Converting to LPG

bisloy, Feb 29, 5:11pm
How much does it cost to convert a vehicle to LPG!

bisloy, Feb 29, 5:23pm
Thinking about on an explorer. Does this system mean the vehicle will be dedicated LPG or not!

intrade, Feb 29, 6:22pm
na that is dual system it lockes on to the computer of the engine and disables the inector injecting lpg thru nozzles instead of petrol. its loads more efficient then old lpg- dumpin manifold systems.

sheepey, Feb 29, 6:37pm
I looked into converting a Toyota Granvia a few years back( 2.7 petrol) and cost was $4500.Given the cost of LPG now it would take a very long time to make the cost stack up.
We need a system like the old Blue chip system of the 80's that made the conversion available via a interest free loan making it possible to pay off the loan from the running cost savings.

intrade, Feb 29, 6:53pm
petrol is 2.10 a liter lpg is 1.40 thats 60cent you save on every liter dont think it takes long till you get to 4500$ saved. lpg injection use only 2% more gas then the car consumes petrol and its 105 octane the lpg 7500 liter fuel purchased and you only buy a lpg kit once.

msigg, Feb 29, 7:35pm
unless your doing lots of kms then the savings won't stack up. yea the blue chip scheme of the 80 lost lots of money for the government.

360vg, Feb 29, 8:07pm
you can get a rockgas card which makes it cheaper

bopbargains, Feb 29, 8:14pm
LPGis$149.9c a litre. Finding a place tofill upcan be apain sometimes.

sheepey, Feb 29, 8:14pm
Looked into that both those cards and the loans available are only available to users who are GST registered.

rkauto, Feb 29, 8:22pm
anyone can apply for the card and the loan.There is a minimum litreage per month to qualify for the loan .price on card is $1.13 a litre.
expect to use at least 20% more lpg even vapour injection systems.But still a good saving.

sheepey, Feb 29, 8:57pm
Ok, i either have got it wrong or it's changed since i enquired back in 04.400 litres a month is a lot for the "average" private road user to use and 12 months to payback the $4000 to $5000 conversion cost is a bit out there too.The whole thing is geared towards Taxi's etc just as it was when i looked into it .
I could get through 600l a month in my v8 back in the 80's but like most of my mates in that era, i lived in my car!

tara101, Feb 29, 9:08pm
I have run LPG a few years and have just converted a 2008 Corolla 1.8. 466 ks on 47 litres at $1.11 a litre. Have to use 400 litres a month to qualify for that rate.

thejazzpianoma, Feb 29, 9:32pm
When doing your math don't forget to factor in the cost of your LPG inspections which from memory are annual for the car (Correct me if I am wrong) and every few years for the bottle.
You also need to consider that not all your milage is going to be on LPG. You need to start your car on petrol and give it about 4 minutes running before switching over to LPG.
Bear in mind that this cold start running is your most thirsty running as the car will have an enriched mixture.
Depending on how far your commute is this could be a significant part of your running.

thejazzpianoma, Feb 29, 9:49pm
That's a weird choice of vehicle to convert!

I don't see why you wouldn't for the same money just buy a similar size/performance efficient diesel car. The Diesel car will have almost exactly the same direct running costs and you wouldn't have to fork out several thousand dollars for the conversion.

Plus, the Diesel car is ultimately less hassle to use and maintain.

Sorry, not meaning to be rude, and I am a fan of LPG where appropriate but I just can't fathom any logical reason why you would convert a Corolla!

Feel free to enlighten me!

tuttyclan, Mar 1, 5:33am
Would be cheaper in some cases just to buy a car with LPG already fitted then the savings start immediatly.

sheepey, Mar 1, 6:24am
What maintenance!I had an old system in my cars but they never required any form of maintenance, the oil was never dirty, the plugs always like new so changing anything was done at routine periods. Once set up correctly it never required adjustment and would start with snow on it and sit and idle fine, no petrol start up. My cars ran a impco system and were dedicated to LPG.
Fitting to a corolla does seem very odd at best!

thejazzpianoma, Mar 1, 6:35am
Still not even close to economically viable or viable from a lack of hassle aspect. A diesel has no plugs, and a modern diesel's oil change interval should be at least 15'000km.

At most you should only leave even the best synthetic oil in a car for 24 months as the oil still degrades over time although much slower than mineral oil.

Given you have to muck around with limited filling stations, slower fills, LPG testing and generally a significantly shorter range between fills, there is zero "lack of hassle" advantage.

Total running costs are still no better. Also, even if you can get a fuel injected car to start directly on LPG it is not a good idea as the fuel injectors only self clean when on petrol. You also risk a backfire into the induction system, even though systems usually have some very basic fail safe's to prevent this.

Bottom line, you would be paying $5000 or whatever for a system that saves you no money. (Vs a diesel)

thejazzpianoma, Mar 1, 6:35am
Still not even close to economically viable or viable from a lack of hassle aspect. A diesel has no plugs, and a modern diesel's oil change interval should be at least 15'000km.

At most you should only leave even the best synthetic oil in a car for 24 months as the oil still degrades over time although much slower than mineral oil.

Given you have to muck around with limited filling stations, slower fills, LPG testing and generally a significantly shorter range between fills, there is zero "lack of hassle" advantage.

Total running costs are still no better. Also, even if you can get a fuel injected car to start directly on LPG it is not a good idea as the fuel injectors only self clean when on petrol (assuming duel fuel system). You also risk a backfire into the induction system, even though systems usually have some very basic fail safe's to prevent this.

Bottom line, you would be paying $5000 or whatever for a system that saves you no money. (Vs a diesel)

wizid, Mar 1, 6:39am
its going cost$5500 for my 02 nissan skyline

don_logan, Mar 1, 8:12am
Jazz, A few points on running costs. The LPG yearly inspection cost is about 1 hours labour, it was $50.00 to get my last check done. Tanks are a bit longer than a "few years" they need removing and checking every 10 years. I run a dedicated falcon on LPG with rockgas card. I use rockgas own stations and I think current rate is .97c+GST.
full tank range on open road is around 700km (easy to find a station in that distance in NZ). Oil changes on the BA are also 15000km intervals. Spark plugs are very long life, Ive done 40'ks and still look fine and feel fine. No starting on Petrol as there isnt any. No back fires. and you would only guess its LPG from the 3 second cranking needed to start. Its got gob loads of real life useable torque where and when needed. Done 340 untouched km and doesnt use a drop of oil between changes runs and feels tight. I find only extra work required to service is draining the wax from convertor every oil change and cleaning out the idle jet on the convertor. about 10min work and not always required, but as I am doing the oil changes its easy to spend the time to check to be sure. Would I spend the money convert a corolla!. ahhh no!. but then would I spend 4-5k to convert any modern car to latest LPG system!. no either. but if you buy something already converted and do a few km per year, then savings are there for the picking.

tara101, Mar 1, 5:25pm
When you can save between $50 and $80 a week on fuel costs it doesn't matter what vehicle. Capital outlay is approx $4000 cheaper for a petrol corolla and that's the vehicle of my choice. No loss of power.Servicing is no different apart for the 12 month gas wof and possibly a gas unit service. The most I have ever paid was a $100.No road user charges, only the Gst content and approx 11cents per litre goes to the Govt. 12 month interest free loan to pay for the conversion costs. Pay back on conversion cost in less than 2 years. I would think a good return on capital outlay.

redbluecod, Mar 1, 6:23pm
i had a explorer on injected gas and it went great but you need to insure you use a good system like prins due to being a big motor

boat3, Mar 2, 5:38am
2% more gas,bullshit,more like 25 %,i dont think its worth it anymore,i converted a few vehicles recently,and i think the gas is just too expensive to save anything now,dont let us stop you tho,do it and see if you come to the same conclusion.your difference is quite great at the pump so it would seem you would save but by the time you pay for the kit ect.every one goes on about the octane of lpg,its higher,but the calorific value is lower.much more energy in 1 ltr of petrol vs lpg,hence you have to burn more to make the same amount of effort.

trader_84, Mar 2, 8:13am
Wot about on something a little thirstier than a corolla . an ls1 transplanted into a 57' Chev Pickup! Would there be savings there!