fuel tank capacity?

fastaussie

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what is the fuel tank capacity of the NSX? I've owned a '96 and a 2002 now. I'm sure I read that it's a 20 gallon tank, but i've never been able to cram more than 14.5 gallons in there even when on empty. seems like roughly a 16 gallon tank?

anyone know the answer?
 
I think he means if you want to calculate your MPG, it doesn't matter how much is left in there.

Take the miles driven and divide it by the amount filled up.

IE: 300 miles / 10 gallons = 30 miles per gallon
 
yep, I get that. i know how to do maths. I would need to know the capacity to calculate total range though.

in addition I was curious to know how big the tank is for my own knowledge. I don't know where I got the 20 gallon figure? thanks again boys...
 
i've never been able to cram more than 14.5 gallons in there even when on empty.
Then you've probably never seen the low fuel warning light go on. The low fuel warning goes on when you still have 2.5-2.7 gallons in the tank, so you can probably drive 50 miles or so. When the low fuel warning goes on, you should be able to fill it with 15.8-16.0 gallons.

The low fuel warning light doesn't go on until after the gauge is on E.
 
definitely seen the low fuel light go on, and stay on, then turn off briefly and come back on (I think? I don't normally run it down very low). my gauge must be differently calibrated from all of yours, because I have never been able to get more than 14.5 gallons in the fuel tank at the pump.
 
You can get the fuel light to come in if you're really low and drive spiritedly. That'll slosh your fuel on enough to get an indicator light.
 
The same guy who designed most fuel gauges, apparently. Almost all cars indicate empty with two or three gallons in the tank. Car companies don't want you running out of gas. Those same gauges may take much longer to drop from F to 1/2 than from 1/2 to E. Some have speculated that this is intentional in order to give drivers an elevated sense of how economical the car is. "Look, I've driven 250 miles and the tank is still half full!" Of course the next hundred miles might put the needle on E.
 
I had my car in the shop when I was like 18 years old ( 39 now ) and had to borrow my buddys Dodge Neon it was almost on E so I figured I had enough to get 6 blocks to get gas and as soon as the light came on the car died... I was like are you kidding me.... got a gallon poured into the Neon it started I drove the 6 blocks and filled it up.. but the NSX I have gone as far as to make the needle touch the last line on the letter E before I chickened out LOL
 
Almost all cars indicate empty with two or three gallons in the tank.
That's true. However, my 2004 Acura MDX is an exception. It has 2-3 gallons left when the low fuel warning light comes on, but that happens when the gauge still shows around 1/8 tank. When it hits E, it is truly empty.
 
Acura claims they want to bring back "precision crafted performance." Guess that's true, at least of their fuel gauges. But only in SUVs apparently.
 
When I first bought the car I thought my fuel light was burned out because I never saw it go on and it was basically on E and I had already clocked 420 miles on one tank (all highway driving). I finally was able to get it on on a future drive when I decided to just keep going after knowing how much fuel was still left in the tank based on the amount I filled from that last scenario. I stopped doing any low fuel driving though after talking to my mechanic about how hot the fuel pumps get. The gas helps keep them cool, so I now avoid getting below a 1/4 of a tank as I don't want to stress out the fuel pump.

In my daily driver 89 Acura Legend LS, the onboard computer tells me to the exact mile what I have left in my tank, and eventually gets to the point where it says FUEL EMPTY on the display, and I've still driven it about 15 miles without incident. They truly had this down to a science with these older Acuras to make sure we wouldn't run out of gas. I miss the build quality of the G1 Legend and the NSX from Acura. Luckily I still get to enjoy it though because of how good a job they did back then. :)
 
cleanmc, you have an NSX and a DeLorean? that's heaps cool!

so what's the longest distance anyone has gotten from a tank? I drove from the beach in Playa del Rey to Laguna Seca and back last weekend and saw roughly 430 miles before I decided to get fuel. the engine light wasn't on yet, but it was pretty much to empty...
 
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My biggest tankful over 24 years was 654 km (406.4 miles) using 63.8 liters (16.85 US gals) for mileage of 9.8 L/100km (24.12 miles per US gallon).

My best mileage tankfuls reached on two different occasions was 8.1 L/100km or 29.05 miles per US gallon.

The average mileage over 24 years and 101,124 miles has been 22.4 miles per US gallon.
 
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