E39 LPG Conversion
Discussion
I had LPG on one of my previous cars (not a BMW). Fuel consumption dropped from about 30 to 23MPG. Power was down by probably 10% as well. The tank takes up space where ever it's located and the system requires a service once a year in addition to the vehicles standard routine. If you do lots of miles it's possible to re coup the cost, I did in about a year but my system was subsidised by the Government (no longer available).
Personally I wouldn't have another LPG, my BMW diesel is as cheap to run fuel wise and cheaper to service.
Regards
Chris
Personally I wouldn't have another LPG, my BMW diesel is as cheap to run fuel wise and cheaper to service.
Regards
Chris
Where are you based and have you researched any of the kits used? LPG tecnology in the last two years has come on leaps and bounds. yes you may lose some power but most cars can switch between LPG on the motorways for cruising and petrol (flick a switch) for towns. If you are going to do over 12K per annum and want to keep the car for a year or three LPG is a very sensible option. Do your homework and you will be quids in!
sparkythecat said:
I have a 530i Touring and my commute is about to get much longer. Rather than trade to a dag dag I wondered about the economics of such a conversion
Has anyone on here done this?
4.4 X5 I'm running a multiport injection system and it's very cool, just did a run to plymouth 280 miles for £37 petrol rise er bothered!!Has anyone on here done this?
I have a Tinley tech multiport injection system fitted by their local fitter, they were very good and the kit is easy to use it turns on when the engines warm and turns off with a bleep when your out of LPG.
Performance only seems to feel different if you are really pushing to the limit.
belleair302 said:
Where are you based and have you researched any of the kits used?
I'm based near Lancaster and was thinking of paying a visit to these guys to find out more http://www.motorgasconversions.com/
I bought a 330i with the intention of converting to LPG. I have always wanted a straigh six BMW ever since my first drive as a kid in an e30 325 and then later the superb 325is (a South African only 2,7 210bhp e30)
With the mileage I was doing (around 40k pa) a diesel was on the cards until I looked into the lpg conversion.
I had a a new Prins system fitted and it cost about £2300. I had cheaper quotes but I chose the fitter based on their workshop, equipment available and experience with BMW's and 'advanced' cars rather than some backyard guy who converts Landies for 1k!
I kept detailed figures over 5k miles:
Ave cost of LPG (London rip-off prices): 47p
Ave MPG (Trip Computer) 24.84
Actual MPG on LPG: 19.24
Cost per mile: 11p
From about the Midlands up the price of gas dropped to as low as 39p.
I am a bit of a 'hooligan' and demanded allot from the car. Running on LPG the car did have slightly less torque and was slightly less willing to rev to the redline. However, this was only noticeble when really driving it hard. Occasionaly I would treat myself to at tamk of High Octane petrol for a good thrash but the difference was not big-I'm a fussy bugger and notice every little thing!
The throttle response was initially a bit jerky, especially when cold but after some fine tuning of the ECU it felt fine. It was always slightly different to when running on petrol but I quiclky learned to drive around it. It was only really noticeable in stop start traffic-when using petrol (and hence the cars own ECU) the car would feed in some throttle when you let the clutch out allowing easy coasting in 2st or second. The Prins ECU didn't seem to do this as smoothly so Iwould have to feed in a little throttle. This was put down to the fact that the Prins ECU is not as advanced as the Bosch systems that was custom made for that car. Again, nothing major - just me being a bit fussy.
I initially had a problem with stalling when cold or hot. Prins in Holland was called and it turned out that there was some small mod needed to the settings for for 330 engine. I cannot remeber what it was but it was something as simple as turning up the pressure on the gas flow. The fitter needed the engine to be stone cold so kept the car overnight and did in the morning. They gave me a hire car for free which was nice.
The only other problem I had was when the 'Emissions' light came on. This happened when I was low on LPG and I had the accelerator pinned to the floor. The LPG ran dry and the system switched automatically to petrol. The LPG system beeps to tell you it is doing this and you should lift off very briefly. However, I did not lift off and this caused the car to think something was awry. Solved in 5 minutes with a diagnostics check by my fitter.
My only real gripe was the range of the tank and sometimes limited availability (especially in London for some reason )-I would average 144miles between fill ups and would run dry by 170 miles. (I would not always fill up when empty but rather when I saw an LPG station).
I was doing around 500-1000 miles a week so it meant many stops! They could only fit a 45 litre tank 'dooughnut' tank in the spare wheel welll. The tank only took 40 litres as the other 5 was for gas expansion. I was considering a second tank in the boot up against the back seats. If I styed in UK longer I would have likely done it.
You should be able to fit something bigger in the 5 series.
All in all it was a cracking conversion and I loved it. My love of the 3.0 sound kept my faith when filling up for the 2nd time in a day or when finding that the LPG was sold out at my local station.
The kit never actually 'cost' me anything as the 330i was around 2k cheaper than the 330d in the first place.
I miss that car allot....A proper 3.0 petrol BMW engine with 320d running costs....
With the mileage I was doing (around 40k pa) a diesel was on the cards until I looked into the lpg conversion.
I had a a new Prins system fitted and it cost about £2300. I had cheaper quotes but I chose the fitter based on their workshop, equipment available and experience with BMW's and 'advanced' cars rather than some backyard guy who converts Landies for 1k!
I kept detailed figures over 5k miles:
Ave cost of LPG (London rip-off prices): 47p
Ave MPG (Trip Computer) 24.84
Actual MPG on LPG: 19.24
Cost per mile: 11p
From about the Midlands up the price of gas dropped to as low as 39p.
I am a bit of a 'hooligan' and demanded allot from the car. Running on LPG the car did have slightly less torque and was slightly less willing to rev to the redline. However, this was only noticeble when really driving it hard. Occasionaly I would treat myself to at tamk of High Octane petrol for a good thrash but the difference was not big-I'm a fussy bugger and notice every little thing!
The throttle response was initially a bit jerky, especially when cold but after some fine tuning of the ECU it felt fine. It was always slightly different to when running on petrol but I quiclky learned to drive around it. It was only really noticeable in stop start traffic-when using petrol (and hence the cars own ECU) the car would feed in some throttle when you let the clutch out allowing easy coasting in 2st or second. The Prins ECU didn't seem to do this as smoothly so Iwould have to feed in a little throttle. This was put down to the fact that the Prins ECU is not as advanced as the Bosch systems that was custom made for that car. Again, nothing major - just me being a bit fussy.
I initially had a problem with stalling when cold or hot. Prins in Holland was called and it turned out that there was some small mod needed to the settings for for 330 engine. I cannot remeber what it was but it was something as simple as turning up the pressure on the gas flow. The fitter needed the engine to be stone cold so kept the car overnight and did in the morning. They gave me a hire car for free which was nice.
The only other problem I had was when the 'Emissions' light came on. This happened when I was low on LPG and I had the accelerator pinned to the floor. The LPG ran dry and the system switched automatically to petrol. The LPG system beeps to tell you it is doing this and you should lift off very briefly. However, I did not lift off and this caused the car to think something was awry. Solved in 5 minutes with a diagnostics check by my fitter.
My only real gripe was the range of the tank and sometimes limited availability (especially in London for some reason )-I would average 144miles between fill ups and would run dry by 170 miles. (I would not always fill up when empty but rather when I saw an LPG station).
I was doing around 500-1000 miles a week so it meant many stops! They could only fit a 45 litre tank 'dooughnut' tank in the spare wheel welll. The tank only took 40 litres as the other 5 was for gas expansion. I was considering a second tank in the boot up against the back seats. If I styed in UK longer I would have likely done it.
You should be able to fit something bigger in the 5 series.
All in all it was a cracking conversion and I loved it. My love of the 3.0 sound kept my faith when filling up for the 2nd time in a day or when finding that the LPG was sold out at my local station.
The kit never actually 'cost' me anything as the 330i was around 2k cheaper than the 330d in the first place.
I miss that car allot....A proper 3.0 petrol BMW engine with 320d running costs....
PS: The system needed an annual service which was only £25.00 and not even 30 mins work.
It had a small switch and LED gauge fitted discreetly in the dash, behind the steering on the wood trim, completely out of sight buty easy to reach.
I have pictures if you would like to see what it all looked like.
It had a small switch and LED gauge fitted discreetly in the dash, behind the steering on the wood trim, completely out of sight buty easy to reach.
I have pictures if you would like to see what it all looked like.
Be very careful who you go to - there are a lot of cowboys out there.
Even lpga membership doesnt garuntee you good quality - frequently the opposite!
Tinley tech have a mixed reputation, but these guys http://www.wtv-uk.co.uk/ are solid gold!
The have kits for E39s, and numerous tank options.
With a good setup, the power & economy difference should be minimal.
Even lpga membership doesnt garuntee you good quality - frequently the opposite!
Tinley tech have a mixed reputation, but these guys http://www.wtv-uk.co.uk/ are solid gold!
The have kits for E39s, and numerous tank options.
With a good setup, the power & economy difference should be minimal.
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