Author Archives: Jack @ NRMA

About Jack @ NRMA

Jack is the NRMA’s advocate and champion for vehicle technical and environmental issues. He has been with NRMA for 22 years and previous to that worked for a vehicle manufacturer and ran an emissions laboratory. He analyses new technologies, suggests any testing required and manages the NRMA’s involvement in national programs such as ANCAP, the high speed crash test program that provides safety ratings for purchasers of new vehicles; the Used Car Safety Ratings, that provide similar ratings for used cars; the Child Restraint Evaluation Program, to rate child restraints; and the Consumer Rating and Assessment of Safety Helmets (CRASH) to rate motorcycle helmets. Jack also presents NRMA policy and test results from these programs in the media, so you may see him on TV or hear him on the radio.

Petrol grades currently available in NSW*

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Company Fuel Name Research Octane Number – RON
Description
7 Eleven Unleaded 91 91 ULP – Unleaded Petrol
Premium unleaded 95 95 Premium
Premium unleaded 98 98 Ultra Premium
Unleaded E10 93-94 ULP +10% ethanol
Diesel N/A Diesel
BP Unleaded 91 91 ULP
Unleaded 95 95 Premium
BP Ultimate 98 Ultra Premium
e10 Unleaded 93-94 ULP +10% ethanol
Diesel N/A Diesel
Shell/Coles Unleaded 91 ULP
Premium 95 Premium
V-Power 98 Ultra Premium
Unleaded E10 93-94 ULP+10% ethanol
Diesel 10 N/A Diesel
Caltex/Woolworths Unleaded 91 ULP
Vortex 95 95 Premium
Vortex 98 98 Ultra Premium
E10 unleaded 93-94 ULP+10% ethanol
New Generation Diesel N/A Diesel + 2% biodiesel
Bio B5 N/A Diesel + 5% biodiesel
Bio B20 N/A Diesel + 20% biodiesel
E85 100+ ULP + up to 85% ethanol
United Petroleum Plus ULP 95 ULP+10% ethanol
Boost 98 98 Premium +10% ethanol
Premium 98 98 Ultra Premium
E85 (only available in Rozelle) 100+ ULP+ up to 85% ethanol
Diesel N/A Diesel
Liberty Unleaded 91 ULP
e10 Unleaded 93-94 ULP+10% ethanol
Premium unleaded 95 Premium

*not all available at all sites

Would you buy an Electric Vehicle?

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electric vehicle NRMA

Would you buy an electric vehicle now or wait?

 

Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming increasingly popular – the Mitsubishi i-MiEV is available to selected customers on a lease-only arrangement (ie you can’t buy one outright), and the Nissan Leaf and the Holden Volt are reportedly being released over the next year (the Volt is not a pure EV, as it has a small petrol engine to charge the battery when it gets low, called an Extended Range Electric Vehicle – EREV).

The current and predicted prices for these vehicles are relatively high for their size, around $50,000 or more but we expect that prices should come down over time as demand increases.

The good news is running costs should be low (even with electricity prices increasing) and servicing costs for pure EVs should be less than a conventional vehicle (given the simplicity of an electric motor compared with an internal combustion engine).

Pure EVs also produce no local emissions and if charged by electricity from a renewable resource, would have low environmental impact overall.

NRMA has an i-MiEV in its fleet and found the on-road performance to be satisfactory – the range being 100-120kms between charges.

Would you consider purchasing an EV now or would you wait until price and range were equivalent to conventional vehicles?

* NRMA is hosting a number of Electric Vehicle Roadshows around NSW during July and August.

Fuels – which should you use?

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petrol pump

Which premium unleaded fuel do you find the most efficient and cost effective?

Motorists can be forgiven for being confused about the fuels available and what their car needs.  There are five types of petrol now available (standard unleaded, 95 premium, 98 ultra premium, E10 and E85) as well as Diesel and LPG.

This blog is the first in our series on fuels to help clear up the confusion about which fuels are the best to use. We begin with premium unleaded.

Premium Fuels – is there a benefit?

Petrol vehicles are designed for a specific octane fuel and normally do not benefit from using higher octane fuel.

If the manual says you can use more than one type of petrol or blend, you may get the advantage of reduced fuel consumption (but only if your vehicle’s engine automatically adjusts its parameters to take advantage of higher octane).  Conversely, you may be able to save money by using a lower octane fuel, if the manufacturer states the vehicle will run normally on it.

As a rule of thumb:

  • 95 premium can give around 4% lower fuel consumption than 91, assuming the engine computer adjusts to take advantage of the octane difference.
  • 98 might give 3% reduction over 95, again assuming the computer adjusts the engine parameters.

The overriding recommendation is to consult the owner’s manual for your vehicle and use fuel of the octane listed.  Some motorists report lower fuel consumption using higher octane fuel.  If you wish to check this for yourself, be sure to record your fuel consumption for at least 10 tanks before you make the change, so you have a good baseline.  Try and check your baseline under normal conditions – if you have an unusual country trip in the middle of your test period, for instance, it will result in atypical figures.  Conversely, if your driving is normally on highways, a week of city driving will bias your figures.  Then change to the higher octane fuel and do a check for the next 10 tank fills and compare the figures.  If the savings from any reduced fuel consumption are outweighed by the extra cost of the premium fuel, it is obviously not economically sensible to use the higher octane.

In our next blog, we’ll look at ethanol in petrol (E85 and E10).

Which premium unleaded fuel do you find the most efficient and cost effective?

Bullbars – dangerous or essential requirement?

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car with bullbar

photo credit: poppalina

The Federal Government is considering adopting an international requirement which would include the mandatory redesign of vehicles that could see bullbars outlawed.

The new law would require the fronts of vehicles to be designed to reduce the severity of injuries to pedestrians in a collision.  Under Australia’s current system, this would apply to vehicles before they are sold and registered.  It’s common in Australia for bullbars to be fitted after the vehicle is sold.

There is a strong case, based on accident data, that bullbars should not be fitted to vehicles used mainly in urban areas, as animal collisions are rare and not often dangerous to the driver.

Country residents on the other hand, see bullbars as essential as they reduce damage to their cars from collisions with large animals.

NRMA believes there is no justification for the use of bullbars in urban areas.  What do you think?

Unleaded petrol now phased out in 2012

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The NSW Government has recently extended the phase out date of standard unleaded petrol (ULP) to 30 June 2012 (previously 30 June 2011). This was in response to a possible shortage in supplies of ethanol. This means that ULP may remain available well into 2012.

Before using E10, vehicle owners must check if an ethanol blend is suitable for their vehicle – this information can be found in the owner’s manual, by contacting NRMA Motoring Advice and on the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries website.

For cars that cannot use E10, premium-grade unleaded petrol without ethanol will continue to be available.

Our May 2010 blog post about unleaded petrol contained several comments that owners found their vehicle had much higher fuel consumption when using E10 compared with ULP.  If your vehicle is in good condition you should not experience much more than the theoretical 3% increase in fuel consumption.

However, if you try E10 and experience an unusually high impact on fuel consumption, here are some possible causes and things you can do about them:

  • Was there water in your fuel tank from earlier contaminated petrol?  If so, the E10 will take the water into solution and your car may run roughly until the first tank of E10 is used up.
  • Is your fuel filter clogged?  Ethanol is a powerful solvent and may loosen residues in your fuel system.  Try changing the fuel filter after the first couple of tanks of E10.
  • Is your ignition system in good condition?  A slightly misfiring spark plug may be exacerbated by E10 leading to a severe misfire and increase in fuel consumption.  If you feel your vehicle is running roughly, have your vehicle serviced if it has not been done recently.
  • Is there an engine check or warning light showing on your dash?  Your engine management system and fuel injection system need to be in good condition.  Modern vehicles are designed to monitor oxygen in the exhaust and should be able to adjust to E10.  However a malfunctioning oxygen sensor or other component may mean that your vehicle is not achieving this.  Have your vehicle serviced if it has not been done recently.

What has been your experience with using E10?  Does the extension of the phase-out date of ULP help you?