LPG and LPG alone

© Fleet EffectCan you tell it is autogas-powered? You will be able to once the engine starts and there is no black smoke coming from the pipe

The vehicle may well look familiar and no wonder why – it is in fact a converted Mercedes Actros. Even the engine – a 12-litre V6, originally fueled with diesel – is basically the same, although the company Fleet Effect used its patented technology to adapt the motor to burn autogas instead. This way, the 2656 FPC Envirotech model was born. The truck can serve as a tractor for a road train – a common (for Australia, that is) long-distance vehicle consisting of a tractor and two trailers (up to 26 m of length in total). As the manufacturer promises, the converted motor offers higher power, reduced noise and – last but not least – significant financial savings.

Autogas injected into combustion chambers is forced to swirl upon entry, which allows to lower compression ratio of the original Diesel engine from 18:1 to 10:1 and convert the engine from a self-ignited into a spark-ignited one. Additionally, combustion efficiency is enhanced, thanks to which fuel consumption is reduced, while low RPM torque and overall power have risen. Furthermore, cylinder head has been modified to accommodate spark plugs and LPG injection system, while at the same time the cooling system was improved. The new fuel system is electronically controlled for maximum efficiency.

The Australian solution has a number of advantages: it reduces transport costs and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as eliminates particulate matter emissions. This is further enhanced by incorporating the new vehicle into a communication/positioning network based on the Internet and GPS. Vehicles can be more effectively managed, thus working in optimal conditions, economising on fuel and sparing the atmosphere redundant emissions.

Companies wishing to employ the new technology will be given the opportunity to lease the vehicles, with fuel and maintenance included in the overall cost. The service is called the Fleet Performance Contract and offers much more than just financial savings, including the elimination of downtime risk and additional fuel expenses. The diesel-to-LPG conversion technology has great prospects in Australia and outside, especially that these days everybody seems to be focusing on cutting costs (due to the economic downturn still sweeping the globe) and cutting emissions (due to standards ever becoming stricter). The time for autogas is now!