LiquidGD - influences diesels

© VialleThe photo shows a van, but the system is supposed to be truck-worthy, too

According to the producer, the LiquidGD can be used for nearly any common rail-type diesel engine, including turbocharged units (are there any non-turbo diesels out there today anyway?) and Euro 5-compliant ones. And it works pretty much the same as liquid state LPG injection systems for petrol engines: non-vapourised autogas is injected into the intake manifold of the engine (as close to combustion chambers as possible) and vapourises there. This translates into better air/fuel mixture density inside cylinders, enhancing efficiency of the combustion process and cutting fuel consumption. Besides, partially displacing diesel in favour of LPG cuts running costs in its own right.

By how much exactly? Quite a bit – Vialle says the displacement rate is 34%, so instead of one litre of diesel fuel the engine needs 0,76 litre of it plus 0,34 l of the cheaper autogas. Granted, 0,34 l of LPG won't save you much, but that's just the amount required for a single litre of diesel, so instead think of a semi-truck tractor consuming 40 l/100 km and covering 100 thousand km per year. This means you can displace 9,6 l of diesel per 100 km and 9600 l of it per year, using 13600 l of LPG instead. Due to autogas' lower price, savings will be considerable.

Additionally, the converted vehicle will cover larger distances on a single refueling. Since you use two fuels at the same time, you will also refuel at the same time – twice at a time, but less often than with diesel alone. And should you run out of LPG, the engine will work on diesel only, just like it did prior to conversion. According to Vialle's estimates, an 80-litre diesel tank, normally sufficient for approx. 750 km, becomes good for 1000 km, albeit with a little help from its LPG friend.

The LiquidGD is said to work equally fine in winter and summer, regardless of LPG mixture composition (propane to buthane ratio), it can also run on bio-LPG. Given it's destined primarily for fleet use, maintenance-free operation is definitely another advantage. Warranty covers the system for 2 years, with a limit of 100 thousand km. Will this market newcomer be a long-awaited breakthrough? We'll have to wait and see.