How to Beat the Petrol Price Cycle

Don’t you just hate having to fill up your tank in a week when the petrol and diesel prices are high? 

Think how much you could save each year if you could always time your purchases for the lowest priced days…

The Problem

If you are like me, you drive a considerable distance every week.

So, you frequently find yourself in a position where you need to purchase petrol or diesel while prices are at the high point of the price cycle. 

A few years back, when the price cycle was just one week, most people had the cruising range, on a single tankful, to make it through. 

Now the price cycle can be over 2 weeks long, exceeding the length of time you can go between fill-ups.

Dual Fuel is the Answer

One of the unheralded benefits of having a dual fuel vehicle is the extended driving range provided by having two fuel tanks. 

Unless you drive an extraordinary number of kilometres every week, you can cruise from low price point to low price point with a dual fuel car or truck, without having to refill in between.

Almost all vehicles fuelled by unleaded petrol can be converted to LPG operation at a reasonable cost. 

These dual-fuel LPG systems allow a vehicle to operate on either LPG or petrol and can frequently double a vehicle's range. 

The petrol tank still remains in the car and the driver can switch from gas to petrol or vice-versa.

With both the petrol and LPG tanks filled, cruising ranges of 1000km or more are not unusual.

LPG is the Forgotten Fuel

Somewhere along the way, Australians forgot about LPG. 

Also frequently unnoticed, LPG pricing doesn’t bounce up and down, like petrol and diesel, with the weekly price cycle. 

It is much more stable.

Converting to LPG typically results in hundreds, if not thousands of dollars of savings every year, depending on your vehicle usage. 

This number could be even higher if you factor in avoiding the purchase of petrol during the high priced days of the cycle.

LPG is still typically 50 to 65 cents per litre less than petrol. 

Dual Fuel Conversion

LPG conversion technology has come a long way in the last few years. 

Liquid LPG injection offers advantages over older vapour injection systems.

A vehicle with a state-of-the-art liquid LPG system produces at least the same amount of power when running on LPG, as compared with running on petrol.

There are over 100 engineered Liquid LPG Kits for domestic and imported cars available from a number of Australian suppliers. 

There are also many specialist installers around the country who can install these kits on your car. 

The time required to install an LPG system varies. 

A typical family sedan, with a single boot-mounted tank, should take only one to two days.  

A large four-wheel drive, with multiple tanks, might take two to three days.