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Has anyone ever converted their TT to LPG ?


Suprasteve

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researching this for my 4 door daily runabout but out of curiosity i typed in supra and to my surprise according to ...

 

http://www.greenfuel.org.uk/

 

they can convert a supra TT (not sure about Jap as i assume they refer to UK spec)

 

I've roughly worked out if you're getting 20 MPG now, after the convertion you'd be getting aprox 33 MPG. Also based on 12,000 pa thats a saving of £1,279 pa so in less than 18 months it pays for itself.

 

Anyone any experience with LPG

 

quote...

 

"The performance and operational characteristics of autogas vehicles compare very favourably with other alternative automobile fuels.

 

LPG has a higher octane rating than petrol so converted spark-ignition engines tend to run more smoothly. This reduces engine wear and maintenance requirements, including less frequent spark plug and oil changes. Autogas exhibits less soot formation than both petrol and diesel, reducing abrasion and chemical degradation of the engine oil.

 

In addition, autogas does not dilute the lubricating film on the cylinder wall, which is a particular problem with petrol engines in cold starts. The higher octane of LPG also allows higher compression ratio, which can deliver increased engine-power output and better thermal efficiency, thus reducing fuel consumption and emissions. With the latest generation of autogas-fuel systems, acceleration and top speed are comparable to petrol or diesel."

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That would be my Aristo.

 

Quick pic.

 

cool.

 

please explain the difference before and after the conversion.

 

i.e. performance, mpg etc..

 

do you get the same mpg its just that a full take would cost less or do you actually get more miles from a full tank ?

 

cos as DannyW says if the current price of 40 odd pence increases to the same as unleaded there would be no gain from this financially ?

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Is it true that LPG will be the same price as normal unleaded soon?

 

 

 

Did you know that cars and other vehicles can run on LPG Autogas as an alternative to petrol or diesel?

 

Driving an LPG vehicle is safe, easy and, best of all, much cheaper than petrol or diesel. Recent independant tests have also shown that out of the three fuels, LPG is the best environmental alternative.

 

This website should answer any questions you have and provide you with advice on how to purchase an LPG vehicle or how to have your own converted.

 

The Government continued to demonstrate its long term commitment to LPG in the 2008 Budget when the Chancellor announced a continuation of the existing guarantee for low fuel duty for LPG through to 2011. The duty will rise by no more than 1p per litre per year more than petrol or diesel. The rates announced are:

 

The fuel duty increases planned for the 1st April will now take place on 1st October 2008. At this time duty on LPG will increase only by .135p per litre more than petrol/diesel.

As previously announced, on 1st April 2009 fuel duty on LPG will rise by .035p per litre more than petrol / diesel

On 1st April 2010 all fuel duty rates will increase by .5p per litre plus inflation. As a result the specific duty rate will not be known until then.

This means that the price of LPG at the pumps should continue at around half the price of petrol and diesel for the foreseeable future.

 

 

Taken from the Boost site.http://www.boostlpg.co.uk/

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cool.

 

please explain the difference before and after the conversion.

 

i.e. performance, mpg etc..

 

do you get the same mpg its just that a full take would cost less or do you actually get more miles from a full tank ?

 

cos as DannyW says if the current price of 40 odd pence increases to the same as unleaded there would be no gain from this financially ?

 

My tank holds 52 liters and the best i have had out of it was 240 miles cruising at motorway speeds so at current prices of around 50p per liter(any more than that and you are being ripped off) thats 240 miles for £26.

 

TBH i dont take any notice of MPG i just get in and drive it and when it needs more i fill it.

 

Performance is notably better on gas its more responsive and smoother and last time on the rollers it made 20hp more on gas and that was just with a standard set up.I have in the past run it at 1bar of boost and it flew but never bothered to roll it as i soon turned it back down as my misses was driving it in the winter and she span it but i will be raising it again in the coming months and see what it does on the rollers.

 

The best thing LPG does is allow you to use your car like you want to and not bother about how much fuel you have.

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If you don't mind me asking how much would this cost fitted on a TTSup?

 

Expect to pay around £2000 but it would depend on the installer.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian R

now this gets me thinking what would happen on a single supra ?

 

me and you both

 

Could be done at a huge cost not worth it TBH.Best thing would be to keep the power down on gas then when caning switch it to petrol that way it would keep the cost of the conversion down.

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The biggest problem is the the size of the tank you can fit in the Supra. I have a V8 Landrover running on gas. I have two huge tanks running under each side of the car. The tanks can never be totally full as there must be space for expansion. I only get 140 miles out of the tanks. On the V8 I need to switch to petrol to get more power.

 

What ever you do don't go for the Prinz system. Mine is a disaster. The ECU failed, but the company will not accept the fault is theirs, not just with my ECU but with any ECU fault, they insist on the purchase of a new one.

 

The only Supra I know of running on gas, had round tank where the space saver sits. The only other way to increase capacity would be to reduce the size of the petrol tank, not a good idea.

 

The higher octane argument sounds good, but most of gas on the forecourts is scavenged from domestic heating tanks, so is very dirty and clogs up filters quickly.

Edited by Terminator (see edit history)
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The only Supra I know of running on gas, had round tank where the space saver sits. The only other way to increase capacity would be to reduce the size of the petrol tank, not a good idea.

 

Taken from the website i posted in the opening thread ..

 

"The gas tank is obviously the largest component in an Autogas conversion and is therefore the most difficult to place. Most tanks simply fit in the spare wheel compartment, in place of the spare wheel. If preferred customers can choose a larger tanks. Greenfuel supply Tyre Weld, a first-aid liquid puncture repair kit which is faster, easier and safer than changing wheels."

 

makes sense, the supra boot is practically useless anyways..

 

It just seems too good to be true, if there is no cons only pros why aren't all new cars being made with this - even if its not the primary fuel system, at least as a secondary/back up system. If you can increase the mileage by say 40% per £1 compared to pertol then wouldn't they sell like hot cakes ?

 

The only car manufactory i found that give this as an option is Subaru (also note the last comment too)...

 

Subaru announced that it will offer the LPG option for the Forester, Legacy and Outback models. The Subaru Forester equipped with the 2.0 liter engine is now available with a free LPG dual-fuel conversion worth over 1,900 pounds including VAT. For the Subaru Legacy and the Subaru Outback powered by the 2.5 liter engine the LPG conversion is available at 1,973 pounds including VAT.

 

Subaru Press Release:

 

MAJOR LPG INITIATIVE FROM SUBARU

 

Subaru has launched a major LPG initiative on selected Forester, Legacy and Outback models,offering customers significant savings in the war against increasing fuel prices and running costs.

 

All new Forester 2.0 litre models are now available with a free LPG dual-fuel conversion worth over £1,900 including VAT, plus three years’ free servicing valued at a further £770.

 

This not only allows the Forester to run on LPG which is approximately half the price of petrol but greatly extends the total range between fill-ups. By running on a full tank of LPG the driver can expect a fuel cost saving of around 40 per cent.

 

In addition, LPG conversions are also now available on all Legacy and Outback 2.5 litre models – both manual and automatic – at a cost of £1,973 including VAT.

 

And like the Forester, this enables owners to not only reduce fuel costs but they can also be registered for London Congestion Zone exemption, saving £8 per day.

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Is it true that LPG will be the same price as normal unleaded soon?

 

Where did you hear that? News to me.

 

 

The only other way to increase capacity would be to reduce the size of the petrol tank, not a good idea.

 

 

Why not? You only need petrol to start the car and in case you run out of LPG, so the petrol tank only really needs to hold a gallon or so.

 

I have been running an LPG/petrol Vauxhall Astra and AFAIC when using LPG instead of petrol it is exactly the same - but with HALF the fuel costs. No brainer.

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It just seems too good to be true, if there is no cons only pros why aren't all new cars being made with this - even if its not the primary fuel system, at least as a secondary/back up system. If you can increase the mileage by say 40% per £1 compared to pertol then wouldn't they sell like hot cakes ?.

 

The biggest problem with a supra would be the tank but different sizes are availble.Even if you were having to fill it every 2 days it would be a pain but still not as painful as filling it with petrol.

 

The chap i work with is looking at selling his STI and replacing it with a TT supra so when he eventually does i will post the details when we convert it.

 

There are a few cons obviously firstly the tank then you have to be prepared to let someone drill holes in the body work or bumper and inlet manifold of your pride and joy and the biggest is the cost of the conversion itself.Another is the ignition system if its not 100% then gas will easily show up any coil or plug problems.

 

The biggest problem of all is the conversion its self if you have a bad one then you will know about it every time time drive your car but it if you have a good one you wont even know its there all you will have to do is fill it with fuel.

 

The best advice i can give if your looking to have a conversion would be to start here http://www.boostlpg.co.uk/ when looking for an approved LPGA instaler.Then visit the installer and have a good look at the conversions they are doing to make sure you would be happy with there workmanship,ask as many technical question as you can to find out what they know about converting high power turbo charged cars.Do not go for the cheapest install unless you are 100% happy with what you have herd or seen at the installed because the bits alone cost around £1000 so if they are only charging £1500 for an install then £500 is far to cheap to get a quality install in my opinion.Equipment wise i personally would only recommend BRC like what i have on mine its the only kit we would fit to anything supercharged or turbo charged and is the same kit we use on our demo EVO 8 but other installers may well recommend something else as there are a number of kits availble.If you do decided you want to have a BRC fitted and cant find a installer in you area then contact these people http://www.agpl.co.uk/ these are the sole importers of BRC and if for any reason they arnt able to convert it themselves then they will recommend some one that will.

 

The reason most manufactures dont offer conversions now is some of the new engines are not suitable for LPG and most are putting there resources in to alternative types of power like Toyota with the hybrid stuff.

Edited by gsw (see edit history)
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