Go LPG worries

[Logis]

Hi Peter,

It's a heart v. head decision really, isn't it?
IHMO, the head could become closer to the heart if it knows you're going to be motoring at a fuel cost more like 40-45mpg v. your 26mpg.
Assume you do 120miles/day = 600miles/week @ 26mpg equates roughly to 23galls = some 104litres 104 litres @ £1.35/litre = £140.0
If, on the other hand you were buying gas @ £0.80/litre instead of petrol, then the bill would become 104 " £0.80 = £ 83.0
i.e. a saving in the order of, say, $57/week
If you pay e.g. £1,500 for a gas system then you would recover the cost in 1500/57 weeks, i.e. 26 weeks
So, if you plan to keep the car for more than six months, and would like to use it daily, seems like a no brainer.

FWIW, go for good quality system (Italian are generally v good) with brass v. plastic components; only marginally more expensive but
high on reliability.

HTH
Logis

[p1RATE]

I would defiantly recommended getting the largest tank possible. i have a 67 liter tank in my XJ and the range is roughly 200 miles so i am frequently at the pump. Previously i had a car with a 90 liter cylindrical tank and wish i had this in the XJ. I think you would be surprised at how many auto gas stations are about, i thought there was only one on my commute but once i started using an LPG car i found there was 3. I also have an app on my phone to help me find station in areas that im not familiar with.

[Logis]

I agree, I have a 77ltr tank ... note, not all is usable, so I work on the basis of assuming around 60 available
@ 22mpg = 22 x (60/4.5) = 280miles ........ I start looking to top up once I have done 200-220miles from
my last fill.

Best
Logis

[rozzar]

i have a Go-LPG converted XJR. Got it done last summer. I had 8000 or so trouble free miles. Since then it hasn't been out of the garage. Coil packs breaking down, injectors breaking down, throttle position sensors, throttle bodies, o2 sensors. It's on its SECOND set of Iridium plugs (the first set were installed just before the conversion).
My mechanic reckons the LPG conversion is a good 'un and Steve is a very helpful and knowledgeable chap...must have had 20 phone conversations with him to do with all manner of faults, spark plug gaps etc. However..people have suspected that the Romano HD system can't really handle the power of the (370bhp) XJR- the stock V8 is 290 I think, despite the Romano vaporisers being rated at 450bhp IIRC. The LPG is also making the engine run much hotter...the spark plugs are pretty much consistently as 'white as a sheet', to quote my mechanic, which isn't good. This COULD (I emphasise could...I don't want to point the finger at anyone/anything) be the cause of petrol injector and coil pack breakdown.
As we speak, the petrol side is now faulty, due to injector but it runs OK (not amazing...a tiny tiny tiny bit lumpy) on LPG. But you certainly can't switch it to sport mode and floor it on LPG as it instantly cuts out and reverts to petrol so I'm not sure I could recommend the Romano HD system.
The LPG conversion hasn't recouped the £2700 conversion outlay, the car has not been reliable, I've had to buy a second (and currently, third car) and I can't personally recommend the conversion as we speak
Oh and it's a 80 litre doughnut tank which used to get me a 300 mile run. I say 'used to' because I can't remember the last time I've done that amount of miles in the car without handing it over to the mechanic who has left it on idle for ages, cancelling out any useful mileage data.

[chermie]

Hi Peter,

It's a heart v. head decision really, isn't it?
IHMO, the head could become closer to the heart if it knows you're going to be motoring at a fuel cost more like 40-45mpg v. your 26mpg.
Assume you do 120miles/day = 600miles/week @ 26mpg equates roughly to 23galls = some 104litres 104 litres @ £1.35/litre = £140.0
If, on the other hand you were buying gas @ £0.80/litre instead of petrol, then the bill would become 104 " £0.80 = £ 83.0
i.e. a saving in the order of, say, $57/week

Thank you very much for your reply. It was very helpful indeed. All these figures definitely speak to me - saving £57 a week would meen over £3k of savings a year for me. It's a lot of money.
I'm a bit concerned about all the possible complications after the conversion though. The car is running perfectly fine at the moment and I really don't want to turn it into a trouble-maker. Especially that I already have that diesel Volvo, which can do 55+ mpg, so I think if I'd stick to petrol in my Jag and just use it, let's say, twice a week and use the Volvo three other days a week - it might be a good compromise between the weekly commuting costs and keeping my Jag intact. I'd love to use it every day, but I really can't convince myself to 'maim' her with the LPG conversion

Thank you very, very much for your reply. I really appreciate that.

Kind regards.
Peter.

[Randy Martini]

rozzar - that sounds rubbish. I had heard the Prinsl is the one to go for, but i suppose that's just now an annoying bit of information and not particularly helpful to you.

You have made up my mind for me - i'm sticking to petrol and going to stomach the cost and not just drive around at 55 being overtaken by kias.

[jagman98]

Hello Peter,
I don't particularly like lpg conversions but in our country they are irrelevent.
They are not good long term for the engine but there will be others start bleating how wonderful they are.
Financially in your case at 120 miles aday you would soon recoup the cost in savings and if you are going to use a gas converted car, this is the best way to use it.
That's a fair old tramp each day so you may as well do it in Space with Grace and Pace ;o))

[jagman98]

Thank you very much for your reply...........

Gemtlemen....I have some info you may be interested in re LPG conversions or more accurately ways to combat the ingerant problems.
I have been talking with Penrite Oils here in Oz re this problem.
They suggest changing the oil type that is used.
In their case it is Penrite HPR-GAS which is full synthetic 5W40 which will help dissipate heat better.
Use NGK Iridium plugs with the gap closed down to 30thou instead of the set 52 thou.
Ford here in Oz have a factory dedicated gas sytem for thwir 4.0 litre straight six which performs very well.
It is also reccomended that a Valvemaster or similar drip systrem system is installed on the intake side to administer anupper cylinder lubricant as LPG is a very dry fuel and offers no lubrication to the inlet side of things.

[rozzar]

Randy-
BRC, Prinz, Zavoli, Romano, Landi-Renzo...they're all good brands. I was told by the person who converted my mk3 Mondeo (and did 70k faultless LPG miles in it) as long as you stick to an Italian brand of LPG system then usually they're ok.
I had heard of bad things about Stag, and that's pretty much it really.

I'm going to get my MG ZT-T 190 v6 converted to LPG but at a local (i.e. 30 mile away) installer and with a BRC kit. 2 year parts/labour guarantee and he does a drop-off/collect service so hopefully that'll be trouble free. I might even get him to give the Jag a going-over. But the MG is a much lower investment than the Jag- £1500 for the car, £1500 for the conversion. The Jag was a £5k car and a £2.7 conversion. I'd still say stay away. The other upside of the MG is that there was a MG LPG factory conversion by Landi-Renzo so I'm thinking that the engine would be more tolerant to LPG as on the factory conversions, there was no modification to the engines in terms of valve seats etc etc. Just the better iridium NGK plugs.

[jagman98]

....>>>>I'm going to get my MG ZT-T 190 v6 converted to LPG but at a local (i.e. 30 mile away) installer and with a BRC kit. 2 year parts/labour guarantee and he does a drop-off/collect service so hopefully that'll be trouble free. I might even get him to give the Jag a going-over. But the MG is a much lower investment than the Jag- £1500 for the car, £1500 for the conversion. The Jag was a £5k car and a £2.7 conversion. I'd still say stay away. The other upside of the MG is that there was a MG LPG factory conversion by Landi-Renzo so I'm thinking that the engine would be more tolerant to LPG as on the factory conversions, there was no modification to the engines in terms of valve seats etc etc. Just the better iridium NGK plugs.

Hello Rozzar,
That's very interesting info....amazing how cheap you can buy an ZT for...it would be more than double that here ;o)
IIRC, the only mods Ford did to their Australian six was different valve seals and a different ECM dedicated to solo LPG use.
You could also get a 'dual fuel' model.
A friend of mine has a 2011 falcon six solo LPG and has just been on a cross country and return (9,400klm) trip using gas all the way and he said it performed faultlessy.
NGK Lazer Iridium are the preferred plugs and one grade hotter to combat the extra heat and reduce plug gap to take the strain off the coils.
I would definately be installing an upper cylinder drip applicator on bigger engines like the V8 Jaguar