I've noticed that when I run my truck well below empty (pretty much at or below the bottom line on gauge), perhaps 20-25 miles with the light on, it will only take about 21.5 gallons to fill up. That's the most I've ever drained it down to.

I was browsing on MSN autos and looking at 2000 LR Disco specs, and it says the fuel tank is 24.6 gallons... If that is correct, I should be getting another 45 miles out of it. I find myself filling up at about 325-340 miles per tank, and I get about 15-17 MPG when figured with a calculator (trip odo divided by fuel it takes to fill).

Am I shortchanging myself, and have a ways left to go? Are you guys able to run your rigs for a long time with the orange fuel light on? It seems that in order to use my whole 24.6 gallons (if that is indeed true), I would have to drive with the fuel light on for a good 70 miles or so. I start to panic when I see it hit that bottom (red?) line, but maybe I shouldn't be...?

What do you guys think, or what has your experience been regarding fuel range?

 

I've never got more than 22.5 in mine.

 

Yeah, I've often wondered the same thing... I generally fill up a few miles after the light comes on and I've never gotten more than 21 gallons in mine. I had an old cadillac that would suck itself dry 5 miles after the light came on, stalling in the middle of an intersection was a monthly occurrence, been paranoid since.

It's always made me laugh when I see guys arguing about their fuel milage, disputing a difference of 1 or 2 MPG. Unless you run your truck dry, fill it up, and run it dry again. You won't be getting a very accurate MPG calculation.

Consider this, lets say I got exactly 350 miles from a fill up until my light came on.
I use my last fill up, 21 gallons, that's 16.7MPG. Great.

Next time, I only get 320 miles until the orange light comes on, lets assume I only got 21 gallons in for simplicity sake, that's 15MPG.
Why did the orange light come on earlier? I parked on a hill, I drove up a hill, I didn't squeeze quite as much into the tank because I was in a rush, there's way too many factors to argue about increments that small. Because the gauges / idiot lights aren't accurate enough.

The only way to be even moderately close to accurate is how I stated above.
Bone dry, to bone dry... And that's a huge pain in the ***. You can always just take an average, but it could still be really far off.

 

the one time someone ran it out i think it was 24 gal

 

I'd have to disagree with you on this one buddy. If you fill up the truck, reset the trip, use half a tank, fill up again, then do the math, it is a pretty accurate way to get your gas mileage. If you do that 3-4 times and then average your results then you have an accurate MPG.

It is never good to run your fuel pump dry.