LPG anyone know much about it?

[rtbiscuit]

been looking at some cars and come across on ei like, but its fitted with LPG.

 

i like the sound of it as its cheap motoring for a performance car; and no real loss of power (allegedly) i wouldn't fit one myself, but am toying with this one already fitted.

 

just hear the odd horror story of LPG converted engines going bang; yet the websites for them say they will increase the engine life due to less wear from burning a cleaner fuel.

 

is it worth the risk or will i be in for a whole load of trouble?

 

 

this particular system has been fitted by Panache Autogas; who apparently are on of the top places in the UK for conversions.

[marzman]

I know 2 people with LPG.

 

1st has an older shape Range Rover and he said its great - he gets what would work out as 35mpg which is pretty good for a 4.4 litre petrol. He had it installed which cost £2k, but i dont know if he's done the miles to make it pay for itself over 5 yrs...

 

2nd mate had a mk1 Vectra which he had converted to LPG... he had it about 8 yrs, but he had frequent problems with the ECU - it kept screwing up and he had to take it to the garage all the time.

 

I'd be nervous about getting one myself to be honest though...

[rtbiscuit]

the one i've seen is apparently getting 58 mpg

 

for me its the fear of the unknown

[Daryl]

A guy i work with has had his 3L Legacy Outback converted last year,at a cost of nearly 2.5k. He calculated that in 2 years it would have paid for itself. The car was averaging 21mpg on light throttle,hence why he had it done,went to Coventry to get it sorted. The only issue is the valves on Subaru's are quite soft,so potentially he will need the adjusting or new ones or something. But providing the conversion was done at a reputable garage,then id not worry too much. Just do your research on the garages.

[RisingPower]

I don't get LPG, you get diesel if you want economy, petrol for fun, why LPG?

[Daryl]

Because you get 99% of the petrol engine,for 1/2 the price of fuel. A diesel engine dont drive like a petrol engine,its what you prefer i suppose,but id chose the noise of a petrol engine over a diesel any day.

[RisingPower]

Because you get 99% of the petrol engine,for 1/2 the price of fuel. A diesel engine dont drive like a petrol engine,its what you prefer i suppose,but id chose the noise of a petrol engine over a diesel any day.

 

Does it still sound and have the reliability of a standard petrol engine?

[Daryl]

On some engines,you have to be careful of the valves,but in most cases,yes. The only slight downside,is that you loose a small amount of power,4-5%. Guy at work that had his done,says the car runs alot smoother on gas,as it burns cleaner.

[Darren-B]

My old man has been running his cars on LPG since the stoneage, all been 6-8 cylinder, now looking at a v10 I used to have a van on LPG, & a friend of mine runs his motor yacht on it, running two 6ltr V8s never had any major problems, just the odd filter every year, they do tend to knock out spark plugs 40% faster but that's no hardship really.

 

 

Not much space for a tank in an s2k though.

[Sam Mcgoo]

My dad's had LPG for about 10 years now - one on a Toyota Hilux and three Jeep cherokees. He has never had any real problems with them. I think a solenoid failed on one of the jeeps a few years ago but no biggy. He swears buy them.

 

However, I have driven them all on many occasions and switched from petrol to LPG and the is a slight loss in power - I noticed it in longer gears and when towing.

 

A modern conversion on a performance car may be different though.

[Darren-B]

On some engines,you have to be careful of the valves,but in most cases,yes. The only slight downside,is that you loose a small amount of power,4-5%. Guy at work that had his done,says the car runs alot smoother on gas,as it burns cleaner.

 

If you have LPG you can de cat the exhaust to gain back the lost power & it will still pass the mot

[rtbiscuit]

On some engines,you have to be careful of the valves,but in most cases,yes. The only slight downside,is that you loose a small amount of power,4-5%. Guy at work that had his done,says the car runs alot smoother on gas,as it burns cleaner.

 

If you have LPG you can de cat the exhaust to gain back the lost power & it will still pass the mot

 

 

now that is good to know

 

as for the LPg it won't be going in the S2K as about 3 people are interested in it. and i need more space. plus new business means need better transport for items etc.

[Dblock]

Tbh alot of horrer stories come from bad fitting, poor servicing and bad support.

 

Best people are Prins. They can do LPG evo's now. LPG is about 100ron. The Prins isn't the cheapest but you can get valvecare off them. Basically it's a 500ml tank that gives valve lube stuff to all valves to keep them in good condition. They are releasing a liquid LPG lot this year.

 

I've read up quite abit about it and alot of installers are rubbish.

 

 

On some engines,you have to be careful of the valves,but in most cases,yes. The only slight downside,is that you loose a small amount of power,4-5%. Guy at work that had his done,says the car runs alot smoother on gas,as it burns cleaner.

 

If you have LPG you can de cat the exhaust to gain back the lost power & it will still pass the mot

 

 

now that is good to know

 

as for the LPg it won't be going in the S2K as about 3 people are interested in it. and i need more space. plus new business means need better transport for items etc.

[Zugara]

Dont forget that forklift trucks also run on lpg,some of them, without any problems. A mate of mine had his car done by a flyby night garage with endless problems, but once he got it sorted by a decent garage it was fine. Just choose a decent garage and you should be fine.

[varley16]

theres good ones and theres bad ones, do the research on the one you want, and if its for the zed, remember you have to have the tank fitted somewhere in the boot.

[Ricey]

No direct knowledge mate but this does sound very much like a 'back in the day' word of mouth verging on urban legend.

 

You know how it goes......new technology, a few back alley installers slat it in an already semi knackered car - thus every problem thereforth gets blamed on the LPG. Grandad tells your dad, who tells his mate in the pub, who tells his mate at work, who tells his kid, who tells you at break time.

 

Personally I'd give it a crack if its been installed by a reputable company...........only real pain is the lack of filling stations but if its dual fuel (petrol and LPG?) you might not be so bad.

[Stew]

I'd buy a car that was already converted (by a reputable company) as the LPG conversion doesn't really get it's money back. You'd pay a few quid premium on a big V8 but that's about it.

 

I worked at a local petrol station / garage when I was a loon and they were first to get the lpg pump in the area. We used to chat to the owners and it became very apparent that some cars worked better than others with the conversion. This was 10 years ago though! I did drive a few LPG cars and they were fine. At the time the fuel consumption dropped by approximately 10% however the cost is approximately half that of petrol. Performance can drop depending on the engine but not in a night and day way. The car needs to start and run on petrol for 2-3 miles each journey so your commute has to be decent to benefit and also these miles have to be factored in to the 'break even' point - something I bet 90% of users don't do!

 

Anyway, what I just type might be utter rubbish nowadays but from what I've read the technology hasn't moved on that much, just the systems are perhaps slightly slicker.

[Clarkie]

I bought my Landy purely because it had been LPG converted, an old V8 at 8mpg (motorway) is not too economical. However it is dual fuel, i can switch between petrol and LPG. I tend to drive around on the LPG but when i'm offroading and need a little more power i use the petrol. Best of both worlds. I don't know about more modern vehicles but there is a definitive power loss in the Landy when running on LPG. And it smells like you're driving a barbeque.

[rtbiscuit]

from what i've read v6's and v8's seem to like it the most; and the car i've seen is a V6; it is duel fuel; and most of my trips to work will probably be set up on petrol as its only 4 miles each way. but when it comes to longer drives it does then mean i can flick the switch over to lpg and double the MPG. i suppose when your doing a long drive you won't notice the drop in power as your just cruising.

 

this does seem good. will need to research more in to the installer "professionally converted using the latest Italian OMVL LPG kit by Panache Autogas in Manchester (very well recommended on all LPG forums, expensive but the best!). LPG cap on side of rear bumper colour coded for a hidden look." (thats from the advert)

[Ricey]

Just tell us what it is Bisqwits!!!!! You know you want too

[rtbiscuit]

its a mk4 r32 golf

[Ricey]

its a mk4 r32 golf

 

Nice comprimise if you ask me.......all of the fun with a little switch that takes away some of the pain.

[spursmaddave]

its a mk4 r32 golf

 

Looks like a good one, like the Blue

[rtbiscuit]

its the right colour; has the arm rest; looks in good nick; mileage is withinn what i'm looking for; plus the lpg seems good.

 

downside is that it does take up alot of the boot; but still keeps the car useable

[spursmaddave]

its the right colour; has the arm rest; looks in good nick; mileage is withinn what i'm looking for; plus the lpg seems good.

 

downside is that it does take up alot of the boot; but still keeps the car useable

 

You still have the back seats

 

Sounds like a good one, bit far away is the only downside I can see...