Don’t Run On Empty!

There’s a gene that all of us have that tells our brains that danger is fun and that we love to live on the edge. Even if it’s not as prevalent in your specific circumstances, I am sure that you’ve lived on the edge before! A great example of that danger-seeking instinct is when you don’t get gas often enough and then you end up driving your vehicle with the gas gauge pointing to “E.” Yeah, that’s dangerous. If you were thinking earlier that you weren’t a thrill seeker, well, you probably are.

Why? There are a few reasons it’s never a good idea to drive with the gauge on empty. The first is that it can totally burn out your fuel pump. The gas from your tank acts as a coolant for your fuel pump, so when there’s no gas all your pump has to use is air. This creates a lot of heat and burns out your fuel pump much faster than if you gave it enough gas to use.

Your gas gauge isn’t even fully accurate, to begin with. If you are familiar with the episode of Seinfeld where Kramer test drives a car with the gauge pointing to “E,” then you know that this could mean anything from 50 miles to .5 miles of gas left. A good practice is to never let your tank get below a quarter full.

Finally, a fact of life is that sediment collects at the bottom of every gas tank in the world over time, including yours. When your gas level goes down, the more likely it is that the sediment at the bottom of your tank will go through your fuel system. So, when you drive on empty, you’re stirring up that sediment and then sending that disgusting gas through your engine, which strains your fuel injectors and fuel lines and can make a total flush of your fuel system necessary.

The thing I want to leave you with today is a healthy fear of running on empty, and the understanding that you should never let your tank go below a quarter full. Capisci?