileage between fill-ups. 3) Your mileage can vary significantly one way or another, and this is only an approximation.

Anyway, just my 4 cents worth (too long winded to be 2 cents).