Fuel tank volume

**atzialis** · 04-08-2015, 06:57 AM

A couple of times now I have left the car's fuel run down to where the car's computer says 0 Km left for the purpose of seeing how many litres in reserve I would have as every car I have driven understates how many Km's left to empty.
To my surprise both times the car took 50.5L and 51 litres of fuel. So 0 Km musty really mean 0 Km or my local servo's underfill and overcharge. Wondering what other peoples experiences are in regards to this.

**Dzl_Dubba** · 04-08-2015, 07:18 AM

I've poured 52L in the tank. Don't forget the section of piping leading to the tank. I don't think they count that when working out tank size. I wish they kept the 55L tank.

**Antiplastix** · 04-08-2015, 07:31 AM

Sounds like a good way to ruin your fuel pump and clog your fuel filter.

**atzialis** · 04-08-2015, 07:31 AM

I was thinking that. Was more surprised that when it stated 0 km to empty that it was really that close to empty.
Our Polo still has about 5L left in the tank when it shows 0Km to empty and a Prado I drove for work still had 10L in the tank.
I could have been in real trouble with the wife as I keep telling her that she can go 30-40Km when it shows 0Km to empty. Maybe in the Polo but not the Octavia it seems.

**woofy** · 04-08-2015, 08:57 AM

Yeah I never go by the kms left, too many cars these days do a sudden drop near the end. I wish they kept the 55L tank as well. As it is, our 2008 Octavia always seemed to be getting filled due to the smaller tank. Around 60-65L I find is a good tank size. I'm sure they used that extra 5L space for something useful.

**Dzl_Dubba** · 04-08-2015, 11:42 AM

Originally Posted by Antiplastix

Sounds like a good way to ruin your fuel pump and clog your fuel filter.

Especially if you have a diesel. Always pour fuel with about 50-100km to empty.

**Gerrycan** · 04-08-2015, 01:05 PM

This is a popular topic on the Briskoda forum.
The usual complaint is from diesel users where they fill on the the zero distance left prompt and can only put in something like 40 to 45 litres.
This seems to be a feature of the diesel models to avoid issues when running the tank too low (crud and/or overheating pumps?). A diesel will get a reasonable range from 40 litres anyway so I don't see it as much of a problem.

Petrol versions seem to be much more realistic relative to tank capacity and getting close to the official 50 litres capacity is common.
Some users seem to enjoy the 'Russian roulette' approach to see how much they can re-fill and the best I can remember seeing is just over 55 litres. Again it is something that worthwhile knowing but probably should not be tested.

The Mk2 official capacity was 55 litres but there were reports of being able to squeeze as much as 64 litres in and the VW group are not the only ones to be a little conservative with capacity claims.

Note that the Scout and 4WD models are usually quoted as having tanks with 5 litres more capacity than their 2WD counterparts

**brad** · 04-08-2015, 01:37 PM

Originally Posted by Antiplastix

Sounds like a good way to ruin your fuel pump and clog your fuel filter.

I run mine down to zero all the time. In a 55L tank I regularly put in 53 - 54 and often have hit the magic 55+L. The fill pipe holds 2-3L so there's still a few litres in the tank.

The fuel pickup always draws from the bottom of the tank - it's not a HQ Holden.

You do need to be aware that if the fuel is low & you go honking through a corner or accelerate hard you can starve the system. If you are trundling along the motorway it's not an issue.