Guinness
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| posted on 20/10/06 at 03:22 PM |
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LPG Conversions
Anyone got any experience of running older cars on Gas?
I currently run a 1998 vintage 4.4ltr V8 with 73,000miles on the clock, as my daily driver. I know I need my head looking at, but hey, I'm
stuck with it. I'm 10 months into a 36 month finance deal and I owe way more than I could sell it for Don't know about trade in value
but still think I'd lose out.
I am tendering for two massive contracts in Yorkshire at the moment, which if I win them would mean a significant increase in the number of miles I do
(2 round trips to Leeds each week would be 480 miles a week = 25,000 miles a year).
I have had a quote of £1,500 to convert me to LPG using a direct injection system with a remap and a tank in the spare wheel well.
Question is, although financially the conversion would make sense, has anyone covered significant mileage in an older car converted to gas. I'm
particularly worried about engine wear I suppose.
Or should I just cut my loses and buy a Mondeo diesel?
Your experiences / advice welcomed.
Question is
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ecosse
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| posted on 20/10/06 at 03:53 PM |
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Some engines are better on LPG than others, but overall it is a cleaner fuel than petrol and should not affect the life of the engine any running on
it, all presuming it is setup properly of course
I am thinking about converting my Jag to LPG so have been looking into it a fair bit, I am going to do the conversion myself though, which will cost
approx 1/2 of what you are talking about (£800), if you can build a car you can fit an LPG kit I reckon 
A m8 ran his v8 rangie on LPG for years with few problems and covered over 40000mls in it, so has to be worth a try
Cheers
Alex
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mookaloid
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| posted on 20/10/06 at 04:02 PM |
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Hi Mike
just a thought, if you fit the kit yourself your insurance company might not like the idea much - I believe they look for some kind of certified
installer certificate to say that the installation is safe.
Best to check with the insurance company first
I have a fellow hill climber friend who fits these kits if you want a second opinion.
Cheers
Mark
[Edited on 20/10/06 by mookaloid]
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stevec
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| posted on 20/10/06 at 04:03 PM |
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LPG fueled engines can suffer with oxidization/wear of the valve seat inserts, A older engine that burns a little oil can reduce this effect quite a
bit,
Steve.
[Edited on 20/10/06 by stevec]
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zzr1100rick
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| posted on 20/10/06 at 05:39 PM |
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The older the vehicle the easier it is to convert less electronics to fool
just make sure the tank is big enough to get a decent range ran my subaru turbo on gas no probs i used to fit gas to variouse things some with
better results than others but now with injection systems its much better
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marcjagman
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| posted on 20/10/06 at 06:50 PM |
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No problems, got an old 1984 series Daimler double six on LPG, runs like a charm. Previous owner...Captain Kirk.
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madteg
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| posted on 20/10/06 at 06:59 PM |
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lpg
I have had three cars on lpg 2x jeep cherokees and 3.2 frontera, will not go back to petrol when i can get 48 miles to a gallon, out of a 4 litre, not
bad hey.
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Guinness
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| posted on 20/10/06 at 07:15 PM |
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thanks guys
Mook, can you get a quote for me? BMW E39 540 Touring?
ZZRNick, what size tank would I be looking for?
Does the car do the same mpg on gas as on petrol? Is it just the cost of the fuel that is lower, or is consumption actually lower too?
Will this improve the resale value of the car, or hammer it?
Cheers
Mike
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MkIndy7
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| posted on 20/10/06 at 07:23 PM |
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I thought gas had a lower calorific value and thus it did less MPG on gas... but due to the cost it was irrelivent
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mark chandler
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| posted on 20/10/06 at 09:23 PM |
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4.6 p38 Range Rover, converted at 90K, now 155k in 18 months, going well.
Ran one before on a cheaper venturi system, not as good so do not use one of these, even so 60k miles, converted at 80k, car ran well until insurance
write off after 18 months.
Converted it myself, no issues with this, get a decent system, mines the OMVL dream II injected which suits large V8's.
You tap the inlet with manilfold near the injectors and let in the gas nipples, these have tubes that go back to a gas injection manifold (x2 as its a
V8) which then plug into the OVLM ECU.
Three wires required which you source from the ECU, full batt, switched batt and earth.
You get a loom that has male and female plugs, simply unplug the cars injectors and plug into the OVLM loom, then plug the OVLM loom on to the cars
injectors.
The system then uses the cars ECU to fire the gas injectors, the OVLM ECU basically adjusts the gas injection duration and spoofs the car injectors so
no warning lamps etc, the car believes its still on petrol, all other systems are untouched.
Gas tank in the back, bit of copper tube to the front, away you go.
DIY is probally around £800, mine paid for itself in 2 months.
I,m with Norwich union, no loading on insurance with gas, they did not even want to see a certificate, if they had any gas installer can inspect and
provide this for £50.
It took me 2 days to fit, mostly deciding where to put things, 1/2 a day to do.
Go for it !
Regards Mark
I should add, car goes better on gas, smoother and quieter, in my case it returns 15mpg but as its half price equates to 30mpg on petrol. No
discernable difference to power, I have a very heavy trailer and it made no difference on steep hills !
[Edited on 20/10/06 by mark chandler]
[Edited on 7/10/07 by mark chandler]
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