Pros and cons of lpg conversion

bigjl

I take it you have looked after the gearbox in your car?

As Renault autoboxes aren't the most long lived, but they will last longer if you change the fluid and any filters that are associated with it.

Most autoboxes have internal filters so a proper specialist would be best to do this, I have had the gearboxes of two Honda Odysseys serviced for £70 each.

Though my Subaru Legacy surprised by having an external filter just like for the engine oil.


But I am afraid I wouldn't spend over £1000, probably nearer £1400 on a 12 yr old Automatic Renault.

And don't forget that I used to run a garage in N London for two years that made a roaring trade replacing automatic gearboxes in Renaults, mostly Ren 25's if i'm honest, we used to get them from R18's, recondition them a little and bobs your uncle.

There are better ways to save a bit of fuel money.

I would still suggest you start with a car that isn't already firmly in banger territory, sadly even with the low mileage your car is firmly in banger territory.

Get rid of your Renault and get a more reliable car to do the conversion.

And all this talk of 60p per litre for LPG is fantasy, it has been above 75pplitre for 6 months round my way, so I very much doubt you can get it for 17p less a litre anywhere in the UK.

For example my mate in Sunderland that owns the Subaru I have mentioned reckons he is paying 75pplitre.

Tucker

The cost of LPG varies wildly!

I am paying 67p in Bolton. But you will pay 75 to 80p from a forecourt.

According to the GoAutoGas website, the cheapest UK garage is currently 59p, so it is possible but most independents are between 65 and 72p.

Tucker

Ohh by the way, generally speaking the cost of LPG falls at this time of year as its price tends to be higher over winter due to high demand for domestic fuel consumption, which fades out now.

forgotmyname

No longer less than 50% of the petrol prices at all forecourts anymore, So takes that bit longer
to recoup your money. eeeehhh i remember when it was 40p etc etc..

You dont say how many miles you do but if a conversion costs you £600, Your going to need to have
spent £1500 on fuel before it starts paying for itself.

Also need to ask the questio do you need to change any engine parts and do you need a flashlube system, Both
of which will add to the conversion costs.

How will your insurance quote after conversion? Some are relaxed and just need a certificate to say its been fitted
properly and safe. Others may increase your premium.

Evilm

We had it done and it paid back in savings in 10 months approx.

We noticed a couple of cons:
-because LPG produces a lower mpg by about 20% hubby has to go fill up more often.
-If your car has a low tick over when idle it can cause the car to stall when switching over from Petrol to LPG when it gets warm enough. This happens once in a blue moon to hubby.
-If its a manual it can be prone to stalling - I have a friend with an LPG van and it stalls a couple of times a day because of low revs. It really does depend on your car though.
-Yes it does use a little petrol but we only have to fill up with petrol about once every 1k and thats usually because we have a money off voucher available. (depending on temprature its about 1mile but it will stay warm enough to switch straight back over for about 1-2hrs after stopping if its had a good run)
-Some insurers don't like it and it does reduce the choices when insuring (at least by my knowledge when doing hubbys. It didn't however put up the price in the end).

Pros:
- We are saving about £125 a month
- You get £10 off your road tax for being duel fuel (although you need to visit the DVLA offices to sort this out next time your tax disc is due).

We get our LPG from the guys that did the conversion who have their own pump. Its about 10p cheaper than the local forecourt garages around here and is currently 72p approx.

Lum

Evilm wrote: »

- You get £10 off your road tax for being duel fuel (although you need to visit the DVLA offices to sort this out next time your tax disc is due).

Any more info on this? The tax is up on my GF's 1993 Nissan 200SX at the end of the month, and her LPG fitter didn't mention it.

gilbert_and_sullivan

forgotmyname wrote: »

You dont say how many miles you do but if a conversion costs you £600, .

That's very cheap, is that for a multi point system?

gilbert_and_sullivan

Evilm wrote: »

-If your car has a low tick over when idle it can cause the car to stall when switching over from Petrol to LPG when it gets warm enough. I have a friend with an LPG van and it stalls a couple of times a day because of low revs.
.

Both vehicles need some adjustements, probably to the LPG metering, you really cannot tell which fuel my Benz is running on, and if it wasn't for the LED's lighting up you'd never know switchover had taken place.

My system doesn't suddenly switch over, it brings in one cylinder every 2 seconds, so it takes 12 seconds to change completely, maybe that accounts for the smooth transition.

rugbyleague

I did 70000miles in a Lexus Gs300 on LPG.

Pros
great saving on fuel actually allowed me to have a luxury car for Golf money.
Ultra reliable
No noticeable performance in performance
Cons
Two big tanks in the boot (1 donut in spare wheel well so spare wheel in boot, another tank between wheel arches)
Slowing filling up wth LPG

rag31

Ok. A few questions raised here about my car

I only brought it at the end of Jan. I was driving an R reg galaxy beforehand.

I did a lot of research into a car that I could get for my £800 budget, that would comfortably fit me and my 4 children, with low mileage, a fsh and that would (supposedly) return me a relatively good mpg.

I brought the renault as it fit the above criteria. Unfortunately it doesn't return the 33-36mpg that I believed it would from my research. I am a very safety, fuel and efficiency conscious driver, I don't pump up the revs, I don't speed up fast, I stick to the speed limit, I don't brake harshly etc. I have researched all the ways to increase the mpg and have got it up to 28.9mpg!! I will look into the servicing/oil/auto gearbox issues. As it has been fully serviced and well looked after (ex mobility vehicle) I assumed this would have been looked at. But will look at it again.

I am disappointed by the mpg, and the rising costs of petrol means I'm looking at ways to save money.

My husband left in January, I am a lone parent with 4 kids on a fixed and low income. I can't just spend 3.5k on a newer more decent car - I don't have the money.

I've looked at changing the car adding on the cost of converting to lpg to see what the best option is for me, long term.

I nearly always have at least 4 people (me and 3 of the kids) in the car, I drive around 8-9000 miles a year.

If I sell my renault and get £8-900 for it, add on what I would have spent on the lpg plus the extra I have then I have the maximum budget of £2000. For £2000 I might be able to find a newer diesel automatic that returns 40-45mpg, but then I won't know for sure what it returns til I buy it. I can't seem to find a lpg conversion for that price that isn't a 3.5-4.5 litre so will probably spend the same on lpg/petrol that I do now. Or should I stick with a car that seems on the face of it reliable and with no problems and go for the lpg conversion??

I live in a rural area so can't go without a car, unfortunately.

Thanks, more advice welcome.