evest Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Has anyone looked into LPG conversions on Zeds? Surely that is a possibility? I remember reading that somebody somewhere has tried it. Afaik it didn't turn out well in the end - and the obvious counter-argument is: if economy is an issue, buy a Toyota Prius! I think this is the dumbest argument going. Life isn't just all about the loud pedal. I have a roadster for the sound, handling and fun factor - why pay more than I have to to run it? It is just about the only roadster going for around £10,000 that is reliable and comfortable for people over 6'0" tall. Sure I could get some boring FWD cab but they handle badly and sound rubbish. I have had/tried MX5's, MR2 mk3's, S2000's and even the disgusting Audi TT but they are so cramped, maybe a BMW 3 series but frankly I doubt they would really be much cheaper to run anyway. If I had a spare £2000 lying around and I was pretty sure theoretically it was sound I would go for an LPG conversion straight away - it would mean I could use my 350Z every single day and not just 2-3 times a week. I'm glad so many of you would clearly turn down a £1000 a year or so saving just for the benefit of looking 'cool' on a web forum. Why is this a dumbest argument going? In my opinion it seems dumber to buy a car in the knowledge that it's on the thirsty side - and then spend a couple of grand get it modified (which is no small, or cheap mod) to suit your economy? Surely just get a car (ok - not a prius, fair enough) that ticks the boxes in the first place. And in my earlier post I demonstrated that you can save money by driving in an economical manner (which is free to do) - so I'm not promoting the 'loud pedal' either. I'm sorry if my remarks upset you or anyone - was intended as friendly banter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbramble Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 I wasn't upset at all, but that answer is such an annoying car forum cliche. I wanted a 350Z not a skoda fabia 1.4 diesel but at the same time, if I keep the car 10 years and I can spend £2000 to save £1000 a year isn't that worth it? The point is if I change to a cheap crappy car I lose a LOT of fun stuff which is on tap on the 350Z and isn't in some gutless dieseasel. The reality is that I will never keep a car for that long, I have never had a car for more than 2 years and I have my wifes Touran to use to keep costs down. My point is sure you can buy a cheap car, but its just that - a cheap slow car with a horrible sounding engine and no soft top. A 350Z with an LPG conversion would be a fairly cheap car to run but with power on tap, great sound, handling and fresh air motoring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evest Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Fair enough mate - each to their own I guess. Either way, if I could get away with keeping my beloved Zed for 10 years I'd be a happy man!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 i like the people who say; "why didn't you buy a more economical car then?" wonder if they'll be singing the same tune when petrol goes over 1.50 a litre or even more. LPG offers the petrol fun at reduced costs; i cant see the harm, especially when LPG isn't increasing in cost as quickly as petrol is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIcad7 Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 What made a real noticeable difference for me was fitting de-cats! Yeh free flow mods, exhaust, remap, weight loss - anything that takes stresses away from the engine and makes its life easier means it doesnt have to work as hard to get things done and therefore uses less fuel. If that makes sense! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 What made a real noticeable difference for me was fitting de-cats! Yeh free flow mods, exhaust, remap, weight loss - anything that takes stresses away from the engine and makes its life easier means it doesnt have to work as hard to get things done and therefore uses less fuel. If that makes sense! i've found on the last 3 cars i've had; fiddling with the exhaust has made fuel economy worse. i would suspect that without a decent remap to retune the engine to take advantage of the better flow this is an expected outcome, hi flows on the zed made the biggest impact on my economy on the zed, i lost about 2-3 mpg once they were fitted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Probably because your foot was down further to hear the noise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbramble Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 i like the people who say; "why didn't you buy a more economical car then?" wonder if they'll be singing the same tune when petrol goes over 1.50 a litre or even more. LPG offers the petrol fun at reduced costs; i cant see the harm, especially when LPG isn't increasing in cost as quickly as petrol is. Just wanted to say, love the signature picture/animation. My top is down as long as its dry People see me driving in to work think I am nuts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 i like the people who say; "why didn't you buy a more economical car then?" wonder if they'll be singing the same tune when petrol goes over 1.50 a litre or even more. LPG offers the petrol fun at reduced costs; i cant see the harm, especially when LPG isn't increasing in cost as quickly as petrol is. Just wanted to say, love the signature picture/animation. My top is down as long as its dry People see me driving in to work think I am nuts thanks, sadly i can;t take the glory for it; its off the S2000 club forum. but it was so fitting for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmck13 Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 I was having a think today (after filling up)...if you HAD to, how would you mod a Zed to improve it's economy instead of performance? I would imagine some of the mods for performance would also improve economy, such as the plenum spacer, less restrictive exhaust, and a remap. What else could be done? Just a note: If you now feel like replying "but the Zed is a performance car!" then just save it. It's just a hypothetical question and I fully understand the point of buying a car like it Late entry on this one, it has to be a remap and a raw egg between your right foot and the accelerator pedal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrLizard Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 quite like the raw egg idea... Ekona, the weight thing doesnt work, as soon as you strip all the weight the car feels so good that you have to plant your foot everywhere you go so it is a human factor maybe remap it with a complete disregard for power and run the engine as lean as possible ? Wouldnt mind doing that for when stuck behind safety cars but not many series allow switchable maps in the car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisgunton Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 Throttle controller in eco mode! When I had mine I put it in eco mode once when the weather was bad... felt like I was towing a caravan How do you put it in Eco mode!? Mine's a 2004 and as far as I'm aware there isn't a button for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Throttle controller in eco mode! When I had mine I put it in eco mode once when the weather was bad... felt like I was towing a caravan How do you put it in Eco mode!? Mine's a 2004 and as far as I'm aware there isn't a button for it! you need a throttle controller; this is an aftermarket item Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisgunton Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 A D1 Spec Throttle Controller you mean Which has just been sold in the FS section Sounds like an interesting bit of kit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cesc Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Cruise control = instant diesel-like economy. As an aside, this is the information from fuelly.com about my RX-8: Or for the JDM drivers: You just have to laugh I suppose! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 The throttle controller will do nothing that easing off the throttle and short shifting won't do. I don't understand why you'd mod a car to make it economical when you can control how economical it is yourself very easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisgunton Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 The throttle controller will do nothing that easing off the throttle and short shifting won't do. I don't understand why you'd mod a car to make it economical when you can control how economical it is yourself very easily. I'm actually interested in the OTHER side of the throttle controller Like I said, this was just a hypothetical thread - I love the Zed for what it is - and when I want to save pennies I'm perfectly capable of feathering the throttle and using CC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Well the other side of the controller is quite fun. I guess as an extreme to make it properly eco you shave the weight (as Ekona said) fit very skinny wheels and tyres to reduce the rolling resistance and probably look at drag to make it more slippery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 keeping the car clean and waxed helps reduce air resistance, don't drive with the window open as this can affect economy by 10%15% avoid using the A/C that can also have something like a 5% affect on economy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetSet Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Just a quick estimate of what a 10k per year driver can save if he/she could increase mpg from 25 to 30. At current petrol prices it'd work out to £400 per annum! A more realistic improvement would be 2 mpg, still a considerable saving of £180 or so. The main problem is that a lot of the variables are beyond our control, for example if you have to drive to work and back in heavy traffic there's very little savings to be made, unless you can go in a bit later or earlier. Lots of other things too, traffic lights, roadworks, hilly terrain, weather conditions....That aside, I don't see any real way of modding a Zed to save fuel without destroying its character. Skinny wheels would look stupid and in any case the Zed has a pretty low CD to start with. Weight reduction would help, but what exactly could you remove safely? A lot of the issues may be addressed with the next version of the Zed (if there is one) where designers can sit down with a fresh sheet of paper and design in fuel saving measures. For example I see energy recovery systems becoming the norm in a few years time, maybe lighter but stronger body panels, smaller and more efficient engines, better fuel management systems, I'm sure there are lots of other things too. The problem is that The 350Z was designed in the early 2000's when the world economy was on the up and oil was about $30 a barrel Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 i tell thee, diesel conversion is the answer tons of torque (more than the zed with the right engine) similiar rev range. and in the zed body should give a similiar drive, yet you'll get between 30 and 50 mpg and can still drive it with all the fun and no worries over feathering it everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dblock Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 if money was no object, then i'd take the 3.0 litre v6 diesel out of the audi a5 and drop it in the zed. that should see a combined cycle of around 50 mpg If money was no object why would you care about fuel consuption Also audi 3.0 v6 mapped to 300bhp as fast as it is, souless engine. the question never mentioned cost; and the audi engine is actually quicker than the zed; then engine may be souless but in a zed body it should make the combination alot better. it also means i wouldnt need to drive like a grandad to eek out mpg; could still drive hard and easily get 30 mpg, or take it easy and get 50 mpg. ... as for driving style the brake pedal is the hugest issue with fuel consumption, everytime you brake you have to use more fuel to get back up to speed. controlling the speed by just lifting off and reapplying the gas to maintain a speed is far more economical. leaving decent braking distances etc weight reduction etc all helps You said the question never mentioned cost be if its to get a higher mpg surely cost would be a vital factor? If he could afford to do it why would he moan about petrol price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evest Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Cruise control = instant diesel-like economy. Do correct if I'm wrong...: cruise control is a labour saving device that provides constant SPEED, not constant throttle. So if you go up and down hills, the cruise control will adjust the throttle for you to maintain the desired speed - same as you would with the pedal, so fuel consumption will be similar? If you kept constant throttle, your speed would surely vary with the gradients? My top tip! - when approaching heavy motorway traffic, tuck in behind the big rigs - they always seem to trundle along at a fairly constant speed - rather than the stop/start, lane jumping, fuel quaffing madness you find in the other two lanes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 You said the question never mentioned cost be if its to get a higher mpg surely cost would be a vital factor? If he could afford to do it why would he moan about petrol price? all depends on what fuel prices do, if petrol goes up more but for some reason diesel goes down as haulage companies manage to force a change so its not linked to petrol could make huge savings. 2nd if you have the skills then doing it would be no more expensive than an LPG conversion and if you do the right mileage it would pay for its self within 18 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Do correct if I'm wrong...: cruise control is a labour saving device that provides constant SPEED, not constant throttle. So if you go up and down hills, the cruise control will adjust the throttle for you to maintain the desired speed - same as you would with the pedal, so fuel consumption will be similar? If you kept constant throttle, your speed would surely vary with the gradients? Depends how good a driver you are. For most cruise control will save you money as you wont accidentally be speeding up and slowing down burining fuel, but it will burn more fuel around hills as it will slow you down them and then use throttle to keep speed going up them. If you are a good driver you can save more fuel by slightly increasing speed down the hill and use less throttle up it (and thus slowing down ever so slightly by the top). But you have to have good throttle control to achieve this properly, which most numpties dont have On long drives, cruise control will save you fuel by holding a constant speed and roughly constant throttle, so you arent speeding up and slowing down all the time. Good tip on following lorries through traffic, I do this all the time, it saves time and fuel. Outside lane is the worst place to be, they leave it til the last minute to stop, slam on the brakes, as soon as it moves, they boot it again, then slam on the brakes If you try to leave space to balance this out some sod in the middle lane cuts you up I have learnt the art of spotting traffic stopping, nipping to the inside lane to undercut it all, then when it gets going again head to the outside lane! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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