How much gas/miles left in tank when light comes on....?

[HOOKED ON GT]

Just the other day I had the gas needle flat left and began to worry about limping to the next gas station.

I'd not driven 25+ miles like you can in other cars with the light on, but the GT's little tank and me not knowing its true empty range got me mega nervous with no stations around.
I drove like I was getting 50mpg to hunt down a station.

So are there any people out there that have an "oh shit" number of miles the GT generally has in it once the light comes on and then goes Ka-Put?

Many cars (normal ones) will have 50+miles on empty but the GT feels like thats a stretch..

BTW.....
I had a guy whilst I was filling up come up to me and say
"What is that the new corvette"
"No, its a Ford GT"
"Whats a Ford GT"
and off I went to tell him everything.....that really happened
One thing he got right was "dam it looks good"

Because I was distracted talking to him and wanted to get out of there, I noticed the fuel bowser clicked off, so I put it away and noticed after a few min of driving that it was still empty I wondered if I left the station with hardly any gas in there at all....
"Man that fuel needle is dam slow to react to a full tank" I was thinking......
It came good but was was just having a bad day it seems.

It seems like the car updates the fuel level even when the cars off?
I dove for 5min with what I thought was a full tank, went in the shops (was still only showing 9/10ths empty when I turned it off)
I shopped for 5min, came out and started it and went straight to FULL.

Stuart A

 

[extrap]

I'm too new to be able to answer your reserve question, but ...

BTW.....
I had a guy whilst I was filling up come up to me and say
"What is that the new corvette"

Ugh!

"No, its a Ford GT"
"Whats a Ford GT"

Ugh!!

and off I went to tell him everything.....that really happened

You're a better man than me! (especially at golf )

One thing he got right was "dam it looks good"

Yep!

 

[dreimer]

I've never let mine go too low - I usually refill at 1/4. Plus, I like going to the gas station since it lets people come over to look at it, rather than taking photos while they are driving.

And I have a story like yours - a short while back a guy asked me (while I was filling up) if it was a Porsche. I then felt compelled to go on Amazon and order a Ford GT license plate frame. There is nothing on the back that gives an indication as to make or model. The front has the blue oval, and mine has the Ford GT decal on the side (but no side stripes).

 

[extrap]

I've never let mine go too low - I usually refill at 1/4. Plus, I like going to the gas station since it lets people come over to look at it, rather than taking photos while they are driving.

And I have a story like yours - a short while back a guy asked me (while I was filling up) if it was a Porsche. I then felt compelled to go on Amazon and order a Ford GT license plate frame. There is nothing on the back that gives an indication as to make or model. The front has the blue oval, and mine has the Ford GT decal on the side (but no side stripes).

Great minds (I saw you replied in my thread about this)

 

[nota4re]

The CONSEQUENCE of running a GT out of fuel is much greater than the inconvenience of being left stranded along side the road. Replacing the fuel pump is an involved (and therefore expensive) task. So, I'm not sure of the exact answer to your question but if that "Check Gauges" aka, "Low Fuel" light comes on, you need to be filling it up SOON.

 

[2112]

To add to Kendal's sage advice, because I don't know when I will need to floor it, I try to never get below 3/8ths of a tank.

Running lean is an engine killer. I don't want to run the risk of a fuel pick up sucking air in any situation. Maybe I am paranoid, but so be it.

 

[mmlcobra]

To echo all of these statements, run this car dry, fuel system is not going to be happy.
Read expensive!!!!!!!!
There could be worse things that might happen.
Who needs the headache, keep it between .25 and .50, and one less thing to think about.
Enjoy,
Mark

 

[Gene Cassone]

Reminds me when I was a kid. Every time my father would get a new car he would purposely run it out of das to see where the “true empty” was on the gas gauge! Remember being parked on the shoulder while he walked to get gas!!
These were all carburetor cars of 60-70s. Agree would not encourage this practice in fuel injected cars!

 

[extrap]

 

[PL510*Jeff]

approximately 2.5 gallons, about 30 miles, if one is cautious with the right foot. I've found the gauge to be pretty darn accurate.

 

[twobjshelbys]

I had the same thing happen several times. Filled up on <1/8 tank but still not pegged at bottom. After done, gauge registered less than half and slowly "crawled" up but didn't get to full before I got home. Next time the gauge went to full+.

 

[Specracer]

I never go below a quarter, usually more like 3/8. Much of this is to also be able to stick to familiar gas stations.

 

[The Grey Ghost]

Not the GT, but I remember driving my truck while pulling my loaded car trailer.
Got low enough that I was so worried, I disconnected my car trailer and left my wife babysitting the car and trailer on the side of the road while I drove the 3 -4 milers in to the next town to get gas.
I have never gone below 1/4 tank since.

 

[GT@50]

Not the GT but in my 69 428 Torino Cobra coupe, ar ar aar!. About a half mile from gas station I ran out. Hmmm, what to do. Ah ha, the NOS(port inj, bottle off) fuel line has fuel in it. Feathered the NOS switch and throttle and made it there

 

[fjpikul]

You can pretty easy get 300 miles out of a full tank. I've driven 40K and never had a problem relying on that number. That is at 80-85 mph about 2000 rpm in sixth. If you are punching it a lot, or tracking it, expect about 8 mpg. This is stock.

 

[HOOKED ON GT]

What size is the tank...
I think I remember seeing 15+ gallons on the bowser read out when I put it back?

So basically filler up when it any place near the red zone.

SA

 

[ByeEnzo]

The fuel pump is inside the fuel tank, and actually cooled by fuel. Running tank low just causes electric pump to run hotter, potentially decreasing it‘s lifespan.

 

[NorthwoodGT]

I had my "check gauge" red light come on years ago. I couldn't figure it out. all the gauges were working perfectly until
I looked at the fuel gauge last! holy crap! never again!

 

[extrap]

What size is the tank...
I think I remember seeing 15+ gallons on the bowser read out when I put it back?

So basically filler up when it any place near the red zone.

SA

17.5 gallons, I think .. aka 66.2 liters

 

[QuickSilverShelby]

I had my "check gauge" red light come on years ago. I couldn't figure it out. all the gauges were working perfectly until
I looked at the fuel gauge last! holy crap! never again!

I had just bought my car and was driving it home from Vegas to Alberta, Canada when the check engine light came on and I was like "what the hell?". I crapped a bit cause I thought I might have a real problem in my new car which was in tip top shape. Then I realized it was a low fuel warning. I filled up and all was good.

Gotta love that adrenaline/anxiety shot on one of your first drives.

QSS