Articles by David Morley

It’s a question that comes up at barbecues and wherever else car enthusiasts gather: What is the best quality petrol brand in Australia?But it’s actually not the right question to be asking. And that’s because there are many micro-considerations rather than one, all-encompassing judgment on what brand is best.There’s also the fact that all fuels sold in Australia must meet some pretty unflinching (if not as tough as some other parts of the world) minimum requirements for quality and purity.All of which means when and where you buy your fuel is a lot more important than the brand on the pump at the service station (which could be misleading anyway).Speaking of fuel purity, in terms of global fuel quality rankings Australia is nowhere. Which is to say that even the best quality fuel Australia has to offer motorists is not as good as that in many other countries. Our diesel is even worse. Even the best quality diesel fuel in Australia has more impurities per litre than many other markets tolerate.Meantime, there’s an ingrained inclination in many Australians to associate name brands with higher quality products. From an early age, we learn to recognise the big brand comparisons including BP vs Shell vs Mobil vs the rest.While, in some sectors (say, clothing or furniture) there may be some validity in that view. But, to be brutally honest, it doesn’t apply to the petrol and diesel we buy every day.Ever since Bob Hawke (long before he was Prime Minister) convinced Australians to buy ACTU-backed Solo fuel in 1977, we’ve had a steady stream of independent fuel retailers come and go.Liberty was established by the same people that owned Solo back in '77, and we’ve also seen Metro, Vibe, APCO, United and Pearl Energy (mainly in regional areas) and many more come along for varying periods of time.The most recent developments have seen petrol retailing by chain stores such as 7 Eleven and even retail ‘clubs’ like Costco getting in on the fuel act.But is 7 Eleven fuel good? Is APCO fuel quality as good as the rest? Yes it is. And that’s the point really, because these are all fuel retailers, not refineries. As such, they buy their stock from the same refineries as every other retailer. At the moment, for example, both Costco and 7 Eleven source their fuel from Mobil, while Liberty’s fuel comes from Shell.Even without this homogenisation of supply, there are legal requirements to make sure you don’t buy bad fuel by mistake. All fuel sold in Australia must, by law, comply with quality standards and the requirement to meet the octane rating advertised.We’re not a world leader in this – some countries have much higher standards for impurities and things like sulphur content – but broadly speaking, all fuel retailers across Australia have an obligation to match or exceed these standards.And that means regardless of whether you buy your fuel from a well-known big brand, a bulk-buy retailer like Costco or an independent retailer, the fuel should be fit for purpose and will not only allow your car to run properly, but not damage its engine or fuel system in any way.While some well known brands are keen to advertise their performance boosting or dirt busting technology, the fact is all fuels contain additives of one sort or another.Perhaps there’s a particular brand and grade of fuel that is slightly better at, say, keeping fuel injectors clean, but the science is still out on this and the claims are often based on research by no-name universities, paid for by the fuel company in question. Some of these claims are very much like the make-up industry’s claims of glowing, younger looking skin. Based on what? Beware.Also, any fuel that was revealed to be creating problems in any way would not be allowed to be sold here.So why do carmakers recommend a particular fuel? Surely it must suit the car, right? Generally speaking, these commercial tie-ups are just that; commercial deals based on advertising and marketing.Yes, Porsche recommends you run its vehicles on Mobil fuel, but nothing bad will happen if you suddenly shift to BP.Slightly more credible are the claims by a carmaker that its engines have been designed to run on a particular lubricating oil. Which makes sense since oil makers will sometimes tailor an additive package to suit the way a particular engine works. But when that recommendation is carried over to the petrol or diesel from the same brand? Not so much.What should concern you regarding fuel types, however, is ensuring you get the correct octane rating in the fuel you use. This information will be either in the owner’s manual or under the fuel filler flap, but basically, in Australia, cars need either 91, 95 or 98 (the latter two being premium petrol, as it is sometimes called) octane fuel to operate properly and avoid damage.This octane rating is by far the most important petrol comparison to make when deciding which petrol is best for car (make and model) specific use.Generally speaking, higher performance engines need higher octane fuel to work properly. Without the correct octane-rating fuel, these engines are likely to become damaged as the fuel is not stable enough (too prone to detonating when it shouldn’t) for the engine to maintain complete control over the combustion process.The good news is that it doesn’t matter where you buy your fuel from in Australia, if the pump says 91, 95 or 98, then that’s what the octane rating is guaranteed to be. See the pattern emerging here?Yep, and that is that it’s far more important to buy the right grade of petrol than a particular brand. And Super-grade diesel? Pure marketing.Meantime, there’s a price to pay for higher octane fuel. The difference between 91 and 95 petrol is usually a few cents per litre, and the same again the difference between 95 and 98 petrol.So, having established all that, the question now switches from which petrol brand has the best fuel, to which petrol station has the best fuel. This is a classic case of thinking locally, because where you are is more important than what brand you’re buying.Like many things, fuel has a shelf life. The older it gets (particularly PULP) the less volatile it becomes. And volatility is a measure of how well it ignites (in this case in your engine). If you’ve ever tried to start an old lawn mower after a couple of years, you might know how poor old fuel is at burning.So, the service station you want is one that turns over the most amount of fuel in a day/week/month. That ensures the fuel hasn’t been hanging around in the underground tanks too long and started to lose its edge.Also, a new service station will always get our vote over an old station where the underground tanks could be taking in ground water and contaminating the fuel. We’re not saying all old servos suffer from this, but it’s something to think about.The other thing to watch is a service station where the tanker is still on the forecourt filling those underground tanks. This process tends to stir up any contaminants in the tank and free them to enter your car’s fuel tank. So if the tanker is still there or is just leaving, give that servo a miss.Unfortunately, if it left only five minutes ago you won’t know. That’s why some countries have legislation preventing a service station selling fuel from an underground tank within 60 minutes of it being filled. It’s something we probably should look at here.Clearly, getting the best fuel for your car is a lot more involved than simple brand loyalty.

The desire to go faster seems to be some kind of human condition.

The GTI is the Golf line-up’s fastest, most sporty variant to use front-wheel drive. It also builds on a rich tradition as the make and model that arguably invented the whole hot-hatch genre decades ago.

How much does it cost to fix a head gasket?Well, there are a lot variables at play here, but let’s start with the fine print: You don’t actually fix a head gasket, you replace it. Once it’s broken, there’s no repairing it, you simply swap it for another one. Except it’s not that simple.Let’s look at what a head gasket does. Nearly all modern engines are made in two main parts. There’s the crankcase which contains the crankshaft, con-rods and pistons, and then there’s the cylinder head which houses the camshafts and valves. Okay, that’s a pretty simplified version, but it holds up.The thing is, those two main parts are bolted together to complete the engine and make it run. But were they join is precisely where pressurised fuel and air is being ignited to make the engine produce power.So there’s a huge explosion that has to be contained right at the point where the two engine halves meet. And containing that explosion is the job of the head gasket or, cylinder head gasket to be more precise.The head gasket is also responsible for keeping oil and coolant separate from each other as they pass from the crankcase to the cylinder head. It also has to seal each cylinder off from its neighbours. Big job, when you think about it.Think about it like the point at which your garden hose joins the tap. If this joint isn’t sealed properly, water goes everywhere except where it should. So you can see how important a functioning head gasket is to the way an engine works. Or doesn’t.Like everything in life, the head gasket in an engine can fail. Sometimes this is because of old age, but often it’s because the engine has overheated and the thin, delicate gasket material has failed. At this point, you might have oil and coolant mixing or even the cylinders filling up with coolant because the gasket is no longer doing that sealing job. And that’s when it needs to be replaced.A good mechanic will be able to perform a couple of simple tests to see if the gasket has failed, but generally if you’re losing coolant and there’s no external leak, or the car is overheating or running poorly and backfiring, then you may be looking at a blown head gasket.Because of the design of a lot of engines, this is a labour-intensive job. It can take many hours to disassemble the top section of the engine’s valve train and then remove the cylinder head just to get at the failed gasket.Then, the gasket has to be removed, the crankcase surface it sits on cleaned, the cylinder head checked for straightness (and machined if it’s not straight) and then the whole lot put back together.Even in the case of an old-school, relatively simple engine like a pushrod engine from the 1960s, this takes many hours, but in a modern car with intricate fuel-injection, double overhead camshafts and maybe even a turbocharger, it takes a lot more labour.And labour time equals money. Also, this is not exactly a cheap country to have mechanical work done. We’re not saying that mechanics don’t earn their money – because they generally do – but thanks to our generally favourable wage structure, for the average head gasket repair cost Australia is far from a cheap place to have it done.That’s another reason a blown head gasket repair cost will vary so wildly. Even so, the most basic, simplest gasket repair job is likely to cost at least $1000, because you also need to use new parts.The head gasket is one of them, obviously, but there are lots of other gasket and seals that must be removed to get to the head gasket, and none of these are generally reusable.Some engines even have one-use cylinder head bolts that need to be replaced. Just in parts alone, the average head gasket repair cost will be hundreds of dollars.One of the other major price factors is where you take the car. If you want to use a dealership for this sort of work, you’ll pay more than if you’re using an independent specialist mechanic. And a workshop that knows the make and model in question inside out is probably where you want to be for this type of repair.Another thing to consider is whether your car is an in-line engine or something with two cylinder heads like a V6, V8 or even a Subaru flat-four engine.You might find only one head gasket has failed, but it’s actually best practice to replace both gaskets at the same time. You might also find your mechanic recommends replacing the timing chain, tensioners and coolant pump at the same time as insurance against having to open the engine up again later.Don’t forget to check if there’s a newer head gasket design that is superior to the one that car originally came with. Many Subaru engines, for instance, had gasket problems, but a later gasket design fixed this. It’s a wise upgrade.The bottom line is you’ll be looking at anywhere from $1000 to, say $5000, for a head gasket replacement. And if it’s a specialist or particularly complex engine the final price might be even higher.The best advice, of course, is to avoid having to replace the head gasket in the first place. You can do that by servicing the car properly, changing the coolant as recommended and making sure you keep an eye on the temperature gauge to avoid ever overheating the engine.

At the very top of the 1.4-litre Golf line-up sits the R-Line.

It’s often said that if you’re a smart car buyer, you’ll be shopping second hand. That’s because the shine and new car smell of a brand-new car can be fleeting. Especially once you take depreciation into account.

The mid-rung of the non-performance Golf ladder, the Style is most closely aligned with the previous Highline trim level. At $43,690, it’s quite a price step up from the Life entry-level car. But you do get extra gear like the tri-zone climate control, 18-inch alloys and a bigger multimedia screen.

At $38,690, the Golf Life opens the batting for the facelifted Volkswagen hatchback range. That’s actually $500 less than the previous entry-level Golf, but there have been equipment casualties along the way. Those include the loss of embedded sat-nav and ambient lighting and the air-conditioning system is now a single-zone deal.

Can a conventional hatchback with a conventional driveline cope in the sales race against the onslaught of SUVs and hybrids? It's a tough ask, but when it's the Volkswagen Golf we're dealing with, the smart money says never underestimate the VW. With a range of specifications right up to the mighty GTI, there's a Golf for everybody. Everybody who's paying attention, anyway.

Like many things to do with car ownership, a car’s brakes are more than just a crucial safety issue, they can also make up a significant part of monthly running costs. So, how much to replace brake pads on your car?