[Sleeper340i]

So I was running a mix of E30 last night and I was always told there's about a gallon of gas left when it doesn't show how many miles are left. Made it home driving like two minutes local driving after it said "—" for miles left. My dumbass thought with a gallon reserve left I could make it to my barber which is 5 minutes away and to to the gas station nearby right after which is also close.

Right after the barber on the way to get gas I get a hard knock going up a small hill and power cut out for a second. Gave it gas after to see if it would go and it sounded like shit sputtering hella and shaking a bit but it went slowly. My house was like 4 minutes away and mainly downhill so I did my best to make it to fill up some E85 (only gas at my place). As I got closer to my house and at stops my car was shaking hard and going up the last hill i couldn't get faster than 20.
Filled it up with 5 gallons E85, car started perfectly fine, then went to the gas station and filled up my gas.

Car ran fine after filling the gas but still wasn't 100 percent so I drove around mixing the blend and after about 15 20 minutes the car returned to like normal. How bad did I damage my car doing this? Lucky my engine didn't give out to be honest especially on E30..

[marcthedark]

Air in the lines? After driving for a while this was gone = normal

[Sleeper340i]

Originally Posted by marcthedark

Air in the lines? After driving for a while this was gone = normal

So you don't think it might have damaged my engine at all? Or would it mainly be a fuel pump/hose damage if at all?

[ronanz]

People run out of gas all the time, probably just had to recycle fuel back to your LPFP after refilling your reserves...now, had you run the sump dry...you'd have a problem

.

[marcthedark]

I wouldn’t think this caused any permanent damage as it was very limited/short terms etc. it might have shortened the fuel pump and injectors life span by 1000 miles ...... nothing you will notice

[B58togo]

I ran out of gas when my car had around 6k miles. I had taken it to a shop to have new wheels and Dinan springs installed and it was showing around 50 miles to empty when I dropped it off. When I picked it up, I never paid attention and ran out of gas around 10 miles later. We all know what happened here, but the moral of the story is, 43k later, my car is just fine.

[kern417]

In the future just call AAA. Running out of gas won't necessarily cause damage, but you shouldn't try to drive it and put the engine under load. That can overheat the fuel pump and damage the engine. But it sounds like neither happened to you.

[Sleeper340i]

Thanks for the assurance guys, thought I took a good half year off the life at least

[Sleeper340i]

Originally Posted by kern417

In the future just call AAA. Running out of gas won't necessarily cause damage, but you shouldn't try to drive it and put the engine under load. That can overheat the fuel pump and damage the engine. But it sounds like neither happened to you.

Yeah I should've done it in the first place, didn't know how much worse it would get as the minutes passed by. Speaking of damage idk If this is correlated or not but seems my HPFP might be going out, on E30 stage 2 my car is knocking like crazy under WOT at low gears. And I do hear a sound coming from the rear back of the car in idle kinda close to the rear left brakes. Hoping it wasn't caused by this.

[Skyhigh]

Originally Posted by ronanz

People run out of gas all the time,

.

Ahm.... no.... they don't
Running out of fuel CAN be dangerous on modern vehicles! Should never be consciously risked.

[kern417]

Originally Posted by Sleeper340i

Yeah I should've done it in the first place, didn't know how much worse it would get as the minutes passed by. Speaking of damage idk If this is correlated or not but seems my HPFP might be going out, on E30 stage 2 my car is knocking like crazy under WOT at low gears. And I do hear a sound coming from the rear back of the car in idle kinda close to the rear left brakes. Hoping it wasn't caused by this.

run some logs and post them for review
https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1648722

You need to find out where the sound is coming from, but it could be the exhaust flap rattling if it's the rear driver's side. That's a common issue.

[Sleeper340i]

Originally Posted by kern417

run some logs and post them for review
https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1648722

You need to find out where the sound is coming from, but it could be the exhaust flap rattling if it's the rear driver's side. That's a common issue.

Think all is good now as I switched back to 92 knock was bad on E30 though even just partial throttle, might be my HPFP going out but will be putting in the Pure 800 with new Supra HPFP as well so no worries there.

As for the sound that's exactly where the sound was coming from, exactly where the rear driver brakes are but little more inside.

[jackstrath]

Im sorry but how stupid can you be... in the Uk you can get up to a £1500 fine if you run out of fuel on a road and cause a scene.... and quite right imo, your putting other people and yourself at risk from a completely avoidable situation.

In all my years driving i have never ever been close to running out of fuel. Iv only seen the 50 miles to go or what ever it is fuel light once since iv had this car in march and i can count on my hands the other times iv seen the fuel light over the years in other cars/bikes...

Running your car low on gas isnt a good idea period, and even more so if your tuned as your "safety window" is even smaller! We all know how sensitive these injectors seem to be these days so running them dry would be up there with the stupidest of things to do, combined with all the junk that sits at the bottom of your tank....

Keep a jerry can of fuel in your trunk if your not able to keep an eye on your fuel gauge would be my advice.

[ronanz]

LOL!

.

[Sleeper340i]

Originally Posted by jackstrath

Im sorry but how stupid can you be... in the Uk you can get up to a £1500 fine if you run out of fuel on a road and cause a scene.... and quite right imo, your putting other people and yourself at risk from a completely avoidable situation.

In all my years driving i have never ever been close to running out of fuel. Iv only seen the 50 miles to go or what ever it is fuel light once since iv had this car in march and i can count on my hands the other times iv seen the fuel light over the years in other cars/bikes...

Running your car low on gas isnt a good idea period, and even more so if your tuned as your "safety window" is even smaller! We all know how sensitive these injectors seem to be these days so running them dry would be up there with the stupidest of things to do, combined with all the junk that sits at the bottom of your tank....

Keep a jerry can of fuel in your trunk if your not able to keep an eye on your fuel gauge would be my advice.

Nah you're right, it was stupid of me. Being the first time this ever happened, it's never happening again and I'm glad my baby lived to see another day

Lesson from this gents, don't let those E blends run more than two miles max on "-"!!!

[Londoner]

Originally Posted by jackstrath

Im sorry but how stupid can you be... in the Uk you can get up to a £1500 fine if you run out of fuel on a road and cause a scene.... and quite right imo, your putting other people and yourself at risk from a completely avoidable situation.

In all my years driving i have never ever been close to running out of fuel. Iv only seen the 50 miles to go or what ever it is fuel light once since iv had this car in march and i can count on my hands the other times iv seen the fuel light over the years in other cars/bikes...

Running your car low on gas isnt a good idea period, and even more so if your tuned as your "safety window" is even smaller! We all know how sensitive these injectors seem to be these days so running them dry would be up there with the stupidest of things to do, combined with all the junk that sits at the bottom of your tank....

Keep a jerry can of fuel in your trunk if your not able to keep an eye on your fuel gauge would be my advice.

Running with low fuel is actually a recommendation these days - the AA advises just this to increase your mpg and be environmentally friendly.

Not that i pay any attention - there's always at least half a tank of 99 ron v power in mine!

[kern417]

It was definitely more of an issue on older cars. Modern fuel pumps are mounted in baskets that help keep it surrounded by fuel when the fuel level is low. BUT, completely running out of fuel is a different scenario.

I think OP gets the idea. Everyone makes mistakes.

[mike@x-ph.com]

I'm sure no damages were caused to the engine