What's the fuel tank capacity for a 1.6L Miata?

At the time, that E on the gauge seemed to loom a bit larger....

45 litres, which is 11.8 Freedom Gallons. You had lots left :)

I have some German friends who make it a life goal to absolutely maximize their range on their 1.6 Miatas. They'll bounce the car when filling it to release any bubbles. Then the ideal is to have the car stall as you're rolling up to the pump. Of course, they're not exactly hypermiling in between, but that's because hypermiling is boring.

Plenty left!

African or European?

Steve_Jones said:

African or European?

First one, then the other. 

I like the subtle logo photobomb in the reflection.

Gotta be careful sometimes with stated capacity.  Trust but verify.  I can say for certain that the capacity of an '02 S40 is about four or five gallons lower than claimed.  The tank was rather wee, which made road convoys fun sometimes.  Got anxious after driving 200mi...

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Thanks. And because we all seem to like gas station photos. 

When endurance racing Miatas, I don't even call the pits until the needle is BELOW the E.

In reply to racerfink :

I was thinking just how good at being a race car a box stock Miata is the other day. They don't usually fuel starve until you get crazy low, they don't usually have oiling issues, etc. Main Achilles heel is the front hubs and I don't feel like that applies for most cars running street tires and definitely isn't a problem for the vast majority of autoX'ers. What a gift to the world the NA/NB Miata was/is. 

In reply to accordionfolder :

The 25h of Thunderhill looks like a Mazda ad at about sunrise because those little boogers just keep going and going. 

We had our class-winning NB sucking up fuel so well that if it stumbled in T2, you weren't going to finish the lap. And that required almost no modification to the tank.

I can confirm that an 11 gallon fill-up in a 1.6l Miata (I don't top off) is doable. Everytime I refill and it takes less than 10, I feel like a failure. But the claim that you can get the gauge below E isn't quite right depending on what you mean. At its lowest reading, the needle bisects the E. When it hits this point, there's over a gallon remaining. Here's a photo of the gauge the one time I ran out. My planned fuel stop in Wyoming was closed on weekends and I didn't make it to the next. 

FWIW, the NA8 tank is a gallon or so larger and fits in the same hole in the chassis.  Endurance guys will swap them out for the extra capacity and it means the 1.6 tanks are super cheap if you ever need a replacement.

In reply to Berck :

Ow. 

This time, I was heading in from Orlando, and there are stations along the way so I felt fairly okay.

Last weekend, I drove in from that cars and coffee in Gainesville–and there's a stretch of 40 that's kinda empty. I made it to the Sunoco in Ormond but, looking back, maybe I should have grabbed gas sooner just to make the trip a bit more relaxing. 

KyAllroad said:

FWIW, the NA8 tank is a gallon or so larger and fits in the same hole in the chassis.  Endurance guys will swap them out for the extra capacity and it means the 1.6 tanks are super cheap if you ever need a replacement.

I was a little worried about the orignal tank since the car had sat for 8+ years, but it's been totally fine since getting it back on the road.

This might be the first time in more than a decade that I have filled it up.

accordionfolder said:

In reply to racerfink :

I was thinking just how good at being a race car a box stock Miata is the other day. They don't usually fuel starve until you get crazy low, they don't usually have oiling issues, etc. Main Achilles heel is the front hubs and I don't feel like that applies for most cars running street tires and definitely isn't a problem for the vast majority of autoX'ers. What a gift to the world the NA/NB Miata was/is. 

 

I ran two seasons of SCCA Showroom Stock C with a 90 Miata and it was glorious fun.

I was just thinking yesterday it would be neat to have the car back for vintage racing (it finished on the podium at the RunOffs). I used to drive it the 9 miles to the track, race it and drive home.  

On track  mileage was 9 mpg. I'd fill it to the brim about 3 miles from the track (no gas at the track) and then refill it on the way back home. It would take just on 10 gallons of fuel.

With sticky R compound rubber the rear suspsnion would corner on the bump stops. On LVMS outside road course turn 3 there was a fairly significant bump; you had to unwind the wheel about 10 degrees just before the rear suspension went over the bump or you end up with a wild tank slapper.

The hot set up was leaving the rear shocks semi worn as their being slightly soft was worth 3-4 tenths a lap. Also getting the alignment spot on was worth 3-4 tenths. I can't remember the exact setting but if the toe was off by anything more than a 1/32nd the car would drop 3-4 tenths.

Running 185/60-14s, instead of the 195/60-14s, was worth 4-5 tenths in qualifying but the 185s would start to get hot in a race so I'd use the 195s for the race.

Drafting was huge; not Spec Miata style bump drafting but picking the draft of any faster car that went by; that was worth 2 tenths. I used to line up behind a slightly faster car in qualfying and get towed around; that was worth 5 tenths.

I once ran at track day event that used the LVMS oval IMSA course; the car manged 111 mph. I think it did the same top speed whether you used 4th or 5th. You essentially had a 1/2 mile straighaway.

If you weren't a passenger once you turned into a corner, you simply weren't trying hard enough. 

As for road mileage I seem to recall once the motor got about 4000 RPM (around 80 mph) the mileage would decline rapidly. Below that I think I anged around 32 mpg on the highway...............it's been 25 years so I could be off.

In reply to Tom1200 :

I haven't run numbers but, yeah, it does seem to drink more fuel once past 4000 rpm. And to run with modern traffic, it's tuning closer to 4500.

Thanks for sharing the SSC memories. Back in the days of bolt-in roll cages and stock seats.

Gas mileage has always been affected by engine RPM, no matter the engine.

Berck said:

I can confirm that an 11 gallon fill-up in a 1.6l Miata (I don't top off) is doable. Everytime I refill and it takes less than 10, I feel like a failure. But the claim that you can get the gauge below E isn't quite right depending on what you mean. At its lowest reading, the needle bisects the E. When it hits this point, there's over a gallon remaining. Here's a photo of the gauge the one time I ran out. My planned fuel stop in Wyoming was closed on weekends and I didn't make it to the next. 

 

 

That's exactly what I'm looking for when racing one, not the 'E' itself.

Reliability is a big factor in why I own a miata. I had my alternator die at an autocross in Brooksville, 100 miles from home. I had a quick battery charge done at a flaps, drove it home on the battery. Pulled into my driveway well after sundown, with 6.5 volts showing on the scangauge. I'd have been in trouble if I had turned on the headlights.

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to Tom1200 :

Thanks for sharing the SSC memories. Back in the days of bolt-in roll cages and stock seats.

There was also great factory participation; I raced against the likes of John Fernandez of Dodge, Robert Davis from Mazda and even once against Alex Gurney.

David S. Wallens said:

I haven't run numbers but, yeah, it does seem to drink more fuel once past 4000 rpm. And to run with modern traffic, it's tuning closer to 4500.

The theory is that over 4,000rpm or so, the ECU tends to switch to open loop mode which is pretty rich so the mileage drops off pretty rapidly.

In reply to Berck :

FWIW, I'm running a Link ECU. Somewhere I have Ed's tuning notes. 

When we built the car 20+ years ago, I don't recall interstate traffic moving along so quickly. Just to keep up today, I'm right around 4500 rpm. 

The Link is closed loop above 4000. I think Berck is correct about the stock ECU, though. It's been a while.

4500 rpm with a stock tire diameter is 86 mph :)

In reply to Keith Tanner :

I-4 west of Daytona is exit-free for about a dozen miles. If you're not past 80, you're in the way. Remember when the national speed limit was 55?

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to Keith Tanner :

I-4 west of Daytona is exit-free for about a dozen miles. If you're not past 80, you're in the way. Remember when the national speed limit was 55?

About 12 years ago my then 76 yr old father got pulled over on that stretch of road for doing 87 mph...............

We shall not speak of this five-five limit as it is more traumatic then when our ancestors had sharpened sticks thrown at them