What Fuel type should I go for?
Goinggreen is and should be on most people’s agenda in the 21stcentury. Compared to 10 years ago the range of fuels offered to us is so muchmore varied. We’ll have a look at some of the benefits and bad points of usingtraditional fuels and also some of the more recent additions to the market.
The most popular fuel with motorists in the UK. Petrol offers the bestperformance for cars but is not the greenest of fuels.
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- Enginesare relatively cheap to repair
- Quieterthan diesel engines
- Fasterrevving
- Bestperformance from fuels
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- Lessenvironmentally-friendly than diesels and other fuel types
- non-renewable
- Producesmore CO2 than other fuel types
Petrol has its own measurement called Research Octane Rating (RON). Thehigher the number the better the performance. There are generally 4 maincategories.
1. Unleaded
The most common type – Has a RON of 95.
2. Super Unleaded
Very similar to unleaded – 98 RON.
3. Leaded Four Star and Lead Replacement Petrol (LRP)
Leaded fuel was removed from sale in 2000 and replaced by LRP, which has about97 RON. There is also an additive added to these fuels to help give the valveseal protection which leads to better performance.
LRP is generally only used for older or vintage cars so is less common.
4. High Performance
A cleaner and more powerful than super unleaded but more expensive – Approx 102RON.
High octane racing fuels are available in specialist motor stores, withprices as high as £7 per litre for 110 RON types.
Petrol suites: Drivers who enjoy good performance with a quiet and smoothride.
Diesel has become more popular over recent years because of its efficiency,benefits over petrol and lower CO2 emissions.
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- Increasedtorque enables the car to stay in a higher gear for longer
- Increasedengine efficiency
- Possibleto get a small amount of performance fuels in diesel
- LowerCO2 emissions
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- Moreexpensive than petrol
- Noisierthan petrol
- Enginenot as smooth as petrol
- HigherNitrogen Oxide emissions than petrol
Diesel Suites: Drivers, who are more environmentally conscience, drive longdistance and want to be more economical.
LPG is cheaper than petrol and it can be easy to convert a car to run on it.
It’s possible to get your engine converted to run on LPG. To find out moreabout conversions, and which petrol stations provide LPG, visit drive LPG http://www.drivelpg.co.uk.
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- Smalleremissions than petrol and diesel
- Verycheap to run
- Muchquieter than diesel
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- LPGis not available at every garage in the country
- Theengine has to be converted to take the fuel
- Notall cars can be converted to LPG
LPG suites: Drivers looking to make a long term saving in their wallet andon the environment
Bio-fuels
One of the fasting growing fuels, Bio Fuels are a renewable energy. Many ofthe vehicles that run it have flexi-fuel engines allowing convention fuels aswell as bio fuels to be used in the same tank
The type of bio fuel which exist are:
1. Bio-ethanol
Produced from farm crops Bio-fuels are very environmentally friendly. Theyalso have a high octane rating leading to better car performance
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- LowCO2 emissions
- Ithas a high RON
- Verylow fuel consumption
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- Canbe difficult to find
Bio-diesel
Made from vegetable oils, bio-diesels are an increasingly popular cheapalternative to regular fuels. Manufacturers use vegetable oils left over fromrestaurants and takeaways tocreate bio-diesel leading to a fuel which is less toxic fuel than regular diesel.
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- Lowengine wear
- LowCO2 emissions
- Canbe used in most diesel engines
- Canbe found at restaurants and takeaways
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- Notas readily available as normal diesel
- Mayproduce a cooking type smell
- Mayrequire modifications to the engine
View the Energy saving trust website for providing information on locationsof bio-fuel refueling stations across the country.
Bio-fuels suite: long distance drivers who like performance and being green.
This source of car energy has not grown in popularity like bio-diesels havebut electricity has a lot of benefits including being able to refill your carwith energy from your very own garage.
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- Noemissions
- Nocar tax
- Exemptfrom London Congestion Charge
- Extremelyquiet
- Goodin acceleration
- Refillelectricity from home
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- Theyhave indirect emissions from being charged at home or power station
- Theyrequire a lot of electricity
- Mosthave a short range of around 50 miles.
- Theyhave a low top speed of around 50mhp
Electric cars suite: The ultimate green driver who lives in the city andmakes short trips at low speeds.
Hybrid vehicles combine the best of both. They have a rechargeable electricsystem as well as a fuel based engine. The car battery it normally charged bythe internal combustion of the engine and from energy absorbed from braking.Hybrids are generally very fuel efficient.
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- Lowfuel consumption
- Quietto drive
- Lowemissions
- Quickacceleration
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- Veryexpensive
Hybrids suite: Green buyers with a big budget. Ideal for city and motorwaydriving.
Hydrogen cars convert Hydrogen into an energy source to power the car.
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- Veryenvironmentally friendly
- Noemissions
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- Hydrogenis highly flammable
- Thefuel cells can be fragile
- Veryexpensive
Hydrogen suites: Green conscience drivers who have a very large budget.
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