As an experiment (and based on Dave777's claim that you can take the tank below 0.0 gallons for 10-20 miles) I decided to start my 85-mile commute this afternoon with only 1/8 tank showing (the gauge had just clicked from 1/4). I figured that I had about 1.3-1.4 actual gallons in the tank (not including the possibly apocryphal 1.3 gallons in the tubing, or whatever).
Since I already had 365 miles on the tank, I thought that I had a shot not only at 400 but also at eclipsing my record of about 418. Just to be safe, I bought a new gas can and filled it up with 1.000 gal of 93-octane, which is what I've been using of late. I set off.
At 383 miles, the 1.0 gallon symbol came on. It began descending in one-tenth increments every 5 miles or so until I was passing the 418-mile mark with .02 gallons to go. I pulled into my favorite station in NJ just after the 0.0 mark -- maybe a mile or so. If I'd had to drive further at 0.0, I might have gone for it just because I had the extra gallon.
Final tally on this tank: 425.7 miles, 8.750 gallons. That comes out to about 48.6 miles per gallon, which is about as high as I've gotten for a tank. In order to achieve that mileage, I've been driving at an avg speed of about 55, and I've been using other hyper-miler tricks, too, like the pulse-and-glide (but no drafting).
Linear Mode
