Filling up ... full tank vs half tank

nicolax

was having this conversation with a friend the other night, wandered if anyone knew the actual answer

i have a friend who will always half fill his tank when going to get petrol, and going more often, as he says that above half a tank is extra weight in the car so costs more as the car needs to use more petrol to drag the weight (IYKWIM)

i, however, fill mine to the top (as long i have the money to!) as my arguement was that although it may cost slightly more to carry the extra weight, the petrol price will also go up by the time i next fill up, so im buying more at the lower price

does anyone know which is more cost-effective - filling up to the top, or to half fill the tank?

thanks in advance!

(especially helpful since work have now cut our sunday premium pay so im down quite a bit each month now!)

KierNet

Either way it will be pennys that you are saving, seems too much effort.

rictus123

I fill right up as saves alot of trips to the petrol station. As above, lot of effort for simular outcome

ElkyElky

The petrol you'd waste going back and forth to the station would make it totally pointless filling only half a tank.

petrolhead89

of course your car will use more fuel pulling the extra 20 or 30 litres around. Its far more economical (on your wallet) to only partially fill up..Also there is a petrol station on a main road I travel along every day so trips back and forth to the petrol station dont affect me.

reeac

petrolhead89 wrote: »

of course your car will use more fuel pulling the extra 20 or 30 litres around. Its far more economical (on your wallet) to only partially fill up..Also there is a petrol station on a main road I travel along every day so trips back and forth to the petrol station dont affect me.

You're only talking about an extra 25 Kg. max. I challenge anyone to detect any effect on mpg. caused by that weight increase. Better to refuse to carry fat passengers.

SavingIsFun_2

If it's convenient to fill up like '89 it might make some difference - but your car probably weighs a metric tonne, so I can't see a few extra KG's make much of a difference... Could be better off going to the gym for the same effect!

JQ.

petrolhead89 wrote: »

of course your car will use more fuel pulling the extra 20 or 30 litres around. Its far more economical (on your wallet) to only partially fill up..Also there is a petrol station on a main road I travel along every day so trips back and forth to the petrol station dont affect me.

I don't think anybody's disputing that, but an extra 20 litres of fuel in something that weighs in excess of 1000kg is likely to make very little difference. Twice as many trips to a petrol station to save a couple of pence, personally my time is worth more than that to me.

Are there any mathmeticians out there that can actually work out the actual cost saving of a petrol car with 35mpg, weighing 1,250Kg, and a tank capacity of 55 litres?

petrolhead89

nicolax wrote: »

was having this conversation with a friend the other night, wandered if anyone knew the actual answer

i have a friend who will always half fill his tank when going to get petrol, and going more often, as he says that above half a tank is extra weight in the car so costs more as the car needs to use more petrol to drag the weight (IYKWIM)

i, however, fill mine to the top (as long i have the money to!) as my arguement was that although it may cost slightly more to carry the extra weight, the petrol price will also go up by the time i next fill up, so im buying more at the lower price

does anyone know which is more cost-effective - filling up to the top, or to half fill the tank?

thanks in advance!

(especially helpful since work have now cut our sunday premium pay so im down quite a bit each month now!)

how much per month do you end up spending on petrol?

aintshesweet

I think it's so marginal it's not even worth caring about. You're much better off checking your tyre pressures regularly and clearing things out of your car regularly (don't carry extra weight in your boot).
Also, drive economically and keep everything topped up and maintained well instead.
Learn how to do a simple service on your car and you'll save tons on garage labour costs & MOT failure... that's another big cost of car maintenance. There's lots of things you can fix yourself without putting it in a garage charging £££s.

DCFC79

reeac wrote: »

You're only talking about an extra 25 Kg. max. I challenge anyone to detect any effect on mpg. caused by that weight increase. Better to refuse to carry fat passengers.

or charge a fat tax