Most pointless LPG conversions?

[TroubledSoul]

Thought I'd start a thread on this for a bit of fun after spotting this:
I just found a great car on Auto Trader.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

A 1 litre Micra with LPG! I'm not sure if it's a factory option like those Vauxhalls you sometimes see but even so, what's the point?!

Let's see what you folks have found...

[PositronicRay]

Seems odd, make a good London car though.

[OldGermanHeaps]

Why is it pointless? I had an lpg punto that i bought for £800 that was totally dependable and had fuel costs equivelant to 100mpg, it was great for a skint student.

[Zad]

The original converter would never get their investment back though.

Any idea if you can get your CO2 reassessed (for a lower tax band) if you have an LPG conversion?

[OldGermanHeaps]

Depends if it was diy, you can do it for £400 on a small car.

[TroubledSoul]

Zad said:

The original converter would never get their investment back though.

Any idea if you can get your CO2 reassessed (for a lower tax band) if you have an LPG conversion?

This. Seems wacky!

[eltax91]

Zad said:

The original converter would never get their investment back though.

Any idea if you can get your CO2 reassessed (for a lower tax band) if you have an LPG conversion?

Once converted and on the Lpg register, you apply for a change of fuel type with dvla. My accord is now 'gas bifuel' on th v5 and gets me £10 off my £475 tax bill.

[Zad]

Woo! £10! The government really know how to promote cleaner fuels don't they!

[Trabi601]

TroubledSoul said:

Thought I'd start a thread on this for a bit of fun after spotting this:
I just found a great car on Auto Trader.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

A 1 litre Micra with LPG! I'm not sure if it's a factory option like those Vauxhalls you sometimes see but even so, what's the point?!

Let's see what you folks have found...

Definitely not a factory conversion, as it has the nasty 99p filler cap of shame on the side of the car.

Our Alphard has an LPG conversion (it only does 18mpg), but we had a filler put under the rear bumper.

[Jim AK]

There's a Skoda Citigo currently on the Bay of Fleas.

2013 car on about 54k.

Owner claims equivalent of 90mpg In cost terms & it's currently at about £2000.

There's a Smart FourTwo as well........ Thread winner?

Edited by Jim AK on Saturday 17th December 23:18

[exelero]

Prius on LPG?

[TroubledSoul]

Jim AK said:

There's a Skoda Citigo currently on the Bay of Fleas.

2013 car on about 54k.

Owner claims equivalent of 90mpg In cost terms & it's currently at about £2000.

There's a Smart FourTwo as well........ Thread winner?

Edited by Jim AK on Saturday 17th December 23:18

Quite possibly!

[Trabi601]

exelero said:

Prius on LPG?

Why not? - you'd be getting a cost-equivalency of over 100mpg from a large family hatch. (The Mk2 onward are vast inside)

[gazza285]

Citroen Berlingo van. Same tax, as it's classed as a light commercial, tiny tank, 160 mile range, no better on cost on the motorway than the diesel, but much worse to drive.

[powerstroke]

Any!! they all have that gassy smell and people forget LPG has a lower amount of energy than petrol ,
I guess if you bought a new car do a huge annual mileage and kept it for years it might pay , but people convert old bigger cars and american stuff and do about 3,000miles a year !!!

[benjijames28]

powerstroke said:

Any!! they all have that gassy smell and people forget LPG has a lower amount of energy than petrol ,
I guess if you bought a new car do a huge annual mileage and kept it for years it might pay , but people convert old bigger cars and american stuff and do about 3,000miles a year !!!

Man maths 101

[AndySheff]

powerstroke said:

Any!! they all have that gassy smell and people forget LPG has a lower amount of energy than petrol ,
I guess if you bought a new car do a huge annual mileage and kept it for years it might pay , but people convert old bigger cars and american stuff and do about 3,000miles a year !!!

Yep - seen a few yanks lpg converted. And then the owner drives them 2 or 3000 miles a year ?!

[addz86]

Mate of mine had a Mk4 Fiesta 1.3 with LPG, hardly had any boot space due to the huge tank in there.

[Zad]

Anything that has a tank in the boot has probably done it on the cheap. Better installations either use a tank that fits in the spare wheel well, or one that fits under the car. They certainly shouldn't smell. Even back in the 1980s, my dad's Mk.5 Cortina never smelled of LPG except for a few minutes when warming up, and it was not even vaguely comparable to the stink of diesel that hangs in the air like... Well you get the idea. Back then you were advised to start them on petrol anyway, for that lovely un-catalysed rich petrolly exhaust smell.

LPG does have a lower density than petrol and diesel (26MJ/l vs 34 and 36 respectively), but it also has a higher equivalent octane rating, allowing for more aggressive timing and higher boost before knocking starts, if you are interested in more "interesting" engines rather than just pure economy. It also (presuming a proper heat exchanger and injector / vapouriser) mixes more efficiently than petrol and diesel which partially offsets the difference. Give me a well converted LPG petrol engine over a dirty clattery soot and NOx spewing diesel any day. But not on a Micra that goes to the supermarket and church once a week.

[TroubledSoul]

addz86 said:

Mate of mine had a Mk4 Fiesta 1.3 with LPG, hardly had any boot space due to the huge tank in there.

Crazy bugger!