When do you refuel?

Drove home from work tonight, approximatly 850 km since I last tanked, OBC says I can do another 310 km and I only need 220 km to get back and forth to work.

It sort of depends.
When I was in school I "refueled" $10 at a time, so usually the tank was at or around empty

I've noticed in the E30 that the engine doesn't run as well when in the last 1/8 of a tank (mass, not gauge) so I usually fuel before that point. This phenomenon is on the list of things to figure out at some point in the future.

In the E46 I refuel when it's convenient for me. I have no guiding principles on the matter except in how it effects my pocket book and if I have to pump it myself. Sometimes whether the windows need scrubbing is a stronger determining factor

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1989 - E30 - M20 - Manual. Approximately 270,000 miles
2000 - E46 - M52TUB28 - Manual. Approximately 110,000 miles

I like to keep the tank at least somewhat filled if possible. I think that's because I'm a father ready to bale my kids out of trouble day or night! Noadays I can relax and live a normal life

With the iX and now with the S10; I nearly always fill up when the gauge reads 1/4 full or slightly less...I simply do not want to walk anywhere with a gas can in my hand.

Or, if you mean this ; then I fuel up whenever I can; empty or not

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Earendil
I've noticed in the E30 that the engine doesn't run as well when in the last 1/8 of a tank (mass, not gauge) so I usually fuel before that point. This phenomenon is on the list of things to figure out at some point in the future.

Mine does that too. So I'd be keen to hear why, if you ever figure it out.

But running on fumes is bad for the in-tank fuel pump (it likes to be submerged to keep it cool), so I try not to go there too often.

Well, kept on driving... 1117.3 km on one tank, 61.37 l tanked in a 60.0 l tank (don't know about BMW's but at Ford this is normal, the tanks sag a bit when they grow older), still had 90 km to go according to the OBC. That's 5.5 l/100 km (OBC is always off quite a bit, 4.5 it mentionned).

Holy Smokes Michiel, what Beemer do you drive?
I gotta get me one of them, mine only gives me 7.5 L/100Km and it is a little 318i

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E30'S AREN'T BUILT, THEY'RE CAUGHT IN THE WILD!!!



When in doubt, use full throttle,
it may not improve the situation, but it will end the suspence.

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Earendil
...if I have to pump it myself...

I HATE having anyone else touch my car, even to pump gas. It just offends me on so many levels. This is actually a serious consideration in why I might not ever move to Oregon, despite it being my wife's homeland.

Cab
1990 325i(s)
2004 325XiT

Typically at or around 300 miles on the tank, unless I'm having a good mileage tank and am still at 1/4 tank at 300 mi. This morning I refueled at 320 mi, and I still had a while more that I could have gone. I don't like getting down too low, especially in the winter when we could have a snowstorm at any time and I'll be stuck in non-moving traffic for extended times. My daily commute is about 55 miles round trip, so I fuel up typically once every week or 8-9 days.

Cab
1990 325i(s)
2004 325XiT

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Cab Treadway

Quote
Earendil
...if I have to pump it myself...

I HATE having anyone else touch my car, even to pump gas. It just offends me on so many levels. This is actually a serious consideration in why I might not ever move to Oregon, despite it being my wife's homeland.

I sort of worded that wrong. Pumping my own gas isn't a bad thing. I used to work at an airport and fueled small aircraft. No special certificate or anything, just a little common sense. That Oregon would let me fuel $100,000 aircraft and not my own $2000 car always astounded me.
My commute does start in Washington state and end in Oregon. With the border economics what they are plus gas taxes, it's cheaper right now to have someone else pump my gas. In the winter, that isn't such a bad deal

Come to OR. You can join me at the track to watch the PRO3 races

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1989 - E30 - M20 - Manual. Approximately 270,000 miles
2000 - E46 - M52TUB28 - Manual. Approximately 110,000 miles

2003 E46 320d 4dr. Not as much fun to drive as an E30, but a bit more comfortable and cheaper in fuel (though last refuel set me back 75€).

Meanwhile I found out the tank on the E46 is 63l, so I had could have gone a bit further but this already was bad on the fuel system (not enough fuel to cool). The consumption figure could be lower as I don't drive like granddads do, I like to keep it lively and floor it once in a while to get the soot out the exhaust. On the motorways I try to keep 140 km/h in the morning and 130 km/h in the evening, though traffic often causes me to slow down and accelerate again.

Last week I got a new Ford Focus 2.0 petrol to drive home with, a pretty modern engine but I missed the torque of my turbodiesel, so much more comfortable in our busy traffic.

I refuel 20€ at a time, unless i am going for a long drive.
It often runs for some time with the low fuel light on...
I write down the km on the odometer, so I can keep track of average consumption.
In 2010 i covered about 15000 km with the old Citroen, and didn't got around to add up how much gas and € it used, but will do it soon.