LPG S3

[Nilz]

Ok guys

Has anyone on here LPG converted their S3, or know of anyone that has done it, if so, what are your comments on it, does it make a difference power wise etc, obviously it will be cheaper to run, but what other comments do you have....

I do remember seeing one for sale a while ago....but that was the only one I have seen really....

Thanks
Nilz

 

[jojo]

I've got to say, the S3 is heavy enough as it is, why would you want to lug a round an extra LPG canister thing in the boot?

 

[Dave_Bayern]

Seems to make sense, as LPG is great with Turbo cars.

LPG is actually something like 110RON, so higher octane than V power.

 

[rodenal]

That certainly sounds interesting, although i think it would take you quite a while to recoup the cost of converting the car unless you do alot of miles.

Of course if you do lots of miles then the S3 is probably not the best car to start with anyway.

 

[Nilz]

Well i do alot of miles and really want an S3, i know its going to be expensive, but you know when you just have to have something...lol....

Its either the S3 or an anniversary Golf the TDI version....which I know makes sense, but who wants to be sensible hey???

Im not actually going to do it, but was just curious to see if anyone has done anything on a performance car, rather than just the usual old taxis and range rovers....

 

[Ian W]

Well i do alot of miles and really want an S3, i know its going to be expensive, but you know when you just have to have something...lol....

Its either the S3 or an anniversary Golf the TDI version....which I know makes sense, but who wants to be sensible hey???

Im not actually going to do it, but was just curious to see if anyone has done anything on a performance car, rather than just the usual old taxis and range rovers....

I was torn between the S3 or the TDI golf, decided to enjoy myself and get the S3 :icon_thumright:

 

[Nilz]

See now that doesnt help...lol....

 

[simch]

LPG should get about 75% of the mpg of pertol but at half the cost (or less). Power is allegedly about 85-90% of petrol

I have seen a few 18ts runningon it, performace is reduced and the ones I have seen (not saying its necessary) revert to a stock map when running on gas, but use a revo style swithc to run another tuned map on petrol only. Again I dont know if this is neccessary though, but if it is, you should be prepared for a car on gas that would be whooped by a remapped pd150!

 

[danny_s3]

so how much is it to have an lpg conversion?

 

[Nilz]

i heard they cost about 1.5k - 2k uk money....

 

[1animal1]

a couple of grand at least.... dad had one done on his grand cherokee....can switch between fuels when driving so you could benefit...its just the cost and the tank will be tiny to fit into the S3 boot

 

[Isoproturon]

Humberside Police run most of their petrol fleet on LPG. Some run like ****, most run fine.

 

[stoakseya4]

Can't understand why you'd want to run a performance car like an S3 on LPG? If fuel consumption is a concern then buy another model?!

tdi quattro s-line's are not ugly looking cars if that's you're concern. A remap, nice wheels, a tad lowered, and hey presto a very nice looking A3, that shifts and still does 45+mpg !

 

[ash_s3]

There was one for sale on PH a while ago, took forever to sell becuase of people not knowing much about it

My dads got a V8 Disco with Lpg, a rightr pain in the ****, good fuel economy but not very reliable

 

[Dave_Bayern]

The people saying performance is reduced arent quite correct.

In an ideal world, the performance from LPG would be HIGHER.

Its approx 110 RON so the octane is higher, thus it produces more power per ignition.

It gives better mpg with most vehicles as the 110 RON means more power is produced with the same amount of fuel, thus meaning it gives better miles per gallon.

If you could adapt the map which I'm sure someone like Dave Walker could do, then you could effectively be running more power with fuel half the price.

Even 99 RON with an octane booster isnt 110, Aviation fuel is only 129 RON!!!!

 

[Isoproturon]

I would love a performance car like an S3 or S4 but do 35,000 miles a year so an LPG one is something I have considered. Just put off a bit due to some of the horror stories.

With the best will in the world, a chipped TDi just isn't the same.

 

[simch]

The olctane rating is only half the sotr, Dave B, you just physically cannot fill the cylinders the same with LPG as petrol! There is a perfomance loss, but it is only about 10% on most cars.
I have heard about some production cars rotting their exhausts out due to the water vapur in LPG, but not sure if this is just through misues of the system, ie not reverting to fuel at start and end of journey.

Have to say, I would LOVE and POrker 928GTS with an LPG conversion on it!!
5.4 litre 1980's spaceship costing 18p a mile to run, not 40p!!

 

[SimonP]

Why bother, it'll cost the earth to convert, will probably need a remap, you'll need to declare the mods to your insurance company (another excuse to charge you extra), you'll lose space in the already small boot and at the end of all that it will be impossible to sell on - all of which buys you a lot of petrol.

 

[AndyMac]

And remember LPG is only cheap because it's subsidised by the gov't. As more & more people jump on the LPG bandwagon and the tax revenues decline at the pumps I'm sure we'll see the level of subsidy decline and LPG will become more expensive (admittedly long term).
If you're getting 24mpg on V-Power, that equates to 21p per mile, so you'd be saving 10p per mile on LPG so 20k miles would be the break even point if the conversion costs £2k. You'd also lose something like £2k on resale I'd imagine so you've got to do 40k miles just to break even. Doesn't really look like a great proposition to me.
Presumably most higher mileage drivers (30k+ miles p.a.) will be claiming back an element of the mileage as business mileage anyway so the saving is further reduced. Not sure if the IR pay out the same on LPG as petrol, but I'm sure they could reduce the threshold at any time.

 

[auroan]

And remember LPG is only cheap because it's subsidised by the gov't.

It's not subsidised. It's just not taxed as much. Fuel suppliers don't get help from the goverment to produce the stuff.

 

[AndyMac]

That's what I meant. Tax is 70% of the cost of fuel so subsidising the remaining 30% would not achieve anything close to a 50% saving. Thought that was kind of obvious.

 

[simch]

I dont agree that cars with LPG make less cash. Depends how long you keep the,
Look on the bat at LPG cars.......they all make a lot more cash than a non converted car, provided the lpg works.

I saw fiesta v reg van on there the other week that made £2800 with 93k on it!!!! It was tidy, but without the LPG it would have struggles to make a grand I reckon!

Now on an S3 not so sure, maybe people put off by the turbo etc on it.


BTW, you can buy the kit to fit yourself for about £700!!

 

[SimonP]

I saw fiesta v reg van on there the other week that made £2800 with 93k on it!!!! It was tidy, but without the LPG it would have struggles to make a grand I reckon!

Now on an S3 not so sure, maybe people put off by the turbo etc on it.


BTW, you can buy the kit to fit yourself for about £700!!

I think this is the first thread that's done a comparison between a fiesta van and the S3, makes a nice change between comparisons between the S3 and R32 or Scoob or 330 etc!

Seriously though we're talking different markets, you buy a fiesta van for very different reasons than an S3 and selling is all about knowing your market.

Most S3 buyers are looking for a premium hot hatch with good performance, comfort and refinement, I'd say 99% would move on when finding the LPG conversion, and even quicker if it was a DIY conversion.

 

[simch]

I think this is the first thread that's done a comparison between a fiesta van and the S3, makes a nice change between comparisons between the S3 and R32 or Scoob or 330 etc!

Seriously though we're talking different markets, you buy a fiesta van for very different reasons than an S3 and selling is all about knowing your market.

Most S3 buyers are looking for a premium hot hatch with good performance, comfort and refinement, I'd say 99% would move on when finding the LPG conversion, and even quicker if it was a DIY conversion.

Er, not if you buy it now and keep it for 5 years.....? How much do you reckon a 10k s3 will be worth in 5 years time..........
I dont think anyone is comparing an s3 to an fiesta van. The fiesta van example is to show how LPG conversions will at some point in time prop up the value of a vehicle massively. How much do you think a non LPG fiesta van at reg and 93k miles is worth on ebay.....?

That is why I said it depends how long you keep it.

How hard do you think it is to fit an LPG system..........? No more difficult than fitting a nitrous system, or aquamist. And yet potentially a lot safer!

Look how many 8 year old 100+k miles LPG vehicles sell at a far higher premium than a non converted version...
Its just not true to say it ruins the residuals. A good condition LPG converted car will make more cash than a non converted one.

 

[TheSpaceCowboy]

Even 99 RON with an octane booster isnt 110, Aviation fuel is only 129 RON!!!!

Kerosene used in jets can be used in Diesel engines, my uncles running his diesel on kerosene from jet aircraft.

Also Octane isnt the power rating of a fuel, its the stability under compression, it just means you can run higher compression and advance the timings. LPG actually produces less power per litre (29 megajoules at the top end for LPG and 35 for low grade petrol)
I personally wouldnt touch LPG, heard it causes loads of problems when put in as an after thought, lubrication and seal wearing and exhaust problems... May be ok to use on a Fiesta but not on a £12k S3!