L322 LPG Conversion

[skywalker11]

Hi, I am considering an L322 Range Rover with an LPG conversion already done (So I dont have to take the £2000 hit for the kit). What are peoples opinions on this in terms of economy and running costs etc? I plan to be doing about 10 - 15k miles a year.

Cheers

Luke

[Meeja]

Depends how heavy your right foot is!

I run a P38 on LPG, and manage around 220-260 miles on a full tank of gas - which costs around £35

A full tank of petrol will get me around 320-380 miles, and currently costs around £80-90

So to my mind the fuel costs are great.

Remember to bear in mind the servicing costs of the vehicle though - running on gas doesn't halve the running costs of the car, it just halves the fuel bill.

Big difference.

Servicing costs (even with a decent independant) are not cheap with a P38 - and I would suspect similar with an L322.

Ensure that any converted car you look at has a decent system (PRINS is one of the best) and has been professionally installed, and the certificate is with the car's paperwork. You cannot get a replacement LPGA installation certificate, and some insurance companies will want to see a copy of the certificate before insuring you.

Oh yes - make sure you tell the insurance company as well!

Edited by Meeja on Monday 29th June 15:37

[skywalker11]

Does it cost more to service with an LPG conversion?

[Meeja]

Yes it will, you need to get the LPG system serviced annually.

My indy dealer services my car as a traditional petrol car (he doesn't touch the LPG) for the same costs as he would a non-LPG car, and the LPG installer services the LPG system.

Annual LPG service costs around £80

[CMJ]

Hi Have owned both P38 and currently run L322 and both have been converted to LPG. Both cars were serviced by LR main agents and I went once a year to the LPG installation company where they would check for any minor leaks, change a filter and plug into diagnostic equipment to ensure running efficently. All in all no more than 30 mins work and they charged about £45 for doing so.

Regarding LPG - dont worry have now done over 120,000 across both cars and only ever had one problem which was easily fixed. You cannot beat the sound of a petrol V8. (BTW I am about to list my L322 in the classified PM me if interested)

[skywalker11]

Hi, Why are you selling it?

What does it cost to run excactly?

Cheers

[carltonboyce]

LPG is great; V8 noise and power with diesel-like economy. It will seem alien for a while, but once you get used to it LPG-power is unbeatable!

[skywalker11]

Your selling it to me! Carry on, i need more justification for the GF..

[carltonboyce]

Well, don't do what I did and read out the mileage and litres to her after filling up and then get her to read out the result. After 5 miles or so she said "17 miles per gallon; that's not very good, is it?"

After we got over that little hurdle (I didn't tell her that 17 mpg was quite good actually...) we did the same with LPG and got 14 mpg as a result. I tried to explain that it was the cost per mile that was important, not the mpg figure but she didn't listen and still thinks that I'm driving a gas-guzzling monster.

BTW, she has a first in Engineering and is a qualified accountant...

[skywalker11]

carltonboyce said:

BTW, she has a first in Engineering and is a qualified accountant...

Oh dear! Lol Nevermind! So how much does it cost you to run then? Is it an L322?

[carltonboyce]

No, nothing that new. It's a Range Rover Classic, and I pay about 50 pence per litre and get about 15 mpg on average, so the overall cost is about the same as diesel, but it smells and sounds much nicer!

[skywalker11]

Oh ok, still cheap motoring and you get that sexy V8 sound still..

[JW911]

Mine (L322) does 17mpg generally and nearly 20mpg on a steady long run. I get around 250 miles per tank. You will get around 15% greater consumption on LPG than petrol due to its lower calorific value. Still the only way to run one though. Combined with a good specialist for servicing, mine equates roughly to a mid-range BMW in terms of overall running costs.

[Phil.]

Over a typical month my RR S/C fuel costs are about the same as my previous diesel Merc which did an average of 35mpg. That includes the LPG and the cost of the petrol it uses on start and boost. Once on a very steady run I got 20mpg from the LPG but my right foot is not controlled enough to repeat, 17 mpg for mainly motorway use is repeatable. There is no discernable difference in power/performance between LPG and petrol. JE Engineering installed, set up and maintain the LPG system.