Cars are a vital part of everyday life. It is important they are looked after to ensure a safe and pleasant trip, every time.

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To help achieve these things, you should make sure that a car service is regularly carried out in accordance with the manufacturer’s handbook. If you do not, there are a number of risks, including:

Breakdown

Breakdowns are a relatively common occurrence and can happen for a wide variety of reasons. However, it is also easy to avoid a breakdown with regular servicing and upkeep. A service can find a problem before it goes too far and prevent breakdowns.

Tyres

You should check your car’s tyres are safe and legal on a regular basis. Despite this, many people often leave it until it is too late. If you were to have your car serviced, as part of the service, your tyres would be checked to make sure they are legal and have no damage or punctures.

Better performance 

A car that has been regularly serviced will drive much better than one that has not been looked after and serviced by professional on a regular basis. For instance, the brake horsepower reduces over a period of time but during a service this aspect of the car’s performance can be looked at and corrected.

Increased resale value

When you come to sell your car, the potential purchaser will want to see the service history. A car that has not been serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions is unlikely to fetch as good a sale price as one that has been serviced regularly and correctly.

Fuel economy

With the cost of fuel these days, you want to get as many kilometres as possible from a full tank of fuel. By having your car serviced on a regular basis, the engine, tyres and overall performance of the car will work effectively which, in turn, leads to better fuel efficiency.

Whilst a service will cost you a few dollars it could, in the long run, save you money. If you own a Hyundai vehicle and need to book a service, talk to the experts at Bartons Hyundai today.

There are certainly a fair few types of fuel available, and being so spoilt for choice, it can often be difficult to figure out what the differences are and how they apply to different vehicles.

In this article we will provide a run-down of the various types of fuel on the market today, as well as help you to determine the right one for your vehicle.

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What is RON?

More often than not, vehicles will use unleaded fuels; these are the most common variety of fuel and they come as either standard unleaded or ULP, premium unleaded or PULP, ultra premium unleaded or UPULP, or E10, which is ULP blended with 10% ethanol.

All unleaded fuels have what is referred to as a Research Octane Number or RON number, this metric is used to gauge a fuel’s resistance to pre-ignition.

Understanding the RON of unleaded fuels is important in determining which is right for your vehicle because simply using a high-octane fuel is not enough to improve your vehicle’s performance unless the engine is specifically designed for this:

• Unleaded or ULP has a RON rating of 91 and is designed for use in all vehicles registered in Australia since January 1st 1986. It is also suitable for some pre 1986 vehicles; however the owner’s manual should be used to confirm the application.
• Premium or PULP typically has a 95 or 96 RON rating and is most commonly used in European cars.
• Ultra premium or UPULP is less-commonly used due to its RON rating of 98. Cars requiring a high-octane fuel like UPULP will usually be performance or high-speed vehicles.
• E10 can boost fuel efficiency by a few percentage points but it should not be used in pre-1986 vehicles due to the ethanol content.

If you are still unsure what the right unleaded fuel for your vehicle is, consider referring to the manufacturer’s handbook and you should find the recommended RON rating.

Other Fuel Types

Diesel is a highly-refined fuel with very low sulphur levels, making it suitable for heavier commercial vehicles and fleet cars, although it is becoming more widely-used amongst consumers with passenger vehicles.

Liquefied petroleum gas or LPG is a relatively low-cost fuel consisting of a butane-propane blend. You’ll need to own a vehicle that is specifically designed to take LPG; the alternative is to have your car converted to run a bi-fuel system that can tolerate standard petrol as well as LPG.

Last but not least is E85; this fuel is petrol blended with 85% ethanol and must only be used in vehicles which are specifically designed for it. This is not a particularly common type of fuel and it offers fairly poor fuel mileage so at this stage it isn’t really worth considering.

If you’re still at a loss as to what kind of fuel you should be using, Bartons Hyundai, with more than 66 years of experience in the motoring industry, will be more than happy to alleviate your concerns and answer any questions you might have.