Thinking about getting a car fitted with LPG. Anyone had any experiences with these?
Interested to know as about usability and reliability when running on LPG.
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LPG car - Anyone got or had one??
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impmad2000
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I ran a Mk1 Golf GTI on LPG for 1.5 to 2 years. You loose a little performance , but it was the cheapest car I've ever had to run !! OK, LPG has gone up a bit in price, but still.
Watch for a back firing car, these can literally blow themselves apart. It should be fitted with a Pop off Valve to prevent catastrophic failures. They will all probably back fire once in a while, but not regularly !
Tank size is everything. You will use more fuel per mile (+10%) but the cost saving means that that doesn't matter, but how regularly you visit the pumps may start to Pee you off if the tank is too small. The fill is a lot slower than petrol.
Make sure you know where the local LPG refuellers are, and those where you intend to visit. The frequency of the LPg stockist is much better now, but when I had LPG, you did have to carry a list of the re-fuelling stations. They are not all petrol stations; farm houses, coal stockist, LPG installers ! all-sorts of places !!
I lost effectively all the boot to the tank, but there are some better installs around now. Mine conversion was a simple venturi inserted in the air inlet pipe, many/most/all(??) are EFI versions now. But I'm sure they all require you to start on petrol, then switch over to LPG after a while, a few seconds on mine.
I switched to an Audi A4 Diesel with 50MPG and never looked back !
Cheers
Tim
Watch for a back firing car, these can literally blow themselves apart. It should be fitted with a Pop off Valve to prevent catastrophic failures. They will all probably back fire once in a while, but not regularly !
Tank size is everything. You will use more fuel per mile (+10%) but the cost saving means that that doesn't matter, but how regularly you visit the pumps may start to Pee you off if the tank is too small. The fill is a lot slower than petrol.
Make sure you know where the local LPG refuellers are, and those where you intend to visit. The frequency of the LPg stockist is much better now, but when I had LPG, you did have to carry a list of the re-fuelling stations. They are not all petrol stations; farm houses, coal stockist, LPG installers ! all-sorts of places !!
I lost effectively all the boot to the tank, but there are some better installs around now. Mine conversion was a simple venturi inserted in the air inlet pipe, many/most/all(??) are EFI versions now. But I'm sure they all require you to start on petrol, then switch over to LPG after a while, a few seconds on mine.
I switched to an Audi A4 Diesel with 50MPG and never looked back !
Cheers
Tim
Tim Bennett
RHD Targa 2.2T EFI, Triumph ITB's, EDIS and Megasquirt.
"Old enough to know what's right and young enough not to choose it"
#1153
RHD Targa 2.2T EFI, Triumph ITB's, EDIS and Megasquirt.
"Old enough to know what's right and young enough not to choose it"
#1153
A colleague of mine runs his V6 Mondeo on LPG. He seems to be very happy with it and doesn't notice any performance degredation. He has a fairly sophisticated installation which automatically switches on the LPG as soon as the engine is warm enough and controlls the delivery based on manifold pressure, throttle position airflow etc. The whole thing is controlled by its own ECU which did take a bit of setting up when first installed. So, as well as finding out where all the LPG stockists are I would also recommend getting the address of a good LPG installer and servicer.
Jon
Jon
1970 914-6 conversion
1977 Stag one of the last made
Vauxhall Mokka - Wifes car and unexpectedly good!
VW T5 camper - custom day van conversion
1977 Stag one of the last made
Vauxhall Mokka - Wifes car and unexpectedly good!
VW T5 camper - custom day van conversion
I was going to LPG my Range Rover, when oil was going nuts a year or so ago, but couldnt as it was a diesel. 
I looked at what was on the offering for converting that ( to run off veg oil ) and it was really low tech compared to the LPG conversion.
if you have one you'll struggle to take it to Europe - they dont allow them on trains but I dont know about boats.
LPG is definately the way to go though. - I'd do it tomorrow if I had a petrol car...
Buy a huge great car with a massive V8 lump ( second hand ) for next to nothing because no one wants them then add 2k to it ( for the conversion ) and you've got a serious bargain.
I looked at what was on the offering for converting that ( to run off veg oil ) and it was really low tech compared to the LPG conversion.
if you have one you'll struggle to take it to Europe - they dont allow them on trains but I dont know about boats.
LPG is definately the way to go though. - I'd do it tomorrow if I had a petrol car...
Buy a huge great car with a massive V8 lump ( second hand ) for next to nothing because no one wants them then add 2k to it ( for the conversion ) and you've got a serious bargain.
I have a Smartie (Fortwo) that is LPGd. It costs me 6p a mile in fuel. Use it almost exclusively in town (I live just outside the Congestion Charge zone) and I have had no issues with it whatsoever other than making sure that Smart will service it: they give a disclaimer that they may not be able to do all they need to do as they are not qualified to mess with the LPG system
I love it and if I were to buy a 4x4 I'd be torn between a big diesel and converting a petrol engine. We did ours as the wife was driving to work at the time and the savings in the congestion charge would pay for the conversion after 9 months. Then she got preggers, and then changed jobs to lose her parking spot and now rides a Vespa
I love it and if I were to buy a 4x4 I'd be torn between a big diesel and converting a petrol engine. We did ours as the wife was driving to work at the time and the savings in the congestion charge would pay for the conversion after 9 months. Then she got preggers, and then changed jobs to lose her parking spot and now rides a Vespa
I had a Jeep with LPG.
It ran fine although you did notice a very slight loss of power. Overall I think I did about 45,000 miles mainly on LPG but with petrol as a reserve.
In a large 4x4 the issue of where to put the tank is not really an issue. In the Jeep I had a tank for petrol (approx half the size of standard tank) and a tank for LPG.
Availability of LPG was never really a problem (apart from in rural Ireland) as there is a list of all stockists on the LPG Association website.
It ran fine although you did notice a very slight loss of power. Overall I think I did about 45,000 miles mainly on LPG but with petrol as a reserve.
In a large 4x4 the issue of where to put the tank is not really an issue. In the Jeep I had a tank for petrol (approx half the size of standard tank) and a tank for LPG.
Availability of LPG was never really a problem (apart from in rural Ireland) as there is a list of all stockists on the LPG Association website.
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TheEasyLife
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A former colleague of mine bought a 3 year old RangeRover with LPG to replace his petrol V6 Mondeo as he travelled from Notts to Glasgow/Edinburgh and back on a regular basis. His economy with LPG from Nottingham to Scotland and back was on a par as his mondeo but the clincher was that it cost half the price.
He could only just tell that there was a performance drop when on LPG but he did have more than enough hp to start with on a 4.8 V8. Fuelling was fun as you get a quick shower with LPG when you fill her up but he was impressed with how much more economical it made his vehicle to use for work or business.
Shame the RR was so unreliable as the money he saved on fuel and more ontop was spent on repairing the vehicle. He sold it and bought a 5 year old BMW 535d M Sport to chip to something daft like 450hp. He now has similar economy but shed loads more performance with reliability too.
Cheers
James
He could only just tell that there was a performance drop when on LPG but he did have more than enough hp to start with on a 4.8 V8. Fuelling was fun as you get a quick shower with LPG when you fill her up but he was impressed with how much more economical it made his vehicle to use for work or business.
Shame the RR was so unreliable as the money he saved on fuel and more ontop was spent on repairing the vehicle. He sold it and bought a 5 year old BMW 535d M Sport to chip to something daft like 450hp. He now has similar economy but shed loads more performance with reliability too.
Cheers
James
1979 SC Targa - Long term project - in storage - purchased 10/16 - last looked at it in 08/18..
Fascinated with 911 seats and induction systems!
Previously
1973 911T in Gulf Blue (with 2.4E ITB's, EFI and EDIS) - from 07 till 16. Sorely missed.
Fascinated with 911 seats and induction systems!
Previously
1973 911T in Gulf Blue (with 2.4E ITB's, EFI and EDIS) - from 07 till 16. Sorely missed.
Not sure about in the UK, but around Europe (as Disco said before) you cannot park in almost all multistorey car parks, travel on the Eurotunnel, nor ferries - basically anywhere that is a contained environment.
2000 996 Turbo
Speed Yellow / Black
Ex - 2003 996 3.6 Carrera 4S
Arctic Silver / Black
Ex - 1992 964 3.3 Turbo X33 (#777)
Midnight Blue / Classic Grey
Speed Yellow / Black
Ex - 2003 996 3.6 Carrera 4S
Arctic Silver / Black
Ex - 1992 964 3.3 Turbo X33 (#777)
Midnight Blue / Classic Grey
I run a1996 Toyota Landcruiser on LPG. I have had it for 3 years and before that a petrol Nissan Patrol LPG.
The cons are:
1. It does 12mpg on LPG as opposed to 15mpg on petrol
2. It can be fickle, I think due to the 'local' fitting of the LPG kit over the factory reliability of the rest of the car comes in here, I do have the local LPG god (Colin the gas) on speeddial.
3. Just show my 'worlds best offroader' a puddle over 8" deep and the truck stops- see point 2.
4. Getting gas- you need to plan your journey- I have an account with countrywide gas.
5. The LPG tank takes up the spare wheel space
6. Power loss
7. Conversion costs about £2000 plus
The pros are:
1. LPG costs av 50p /litre giving me same as 26mpg plus
2. Buying a gas guzzling petrol monster is so much cheaper than the same diesel
3. The secondhand value of an LPG truck is cheaper than the same diesel
When they are working LPG trucks are fine, I pull heavy car transporters with mine, I use the 'petrol on' switch to 'power up' hills etc, but when cruising on light throttle say motorway travel, I switch over to gas.
I am thinking of changing my Landcruiser for a newer one, given the choice I would take a diesel one next time purely for convenience of refuelling, I don't believe the conversion sums add up to compensate for the aggro you get.
Best of luck
The cons are:
1. It does 12mpg on LPG as opposed to 15mpg on petrol
2. It can be fickle, I think due to the 'local' fitting of the LPG kit over the factory reliability of the rest of the car comes in here, I do have the local LPG god (Colin the gas) on speeddial.
3. Just show my 'worlds best offroader' a puddle over 8" deep and the truck stops- see point 2.
4. Getting gas- you need to plan your journey- I have an account with countrywide gas.
5. The LPG tank takes up the spare wheel space
6. Power loss
7. Conversion costs about £2000 plus
The pros are:
1. LPG costs av 50p /litre giving me same as 26mpg plus
2. Buying a gas guzzling petrol monster is so much cheaper than the same diesel
3. The secondhand value of an LPG truck is cheaper than the same diesel
When they are working LPG trucks are fine, I pull heavy car transporters with mine, I use the 'petrol on' switch to 'power up' hills etc, but when cruising on light throttle say motorway travel, I switch over to gas.
I am thinking of changing my Landcruiser for a newer one, given the choice I would take a diesel one next time purely for convenience of refuelling, I don't believe the conversion sums add up to compensate for the aggro you get.
Best of luck
Porsche 911T 2.2
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speedsterboy
- DDK addict
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In NZ the government used to pay for the conversion to encourage people as we have loads of gas but not much oil.We had our work vans converted- I used to sit on the tank in the back!!
we removed the tanks when a guy we worked for whose van also had the tanks in the same location was broadsided pulling out of a petrol station having just filled his lpg tank and his van exploded -literally because of the LPG tank having been ruptured...
not a chance I would ever take myself.
we removed the tanks when a guy we worked for whose van also had the tanks in the same location was broadsided pulling out of a petrol station having just filled his lpg tank and his van exploded -literally because of the LPG tank having been ruptured...
not a chance I would ever take myself.