180q Fuel capacity - the definitive answer (and a warning!)
07-18-2000, 05:49 AM
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180q Fuel capacity - the definitive answer (and a warning!)
I finally got the answer as to how much fuel my 180q holds.
16.722 gallons
I was parked on a slight uphill last night, and the engine was sputtering when I started it this morning. The fuel range was reading 5 miles, and the gauge was a hair above walking. I let the car roll back onto level ground, shut off the A/C, and managed to get it to stay running. Thankfully, the gas station is less than 1/4 mile away, and it was downhill the whole way. It stalled as I rolled up to the pump, and that was level ground.
How did I do something so stupid??? I'm posting this as a warning to other Q owners. The Q's gas tank is straddling the driveshaft, and has two low points. Obviously, the fuel pickup can only be on one side. In a hard turn, the fuel sloshes to the other side. I guess that I must have already sloshed the fuel. In the past, I've run the tank down below zero miles on the trip computer, and still only put in 15.5 gallons. Like I said, the range computer still said I had 5 miles left, and I wasn't even sweating it.
The moral to this story is to consider the Q's fuel gauge to be completely inaccurate after 14.5 gallons.....
16.722 gallons
I was parked on a slight uphill last night, and the engine was sputtering when I started it this morning. The fuel range was reading 5 miles, and the gauge was a hair above walking. I let the car roll back onto level ground, shut off the A/C, and managed to get it to stay running. Thankfully, the gas station is less than 1/4 mile away, and it was downhill the whole way. It stalled as I rolled up to the pump, and that was level ground.
How did I do something so stupid??? I'm posting this as a warning to other Q owners. The Q's gas tank is straddling the driveshaft, and has two low points. Obviously, the fuel pickup can only be on one side. In a hard turn, the fuel sloshes to the other side. I guess that I must have already sloshed the fuel. In the past, I've run the tank down below zero miles on the trip computer, and still only put in 15.5 gallons. Like I said, the range computer still said I had 5 miles left, and I wasn't even sweating it.
The moral to this story is to consider the Q's fuel gauge to be completely inaccurate after 14.5 gallons.....
07-18-2000, 07:27 AM
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Q's gas tank...
..I'd read on here that there was some kind of fuel pump that would pump the gas if ya sloshed it towards the intake port.
Maybe that's what happened once you got level.<p>Tom Boucher
Lawrence, KS
----
TTRQ 225hp Roadster
Desert Green/Black Top/Aviator Gray Interior, Premier Package, Bose Package, and NAV
ORDERED - April 17, 2000, , STATUS HA - July 5, 2000
VIN#TRUUT28N911005008
Maybe that's what happened once you got level.<p>Tom Boucher
Lawrence, KS
----
TTRQ 225hp Roadster
Desert Green/Black Top/Aviator Gray Interior, Premier Package, Bose Package, and NAV
ORDERED - April 17, 2000, , STATUS HA - July 5, 2000
VIN#TRUUT28N911005008
07-18-2000, 10:33 AM
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You did a bad bad thing
The fuel pump and the sending units live in the tank and are designed to be immersed in gas to function correctly. Better hope you didn't **** any of them off. Your ECU probably didn't appreciate the burp either.
07-18-2000, 12:27 PM
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Interesting Q fuel pump info in Bentley CD-ROM...(more)
If you have the Bentley CD-ROM, get thee to page 20-106 for some interesting reading about the Q's fuel pump system.
The main fuel pump is in the fuel filler side of the tank. It's also connected via hoses to a secondary fuel pump on the other side of the tank. The secondary pump is apparently driven by fuel pressure from the main fuel pump. The book says that this arrangement makes the fuel in the secondary (left side of car when sitting in driver's seat) side of the tank flow over to the right (primary) side. However, there is apparently an Achille's heel to this. If there's not enough fuel in the right side to be pumped over to drive the secondary pump, you could have lots o' gas on the left side and fumes on the right side! In other words, you could run out of gas and still have plenty left!
It bears mentioning that page 20-107 states that a failure of the secondary pump will result in a car with 15 liters (1/4 tank!) of fuel in the tank, yet none at the fuel pickup.
Moral #2 of this story: If you're running out of gas, make a sudden left-hand turn to slosh the remaining fuel to the right.....
The main fuel pump is in the fuel filler side of the tank. It's also connected via hoses to a secondary fuel pump on the other side of the tank. The secondary pump is apparently driven by fuel pressure from the main fuel pump. The book says that this arrangement makes the fuel in the secondary (left side of car when sitting in driver's seat) side of the tank flow over to the right (primary) side. However, there is apparently an Achille's heel to this. If there's not enough fuel in the right side to be pumped over to drive the secondary pump, you could have lots o' gas on the left side and fumes on the right side! In other words, you could run out of gas and still have plenty left!
It bears mentioning that page 20-107 states that a failure of the secondary pump will result in a car with 15 liters (1/4 tank!) of fuel in the tank, yet none at the fuel pickup.
Moral #2 of this story: If you're running out of gas, make a sudden left-hand turn to slosh the remaining fuel to the right.....
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