Audi S3 - LPG Conversion

[sean19]

A friend of mine has an Audi S3 (2003)

He is considering selling it due to its poor MPG costing him a fortune. He is considering getting an Accord 2.2 CDTi (very bland and mundane!), however he is also considering converting the S3 to LPG instead.

2 questions

1)Is it possible to convert an S3 to LPG?
2)Any idea how much it is likely to cost?

Thanks

[phumy]

Buy an A3 Tdi and put the S3 badge on it!!!!!

If you cant afford the fuel perhaps you should consider selling it, let alone maintaining it.

[sean19]

phumy said:

Buy an A3 Tdi and put the S3 badge on it!!!!!

If you cant afford the fuel perhaps you should consider selling it, let alone maintaining it.

If you read the thread its for a friend of mine (38 year old Senior surveyor on £45K+) it's not for myself. He can afford to run the car, however his 60mile a day commute idiling in traffic using 98RON (which is pushing the £1.10 a litre) is simply a waste of money so was looking at money saving options.

So I gather from your reply that you don't have any knowledge for either one of the questions?

[agent006]

It's possible to convert turbo cars to LPG, you'll need an expensive system though. The problem you'll have with an S3 is space for the gas tank.

[marctwo]

agent006 said:

It's possible to convert turbo cars to LPG, you'll need an expensive system though. The problem you'll have with an S3 is space for the gas tank.

Yup. My Dad had an LPG converted Mazda 626 which had a pretty decent sized boot but the tank would fill most of the back of an S3. Tell him to get an A3 TDi 170 and get it remapped.

[agent006]

You can get tanks that fit in the spare wheel well, but they're only really of use in 4x4s as they have much larger wheels and can hold 95 litres. An S3 wheel tank will likely hold 45 litres or so.

[D1MAC]

sean19 said:

phumy said:

Buy an A3 Tdi and put the S3 badge on it!!!!!

If you cant afford the fuel perhaps you should consider selling it, let alone maintaining it.

If you read the thread its for a friend of mine (38 year old Senior surveyor on £45K+) it's not for myself. He can afford to run the car, however his 60mile a day commute idiling in traffic using 98RON (which is pushing the £1.10 a litre) is simply a waste of money so was looking at money saving options.

So I gather from your reply that you don't have any knowledge for either one of the questions?

If your friend has that kind of money he should either live with the fuel costs (he can afford it FFS) or should buy a fuel efficient beater and a weekend fun car. Either would be a better option than an old S3 and feeling bad about 28 (ish) MPG He should try and commute a similar distance in (as an example) a Focus ST - instant less moaning about S3 fuel consumption

Edited by D1MAC on Thursday 17th January 22:54

[sean19]

agent006 said:

You can get tanks that fit in the spare wheel well, but they're only really of use in 4x4s as they have much larger wheels and can hold 95 litres. An S3 wheel tank will likely hold 45 litres or so.

I believe the come with space savers anyway. Didnt realise the tanks were that big. Seemed a good idea, but not really worth it on a car such as this.

Thanks for the info

[phumy]

sean19 said:

phumy said:

Buy an A3 Tdi and put the S3 badge on it!!!!!

If you cant afford the fuel perhaps you should consider selling it, let alone maintaining it.

If you read the thread its for a friend of mine (38 year old Senior surveyor on £45K+) it's not for myself. He can afford to run the car, however his 60mile a day commute idiling in traffic using 98RON (which is pushing the £1.10 a litre) is simply a waste of money so was looking at money saving options.

So I gather from your reply that you don't have any knowledge for either one of the questions?

I was speaking metaphorically, read it again, why did you need to put his age and salary in the post, is that supposed to have some bearing on the case?

In my opinion (is that better) if you can not afford to run it, then sell it, its such a waste to run a decent car on a crappy gas system and not get the full potential from it, let someone else take the car and have the fun that you can not now afford, metaphorically speaking

[Colonial]

I know. I'll buy a car with sporting pretensions, then run it on a much less efficent fuel on a daily commute!

Does this strike anyone else as a weird approach?

A3 TDi with remap.

[jwo]

Lets say the s3 does 27mpg (realistic used to have one).

your mate has a 60mile commute 5 days a week 46 weeks per year = 13800 miles

at 27mpg = 511 gallons = 2323 litres @£1.10/litre = £2555/year fuel

the same with a diesel at £1.08/litre doing 40mpg gives a fuel cost of £1693 per year.

Thus a saving (and much less fun) of £862/per year. A conversion will cost couple of grand minimum which won't pay itself back for 3 years or so.

Why bother? I would just stick with the s3.

[bigburd]

marctwo said:

agent006 said:

It's possible to convert turbo cars to LPG, you'll need an expensive system though. The problem you'll have with an S3 is space for the gas tank.

Yup. My Dad had an LPG converted Mazda 626 which had a pretty decent sized boot but the tank would fill most of the back of an S3. Tell him to get an A3 TDi 170 and get it remapped.

I hear there's problems with remapping the 170bhp TDI... mine should be here in March...

[marctwo]

bigburd said:

I hear there's problems with remapping the 170bhp TDI... mine should be here in March...

Arse. That's another one crossed off my list then. It will have to be a remapped 3.0TDi A4 instead.

[bigburd]

marctwo said:

bigburd said:

I hear there's problems with remapping the 170bhp TDI... mine should be here in March...

Arse. That's another one crossed off my list then. It will have to be a remapped 3.0TDi A4 instead.

If you want more information on remaps give Ed at APS a shout www.autops.co.uk - People have done it but some varied results ranging from OK to turbo chargers going pop. I would have loved a 3.0TDI!

Out of curiosity are you looking for a new one? If so PM me and I will give you my dealer contact who may be able to do a good discount on a new one

[marctwo]

bigburd said:

marctwo said:

bigburd said:

I hear there's problems with remapping the 170bhp TDI... mine should be here in March...

Arse. That's another one crossed off my list then. It will have to be a remapped 3.0TDi A4 instead.

If you want more information on remaps give Ed at APS a shout www.autops.co.uk - People have done it but some varied results ranging from OK to turbo chargers going pop. I would have loved a 3.0TDI!

Out of curiosity are you looking for a new one? If so PM me and I will give you my dealer contact who may be able to do a good discount on a new one

Not looking at all at the moment, just trying to decide on what to get next when the time is right. At the moment it's V8 S4 vs some kind of remapped TDi. The way fuel prices are going the TDi's are winning.

I know Ed and always get my car serviced at APS. Will have a chat with him next time I am up there.