Hello, I am new to Ferrari ownership, having owned my 1998 550 only since February. What a great car!! After 2,000 miles, the550 has exceeded my expectations and I am extremely happy with it! My only issue is the fuel gauge, as I think it is under reading the fuel in the tank. The specs state the tank should hold 114 litres (30.1 US gallons). However, on a recent trip, the most I put in was 22.5 USG after 263 miles of highway driving. The low fuel warning light had been on for about 18 miles. On average, I get a range of about 240 miles on approximately 20 USG of 97 octane. The warning light is usually on at this point! This seems a rather short range for a GT car! My mileage is about 11 miles per USG. Can anyone give me an idea of what sort of range I should expect and how many gallons are generally required to fill up? Much appreciated!! Buckinghamshire, England
There have been a number of posts on this topic: the Search function will efficiently locate them for you so you can see what the Board's consensus is. You're right: the gas warning light does come on early and the gas gauge is notoriously inaccurate, particularly below a quarter tank. The tank does, indeed, hold about 30 gallons (US) but to fill it up after the light comes on usually takes between 22-24 gallons. Some of us have tempted fate and kept running: I think the record fill-up is around 28 gallons. I'm not sure that anyone has run it empty as that's NOT the best thing for the fuel pump. Your gas mileage will, like any other car, be very dependent upon how you drive. Personal experience: driving "normally" that is 60-70 on a heavily patrolled highway, I averaged about 18-19 mpg (US gallons). Assuming I ran it for about 60 miles AFTER the gas light went on, that gave me about 432 miles, with another 100 or so miles left in the tank if I was willing to run it dry. I think that's a pretty reasonable range for GT supercars. Mixed town and highway driving will give me about 12 mph while pure town driving is in the 7-9 mph range. Hope this helps and welcome to Ferrari ownership: you've got a great car.
Your fuel mileage sounds consistent with mine. My 550 was used as a long term test vehicle by Edmonds.com and they recorded the following results at the end of their tests. Odometer: 4,645 Best Fuel Economy: 12.7 mpg Worst Fuel Economy: 6.6 mpg Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle): 8.1 mpg
I drive to vegas all the time and I average 19 to 20 mpg (and my average speed is 75 to 80) and I'm told that's normal by the guys at Ferrari. Anybody else get this kind of MPG on the road ? Bill
Yes, I get that or close to it at those speeds, if it's steady and warm outside. 12 mpg is low for hwy driving unless it's really "exuberant."
Thanks for the advice and information! Very useful! After a review of some old threads on the subject of range, it seems everyone fills up when the warning light comes on! I suspect there is still 80 to 90 miles of range left. I'll try dipping the tank first to confirm this! MAL
I've been happy with the fuel range in my 1998 550 but I've never done the mpg calculation on it. When I take it on spirited drives through the mountains with small groups of other Ferraris, I usually have half a tank of fuel when some of the cars insist on stopping for gas with only a 1/4 of a tank or less left. So, my 550's range has never seemed to be an issue.
