This blog is the final in our series on fuels. We aimed to clear up the confusion about which fuels are the best to use by looking at each one in detail – premium unleaded, E10 and E85, Diesel and finally, LPG.

Have you converted your car to LPG?

LPG

There has been much discussion in the media recently in regard to excise (tax) on LPG, which was promised by the previous Federal Government and will be introduced at 2.5 cents per litre from December this year, increasing at 2.5 c/L each year until it reaches 12.5 c/L in 2015.  While this makes converting to LPG or buying a new LPG car less attractive, how much impact will it really have?

If we assume you travel 20,000 kilometres per year in a large vehicle (these are the ones most often converted) that has a petrol consumption of 15 litres per 100 km, you will use 20,000 x 15/100 = 3000 litres of petrol.  If we assume petrol is $1.40/L the petrol cost will be $4,200.

Fuel consumption when using LPG in dual-fuel (or bi-fuel) is around 30% higher when using LPG, so we can expect around 19.5 L/100 km, meaning a year’s usage will be around 3,900 litres of LPG.  At 65 c/L for LPG, this would cost $2,535, a saving of $1,665.

A conversion for a modern vehicle costs $4,000-4,500 so if no excise was to be added, the payback period would be 2.5 to 2.7 years.  After this you have paid back the conversion cost and are saving the difference between the petrol and LPG price every time you fill up.

With excise increasing by 2.5 c/L per year and ending up at 12.5 cents per litre, this would increase your yearly LPG cost by around $100 each year, to $3,023 in 2015, saving about $1,200 compared with petrol.  This gives a payback period of around 3.5 years so you would want to be confident you would be keeping the vehicle for some time.

Of course, all these calculations are based on current fuel prices.  If they change significantly, you would have to recalculate the amounts and payback periods.

There are also grants available for people wanting to convert their vehicle. See the AusIndustry LPG Vehicle Scheme for more information.

Have you converted your car to LPG and have you found it a cost-effective exercise?  

In the third part of our Fuel series, we look at diesel.

Are diesel cars more fuel-efficient?

As price-pressured motorists look to get more bang from their buck, sales of diesel light vehicles have increased rapidly over the last couple of years.  Due to lower fuel consumption rates than an equivalent petrol engine, diesel engines are the standard in heavy vehicles. So why not in light engines too?

Pros:

• Modern diesel engines are as quiet, smooth and powerful as petrol engines and are more fuel-efficient.

Cons:

• One disadvantage often mentioned by NRMA Members is that diesel handpieces at garages often have a film of diesel fuel over them, as any spillage does not evaporate as quickly as petrol.  And if the diesel gets on your hands or clothing, the smell is difficult to remove. Retailers are making efforts to avoid this but have not yet found a perfect system.

Consider:

• Diesel fuel does not contain more energy than petrol. In fact, it contains marginally less.
• Whereas the intake of a petrol engine has a throttle blade in it, which forms an obstruction and reduces efficiency, a diesel engine doesn’t. Therefore, it gets lower fuel consumption.
• Diesel variants are often more expensive to purchase than the petrol ones, so if your interest is purely in lower running costs, make sure it is going to make sense for you by checking out the NRMA’s Car Operating Cost Calculator.
• In many cases, the higher initial purchase cost outweighs the reduced fuel cost.  But you are also gambling on the price of diesel staying similar to petrol over several years.
• If you have never driven a diesel-engined vehicle and are considering purchasing one, you should test drive a few to see how it feels.

If you drive a diesel car, do you feel you’ve you got your money back in reduced fuel/servicing costs?  And are you happy with the driving characteristics of diesel?

This is the second blog in our series on Fuels.  In the first blog we looked at premium fuels, now we take a look at ethanol in petrol (E10 and E85).

Does an ethanol petrol blend affect the performance of your car?

E10

E10 is standard unleaded petrol (ULP) with 10% ethanol added. From 1 July next year (2012) standard unleaded petrol will no longer be available in NSW and will be replaced with E10. This strategy is endorsed by the NRMA Board and aims to encourage the take-up of ethanol – which is locally produced and reduces Australia’s dependence on fossil fuels.  Straight unleaded is now getting harder to find.

Vehicles built pre-1986, some post-1986 vehicles, most small engines such as chainsaws and whipper-snippers and most Japanese motorcycles are recommended NOT to use ethanol. These vehicles and power tools will have to use premium petrol when ULP becomes unavailable.

Motorists whose vehicles cannot use ethanol should be aware that all petrol distributed by United contains ethanol except its Premium 98. View a list of all petrol grades available in NSW.

The octane of E10 is commonly 93-94, so motorists whose vehicles are specified for 95 octane fuel should be cautious using E10. If you want to try E10 check that there are no unusual noises like rattling or pinging under acceleration, which is a sign that the octane is too low.  United claims its E10 is 95 octane.

Check whether your vehicle is suitable to use an ethanol petrol blend.

A refuel of 50 litres at a price difference of 10 cents a litre between E10 and premium would cost an extra $5.   But this has to be kept in perspective with the overall cost of running a vehicle.

E85

You should not use E85 in any vehicle that is not designed for it. The only cars designed for E85 are the current model Holden Commodores that are so marked and the Saab Biofuel range.  For other vehicles, check the recommendation in the owner’s manual or check with the dealer or manufacturer and adopt their recommendation.

In our next blog, we’ll take a look at Diesel.

Do you use an ethanol petrol blend in your car? What affect has it had on your car’s performance and reliability?

*not all available at all sites

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?

Would you support a carbon tax if it means an increase in fuel prices?

The inaugural NRMA Motoring & Services More4Members Cost of Living survey has found almost two-thirds of people will not support a political party that proposes a Carbon Tax if it means fuel prices will increase.

The survey of around 1,200 Members found the following:

• 60% will not vote for a political party that introduces a Carbon Tax that forces up the price of fuel.
• 87% said their cost of living was higher than 12 months ago, while two-thirds were suffering from stress as a result.
• 55% believe the cost of living will increase substantially over the next 12 months, while 15% said they had taken on a second job or were working longer hours to cover expenses as a result of increasing costs.
• The average household spent an extra $50 on groceries compared with last year, with 82% highlighting they eat out less than they did 12 months ago.
• Almost 40%  would like to see the Federal Government reduce power costs, another 19% want to see downward pressure on interest rates and 18% want to see reduced fuel costs.
• More than 42% used discount vouchers in order to save money, with almost a third admitting to using vouchers frequently. And 85% of people who used discount vouchers used them for fuel.

NRMA President Wendy Machin said the NRMA would seek assurances from the Australian Government that the Carbon Tax would not force up the cost of fuel and cause further strain on families struggling with the cost of living.

“Our members are struggling under the cost of living pressures and it is the NRMA’s responsibility to fight to ensure that every cent increase on a litre of petrol brought about by the Carbon Tax is offset by a reduction in the fuel excise,” Ms Machin said.

“The NRMA surveyed our Members because we wanted to ask average Australians about the real effect of rising costs and the ways they look to save money.

Would you support a carbon tax if it means fuel prices will increase?

Motorists should brace themselves for petrol prices up to $1.50 per litre.

Petrol prices have been steadily increasing in the last few weeks and are predicted to reach a two-year high of $1.50 per litre in the coming weeks.

Despite the high prices, research done by the NRMA have shown there are times during the week when petrol prices drop.  Saturday morning is the cheapest time to buy, and Monday afternoon is the most expensive.

Savings can be as high as 10c to 12c a litre between the most expensive and the cheapest, so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on daily petrol prices and try to buy when prices are low.

UPDATE: Petrol prices are now heading for $2 a litre and families should start saving money now.

An NRMA BusinessWise analysis found $2 a litre would add almost $2500 to the annual petrol bill for a Toyota Hilux driver from Penrith to the CBD, and $2000 for a Ford Falcon driver. A Campbelltown family with a Holden Commodore Berlina would pay an extra $1700 and $2210 if they lived in Gosford (via Daily Telegraph).

How have the higher petrol prices changed your driving habits? Do you seek out the cheapest petrol prices or just fill up when you’re running low on fuel?

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?

Many motorists are still unaware that 91 RON unleaded petrol is to be phased out in NSW by 1 July 2011. Its place will be taken by the existing E10 ethanol blend.

In February 2007, the State Government made several commitments “to promote renewable biofuels in New South Wales.” Part of that commitment was to introduce an E10 mandate, which implies that all regular unleaded petrol sold in NSW from 1 July 2011 will contain 10% ethanol – specifically, from that date, “a primary wholesaler must not sell regular unleaded petrol unless the petrol is E10.”

Many service stations across the state are already not selling 91 RON. 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 or on the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries website.

For cars that cannot use E10, premium-grade unleaded petrol will continue to be available.

What are your thoughts on E10? Will you use E10 or switch to a premium-grade unleaded petrol?

Since 1 January 2009, diesel fuel has had to meet strict fuel quality standards, now producing a significantly lower amount of sulphur than both ULP and PULP.

National fuel standards

National standards regulating fuels that impact the environment first came into effect in January 2002, brought in to reduce the amount of toxic pollutants in emissions.

Initially, diesel’s sulphur standard was set at 500 parts per million (ppm). As of 1 January 2009, this was reduced to a maximum of 10 ppm.

How does this compare?

From 1 January 2005, the maximum amount of sulphur ULP (91.0 RON) could contain was set at 150 ppm.

Since 1 January 2008, PULP’s (95.0 RON) maximum sulphur is 50 ppm.

Is it time diesel lost its ‘dirty’ reputation?

New generation turbo-diesels have particulate filters which further reduce the amount of particulate (soot) produced in the vehicle’s emissions. On top of that, these new generation diesels are proven to go further on less. For instance, BMW’s new diesel powered 1-series, on sale now, returns less than 5 litres per 100km and emits just 126g of CO2 per kilometer.

The first diesel-fuelled Subaru to be offered in Australia, the Subaru Outback, will be on sale in November this year, and diesel models of the 2010 Mazda CX-7, 2011 Ford Territory and Peugeot’s new 407 are all on the way. It is clear that more and more new car models are being offered with ‘clean’ diesel alternatives.

Coupled with the particulate filter and the new, stringent sulphur emission standards, diesel might just be a viable, greener fuel alternative.

Does diesel still have a ‘dirty’ reputation? Have you thought of diesel as a greener fuel option?

For the full list of diesel quality standards, visit The Federal Government’s Environment website.