Does refilling your gastank at the halfway point give you better gas mileage and better for your engine?

Question

I hear it's better to refill your gastank at the halfway point (rather than at almost empty) because you'll get better gas mileage and the sediment at the bottom of the tank gets mixed around more so it's better for your engine. Is this true?

Answer 1

Really makes no difference, since the car is always in motion when it's running (usually) any sediment/rust/crud in the tank is going to be mixed into the fuel anyway. If your car has a pump in the tank, there's a filter on it to screen out impurities. Also, most in tank fuel pumps sit in their own little resevoir, so they're always immersed in gas, to keep them cool. One thing to be careful of, NEVER buy gas at a station when the tank truck is there filling the tanks. The reason is, when they're pumping gas into the underground tanks, it stirs the fuel in the tank, and you'll get more garbage in your fuel.

Answer 2

OK, I can't find the article. Maybe you don't have to fill up at the half mark, but the article I'm looking for said that if the level gets low, you're mileage will decrease.

Here's one good reason to fill up before you need it: If you see a low price now, grab it. When you really need gas, the price may or may not be the lowest that you've seen in recent weeks. Because your cost per gallon goes down, your cost per mile will go down. It's just another way of improving **your bottom line**, which is the goal, isn't it?

I've provided some links below. The first link shows how edmunds.com tested different methods that are said to improve mileage.

Answer 3

any wait shed from a vehicle give better gas mileage..
the same as a car that is carrying 4 ppl. takes more gas to run that with 2 ppl . i would be guessing @ the wait of gas around 65LP. per ten gal. so that's not much but i would be sure that any wait added would effect the gas mileage. but keep in mined it is bad to run it to low their is sediment in their but u would almost have to run out of gas for it to b a problem

Answer 4

Personally i think the main reason to keep it above half tank is to keep the sediment from being sucked up and also on the newer vehicles with an in-pump fuel tank the gas keeps the pump cool, and if you let it get too low and overheat the pump youll wear it out sooner.

Answer 5

First off, NO that is not true. However, if you make a habit of running your tank below half especially below 1/4 the Fuel Pump will become overheated due to lack of cooling fluids and you also risk moisture condensation from all of the air inside the tank.

I have a Jeep Cherokee with 238,000 miles and the original fuel pump.

Answer 6

Absolutely not. It makes no difference. There shouldn't be any sediment in your tank at all. If there is, you have much bigger problems than your fuel economy and aside from that if you have chunks of anything in your tank they would end up blocking fuel flow and cause fuel starvation in the engine and it would stall.

Answer 7

You don't want to get so low that any crud or water in the bottom of your tank gets onto the inlet filter so going real low is a poor idea. The other difficulty in waiting to the last minute is that sooner or later you will get stuck in gas-wasting traffic jams and that little bit of gas left may not get you through it.

Answer 8

it is true in a way your engine works more efficiently when the gas tank is full because you gas pump has to do less work and the fuel injectors don't clog as fast and spray better

Answer 9

Because of the way that alot of gas tanks are made (shape) it is a deception that you get better gas milage if its full or half. the ratio of gas to O2 is the same reguardless.

Answer 10

last part could be true. The main reason for doing it in the summer, is to keep moisture from forming in the tank. The second reason for doing it is so you always have gas in your car. even when you are out of cash.