Hurricane Irma proof cars need bigger gas tanks?

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Originally Posted By: WyrTwister
I am not aware running 93 octane will be a problem with any car ? Other than the higher price . If I was in a bind I would pay the higher cost .


That's why I was confused people didn't buy 93.
 
Originally Posted By: bioburner
Why did't FL make the south bound freeways into north bound as well? Video showed almost nothing for traffic going south. Drop the south bound into a single lane and all the rest north bound? If I remember right the highway out of Corpus Christie TX does this.


That would require intelligence and initiative. It's far easier to tell people that they are on their own.
 
Well FL might get a chance to practice all the wisdom offered here for the next system--Hurricane Maria.

Although it looks like it will turn north first.

BTW, most fuel stations are open again south of Tampa but prices are still almost 20% above pre-Harvey.

As for the Keys, special written permission is still required and National Guard escort for convoys still required.

No power except generators. Kind of doubtful tanker trucks are making runs down there yet but could be.

As for these posts on evacuation, please do remember that FL is 400+ miles long and by the time someone left the Keys with a full tank, they would be attempting to refuel in areas of north FL that were already depleted from the Houston shutdowns due to Harvey.

Also, this track was originally set for the West coast but was reforecast to the East Coast so the residents of the West Coast postponed evacuation for what should be obvious reasons. Then Thursday the track migrated to the West agsin and people were racing to board up windows before evacuating.

Plenty of Monday morning QB'ing by all but not all of it deserved.

There would not have been the fueling issues if not for Harvey a week earlier.
 
Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
Originally Posted By: bioburner
Why did't FL make the south bound freeways into north bound as well? Video showed almost nothing for traffic going south. Drop the south bound into a single lane and all the rest north bound? If I remember right the highway out of Corpus Christie TX does this.


That would require intelligence and initiative. It's far easier to tell people that they are on their own.


By gawd Alfred.

I can assure you that no gov't official told people they were on their own with this Irma right on the heels of Harvey.

Politicians over-reacted if anything.

But please go back to a good gripe session. They do us all good now and again
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To me it is second nature to be prepared and to a certain extent common sense. The general public are lax in their ability to provide for themselves dues to the ease and availability of the comforts around them. If there were ever widespread disease or calamity the casualties would be in the millions very quickly and tens of millions thereafter.

At this moment, where I live there is no threat of an emergency or evacuation type of scenario. Prepared sufficiently, the ability to have food/supply/fuel to leave and travel at least 1000 miles in any direction at the drop of a hat if needed in any season is not a problem. Conversely, sheltering in place with no electricity or heat would not pose a problem either.

If one lived in a place that was exposed yearly to any kind of phenomena, it would behoove them to be equally prepared, all the time.
 
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
How about hurricanes Harvey and Irma reinforcing the wisdom of purchasing a vehicle with the best possible fuel economy? And, not waiting until the low fuel light comes on to look for a fill up? My car has a rather small (14 gallon) tank and it can go very close to 500 miles on that. Larger vehicles and SUVs are selling like crazy in recent years due to low gas prices. It's only a matter of time until that trend bites people in the posterior. How quickly we forget.


It's an interesting point. But the sale of cars have declined and the gas mileage of those SUV's have gone up so total gas consumption in the US has actually gone down over the last few years.


That is a true statement and a good point, but for the individual it still pays to minimize consumption. But, as has been stated, if you want to spend more money on fuel, you are free to do so.
 
Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Apparently the thing to do is a buy a car that takes Premium. The last hurricane we had, none of the gas stations within 10 miles had regular 87, 89, or diesel. They all had 93 though.
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In my area the case was different. I did not drive around searching for gas, nor did I need to fuel up during the acute "shortage" so I can't speak about a large number of stations. I filled up my car several days before the crunch and then about a week after it. In both cases - two different stations and brands - they had no premium, only regular. Of course, if you have no premium you have no mid-grade since it is just a blend of regular and premium.
 
I was in your shoes DB except the diesel I got from my usual Shell/Circle-K post-Harvey and pre-Irma was absolute [censored].

It took 4x the recommended dose of Stanadyne to get it to smooth out a bit. No water or particulates in my test bottle--just very poorly additized. I have just about burned through the tank and looks to be about a 20% drop on fuel economy.

BTW, Chase Banks in the area are still closed from Irma...just to provide some insight to non-locals.
 
There was definitely a heightened panic after Harvey.
Hurricanes are the Norm in Florida. This was full blown panic for a week before it even got here making matters worse.
 
Well governor issued a state of emergency for all of florida on Tuesday after labor day and the hurricane hit on Friday night, so i dont know how that equals a week of calamity.

Alot of people still had to go to work Tues-Thurs and even Friday. So even you did fill up that day many people still spent those days running around trying to buy supplies, while jostling their jobs. Hence items like bread, water and gas where pretty much sold out everywhere, not just south florida.

Purchasing a vehicle with the best possible fuel economy doesnt always equal having the best driving range. Many trucks and and large suvs will get you further on one tank gas compared small fuel efficient vehicle. Would auto stop start and non-plug hybrids in bumper to bumper traffic where a typical trip that takes 4-5hrs turns into 15-18hrs help sure, but would having manafactures equiq vehicles with large enough gas tanks to have a range around 500 miles before the low fuel light based on their epa mpg further alleviate congestion?
 
^The only issue I see with this idea is that if a large vehicle needs 25 gallons to go 500 miles and my car needs 14 gallons the gas stations will still sell out faster if more people own the former. When resources are limited you want to make the most efficient use of them. YMMV.
 
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