VACC is the peak Automotive Industry body in Victoria and wants to remind motorists that LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas) is the best alternative fuel available.
“There has been a lot of recent industry and media discussion regarding alternative fuels and electric powered vehicles in particular. VACC can see the potential of plug-in vehicles, but they are for the future, especially when you consider re-charging networks and training courses for repairers still need to be addressed. But LPG is for the now. It is viable, environmentally friendly and the technology and infrastructure is proven,” VACC Executive Director, David Purchase, said.
LPG (also known as Autogas) is environmentally friendly, producing the lowest life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of all commercially available automotive fuels.
The LPG industry is covered by a National Code or Standard and also has State Regulations to ensure the systems are safe to use, repair and safe in an accident.
Autogas is usually 50 per cent cheaper than the other available fuels. The National average for ULP price from November 2008 to October 2009 was 120 cpl and LPG was 55 cpl.
With the Federal Government offering private motorists a rebate of $1750 to convert there car to LPG it will pay for itself in no time. Most vehicles can be converted with the conversion taking one to two days. Victoria has over 50 per cent of the Nation’s LPG conversions with more than 600 LPG conversion businesses registered.
Victoria has over 1,000 service stations offering LPG and filling the tank is easy to use and cleaner than diesel.
Close to 6,000 national conversions are done per month and has a turnover of $350 million per annum. More than 600,000 Australians run their cars on Autogas.
Australia has a huge supply of natural reserves of LPG and produces three million tonnes per annum.
“LPG is the sensible and practical choice when it comes to alternative fuels. And, unlike electric-powered vehicles, you do not have to buy a new car to benefit: you just convert your current model through a VACC Accredited Alternative Fuels Specialist,” Mr Purchase said.
got it done on the Vt commodore a couple years ago, never given any problems (although some pipe comes off when u dont start it up the right way, but thats an easy 2minute fix)
but what i love is that it gets way better mileage in the real world than our 2 yr old honda civic, which travels about the same (~450km per tank), but the holden’s tank costs almost half to fill.
i really dont see why most people are converting their large cars, the small performance offset is worth the monetary saving
Whilst I am NOT denying that a VT on gas is cheaper to run than a Civic, the distance you get out of a tank is NOT an indicator of economy, merely range. I know of Landcruisers that can get well over 1100km to a tank. Does that mean they get better mileage than the “SIDI” Commodore that can get “only” 900km to a tank? (I am only using the “SIDI” Commodore as an example as it is a figure that most people would know due to Holden’s market saturation of that figure!)
Distance per tank is useless as an indicator of economy without knowing how big the tank is. Yes, the VT would be much cheaper to run on a per km basis due to how much cheaper LPG is, but I would be surprised if it returns better mileage (L/100km, Australia’s measure of economy) than the Civic.
I totally agree though, it is surprising more people don’t have their large cars running on LPG.
:-)
My EL does 510km to 69L of LPG (Tank is 75L), fuel was 52c per L. That equates to 13.5L per 100k’s or 7c per km. 100% the time im driving is peak hour with average speeds around 60-80k’s an hour with air con on. Which is well below the cost of running a really small car.
Devil’s Advocate- what im trying to say is that the civic needs to be revved so much just in normal everyday traffic thats its impossible to reach the claimed 7.2 L/100km figure, and we mostly hover around 10L/100km. but this is largely due to the fact that its engine is way to small for the size of the car.
However, even if the Vt’s fuel consumption is higher, its total cost is a lot less. As well as this, its inherantly a bigger, faster and more comfortable car…you just can’t lose.
in my mind used commodores and falcons (say about <5yrs old) are a much better investment, for your wallet and the environment (recycling of cars<toxins of production of new car + cheaper on LPG), than buying a new eco-hatch mobile. and thats why i will be buying a used govt FG ge6 next year to replace the current vt
I too once had an EL on Lpg, always serviced and ran brilliantly, but the best I could get was 400km to the 69L tank. on the highway I could get 600km per tank. Still back the with Lpg around 36c/L it was cheaper to run than a Toyota Echo!
7c per km is about what I average in my Diesel i30, more torque (which is what I care about) than equiv LPG, no boot space lost and 1000km + per tank when I do 45000km a year = good enough reason for me to stick with diesel…..
However more Diesel LPG hybrids is something sorely needed…………
Regards
Whitbomb07
Actually LPG isnt shy on torque either.
LPG typiclly has more torque than equivalent petrols.
So what is the equivalent LPG vehicle to the i30 diesel???
I dont believe there is one, so I dont know how you are comparing.
Also with the dedicated LPG models there isnt the need for the tank in the boot
Also I would rather achieve 7cpl in a large comfortable car than a hatch back.
If savings is what you want, LPG gives it without having to drive a sardine tin
Every LPG vehicle I have driven is down on torque and power. If its a dual-fuel vehicle, this is even more so. Dedicated LPG ‘can’ have equal torque as a petrol version if the compression ratio is made higher (new pistons and/or head shaved), different camshaft and proper tune on a dyno, but has anyone ever seen this mythical beast?
Yep,
It was called a dedicated LPG Falcon, and its not mythical.
When Ford first came out with dedicated LPG in the AU series, the LPG model not only had more torque than the petrol version, but it also reached it lower down in the revs.
Over the years Ford has progressed/advanced/invested in the petrol version to a point where the LPG was neglected.
Now once the E-Gas gets an injected gas system to the equivalent of EFI (which is penned in for next year), Im sure we will see the LPG modelgain the edge in the torque stakes.
I hear what you are saying about the motor needing to be tuned, but the Falcon LPG motor is just that.
The E-gas motor does infact gain a different piston set up and different tuning as you suggest. I think its a damn credit to LPG (or the E-Gas motor) that with the old school tech, it still comes pretty close.
Early gas conversions were well off the pace, ill agree on that.
In driving LPG vehicles, I find that the biggest difference is not what power it does or does not have, but rather notable is that they dont seem to rev as high as petrol motors.
So go and follow the time line of the E-Gas and you will see even the old tech was able to punch out torque figures above what the equivalent EFI petrol could
LPG stinks! How about Natural Gas, in my kitchen it doesnt really smell when burning. I have read that Delhi operates the world’s biggest fleet of natural gas buses…so I guess it works!
Unfortunately nobody is talking about Natural Gas :-(
LPG doesnt naturally smell.
They add the “rotton cabbage” smell to it so a leak can be detected.
If the wanted to make it more attractive perhaps add rose petals???
Diesel and unleaded also stink when you get a blast of it coming through your vents, at least LPG is a bit better for your health.
Perhaps the LPG smell is noticed more because it isnt as common
I did have the honor of driving a CNG (Certified Natural Gas) vehicle when I was a courier. I don’t know if the installation was bad or the gas was sub-par, but I found the vehicle waaaay down on power. I traded it to another driver for an LPG vehicle.
I would like to drive a modern conversion to test this out.
The other problem it had was that in the ACT there was only one outlet where we could get the NG near the depot, and they charged more than LPG. I’ve no idea if this has changed.
I think you mean “Compressed Natural Gas” not “Certified Natural Gas”
I have used Lpg in cars from the past and still today in my Mazda ute. I cannot understand why more cars are not fitted with LPG, its cheaper, keeps you engine cleaner and with dual fuel extend your cruising range between fills. My consumption around town in a Dual Cab Bravo is around 15l/100km or around 400km per tank ($35 for a complete fill @ 59c/l). So for a largish, heavy short geared car it is still as or more economical to run as a 1.5 hatch!
In Sydney I have noticed a sudden spike in price of around 20% in the price of LPG, from 49c/L to 59c/L. I had contacted the ACCC in regards to this and basically their response is that- like petrol there is no regulation with LPG pricing, the price is dictated by overseas, predominately Saudi suppliers. The ACCC has no power to force any change to the price!
Moral of the story is enjoy it while it is still economically viable and before the grubby bastards take profiteering to new heights in the future!
doesnt make sense because dont they claim that most of the lpg is an australian resource?
Yes, but so is the majority of our petrol!
What many of us have been saying for years is finally being realised by the Government. Well at least now we may get a couple of more converts.
My view is that in the future, if you want to continue to own and enjoy large cars with large 6cyl and V8 engines, LPG is the way of the future. The 3rd gen LPG systems that are available now dispel all the old wives tales and flaws of gas systems of old…
LPG is the future. The ETS will make so.
HIIII,
CAN YOU SEND ME DISADVANTAGE OF LPG.
ALSO HOW IT WILL FIT IN MY NISSAN X TRAIL ?
ALSO HOW MUCH FULE I CAN SAVE IN % ? ( IF WE TALK PATROL AND LPG )
DOES IT MAKES DIFFRANCE IN ENGINE .
MR. RAO
No disadvantage, other than having to put the tank somewhere, so like it behind the rear seat, all good though should do 1000km with both tanks.
Fits in X Trails no problem plenty around on LPG of the shelf kits for them
You will HALVE your weekly fuel costs.
Its higher octane, 102RON BETTER for your engine, taxis do million kays thanks to little wear of LPG fuel
Your fuel bill will halve,
LPG is better for your engine because its a cleaner fuel.
Conversions versus dedicated mean you need to put the tank somewhere.
Dont be tight, make sure you get a good system
PROS
o cheaper to run
o better resale $$$
o claimed to be cleaner
CONS
o Loss of cargo space due to the tank
o loss of power and torque while on gas
o less km per lire from gas than petrol, but the gas is cheaper
o extra weight
o can have detrimental effects on fuel pump (petrol) if not run on petrol often
o some installs can be bodgy, unsafe and ruin Nissan warranty
o can reduce power while on petrol too as the mixer is a restriction.
Reply to cons……..
1 unless dedicated
But still more space than downgrading to a hatchback to save fuel dollars
2 Unless a decent dedicated system
Wouldnt really put a conversion on a ferrari, and power and torque is still acceptable, saving $ is the aim of the game.
3 Yep, use slightly more L/100k, but still half the price.
once again a decent LPG dedicated system should address that.
LPG tanks are also bigger to accomodate the more L required to do 100k’s
4 Fair enough, an extra tank will indeed add extra weight
5 Poor maintainence or use will cause problems (like anything)
6 Yep, do some research and get a decent system and decent installer.
not really the fuels fault if you want to be cheap
7 Yep, Ive heard of many that run rougher on petrol after running LPG.
The latest LPG systems are injected systems (Vapour or Liquid) thus do not have a mixer to restrict air flow.
Yep thats true, I didnt point it out because for some reason they often run rough when switching back to petrol
Just wondering if you have ever heard of Vapor Injection LPG or the best systems available now in Oz, Liquid Injection LPG?
Much better fuel economy than the old mixer system but still not as good as petrol (vapor), similar L/100kms as petrol (injection).
Little drop in power (vapor) gain in power (injection) for some cars.
Granted you lose boot space, but in larger cars, its less of a hassle.
The only real world issue apart from the cargo space issue, I can think of is that in central Australia LPG isn’t really available like petrol and diesel. But 90% of the Aussie population can access it pretty easily.
Oh I just thought of another, cost of conversion is higher for both systems, but you get what you pay for right?
<<LOL
<<2nd. photo shows a blue coloured LPG [Shell only] gun/nozzle
<<Unfortunatly Shell no longer have them and gone back to the same as others.
<<LPG will take on ANY others in a similar sized vehicle, ie hybrid or DIEsel and smashes them to pieces in lowest possible $/km rate
<<Cheers
LPG is the reason we just bought a second hand V8 BA Fairmont Ghia. We got rid of the cramped little 99 Laser in favor of the big comfy highway cruiser, and with systems like vapor injection and liquid injection LPG systems out there, we will easily save on our fuel bill compared to the little buzz box. Heck it will be cheaper than many 4cyl cars!
Performance motoring on a budget, heck yes! Its just a shame that too many people have biased opinions about LPG being unsafe etc. If they saw it for what it is now, maybe out local car manufacturers would have a higher ratio of LPG to Petrol cars out there already, and allow us to still drive big beautiful cars instead of cramped matchboxes especially for guys and girls as tall as I at 6 feet 6 inches, or 199cm!
Hi Guys, Size of tank, distance per tank, all garbage. What matters, my C20 Chev pick up with 307 V8, wheatbelt and back filling up in Sawyers valley every time, $80 petrol, same trip same servo, $36 on LPG. Wifes AU11 costs around $7 per 100k on LPG, while using less litres costs $13.20 per 100k in unleaded. Distance versus the buck is all that matters. I admit when I come up Greenmount hill with the Ford pulling tandem trailer and pine logs, I switch to unleaded as it does have ever so slightly more calories, if you like, this would be the only time I would change to the dearer stuff. My son used our Ford when his 600cc Mira was off the road. At 6 litres per 100 it was 20 cents per 100k dearer than AU11. We have had 5 vehicles on LPG and would never consider buying another petrol car. The Chev was but always planned on the conversion. Now the engine is very tired, a new one with higher HP 350 is going in, dedicated gas built, will update figures after.