LPG Griff

Author
Discussion

CTE

Original Poster:

1,488 posts

241 months

Thursday 4th December 2008
quotequote all
I have an excellent Golf GT TDI which I have chipped to 190hp and loads of torque...it`s great, except now he clutch slips...doh (which will cost a bit to put right), and ultimately its relatively boring, so in dream land I have been thinknig about MX5`s/BMWZ4`s/Honda S2000 etc for a dailty car (love sports cars basically), but have come to the conclusion that they are not special enough, or economical enough for a daily drive. What to do....I have always loved Griff`s (as I do my TVR S1) but will not buy one because of fuel consumption....for a toy or for serious use. I used to use an TVR S3 for daily use (70K in 2 years)in all weathers, and see no reason why a Griff should not be able to do the same thing...afterall its more refined and developed than an S. As I said, the only issue is fuel consumption...so sacralidge (?) has anyone any knowledge or experience of running these on LPG...is there anywhere to fit the tank, although I guess the original can be replaced, and a small petrol tank located elsewhere.
I know its all a bit daft, but if its been done....once you have had a car which does 50mpg, its very hard to accept 30-35mpg. The other option is a Toyota engined Lotus Elise of course, but they`re not the brutes which TVR`s are.

rev-erend

21,421 posts

285 months

Thursday 4th December 2008
quotequote all
The roof of the Griff goes in the boot .. just.

There really would not be room in the Griff boot for an LPG tank and the roof.

Some have converted the roof to a 2 piece design - bit like the S. So - you woul;d realistically have to do that as well as the LPG conversion.

Plus the fact that one day the government may increase the tax on LPG..

Uk Robert

46 posts

232 months

Thursday 4th December 2008
quotequote all
Ah Ha...let me think....get a ................Capri!

CTE

Original Poster:

1,488 posts

241 months

Thursday 4th December 2008
quotequote all
Ah ha....a Griff with a LS1 converted to LPG, now were cooking on gas!

Uncle Fester

3,114 posts

209 months

Saturday 6th December 2008
quotequote all
It would need a custom fuel tank to replace the original, splitting the space for part petrol, part LPG.

Considering the low annual mileage that most riff’s cover, you won’t live long enough to make it pay.

If you can’t afford to run a Griff on petrol, then you can’t afford to run it at all. The petrol costs are the least expense of all.

dnb

3,330 posts

243 months

Sunday 7th December 2008
quotequote all
Uncle Fester said:
The petrol costs are the least expense of all.
Very true. Mine's cost a fortune in the last 2 months despite not using any petrol...

red griff roger

432 posts

220 months

Monday 8th December 2008
quotequote all
CTE said:
....once you have had a car which does 50mpg, its very hard to accept 30-35mpg. The other option is a Toyota engined Lotus Elise of course, but they`re not the brutes which TVR`s are.
Blimy! 30 - 35 from a Griff!! Lucky to get half of that. Must be my driving?

CTE

Original Poster:

1,488 posts

241 months

Monday 8th December 2008
quotequote all
If a Griff were converted to run on LPG, then in terms of cost/mile, it would probably return the equivalent of anything from 35-40+mpg on a run. It might take a couple of years to cover the conversion cost though? According to a coupple of people I know who run LS1`s, they are good for the thick end of 30mpg on a run, which is not at all bad, but for pure economy reasons, not worth the conversion cost. Nice to day dream about though.
Outright cost is an issue when doing 30,000 miles per year, whether or not you can afford it, unless you have so much money you do not mind throwing it away, and if that`s the case, then you can throw some my way!

HRG

72,857 posts

240 months

Monday 8th December 2008
quotequote all
Uncle Fester said:
It would need a custom fuel tank to replace the original, splitting the space for part petrol, part LPG.

Considering the low annual mileage that most riff’s cover, you won’t live long enough to make it pay.

If you can’t afford to run a Griff on petrol, then you can’t afford to run it at all. The petrol costs are the least expense of all.

Otto

738 posts

217 months

Tuesday 9th December 2008
quotequote all
Seriously, it sounds like you are going to struggle to afford replacing the clutch on the golf, and you are considering a project on a griff?!?!

Extra mileage = more maintenance, which will most likely cost a lot more than a bit of saved petrol money. Plus you are making the boot redundant, and hurting the resale value (the market for a used LPG griffith will be fairly limited to say the least).

All in all, it sounds like you can't afford to run the car properly. Sorry to pi55 on the bonfire so to speak, but sometimes you've just gotta face up to the truth.

Skyedriver

17,917 posts

283 months

Saturday 13th December 2008
quotequote all
TBH I have actually wondered about this myself, but having run a Chimaera for 3 years and 20+k miles, I cannot think where a tank would fit and as the Griffith has a slightly smaller boot....

pjac67

2,040 posts

253 months

Tuesday 22nd October 2013
quotequote all
Hi Mark/OP

Can't believe we started the same topic on different forums 4 years apart....

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

What a coincidence !

fatjon

2,230 posts

214 months

Wednesday 23rd October 2013
quotequote all
CTE said:
I have an excellent Golf GT TDI which I have chipped to 190hp and loads of torque...it`s great, except now he clutch slips...doh (which will cost a bit to put right), and ultimately its relatively boring, so in dream land I have been thinknig about MX5`s/BMWZ4`s/Honda S2000 etc for a dailty car (love sports cars basically), but have come to the conclusion that they are not special enough, or economical enough for a daily drive. What to do....I have always loved Griff`s (as I do my TVR S1) but will not buy one because of fuel consumption....for a toy or for serious use. I used to use an TVR S3 for daily use (70K in 2 years)in all weathers, and see no reason why a Griff should not be able to do the same thing...afterall its more refined and developed than an S. As I said, the only issue is fuel consumption...so sacralidge (?) has anyone any knowledge or experience of running these on LPG...is there anywhere to fit the tank, although I guess the original can be replaced, and a small petrol tank located elsewhere.
I know its all a bit daft, but if its been done....once you have had a car which does 50mpg, its very hard to accept 30-35mpg. The other option is a Toyota engined Lotus Elise of course, but they`re not the brutes which TVR`s are.
On the TVR or MX5 part of your post I can comment. I have a Cerbera 4.5 and a turbocharged Mk2 MX5 1.8 and I have not driven the Cerbera for 9 months. The MX5 is fast as hell although nowhere near the top speed of the Cerbera obviously. The MX5 has better manners, better handling and infinitely better reliablity. It's quieter, more comfortable, more civilised and can still break 4.8 seconds to 60MPH. Yup, there's a lot of difference between 4.8 and 3.8 to 60 and a lot of difference between 145MPH and 200MPH but quite honestly the plus side outweighs the absolute performance side for me. There are still days when the TVR is just what I want to play with but they are getting fewer and fewer as time goes on. I will never sell the Cerb though as I have spent 20K plus on it since I bought it and it's mint from one end to the other, top and bottom. But it's far better to look at and drool over than to drive.