LPG Conversions - Experiences

[BorniteIdentity]

Hello

 

So, my work has gone rather bananas over the past few months - and I've taken on an extra contract which now means I'm doing 160 miles, 5 days a week.  On top of that, there's another 80 miles on a Sunday but that tends to be enjoyed in either the Rover 75 or whatever else is littering my road.

 

I was considering getting myself into a diesel now I've got extra money coming in.  However

 

A) I'm rather fond of the current daily.

2) We're saving up at the moment for some big house alterations

D) The unknowns of getting another car are off putting - unless it's a shiter selling a TDDI for £100.

 

Has anyone experience of these LPG conversion companies that promise to do it in a day for like £650?  I'm not concerned about the nationality of the installers (LPG being much more popular in eastern europe) or the quality of the coffee in their waiting room.  What does bother me is the quality of the workmanship and the after care.

 

Any experiences?

[gadgetgricey]

Also check the LPG prices in you area.

A few months ago I could get LPG for 37p a litre, now the cheapest is 47p.

 

Do the maths and work out of it really s cost effective

[BorniteIdentity]

38mpg at £1.17 = £22.50 per day.

35mpg at 63p = £12.80 per day.#

 

It should be paid off within 3 months.

 

I should have done this 3 years ago really!

[Richard]

You'll lose some power and boot space, so only do it if you have some of both to spare. Normally you get a doughnut tank in the spare wheel well, which leaves you with the spare in the boot.

 

The price always seems to be about half the price of petrol, so that's not a massive concern. You'll lose some mpg too though, so your fuel costs will still be a bit over half.

[BorniteIdentity]

You'll lose some power and boot space, so only do it if you have some of both to spare. Normally you get a doughnut tank in the spare wheel well, which leaves you with the spare in the boot.

 

The price always seems to be about half the price of petrol, so that's not a massive concern. You'll lose some mpg too though, so your fuel costs will still be a bit over half.

 

It's a saloon car, and there's always that bit between the wheels (right at the back of the boot) which isn't used much - so would rather than a canister I think than a donut for MOAR distance.  That said, I'm used to going to the petrol station twice a week. 

[omegod]

It may prove more sensible to sell yours and buy something already converted for the same price, I ran a 3.0 Omega like that for 4 yrs, was frigging ace and I was getting 45-50 mpg equiv on a run 

[Richard]

It may prove more sensible to sell yours and buy something already converted for the same price, I ran a 3.0 Omega like that for 4 yrs, was frigging ace and I was getting 45-50 mpg equiv on a run 

 

That's why you should have a bigger engine, I was getting similar from a 1.8 C5 that had to be ragged mercilessly all the time just to keep moving and switched to petrol for overtaking.

[cros]

80l tank still leaves room for a decent size cadaver in my 75. Toroidal tanks are expensive and too small. I'd be unhappy with power loss especially as I had so little to start with- it's not inevitable. Tread warily, many modern engines hate LPG.

[BorniteIdentity]

Nothing modern around these parts!

[cros]

Nothing modern around these parts!

Wot r u converting? Old and cast iron= good, new and plasticine no good.

[BorniteIdentity]

Probably a 3SFE Toyota Engine.  Might also end up being the wife's Duratech 2.0 Ford engine.

[DodgeRover]

Do not go with a £650 done in a day firm it will be shit, more to follow

[chodweaver]

+1 for not paying for the conversion. The Chrysler Graf Spee that has been more my daily than anything else in Fleet Chod is an 02 plated, 3.3 litre v6 with a doughnut 80litre tank and a Dream XVIII conversion or summat. 800quid 18 months ago. 130k on the clock. Does struggle a bit to do more than cruise at 80 esp where hills are involved but has been more lively and more economical since an LPG service. And the bloke who serviced it said he mostly converts Prius now. On LPG the 1.5 engine in them is good for mega miles. Trust a cabby to know what is cheap to run...

 

Sent from my BV6000 using Tapatalk

[cros]

Probably a 3SFE Toyota Engine.  Might also end up being the wife's Duratech 2.0 Ford engine.

Toyota most likely an excellent candidate, not sure about Ford. £650 in a day iffy for a lawnmower.

[DVee8]

Here you go

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-Nissan-primera-sve-lpg-/112293689316?hash=item1a2539b7e4:g:8XQAAOSwjDZYl0Uq

 

[bangernomics]

Don't lpg a ford they will suffer from vsr valve seat regression due to soft metals and no lubrication from the lpg.

 

You can buy a kit from the Internet for 500 so 650 seems cheap alright but ask what the aftercare is like. I'm going to say anywhere cheaper than a £1k for a four cylinder is likely to be crap kit or a bit bodgy.

 

Had 3 lpg cars and save much on each, actually considering again but I'm looking for a 325-328-330 BMW for lazy cruising

[Belfast Gipsy]

I have a Toyota Grand Hi Ace V6 that came with a conversion fitted after import - receipts in glove box for £1100+. Slightly less economical on LPG (But gas obvs cheaper)

Not many filling stations and a right faff means I hardly ever switch it - then again I don't need to use it regularly.

Agree with all the above that cheap conversions are risky.

[Rusty_Rocket]

I've had a few LPG vehicles, with mixed results.

A 1989 Transit bus with the crudest single-point system was great.. the expensive multi point sequential system on the Omega V6 was not.

After another couple of false starts, RR 4.6 HSE and Saab 9-3, I'd made my mind up that the modest savings and general FAFF just wasn't worth it. No LPG vehicle is 'fit and forget', they need very regular tweeks and check overs in my experience. Also, LPG in bumpkin Kent is around 61ppl. Not cheap enough.

[gordonbennet]

I've had two cars converted and have both still.

I honestly don't believe a proper conversion can be done in a day, that sounds like messrs bodgit and scarper to me, ours took 3 to 4 days.

Both 6 pots, one was £1750, one was £1350, both inc VAT both still running well.

I would expect to pay around £1000 for a 4 pot and slightly more cos i would want an electric flashlube dispenser on a Japanese engine, VSR.

 

I would have bought another petrol Landcruiser and got it LPG converted this time too but finding any LC regd before March 06 in as near perfect condition underside is almost impossible, they're like rocking horse shit anyway, so i've had to go back to Diesel.

 

The used but LPG'd from new Outlander we bought had a hot start problem, Mitsi garage proved about as much use as a chocolate teapot, my LPG man traced it immediately (without any fancy but utterly worthless computerised diagnostics) as VSR so adjusted the valve clearances and fitted a flashlube kit, it ran fine after that but ultimately never endeared itself to either of us, SWMBO much prefers her 3 litre Scooby Outback which we had done at the latter price,  i'd be wary of buying any vehicle already converted unless there was an unquestionable reason for sale, such as bereavement, no bugger spends good money on an LPG conversion then flogs the sod just as its about to go into 'profit'.

 

filllpg.co.uk is one of the best sites for checking out LPG sites, prices shown are dated as and when the last user entered details on the site.

[cros]

I've never had a single LPG component failure on 5 conversions that I done myself- kits came from Tinleytech, around £500 a throw. Hard to imagine that £650 pays for quality stuff and fitting. Finding LPG no problem, as above. A German friend's Subaru has shrugged off years of Autobahn hammering without complaint, saved him a fortune. Dodgy LPG kits would drive you nuts though.

[Andrew353w]

I had a Skoda Felicia converted to L.P.G. back in the late 1990s and never regretted the decision. The job took a week and I was given a courtesy Saab 900 to use during that time. Mine was one in which the car started on petrol and once the engine had warmed up a little it automatically switched over to L.P.G. & was well below the point at which the temperature gauge moved and usually took about a minute's driving.  As to driving with it, the economy and acceleration dropped a little, but I gained a higher top speed, the car being happy to do a (highly illegal) 100+mph. The explanation from the installers when I went back for a routine check of the system was that petrol goes BANG! when ignited, giving an instantaneous wallop of power, whereas L.P.G. goes WOOSH!, giving  a longer burn, thus giving a higher top speed but  slight loss of acceleration. 

 

Back when I had my conversion done L.P.G. garages were few & far between, but many farmers and agricultural equipment suppliers sold it and although this was technically illegal (no duty was payable to HMRC [a bit like buying red diesel from country garages today]) it gave you much more places to fill up. I well remember buying LPG for 25p per litre in rural Lincolnshire, where my in-laws lived and for 26p per litre in Keynsham, where my parents lived. You just had to "ask around."

 

My conversion gave me a 15 litre tank where my spare wheel had been and a smart leather bag for my spare wheel and jack. The only let down was the small size of the L.P.G. tank! In short, go for it!

[BorniteIdentity]

I've never had a single LPG component failure on 5 conversions that I done myself- kits came from Tinleytech, around £500 a throw. Hard to imagine that £650 pays for quality stuff and fitting. Finding LPG no problem, as above. A German friend's Subaru has shrugged off years of Autobahn hammering without complaint, saved him a fortune. Dodgy LPG kits would drive you nuts though.

Consider yourself hired

[pilninggas]

I've fitted lpg to quite few of my cars. I've usually just put kits together myself from places like diy-lpg. A generic 4 cylinder injection front end can come in at less than £300 with a decent reducer. Fitting lpg kits is pretty easy.

 

I don't do so many miles these days but dont tend to bother now.

 

If you do get lpg fitted youll need to get the installation certificate to satisfy almost all insurers now, most won't cover no lpga certification. (The first 2 installs i did i certified it myself, you just cant do it now).

[DodgeRover]

Ok no matter how many people you throw at it you can not do a satisfactory LPG conversion in a day especially on a modern, you might manage it on a carb'd CF or transit but that's about all.

 

£650 would buy you middle of the range components and a cheaper single hole tank if you wanted to DIY.

VSR can be avoided by the use of a flashlube system.

If you are going to get a conversion done try to get recommendations from satisfied customers, buying ready converted can be fine but make sure the vehicle is running well on lpg our lexus cost us less than the conversion price and had clocked 60k in the 3 years since it was converted.

 

Lpg systems do require occasional servicing and tuning same as anything fitted to a motor vehicle really. Beware some of the factory fit stuff is obsolete and hard to find somebody who actually knows what they are doing when it comes to repairs.

 

Fit the biggest tank or tanks you can, I've got 160l in the van

 

My family will have a Lwb Vauxhall montrey on lpg for sale in a month or 2 but it's been well used for towing

[pilninggas]

To be fair to the 'fit in a day places' they usually have a team of eastern europeans/turks (who have a far greater percentage of cars on autogas in their home nations) who work on the car in a joint manner (1 man doing tank and liquid pipes, 1 man doing FE and 1 supporting both). The most time consuming job is getting the spud-pipes into the front manifold.

 

A mate of mine paid good money to a 'top notch' installer in this area, who took 3 days, and who installed the fuel line (running from tank to engine bay) with insufficient clipping. The line moved and rubbed on the propshaft causing a leak. matey not happy. also a fitter (fully certified, big money 'premium' service) who let two cars go out with tank leaks on the multivalves.

 

The best thing is to go and look at what they are doing, also if they do make the odd cock-up just let them get it sorted, each installation is pretty bespoke, although things like V8 landies should be more bread and butter.

[DodgeRover]

I wasn't going to say it but LPGA membership really just means that you've paid your subs that year and managed not to muck up the couple of installations they inspected that badly...

[pilninggas]

I wasn't going to say it but LPGA membership really just means that you've paid your subs that year and managed not to muck up the couple of installations they inspected that badly...

 

Like most trade bodies, they only want their subs. They have also leaned on insurance companies to make their certification system the defacto standard. I will say the COP is a reasonable document though, if a bit obsolete in places (or the last copy i cast my eye over anyway).

[DodgyBastard]

DSC_0031 by srblythe, on Flickr

 

My 190e has LPG

 

I've never had anything with lpg in the past so I'm a bit apprehensive about using it...

[DodgeRover]

FOAD just use it, assuming it works, you'll never want to pay full price for fuel again......

No idea what system is fitted but a rule of thumb is NEVER EVER EVER touch the throttle if starting on gas (especially from cold) unless you know better as you'll likely promote a backfire.

[CortinaDave]

use it FOAD. ive run a few cars on it. its good stuff.

 

i bought a ZT 190 to use as a parts car for my own one last week and it has a brc lpg system fitted. id love to move the kit to my identical car but i definitely dont have the talent! seems a waste tho.