Gas conversion (L322)
Discussion
Hi,
I've just purchased an 03 4.4 Vogue and would like to get it converted to run on gas as well as conventional fuel.
Are there any "againsts" to doing this or is it a good thing to do apart from losing some space in the rear of course.
I have seen a photo recently of a tank fitted in the rear of a RR, and was a bit surprised at the size. Can a smaller tank be fitted in the spare wheel well and the spare be secured to the side of the boot or the tailgate?
Also I think the price is around £1900 but are there different size tanks so affecting the cost?
Any feedback would be apreciated.
Thanks.
I've just purchased an 03 4.4 Vogue and would like to get it converted to run on gas as well as conventional fuel.
Are there any "againsts" to doing this or is it a good thing to do apart from losing some space in the rear of course.
I have seen a photo recently of a tank fitted in the rear of a RR, and was a bit surprised at the size. Can a smaller tank be fitted in the spare wheel well and the spare be secured to the side of the boot or the tailgate?
Also I think the price is around £1900 but are there different size tanks so affecting the cost?
Any feedback would be apreciated.
Thanks.
I've run LPG powered P38's for several years, and wouldn't contemplate them any other way now! Mine have donut tanks, replacing the spare wheel. I don't bother carrying the spare now - just two cans of foam-repair and an electric air-pump. Either it can be fixed using that, or the tyre is trashed and the rescue people will take me to a tyre-fitters. OR I request someone brings me the spare from home 
LPG is readily available now, and on the systems I've had fitted, running out from time to time is a complete non-event. It all just continues to run on petrol, and the financial tears start rolling...
You MUST get a fully sequential multipoint system, capable of flowing enough fuel for the engine. Too many places fit systems which can't deal with the fuel demands of the RR, and then it's a Bad Experience.
Otherwise, with a 95 litre tank in the wheel well, giving a 230ish mile range on gas, with almost no loss of power (ok, you *can* feel it, but only just, and in reality it just means using a tad more throttle - how often do you drive at continuous full throttle?), then there are no real disadvantages. Can't use the Channel Tunnel..... Not a daily issue for most of us!
LPG is readily available now, and on the systems I've had fitted, running out from time to time is a complete non-event. It all just continues to run on petrol, and the financial tears start rolling...
You MUST get a fully sequential multipoint system, capable of flowing enough fuel for the engine. Too many places fit systems which can't deal with the fuel demands of the RR, and then it's a Bad Experience.
Otherwise, with a 95 litre tank in the wheel well, giving a 230ish mile range on gas, with almost no loss of power (ok, you *can* feel it, but only just, and in reality it just means using a tad more throttle - how often do you drive at continuous full throttle?), then there are no real disadvantages. Can't use the Channel Tunnel..... Not a daily issue for most of us!
Now there's a coincidence. I bought a 2003 L322 a couple of weeks ago for under £20k and had it converted to LPG before I picked it up. You MUST get a sequential multi-point system fitted. The best and most reliable on the market is by Prins (google). My research suggested that it was worth paying the extra compared to the other systems. I do around 1000 miles per month which means it will be paid for in just over a year. My system was fitted by Dual Fuel Systems in Woking for £2000+vat and they needed the car for four days. When I went to inspect their work, they had another Rangie and a V10 BMW M5 in at the same time.
The only tank worth having is the 95 litre tank in place of the spare wheel (buy a can of tyre weld), although you will find around 80 litres is actually useable. Underslung tanks aren't available for the L322 so unless you want to lose your boot by going for a larger tank, there's no other option. Remember also that although you are saving £££ (you will get the equivalent of about 38mpg cost wise if you're steady), it will still only do 16mpg or so, so unless you want to spend your entire life filling it up, you need a big tank. I am getting a range of around 250 miles per tank (at about £40 per fill) which means I fill it once a week, as opposed to once every two weeks compared to my old Audi Allroad diesel.
My driving is about 70% motorways, 30% urban/rural. I take it reasonably steadily and set the cruise to 65mph on the motorway. This gives me an overall consumption of 15.8mpg, as opposed to the manufacturers 17.4mpg combined. This ties in with LPG having a lower calorific value. By shopping around locally, I have found LPG available at 49.9p per litre. It can be cheaper. As far as changes to vehicle performance go, you'll never know the difference. In fact, I have yet to feel it change over from petrol (which it will always start on) and you can still surprise Saxo drivers.
PS: For those of a sandal-wearing persuasion, it pumps out 20% less CO2 on LPG.
The only tank worth having is the 95 litre tank in place of the spare wheel (buy a can of tyre weld), although you will find around 80 litres is actually useable. Underslung tanks aren't available for the L322 so unless you want to lose your boot by going for a larger tank, there's no other option. Remember also that although you are saving £££ (you will get the equivalent of about 38mpg cost wise if you're steady), it will still only do 16mpg or so, so unless you want to spend your entire life filling it up, you need a big tank. I am getting a range of around 250 miles per tank (at about £40 per fill) which means I fill it once a week, as opposed to once every two weeks compared to my old Audi Allroad diesel.
My driving is about 70% motorways, 30% urban/rural. I take it reasonably steadily and set the cruise to 65mph on the motorway. This gives me an overall consumption of 15.8mpg, as opposed to the manufacturers 17.4mpg combined. This ties in with LPG having a lower calorific value. By shopping around locally, I have found LPG available at 49.9p per litre. It can be cheaper. As far as changes to vehicle performance go, you'll never know the difference. In fact, I have yet to feel it change over from petrol (which it will always start on) and you can still surprise Saxo drivers.
PS: For those of a sandal-wearing persuasion, it pumps out 20% less CO2 on LPG.
Edited by JW911 on Thursday 19th June 11:21
SoftwareSorcerer said:
You MUST get a fully sequential multipoint system, capable of flowing enough fuel for the engine. Too many places fit systems which can't deal with the fuel demands of the RR, and then it's a Bad Experience.
This is the most important thing about LPG on newer RRs. If it's fitted properly then you'll notice no difference from petrol.I presume the inevitable "why buy it if you can't afford it" b
ks talkers with no cars listed in their profile will be along in a minute to tell you how dreadful LPG is and how it'll grenade your engine and rape your children. Ignore them.agent006 said:
I presume the inevitable "why buy it if you can't afford it" bks talkers with no cars listed in their profile will be along in a minute to tell you how dreadful LPG is and how it'll grenade your engine and rape your children. Ignore them.
Agreed. If it's properly fitted, you will have no issues. As far as "why buy it if you can't afford it?"....ks talkers with no cars listed in their profile will be along in a minute to tell you how dreadful LPG is and how it'll grenade your engine and rape your children. Ignore them.Why would I want to spend £65k on a 16mpg Rangie when I can have a perfectly good "38mpg" Rangie for £23k? I can think of much better uses of £40k than depreciation.
JW911 said:
agent006 said:
I presume the inevitable "why buy it if you can't afford it" bks talkers with no cars listed in their profile will be along in a minute to tell you how dreadful LPG is and how it'll grenade your engine and rape your children. Ignore them.
Agreed. If it's properly fitted, you will have no issues. As far as "why buy it if you can't afford it?"....ks talkers with no cars listed in their profile will be along in a minute to tell you how dreadful LPG is and how it'll grenade your engine and rape your children. Ignore them.Why would I want to spend £65k on a 16mpg Rangie when I can have a perfectly good "38mpg" Rangie for £23k? I can think of much better uses of £40k than depreciation.
The pollution is demonstrably much lower - the difference in figures on the MoT gas analyzer on LPG and petrol has to be seen to be believed. Almost like it's powered by Angels' breath
Another vote for Prins, btw. That's what I have on my current RR.
Edited by SoftwareSorcerer on Tuesday 27th May 08:29
Sunningdale? Might have done.....
Yes, at Alexander David. They had a couple of others (Vogues) in as well (a V8 and a diesel) but this one ticked all the boxes for me. Just given it the first proper wash and wax this afternoon and there are literally only a couple of marks on it. Not bad for an 03 - mind you, it only had 32000 miles. Cracking car, should have gone RR years ago. It's as much fun as the 996, albeit in a slightly different way and there's a certain something about filling the tank for £40.
Yes, at Alexander David. They had a couple of others (Vogues) in as well (a V8 and a diesel) but this one ticked all the boxes for me. Just given it the first proper wash and wax this afternoon and there are literally only a couple of marks on it. Not bad for an 03 - mind you, it only had 32000 miles. Cracking car, should have gone RR years ago. It's as much fun as the 996, albeit in a slightly different way and there's a certain something about filling the tank for £40.
Edited by JW911 on Tuesday 27th May 17:39
I was thinking of getting an LPG conversion too, although I'm not sure if the fuel costs stack up to be worth it. I'm currently getting about 26mpg out of the old diesel pajero, that's a mixture of town and motorway driving.
Do you guys think it's worth my while switching over?
Aside from the fact that the rangie will be a lot nicer to live with (although I do like the reliability and ruggedness of my old girl) Do the fuel costs really stack up?
From previous posts I see people getting 250 miles from a 95 litre tank which is about 12mpg but then the figure of 38mpg was used.
Bit confused, can anyone shed some light?
Do you guys think it's worth my while switching over?
Aside from the fact that the rangie will be a lot nicer to live with (although I do like the reliability and ruggedness of my old girl) Do the fuel costs really stack up?
From previous posts I see people getting 250 miles from a 95 litre tank which is about 12mpg but then the figure of 38mpg was used.
Bit confused, can anyone shed some light?
JonnyV8 said:
From previous posts I see people getting 250 miles from a 95 litre tank which is about 12mpg but then the figure of 38mpg was used.
Bit confused, can anyone shed some light?
THe higher MPG figures quoted for MPG are the petrol equivalent, and have been multiplied up to take account of the price difference. So running an LPG car doing 15mpg has roughly the cost equivalent of running a 30mpg petrol car.Bit confused, can anyone shed some light?
agent006 said:
JonnyV8 said:
From previous posts I see people getting 250 miles from a 95 litre tank which is about 12mpg but then the figure of 38mpg was used.
Bit confused, can anyone shed some light?
THe higher MPG figures quoted for MPG are the petrol equivalent, and have been multiplied up to take account of the price difference. So running an LPG car doing 15mpg has roughly the cost equivalent of running a 30mpg petrol car.Bit confused, can anyone shed some light?
Realistically, you'll get about 10% worse mpg using lpg than petrol, but... that lpg is less than half the cost per litre of petrol, so it's LIKE running a car doing twice the mpg. At least, that's what it looks like to your wallet.
Just done a run back from Cornwall (Truro) to Reading with the cruise control at a steady 60mph (GPS). The red light had been on for a while however I topped up the car today to find I had travelled 255 miles using 62 litres, which left me 14 useable litres. This gives a total range of 312 miles per tank (motorway) and equates to an actual 18.75 mpg (the trip computer shows 21.7mpg so the science works). Based on the local cost of LPG and unleaded, it gives a cash equivalent of 39mpg!!
Don't want to hijack this thread too much, but maybe some of you might know what I'm after.
Bit of background:
I've got a 96 V8 Disco which I use for offroading / greenlaning and the like.
I've worked out it's doing about 11-13 MPG, probably due to all the HD kit that's bolted on and all the recovery gear in the boot when I go out laning. When I got it, petrol was about 89ppl. Now it's 120ppl it's costing nearly 100 quid to fill up and I'm getting around 200 miles out of the tank.
I got this for some fun when I could afford it. Now it's just starting to hurt a bit. I only do 3-5000 miles a year.
I had a look at the dual fuel systems website and the calculator there reckons I could save 700 quid per year based on 3000 miles.
Q1 - Using it off road would also mean I'd need to put the tank in the boot, or if underneath get some decent protection fitted too. Has anyone got any experience of having tanks fitted under the sills?
Q2 - Also, these systems need servicing don't they - those of you who have them - how much does that cost?
I'm a bit fed up with petrol costs, like most of us, but I'm weighing up all my options. Of course - fuel prices haven't helped used V8 values either...
I reckon lpg companies will becoming very popular soon.
Cheers.
Bit of background:
I've got a 96 V8 Disco which I use for offroading / greenlaning and the like.
I've worked out it's doing about 11-13 MPG, probably due to all the HD kit that's bolted on and all the recovery gear in the boot when I go out laning. When I got it, petrol was about 89ppl. Now it's 120ppl it's costing nearly 100 quid to fill up and I'm getting around 200 miles out of the tank.
I got this for some fun when I could afford it. Now it's just starting to hurt a bit. I only do 3-5000 miles a year.
I had a look at the dual fuel systems website and the calculator there reckons I could save 700 quid per year based on 3000 miles.
Q1 - Using it off road would also mean I'd need to put the tank in the boot, or if underneath get some decent protection fitted too. Has anyone got any experience of having tanks fitted under the sills?
Q2 - Also, these systems need servicing don't they - those of you who have them - how much does that cost?
I'm a bit fed up with petrol costs, like most of us, but I'm weighing up all my options. Of course - fuel prices haven't helped used V8 values either...
I reckon lpg companies will becoming very popular soon.
Cheers.
signia said:
Q1 - Using it off road would also mean I'd need to put the tank in the boot, or if underneath get some decent protection fitted too. Has anyone got any experience of having tanks fitted under the sills?
From what i've seen of Disco installs, underslung tanks would be a real barrier to serious offroad use. they protrude quite a way past the chassis rails.signia said:
Q2 - Also, these systems need servicing don't they - those of you who have them - how much does that cost?
They need an annual service. Basically a once over plus a new filter. Dual Fuel charge about £130 iirc. The tank itself has a life of about ten years.Edited by JW911 on Tuesday 17th June 19:16
cheers guys. I always assumed that low mileage meant it was never worth spending the money. But with a 35% increase in fuel since I bought it and having really poor mpg, it would pay for itself over a few years. If it goes up much more, I'll seriously consider a compromise of boot space. And I guess it will help with the resale value too.
Thanks.
Thanks.
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