How well do bi-fuel natural gas/petrol vehicles perform?
In terms of kilometres(km) per litre, a light duty NGV will get about the same km/hr equivalent litre of natural gas as it does on petrol. The range of each vehicle will depend, therefore, on a vehicle\’s performance (km/litre fuel), and the number of fuel storage tanks on board. In terms of power, bi-fuel natural gas vehicles lose about ten to eleven percent because the natural gas displaces oxygen in the engine\’s combustion chamber. The reduced power is less noticeable in larger capacity engines, although four cylinder engines perform successfully at high and low altitudes at all temperature extremes. In terms of acceleration, the natural gas octane rating of 130 helps ensure performance that is close to that of a normal petrol vehicle. In heavy duty engines, performance is slightly improved when running on natural gas due to the high octane fuel in higher compression engines, however, in heavy duty natural gas engines that are designed to run on an even fuel/air ratio (i.e. stoichi
