Discussion
Booked my E39 530iA in for an LPG conversion!
Never thought I would do it, but the thought of either bankrupting myself by putting £100 of petrol in per week, or driving some detestful diesel made me do it.
People say I am mad as the car is on 161k. I see the benefits of a 45-50mpg equivilent, 6cyl and in theory a 800 mile range (if I used the petrol too).
Can't wait! Any other BMW owners running successfully (or not) on LPG?
Never thought I would do it, but the thought of either bankrupting myself by putting £100 of petrol in per week, or driving some detestful diesel made me do it.
People say I am mad as the car is on 161k. I see the benefits of a 45-50mpg equivilent, 6cyl and in theory a 800 mile range (if I used the petrol too).
Can't wait! Any other BMW owners running successfully (or not) on LPG?
Not a BMW, but seriously considering doing it on our 3.2 A6 avant.
Bit worried about some of the comments about the tax rate changing on some of the LPG forums though, that is the only thing putting me off at the moment, if there is no tax benifit in 2 years time I won't bother.
I put £240 in my car last week which is more than double my average amount, but still hurts on the occasions when you do.
Bit worried about some of the comments about the tax rate changing on some of the LPG forums though, that is the only thing putting me off at the moment, if there is no tax benifit in 2 years time I won't bother.
I put £240 in my car last week which is more than double my average amount, but still hurts on the occasions when you do.
Hi there,
There are various places who'll do the work, however there's like a consistently mentioned sort of top 3 or 4 places on various forums where owners have had work done and have been very happy and the same in the long run. 'Prins' is one of them I see mentioned and I just can't remember the names of the others! Have a search around, I know a few posts/owners have sone similar things and mentioned the type of system used and the fitters etc - I hope the place you are taking it to are one of them!
There are and have been and probably continue to be some horror stories cropping up from time to time - hopefully you won't be one of them.
I have noticed recently, that more and more owners are mentioning changing cars, or doing LPG conversions, looking at Diesel in order to try and save some money with our ridiculous fuel prices. It's slated to go substantially higher yet as well - we all hope that it doesn't but we already know of the up to 3p/litre increase coming in stages soon by the government. no doubt with the volotility in the markets with this general election coming up things will be more jittery and even after the event, the fact of the everest sized mountain of deficit the country has means figures of £1.50/litre have started to creep in and the scariest of all £2/litre being mentioned.
I'd also like to point out there is nothing wrong with a Diesel!
Good luck with your work and conversion!
cheers, Dennis! West London & Slough UK!
There are various places who'll do the work, however there's like a consistently mentioned sort of top 3 or 4 places on various forums where owners have had work done and have been very happy and the same in the long run. 'Prins' is one of them I see mentioned and I just can't remember the names of the others! Have a search around, I know a few posts/owners have sone similar things and mentioned the type of system used and the fitters etc - I hope the place you are taking it to are one of them!
There are and have been and probably continue to be some horror stories cropping up from time to time - hopefully you won't be one of them.
I have noticed recently, that more and more owners are mentioning changing cars, or doing LPG conversions, looking at Diesel in order to try and save some money with our ridiculous fuel prices. It's slated to go substantially higher yet as well - we all hope that it doesn't but we already know of the up to 3p/litre increase coming in stages soon by the government. no doubt with the volotility in the markets with this general election coming up things will be more jittery and even after the event, the fact of the everest sized mountain of deficit the country has means figures of £1.50/litre have started to creep in and the scariest of all £2/litre being mentioned.
I'd also like to point out there is nothing wrong with a Diesel!
Good luck with your work and conversion!
cheers, Dennis! West London & Slough UK!
gizlaroc said:
Bit worried about some of the comments about the tax rate changing on some of the LPG forums though, that is the only thing putting me off at the moment, if there is no tax benifit in 2 years time I won't bother.
Well, the country is bankrupt and and any citizen selfish enough to utilise personal transport that derives it's energy from burning hydrocarbons (and thence producing CO2) is automatically lumped into the same boat as child molesters and puppy drowners. Let's see if we can guess the future direction of taxation policy on LPG...Well......100 miles in all is well. Very profession conversion. hardly any changes under the engine bay, a very large tank in the boot but over half the space is still usable. Filler cap is unnoticable.
In terms of driving its just like before. 0.5 miles on the expensive stuff this morning before it kicked over to LPG. The MPG reading still works and similar to before. Assuming the calibration is correct I am getting an equivilent of around 50mpg. Will work it out properly soon.
The switch from petrol to gas is undetectable.
Looking forward to piling on the miles and reaping some savings. Assuming we remain reliable (and a big if!) I now possess a virtually depreciation proof car that will do 50mpg yet offer all the luxury you can wish for!
When I get a few more hard facts, and a few more miles under the belt I will report back.
In terms of driving its just like before. 0.5 miles on the expensive stuff this morning before it kicked over to LPG. The MPG reading still works and similar to before. Assuming the calibration is correct I am getting an equivilent of around 50mpg. Will work it out properly soon.
The switch from petrol to gas is undetectable.
Looking forward to piling on the miles and reaping some savings. Assuming we remain reliable (and a big if!) I now possess a virtually depreciation proof car that will do 50mpg yet offer all the luxury you can wish for!
When I get a few more hard facts, and a few more miles under the belt I will report back.
Escort2dr said:
Driven loads of LPG cars and they are generally pretty good. Only thing that puts me off is the range - with the mileage I am doing, I'd end up filling it every day or two.
You could just combine the range of petrol and LPG and fill up less than before. Obviously, the payback period will be longer if you do this. But the cost of fuelling your car will go down.sinizter said:
Escort2dr said:
Driven loads of LPG cars and they are generally pretty good. Only thing that puts me off is the range - with the mileage I am doing, I'd end up filling it every day or two.
You could just combine the range of petrol and LPG and fill up less than before. Obviously, the payback period will be longer if you do this. But the cost of fuelling your car will go down.I like the idea, but practically (for me) it's just easier to have a diesel.
Bit of an update.
Just clocked up 1200 miles now and overall very pleased.
Had a few teething troubles with rough idle etc but changed the plugs and is better, if still not perfect. Its 1000 mile (overdue) checkup on Wednesday, I hope, will iron the rest of the minor issues.
First two tanks produced a not so impressive 39mpg equivilent. Next tank was a better 44mpg.
However, since the plugs have been done, I have just done 290 miles on £31.40! Thats 23.5mpg on gas (I want better) and compared to 118.9p at my local Shell, a barely believable 50mpg!
Seems to be getting better and better, and if I can continue to average 45mpg+ I will be most happy!
Just clocked up 1200 miles now and overall very pleased.
Had a few teething troubles with rough idle etc but changed the plugs and is better, if still not perfect. Its 1000 mile (overdue) checkup on Wednesday, I hope, will iron the rest of the minor issues.
First two tanks produced a not so impressive 39mpg equivilent. Next tank was a better 44mpg.
However, since the plugs have been done, I have just done 290 miles on £31.40! Thats 23.5mpg on gas (I want better) and compared to 118.9p at my local Shell, a barely believable 50mpg!
Seems to be getting better and better, and if I can continue to average 45mpg+ I will be most happy!
not sure what WOT means......but yes its unnoticeable. 
I tried it tonight. Switched to petrol. Floored it and pressed switch back to gas and even under hard acceleration it was seamless.
However, just going back slightly on my previous over exuberance, it seems each pump has a slightly different cut of point for gas, so the last tank at 50mpg was probably closer to 46mpg...still pretty impressive in my book
I tried it tonight. Switched to petrol. Floored it and pressed switch back to gas and even under hard acceleration it was seamless.
However, just going back slightly on my previous over exuberance, it seems each pump has a slightly different cut of point for gas, so the last tank at 50mpg was probably closer to 46mpg...still pretty impressive in my book
Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff