New Astra 1.8 SRI

Gina ( snipped-for-privacy@blueyonder.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Why would you need to run it dry?

Fill it up. Zero the trip meter.

Fill it up. Record the fuel, record the mileage. Divide litres by 4.5 to get gallons. Divide miles by gallons to get mpg.

Repeat over a few tankfuls.

Now read handbook to find out how big tank is. Subtract (average fill) from tank size. Yep, you can take it from there, can't you?

Yes.

To avoid unnecessary expense, change at 30,000 miles, and replace the water pump every other time.

Chris

Hi, Thankyou for your answer. Didn't get the handbook with it, and would like to know what the reserve is, I've filled it up and zeroed it twice to start getting an idea but when the light comes on I'm intrigued to know how much is left in the tank, both fills have come to different amounts and have been done when the light comes on so right now with no tank capacity, no reserve figures and no handbook I'm a little lost for info and searching the net has turned up nothing but a headache. I also drive alot in inner city traffic and would like to know how much is left when caught short in a traffic jam with the light on, my last car had a 5 litre reserve in a 49 litre tank and was much more fuel efficient by my estimation so far.

Gina

Gina ( snipped-for-privacy@blueyonder.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Google may well be able to help. Or a Vauxhall dealer should be able to supply you with a handbook.

Two seconds on Google suggests that the fuel tank capacity on that shape of Astra (Astra G) is 52 litres.

Thankyou, I thought it was only slightly larger than the old car from filling amounts it I'm going to try and get a handbook but getting anywhere useful while they are still open is proving tricky with work thanx for the info including shape type have only been able to find new car spec or everything but ie expected urban/extra urban consumption, bhp, turning circumfurance, leg room, length all great stuff but not very usefull when actually drivng!!

Gina

Cambelt at 40k or less absolutely essential, along with the tensioners and rollers. Especially the 1.4 and 1.8 ecotecs are *very* well known for belt breakages pretty regualrly.

2.2's often experience cam chain failures which totals the engine.

Tim..

If it's anything like my diesel 25 fuel tank the golden rule was when the needle was pegged on the bottom of the fuel gauge there was a gallon of fuel still left in the very bottom part of the sump (this confirmed by a reputable Rover mechanic). I could always tell if I was pushing my luck past this limit and needed to fill up quickly as the tank would develop harmonic vibrations in sympathy with various engine revs as it got closer to the zilch mark (but I didn't do this often due to fears of sucking up water and muck off the bottom of the tank).

PDH

If it's anything like my 2.2 2003 Astra, it splutters to a halt when the trip computer says there is 18 miles *remaining*. Not that I was annoyed or anything...

Basically, if the fuel light is flashing then stop at the very next petrol station you come to!

A fine lesson for not trusting the fuel computer. The miles remaining is generally based on the average mpg so far, so if you're suddenly in traffic, the miles remaining will soon become a matter of "engine running for a few more minutes". I've learned plenty of times to just not chance it!

Or just fill up some time in the last quarter of a tank. That's what the fuel gauge is for.

Mine when it gets below about 20 miles just displays two dashes. I did 30 miles on 2 dashes one. The fuel light had already been on for some time...

I've only filled my Omega petrol tank twice since I started using it six months ago. It does 45 miles a day, and no, nobody else has put any petrol in it either...

Chris Bolus ( snipped-for-privacy@RILEYELFb0lus.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

45 a day, five days a week, 25 weeks?

5,600 miles on two tankfuls...?

How much LPG has it got through?

Trip computers seem to vary in how they respond. The one in the Megane used to say you had some implausible amount like

80 miles left until the low fuel light came on, at which point it changed to two dashes. The Almera is conservative, and seems to give the mileage until the fuel light comes on - I don't know how many miles you can do after that, as the trip display reckons you are out of petrol at that point.

Considering that when you are low on fuel is when you really need an accurate estimate, this is a bit annoying.

I have a trip computer wired into the Satnav on an X-Trail. The Satnav software shows the maximum range available on the trip from a to b, and if fuel is short the nearest petrol stations within that available range.

It's reasonably accurate, but I don't like to push my luck.

PDH

Well, if traffic conditions vary a lot an accurate estimate is near-impossible. I've run out of fuel in the past much more than common sense should have allowed me to, and have learned not to chance it! The number of times there isn't a chance to fill up between it being about a quarter-full and the fuel light coming on is probably *very* small, so there's no real excuse, it's just that in this day and age everyone's in a rush and wants to keep stopping for breath to a minimum. In reality, stopping after every 350 miles, instead of every 400, possibly 420 if you're really chancing it [figures approximate and can vary greatly between difference vehicles] shouldn't make much difference to one's life, and if it does (or if that is the perception), then one should really be reassessing ones priorities. Or something.

Well spotted ;-)

Are you the same Gina as in the one I know from Yorkshire :)

*Everybody* knows Gina from Yorkshire ;-)

No offence, like... I'm sure *you're* not *that* Gina!!!