Has anyone done LPG Conversion

[tompie1980]

Hi I own a Subaru Impreza Hawkeye 2.5l. I had also bought two other smaller cars to use on a more daily basis however both cars have packed in on me and I've lost money on them. I was thinking about converting my car to LPG as obviously this is a lot cheaper to run and then just using my Subaru on a daily basis. Has anyone had this done to theirs and how has it been and any recommendations..

Thanks

Stephen

[l-systems]

Hello.

I converted my subaru xv 2.0i 2015 to lpg

50000 km on and no problems at all.

The important thing in convertion of a car to lpg is the setup of the system.

Bad setup can make the valves go bad.

I have an lovato fast system installed + prins valve care automatic system.

Works great ..

Sent From Oneplus 3 (Leon .R.)

[david1972]

I'm thinking of doing it later this year on my 2.0 wrx auto. I have a highly regarded installer lined up and estimated cost of £1495. Let me know if you want their name and I'll pm the info to you

Sent from my iphone using Tapatalk

[tompie1980]

Hi and thanks for getting back to me. Mines is the 2.5l but its been upgraded and remapped to the STI spec and now 350BHP. I have had a quote for £1300 plus VAT for a OMVL multipoint lpg system. Unsure if this is any good or not. What kind of questions should I be asking.

Another question is I mostly do in town driving so would this still be a benefit to me, I do drive it fast though.

Yeah David that would be great if you could give me there number.Cheers

[l-systems]

Well for 350 hp you will need an lpg reducer that can give you 350 hp...

Mine is 200 hp max i think...

Any way lpg is low cost if to look at petrol. And the km per litter it runs is equals to petrol.

My car runs about 10 km on 1 litter of petrol and the same on lpg.

But lpg is much cheaper....

Sent From Oneplus 3 (Leon .R.)

[tompie1980]

And would I still benefit if im only doing in town driving..

[david1972]

Will send later Stephen.

The installer is more crucial than the kit used, based on what I've heard. This guy I have lined up is held in high regard. Just go on the lpg forum and you'll see why.

Will pm you my quote info later when I'm home mate

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[david1972]

And would I still benefit if im only doing in town driving..

Wherever you drive it's 60ppl vs 120ppl, so yes. Where you drive shouldn't make any real difference

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[tompie1980]

cheers David..

[wrxstandard]

My old 330ci had lpg and was so good. Very tempting for the subaru. Just always worried about any possible issues...

█ W █ R █ X █

[david1972]

PM sent @tompie1980

[jonboy]

Hi all, I have just got a 1998 Forester already fitted with a BRC make multipoint lpg set up.  There's a few good sites if you just Google LPG conversions UK or some such.for general FAQs and info... my personal experience in one month and about 2000kms is definitely a good idea should have done it to my first forester I had for eleven years and 200000kms but  it was way more expensive to convert then... in 2006 I was quoted 2000 euros, my one was done by the previous owner in 2013 for 1600€, and there's a company near here that will do it same day turnaround for 1400€.  Not much good unless you want a trip to Portugal part paid for by the cheaper costs here.!

But there are catches.... my fifty litre tank never takes more than about 38 litres so my range is limited to about 300 kms . Always got the petrol of course, and even here in Eurp where GPL is popular , it is sometimes a bit difficult to find a gas station that does GPL .

Not allowed in underground carparks....but who's to know its lpg

Definitely less economical on GPL. 9-10 litres to 100 km on petrol, and 11-12 on GPL.

Definitely less powerful, but only slightly, I'm no engineer but I'd say it was a torque thing....still flies down the highway and generally round town ok but there's a noticeable need to drop a gear on a hill or when towing, that doesn't happen if I flick the switch over to petrol. so i drive it a bit harder, keep the revs up a tad, and then the economy suffers.  Maybe its a tuning thing.

 Where to put the spare wheel....99% of the time it sits behind the front seat, but what's to do when I have four in the car and baggage... see my other posts about this but I'm still looking for advice / answers

Still,  autogas is half the price of petrol, and so even factoring the above things and the upper cylinder lube needed , automatically dispensed as part of the system, I reckon my costs are about 55 -60% of running on petrol. And its supposedly greener....still fóssil fuel though and though lpg is cheaper to produce, the main saving is because of the low tax..... What might happen if a govt decides to equalize the tax rates. ?   back to diesel maybe as its still about 30% cheaper ,( here anyway) 30% better economy and half to two thirds the road tax here. depending on other factors.

hope this helps... JB

 

[Daz-RSK]

I'll paint an alternative picture for you all to ponder.

I see that with exception to l-systems with a new-ish XV, the rest of you on this thread are running 10yr old motors or older. Would that be a fair assumption ?

Can you tell me what the next thing is that is about to go wrong on your car and how much it will cost to fix ? This has nothing to do with LPG - just your car as it stands today. What is the next thing to go wrong and how much to repair ?

If you could answer this question, you would be some form of genius, unless you are aware of some gremlin that does need fixing and it is a matter of time and money to get to it. But if it was something serious, like g'box failure or the next major, you would be pretty good in the mystique world at forecasting that.

So given you don't know what the next big bill is and the next big bill could cause you to have to find a bit of money a bit quickly, to get your car back on the road, what would be the feeling if you have the LPG conversion completed AND the gearbox goes bang within a couple of weeks of each other ? I am not saying the LPG has caused gearbox failure - I am saying you are about to embark on 2 hefty bills (one you were prepared for and one you weren't - but the sum for both could be in region of £2500).

Might be something to ponder.

[jonboy]

interesting in theory Daz RSK, but in eleven years with my 98 forester , apart from a head gasket issue i never had anything but maintenance every car needs. tyres brakes clutches, ..timing belts and pulleys .. exhaust...  a few leaky seals that were sorted at timing belt changes,... 200000kms and never touched the rear brakes. never needed any suspension attention apart from a couple of droplink things and still on the same shockers...but three clutches, I tow and launch a boat on steep slips a lot in the summer, a slave cylinder failure and other minor stuff . My cars work for their living... before the forester I have had a couple of old Merc station wagons likewise a Volvo  240 diesel, and an old and faithfull Peugot 5 series diesel that finally died at one million kms. Never did any of them get close to the Subaru in terms of reliability and level of equipment. Thats why when the old Sub was getting a bit clapped and ratty, I found the six month older  half the kms '98 and GPL,  and there was no competition. Unless I win the lottery I wouldn't have another car. theyve reached the age after ten  years when all the depreciation has happened, most stuff has been fixed or has still got multi miles left and the Subarus are better than almost anything for that.

Don' t not fit lpg  in case the gearbox might fail soon,   if thats the attitude don't do anything becsause something might fail soon.

[Daz-RSK]

That's fair enough Jonboy. You have had good experience with yours. So looking back, it probably was the right thing to do.

Don't worry - I've been winding up an LPG installer on the other forum I am a member of. In fairness, I haven't been winding him up - but people "in the trade" don't like other people questioning the output of their trade. That is why he has been wound up.

Let me explain myself a bit better, as it isn't the fact that you should never risk something.

The purpose of an LPG conversion is just one. It certainly doesn't make the car go faster, it doesn't make it run better, it doesn't look good, it doesn't add any/much value to the car. It just has one purpose - that is to lower your operational costs (running costs). So it is a money saver.

With other things like engine re-work for extra ponies, remaps for the same, different bodykit, better brakes and other mods - this have a completely different purpose. They personalise the vehicle and make the car more yours - more like you want it to be. They have that "grin" factor, if you like, as there is tangible benefit from the conversion which the sole aim is not to save you money at all. You could spend £1000 or more on some modification work. It'll be a total waste of money, agreed, but it provides you with (hopefully) self satisfaction that your car is better than it was when you bought it. Maybe better than most others.

The purpose of that £1000 (or more) is more for the personal satisfaction. The purpose of a £1500 LPG conversion is purely to save money, based on the reasons I have said above.

I would pay £1500 to modify my motor to make it look / run better over the top of £1500 towards LPG. That may sound daft, but hear me out.

If I spend £1500 to modify the car, I not only get that "wow" factor, but I know that it is £1500 wasted and also, whatever goes wrong with the car next is just life. Hey, older cars go wrong. I spent £1500 and I now have to spend another £1000 to get the next issue fixed.

When you buy an LPG conversion, you buy into saving money. Saving money on a 10 year old motor is like a lottery because one g'box failure wipes those savings out. One transmission failure as a consequence of the g'box failure blows all savings from the LPG conversion out of the water and some more. It's a bit like someone saying that if you invest in this product, you'll get twice the value back in 2 years - and then you find the product hasn't performed as well as they have promised and starts costing you instead.

I am probably not conveying what I mean very well. I think I would sum it up that people buy an LPG conversion to save money and could be left disappointed when it doesn't because the motor becomes a bit of a headache. Placing a tuned lump in costs money, has onwards costs as well, but because the aims are different, the disappointment is lower of what could go wrong next. 

 

[jonboy]

Fair point Daz, but at the end of the day , unless you spent the 1500 beer tokens on the lpg when you really should have spent it on the tranny or a heart transplant, you will still be halving  your running costs therefore subsidising either a major repair, or the pimping and tweeking you want to do for the wow factor.

Its a personal thing of course and for me the car is a necessary tool for  work and leisure, but Ive been down that road on motorcycle customs a few times.....spent a fortune on building  specials, that either end up unsaleable or get broken up for the next Project.

On the other side, I have just bought a superbly rebuilt and modified Harley for 4K , with bills for over six grand and that was just pieces....the man hours that went into it are uncountable....and the original donor bike must have cost four or five K.  But honestly as its a 'special'  it will probably fall into that category mentioned above of never being worth its value invested.   Except to me because its worth what I paid, but maybe not to someone else.  But It is  a head turner and there's a huge wow factor.

'If I have to explain you wouldn't understand' I suspect applies to all of us here more or less