LPG Conversion - 3.2 v6
- Thread starter marwayg
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I doubt it would take you long to get your money back on the conversion, but why buy a 3.2 and worry about fuel consumption?
Well, im selling the car at the moment. And i am not getting much response. So i just thought that if i kept it, id just LPG conversion it to save myself more in the long run.
If only i could sell it... i would... but i am not getting much response (if any) www.pistonheads.com/sales/3737206.htm
Any ideas how much it will cost to LPG it? and whether there will be power losses? or specific people i can talk to who have hands on experience in this field?
If only i could sell it... i would... but i am not getting much response (if any) www.pistonheads.com/sales/3737206.htm
Any ideas how much it will cost to LPG it? and whether there will be power losses? or specific people i can talk to who have hands on experience in this field?
You can essentially double your miles per £, as you do about the same mileage per gallon of LPG, but for half the money. Disadvantages are that the tank takes more space.
You'd normally expect a loss of 10-15% of power converting to LPG, although some report up to 20% and others say nothing - from what I've seen, smaller engines lose more than larger, so it might be non-linear or a more fixed loss rather than an absolute percentage.
Cost can be under a grand, although whether the V6 adds anything to that I have no idea. I'd budget £1500, which seems a lot to recoup.
There are sequential systems too, no idea what the difference is technically speaking, but apparently it avoids the loss in power although is more expensive to install.
You'd normally expect a loss of 10-15% of power converting to LPG, although some report up to 20% and others say nothing - from what I've seen, smaller engines lose more than larger, so it might be non-linear or a more fixed loss rather than an absolute percentage.
Cost can be under a grand, although whether the V6 adds anything to that I have no idea. I'd budget £1500, which seems a lot to recoup.
There are sequential systems too, no idea what the difference is technically speaking, but apparently it avoids the loss in power although is more expensive to install.
A friend of mine has an LPG 330 Convertible he says he can't notice any difference in power the only thing he's noticed is more cash in his back pocket. He reckon's it costs him about half of what it would using petrol although you do get slightly worse MPG using LPG.
If you do the mileage it's worth it, however take note that LPG takes a whilst to kick in and doesn't work whilst the engine is cold, so if your just doing short journeys it won't be worth it.
Cost wise although a while ago now it cost about £1500+ but he got some prinz system or something like that.
If you do the mileage it's worth it, however take note that LPG takes a whilst to kick in and doesn't work whilst the engine is cold, so if your just doing short journeys it won't be worth it.
Cost wise although a while ago now it cost about £1500+ but he got some prinz system or something like that.
brasiliangringo
Registered User
Its a no brainier if you do average miles + and plan on keeping the car say 2-3 years, using 1500 is a good basis for your outlay then just do the figures. I amazed more people haven't taken to it over here in the UK.. Its far more wide spread on the continent.
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I've introduced gas fleets for 3 different companies now from Small vans up to Artics.
You get what you pay for, make sure you use an LPGA company and push for a 2 year warranty. Multipoint systems are now the norm and Prins is a good manufacturer, as is Romano and BRC but I'd budget for up to £2k on your 3.2 for a good kit installed & certified and a good remap.
You shouldnt notice a power loss until you put passengers in the car as your engine torque will be slightly lower on the gas, you may notice some pinking when there's weight in the car so you may have to adjust your driving style and hold the revs higher than previously before you change up. Also make sure the car is properly remapped for the gas conversion and have new plugs & filter changed prior as the engine will run lean on gas....
You get what you pay for, make sure you use an LPGA company and push for a 2 year warranty. Multipoint systems are now the norm and Prins is a good manufacturer, as is Romano and BRC but I'd budget for up to £2k on your 3.2 for a good kit installed & certified and a good remap.
You shouldnt notice a power loss until you put passengers in the car as your engine torque will be slightly lower on the gas, you may notice some pinking when there's weight in the car so you may have to adjust your driving style and hold the revs higher than previously before you change up. Also make sure the car is properly remapped for the gas conversion and have new plugs & filter changed prior as the engine will run lean on gas....
Old systems can have leaks so its worth factoring a yearly check or a decent warranty as previously mentioned, you may need to inform insurance company but you get to keep a nice car and diesel noise is not for everyone. I worked for BOC for years who supply gas and the boys were doing diy kits themselves over 30 years ago but I wouldnt reccomend that! And dont forget you will have a bit of an ugly lpg cap on the side of your pride and joy.
I investigated this a couple of weeks ago because there was a nice 3.2 on sale, which was on LPG. Spent quite some time on (German) forums. Although some say it can be done, most say it cannot be done because of the way FSI engines work (the type of fuel injection wouldn't allow for it, which causes the valves to heat up, which will wreck things in the long run).
My conclusion after the research was: stay clear of 3.2's on LPG.
My conclusion after the research was: stay clear of 3.2's on LPG.
You have to have the systems re certified each year and you also have to inform your insurance company.
They systems are very safe, theres a minimum of 3 safety valves inline from the injection system back to stop you blowing up and the tanks are usually 10mm thick or more.
Don't be put off by the gas cap, you can have it fitted somewhere subtle, on the bottom face of a bumper or just in side the boot lid as long as you can fill up without gas getting into the cabin
Yeah im taking this into consideration.
I forgot to mention that my car is DSG automatic paddle shift. Would that have an effect on the LPG conversion?
And unless anybody knows of people interested in a purchase of my 3.2, i am going to stick to LPG converting it.
thanks for the replies guys!
I forgot to mention that my car is DSG automatic paddle shift. Would that have an effect on the LPG conversion?
And unless anybody knows of people interested in a purchase of my 3.2, i am going to stick to LPG converting it.
thanks for the replies guys!
brasiliangringo
Registered User
That is not true, most countries have excise duty etc..
Europe's Energy Portal » Fuel Prices, Rates for Power & Natural Gas
brasiliangringo
Registered User
You can get it put in where you want but for it to be hidden just costs a little more. Ie hidden behind filler cap/flap.
Farhan
Registered User
brasiliangringo
Registered User
brasiliangringo
Registered User
Mate, do the figures, it clearly makes sense, but i cannot comment on the particular application to your said engine although some suggest it is like asking for a kiss in a brothel etc etc, although i dont believe that is a good comparison and believe it is quite safe.
brasiliangringo
Registered User
You can also apply to dvla to have the car re certified for emissions and registered as an LPG vehilce giving a saving when you tax the car. You can also register with Powershift or Transport for London for £10 and you will then be exempt for the London congestion charge which is £10 per day.
Farhan
Registered User
Honestly i said the comment as a bit of banter, dont take it personally.
If you are struggling to sell the car for the money you want for it, re consider it.
The cost of LPG is around circa 800-900+, Would you actually make a saving in petrol prices for maybe a year or two before you decide to sell it again. It may be worth accepting around £1000 less and getting yourself something newer, different and a turbo engine to satisfy your needs.
I had a friend who did an LPG conversion on his BMW, i was like WOW this is epic very cheap to run. He got bored of the car after a couple of months and sold up. Just made me think what was the point of converting it? Do you do enough miles to warrant the LPG and will you have the car long enough?
If you are struggling to sell the car for the money you want for it, re consider it.
The cost of LPG is around circa 800-900+, Would you actually make a saving in petrol prices for maybe a year or two before you decide to sell it again. It may be worth accepting around £1000 less and getting yourself something newer, different and a turbo engine to satisfy your needs.
I had a friend who did an LPG conversion on his BMW, i was like WOW this is epic very cheap to run. He got bored of the car after a couple of months and sold up. Just made me think what was the point of converting it? Do you do enough miles to warrant the LPG and will you have the car long enough?
+1
Make sure you're going to keep it a while after converting it as it wont add any value to the car and may make it harder to sell, if you're likely to sell it within a couple of years then just sell up now, get what you want and if its going to be a petrol car then maybe get it converted as soon as you get it.
If you want the car long term...over 2 years or more and do reasonable miles the go for it.
wont belong before the cylinder liners drop on the range rover then,
if you buy a car with a big engine in it expect big fuel bills,if you cant afford to run it as intended by the manufacturer sell and buy something smaller.personaly i would not touch lpg it just causes more problems,go to any forum that caters for large engined cars and theres always someone with aproblem with lpg
brasiliangringo
Registered User
Be interesting if you could expand on that as factual information like this is useful to know ?
Farhan
Registered User
I have no experience with this myself but the source below seems like a very interesting read.
LPG Problems
LPG Problems
brasiliangringo
Registered User
Interesting post Farhan but slightly confusing as they start off saying its not worth it (they sell and install LPG) then go on to sell a sequential system at the bottom of the page, saying how incredible it is.. Anyway the point would seem to suggest some modern cars are not suited due to valve seat recession due to modern manufacturing (post 2006 according to them) cost cutting and making internal parts on the cheap !!
benjie
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As I understand it, the problem with the newer FSI engines is that the petrol acts as a cooling element for the injectors and LPG does not, so with standard LPG you'd be changing your injectors every few months. Prins have recently brought out a new LPG system for newer FSIs, up to 3.2 incidentally, which I think runs 75% LPG/25% petrol. It's called VSI DI. I expect other specialists will be following suits with their own systems too.
