| ReviewsOnline |
| Which fuel is right for you? |
| Leaded, unleaded, premium, LPG, diesel; it's the often overlooked aspect of car purchasing, yet will consume thousands of dollars over the life of your car. Here's some points to consider before buying your next car.
PRE-1986 MODELS Most pre-1986 cars require leaded petrol, although some can run on unleaded (ULP) without damage. Check with the vehicle manufacturer if in doubt. Lead Replacement Petrol (LRP) will be harder to source as more leaded vehicles leave the road so the purchase price will need to reflect this. Some models (such as KC Laser/Mazda 323) launched late in 1985 met 1986 unleaded fuel requirements early and can be the cheapest way of getting into an unleaded car. Wider availability of high octane 98 RON (Research Octane Rating) premium unleaded petrol (PULP) is good news for older high performance cars that required 98 RON high octane leaded fuel which is no longer available. Owners can keep these vehicles on the road using PULP after adding hardened valve seats to the cylinder head or adding a lead replacement additive to the fuel. POST-1985 MODELS Most new cars sold after 1 February, 1986, should run on unleaded petrol (ULP). Check the Compliance Plate for ADR 37 compliance and look for the narrow fuel filler neck. However, many new vehicles built to 1985 standards or earlier were stockpiled after new car sales stalled in 1985 and were not registered until 1986 or even later. Their compliance plates should be dated prior to February 1, 1986 with ADR 27C compliance instead of ADR 37 and therefore may require leaded petrol. An increasing number of post-1986 vehicles require PULP (95 RON or higher) and will incur damage if run on basic ULP (91 RON) if they do not have a knock sensor. Check that PULP is readily available in your area if a particular model requires fuel of 95 RON or higher. Late model cars with fuel injection are more efficient and reliable than carburettor engines but injectors, fuel pumps, computers and other parts are more expensive if they fail. LPG/DUAL FUEL AND LPG ONLY LPG can reduce fuel costs providing LPG prices are much lower than petrol as some engines can use up to 20 percent more on LPG than petrol. The higher the fuel consumption and the greater the distances, the greater the saving. Check that an LPG conversion has been carried out to the required standard as many home conversions are illegal and lethal. Gas tanks must be replaced by law within a specified time frame. Most LPG conversions should run on petrol and gas. Even on gas, some draw on the petrol system under extreme loads and require the driver to switch to petrol on a regular basis. Many owners who ignore these requirements, generate expensive damage to fuel systems. Check that the engine will also run on petrol. Engines not designed to run on LPG can suffer from cracked cylinder heads and/or valve seat recession. DIESEL Diesels are improving, with better fuel economy than petrol and performance that can now rival petrol cars. But that is only the latest vehicles, old diesels may still be noisy and rather slow. Drive the car you are interested in to see if it suits you. Because diesels do not operate efficiently until warmed-up, they make little sense for short trips. Very few passenger cars in Australia offer diesel engines but they feature in an increasing number of four wheel drives and light commercials, especially grey imports. The buzz-words to look for in diesel are: turbo, direct injection, common rail. The more of these features the car has, the better it will perform, the more economical it will be and the lower the CO2 emissions. But, and it's a big but, Diesels require specialist servicing and can generate high repair costs if turbochargers, injector pumps and injectors need repairs. RESEARCH OCTANE NUMBER (RON) EXPLAINED Petrols are often quoted with a RON Research Octane Number of 91, 95, 98, 100 or even 103. What does it mean? It's actually a system of measurement which defines a petrol's anti-knock quality, or resistance to 'pre-ignition'. The higher the number, the greater the resistance. It's called knocking, or pinging, because a high-pitched knock is the sound made when a small portion of the petrol/air mix reaches a critical temperature and pressure, causing it to detonate instead of burning smoothly. Hence you are not getting full performance value out of your petrol spend. Follow manufacturer guidelines when choosing the right RON rating for your car. If in doubt, use premium unleaded. |
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