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Re: Never go past 1/4 tank?
Keeping your tank 1/4 full or more is throwback advice from when engines had carburetors and suction fuel pumps. Then vapor lock and pressure to the pump meant something.
Not filling your tank when the tank truck is filling the gas tanks at the filling station is the best preventative measure you can take to keep sediment out of your tank. Since your fuel pump picks up from the bottom of the tank, and puts out 40-50 psi, you will not see any substantial increase in fuel pressure from increasing the amount of fuel in the tank. Modern push-type pumps have no problem with vapor lock. They pressurize the fuel lines instead of sucking the gas from the tank as did the old style suction pumps.
There is no air in your fuel tank, no water from the air, and therefore no rusting at any stage of tank fillage, except totally empty. viper03860 is mistaken. The tank with gasoline in it holds pressure, not vacuum, and filling the tank pushes all the air out (from opening the gas cap) as it is filled. The pressure in the tank is supplied by the vapor pressure of the gasoline. That is why you get escaping gas vapor when you remove the gas tank cap. You will get a DTC (P0440) when your cap cannot seal and the system is not kept pressurized. Try it. Loosen your gas cap and see that you get a "Check Engine" light. Being under pressure, the only thing that can happen if there is mass transfer is that vapors escape, not water or air to get in. If you cap doesn't seal, then you will have the possibility of air getting in to the tank, but you should investigate the "Check Engine" light and the P0440 DTC and never have this problem. Winter or summer has no effect on this. In fact, winter air is much more dry than the summer air. I think typesix is thinking of a frozen gas line from summer rain being carried into the winter and freezing in the gas line. Don't fill your tank in the rain and you should not have this problem.
Running out of gas is not going to hurt your cat converter. Running rich may overheat it, but running lean is not a problem, particularly for the few seconds your engine is running out.
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