How popular is an LPG Conversion in the UK?

[Big Tav]

Hi guys, is this a common thing to do in the UK considering the price of fuel? Since the majority of us on here love performance cars which are petrol it seems like a good idea. It's quite common here in Australia. I mean it would make owning a Vette a lot easier. Do you lose much power?

What is the approx price of a conversion over there? Also how much is LPG?

Cheers!

[12gauge]

Ive thought about it, but i dont think most petrol stations offer a pay at pump option on LPG and i dont like going into the shop areas of petrol stations.

[Hedders]

Not popular at all! A lot of garages will back away in horror as soon as they see an LPG kit. They all see it as some kind of black art and what nothing to do with it And most people that have no experience of LPG seem to think that the tanks are bound to explode if you have an accident.

I have an old V12 jag running on LPG and even though my system is very old and not particularly economical it still saves me quite a bit of cash.

[HellDiver]

It's quite difficult finding refuelling places for LPG, especially here in N. Ireland. I was considering it at one time, but lack of availability outside Belfast makes it a bit pants.

[rudecherub]

Big Tav said:

Hi guys, is this a common thing to do in the UK considering the price of fuel? Since the majority of us on here love performance cars which are petrol it seems like a good idea. It's quite common here in Australia. I mean it would make owning a Vette a lot easier. Do you lose much power?

What is the approx price of a conversion over there? Also how much is LPG?

Cheers!

It was a great option about ten years ago, since then the price differential has eroded, meaning you have to do more miles, even a thirsty motor means 20k miles for payback.

If however you do the sums, and you keep the car for long enough it's as good as the conversion, which depends on the installer, but there are both turbo and supercharged cars running LPG.

Performance is affected because the calorific value of gas is lower than petrol per unit, but this can be clawed back if the engine is tuned to take advantage of the higher octane level of gas.

The power loss is less for bigger engined cars.

If you have the space a fueling tank at home means you can buy the gas yourself in bulk and drive down the price.

The main issue is where to put the tank, IMO you really should aim for a gas range @300 miles.

The degree of engineering to achieve this affects the end price, and the compromises made ie less boot space vs bespoke tank is just another thing to consider in the sums.

[RobM77]

Someone I know at work's got LPG in his modified Golf GTi and he loves it. What puts me off is that you can't go through the Eurotunnel with an LPG tank in your car.

[Mr Gearchange]

12gauge said:

Ive thought about it, but i dont think most petrol stations offer a pay at pump option on LPG and i dont like going into the shop areas of petrol stations.

The reason you aren't on LPG is because of an irrational dislike of petrol station shops?
Please provide more details on your mentalism

[TommyBuoy]

Mr Gearchange said:

12gauge said:

Ive thought about it, but i dont think most petrol stations offer a pay at pump option on LPG and i dont like going into the shop areas of petrol stations.

The reason you aren't on LPG is because of an irrational dislike of petrol station shops?
Please provide more details on your mentalism

I was about to pick up on that!

I apologise if this is s serious psychological problem but

Alot of people here mention running a barge on LPG, but how availiable is LPG on forecourts?

[Hedders]

TommyBuoy said:

Mr Gearchange said:

12gauge said:

Ive thought about it, but i dont think most petrol stations offer a pay at pump option on LPG and i dont like going into the shop areas of petrol stations.

The reason you aren't on LPG is because of an irrational dislike of petrol station shops?
Please provide more details on your mentalism

I was about to pick up on that!

I apologise if this is s serious psychological problem but

Alot of people here mention running a barge on LPG, but how availiable is LPG on forecourts?

It is available in three petrol stations within a mile of my house, but that is unusual

LPG is easy to find, but you might want to find out where it is before you leave the house, rather than just drive round hoping to find somewhere that sells it. I have found that if a garage does not sell it they have no idea who does sell it.

[rudecherub]

TommyBuoy said:

Mr Gearchange said:

12gauge said:

Ive thought about it, but i dont think most petrol stations offer a pay at pump option on LPG and i dont like going into the shop areas of petrol stations.

The reason you aren't on LPG is because of an irrational dislike of petrol station shops?
Please provide more details on your mentalism

I was about to pick up on that!

I apologise if this is s serious psychological problem but

Alot of people here mention running a barge on LPG, but how availiable is LPG on forecourts?

find a LPG filling station http://www.drivelpg.co.uk/map/index.php

[TommyBuoy]

rudecherub said:

TommyBuoy said:

Mr Gearchange said:

12gauge said:

Ive thought about it, but i dont think most petrol stations offer a pay at pump option on LPG and i dont like going into the shop areas of petrol stations.

The reason you aren't on LPG is because of an irrational dislike of petrol station shops?
Please provide more details on your mentalism

I was about to pick up on that!

I apologise if this is s serious psychological problem but

Alot of people here mention running a barge on LPG, but how availiable is LPG on forecourts?

find a LPG filling station http://www.drivelpg.co.uk/map/index.php

I had no idea there were so many around! Now if I only had a large capacity V8 to fuel...

[Jem0911]

My RR is LPG converted, An Aussie system fitted.

Very good on every level, for me.

£50 odd to fill up (95L), 270 miles a tank @ around 13MPG or 18.5ppm (ish)
I don't think that's bad for a heavy 4.4 V8






..............................Waits for maths to be destroyed?

[rudecherub]

TommyBuoy said:

rudecherub said:

TommyBuoy said:

Mr Gearchange said:

12gauge said:

Ive thought about it, but i dont think most petrol stations offer a pay at pump option on LPG and i dont like going into the shop areas of petrol stations.

The reason you aren't on LPG is because of an irrational dislike of petrol station shops?
Please provide more details on your mentalism

I was about to pick up on that!

I apologise if this is s serious psychological problem but

Alot of people here mention running a barge on LPG, but how availiable is LPG on forecourts?

find a LPG filling station http://www.drivelpg.co.uk/map/index.php

I had no idea there were so many around! Now if I only had a large capacity V8 to fuel...

Seen cars as diverse as MX5 and Subaru Impreza turbo converted, it's more is is thirsty... dual fuel means even if you feel the performance difference - which is rarely the case with the latest sequential systems, just switch over to Petrol.

[craggers]

Someone at work got his Astra VXR converted to LPG, very proud to show everyone that his car is running on LPG by having huge sticker plastered all over his car saying "Powered by LPG".

Moron.

[TommyBuoy]

rudecherub said:

TommyBuoy said:

rudecherub said:

TommyBuoy said:

Mr Gearchange said:

12gauge said:

Ive thought about it, but i dont think most petrol stations offer a pay at pump option on LPG and i dont like going into the shop areas of petrol stations.

The reason you aren't on LPG is because of an irrational dislike of petrol station shops?
Please provide more details on your mentalism

I was about to pick up on that!

I apologise if this is s serious psychological problem but

Alot of people here mention running a barge on LPG, but how availiable is LPG on forecourts?

find a LPG filling station http://www.drivelpg.co.uk/map/index.php

I had no idea there were so many around! Now if I only had a large capacity V8 to fuel...

Seen cars as diverse as MX5 and Subaru Impreza turbo converted, it's more is is thirsty... dual fuel means even if you feel the performance difference - which is rarely the case with the latest sequential systems, just switch over to Petrol.

I can't believe I never really looked into LPG. Of course the period of time it takes to fitting the system before it is offset is a problem if you change cars, but a car already converted seems a good idea.

Back to the OP's post - looks like the popularity of LPG conversion just improved by 1!

[Mr Gearchange]

I'm seriously considering it for the Legacy Spec B - it's got good performance but it's not good enough to justify 21mpg average.

[djone101]

LPG is doing quite well in the British Touring Car Championship at the moment....

[rudecherub]

the best way to look at LPG in terms of a new or new to you car IMO after the sums for payback is to check at what premium - if any - similar cars with LPG make vs those without, this gives a good indication of what value the conversion adds when you come to sell.

Better still if you can get one of the newer sequential systems on a car

[mini1380cc]

I had a FTO using LPG and i currently run a Pajero 3.0 V6 on lpg. Getting about 180 miles from £30. Both great systems. As long as its mapped correctly it shouldn't affect performance that much. At the moment my local pumps range between 56p and 66p per litre.

Edited by mini1380cc on Friday 3rd September 15:52

[RedAlfa]

TommyBuoy said:

Mr Gearchange said:

12gauge said:

Ive thought about it, but i dont think most petrol stations offer a pay at pump option on LPG and i dont like going into the shop areas of petrol stations.

The reason you aren't on LPG is because of an irrational dislike of petrol station shops?
Please provide more details on your mentalism

I was about to pick up on that!

I apologise if this is s serious psychological problem but

He likes to drive "Nekkid" ... that's probably why