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Dave,
As I understand it, the reason you need so much 'headroom' in the tank
is mostly expansion. Gas is stored underground and comes out pretty
cold. On a HOT day, it will expand at a great rate, and if you park it
on even a slight angle, it will 'burp' into the evap. canister, then
start overflowing wherever it can. This is clearly a fire hazard, not to
mention an unsound environmental practice.
Gas runs down the street, or starts to pour down the nearest manhole
cover. Add a smoker walking by while lighting up, and somebody gets to
be on the evening news.
I think roll-over accidents are part of the equation too, but I don't
know anything about that part.
I don't think these people writing the manuals are just trying to spoil
our fun, really. :-(
Well, the way you say it here sounds reasonable - although I try not to
let that get in the way of a good argument. ;^) I think that if my
tank did that, there'd be something wrong, even though I've never put
more than 15 gallons in ('03 Accord, 17 gal tank I believe).
The process you describe seems to me to be certainly possible, but not
much more likely than a car exploding in flames due to a collision
(outside of the movies). I recall that this past year, there has been
an increased awareness of the potential for static to cause disasters at
fillup. That seems to me to be somewhat more likely, although still a
remarkably small chance. I suppose any chance at all is enough to get
the lawyers into the engineering department, but I do think we can go
too far protecting ourselves from ourselves.
RFT!!!
Dave Kelsen
-- Dying is no excuse; Nixon in 2004.