Although converting your prde and joy ,to gas,and saving on fuel bills,and making any warranty you might have,obsolete,has anyone converted .
does anyone know anyone who has with a lexus
i would imagine ,that there would be a loss of power,in acceleration,but top speed would be fairly similar,has anyone got any information

Don't do it mate its not recommended at all,as some Lexus owners have suffered burnt out valves

Thanks for the info, we were going to consider changing our 93 LS to LPG as we now have a few stations stocking this fuel now but are thinking again!


Paul W
County Durham

Paul.
Speak to stej. He has been running his GS on gas now for quite some time and has not had any problems whatsoever. I guess all the scaremongering that you hear are all from Bodgit and scarper type conversions. Steves has been done really well.

Iv'e been running my 1992 LS400 on LPG for a while (115,000 miles) and had no problems at all. Slight drop in power, but the fuel saving more than makes up for this.

If you are going to do it - do it proper (ie: an approved installer - I got a 10 year "unlimited mileage" on the conversion)

Hi everyone. I am new to this forum. I have read some of the comments regarding the gas conversion. I have a 1994 LS400 and it was converted to LPG about 3 yrs ago. It has never broken down since the conversion and has saved me an awful lot of money since i've had it. It only requires a gas service once a year - and that's it - This baby will keep on running!!!! By the way - i am selling it to put towards a newer one - which, of course, i will be converting to gas!!

where did you get it done, and how much was it?

Bob there is a company in Brimpton that can do gas conversions if you are interested I can forward their details.

I know for a fact that all their installers have all the necessary certificates on gas conversions.

Send me a private e-mail if you want the details.

Happy New Year

Maria

BMW boast that their cars have a 49/51 or thereabouts weight balance. I presume the 1% difference accounts for the driver.

Lexus are not quite as fanatic about weight distribution but they're roughly about the same. Just think what an LPG conversion will do to mess that up.

50/50 is not always good for a rear wheel drive car. If you have more at the rear then under acceleration the weight is shifted to the rear and you get most over the rear wheels for traction. Under braking the weight shifts forwards and you get nearer 50/50 for stable braking.


Anyway with LPG you wouldn't keep your petrol tank full, just a little bit in there so you can use it if needed, and as the LPG tank is normally smaller the combined weight wouldn't be more than carrying a full tank of petrol.

hadn't thought about weight distribution, but as my LS is going to be driven like a luxury car, not a sports car (hence don't mind power loss of 15% or so), it probably won't matter. and colin's comments make sense too, so assuming the cost/payback works out, i'll probably do it.

My LS400 is running on gas. Only had it a couple of months, but no probs so far. The chap who converted it seemed very competent, and told me to bring it back if I had any probs. I have his no. if your interested, he is just outside Reading

i am in the process of buying an ls400 1993 model. it is at the moment getting an lpg conversion installed. should get the car in about a weeks time. costs approx £1500 plus vat. this is the latest conversion for a v8 available.
i have had the lpg conversion installed on my last two vehicles. the last one being a rover sterling v6 2.7 honda engine. for the last three years it has run like a dream. i have had no running problems what so ever with the engine.
i have read various posting about the lpg conversion to the ls400 and some owners have been having problems. i can only assume that they have got the wrong conversion installed for their vehicle. there is not a ``one conversion fits all``. you have to install the correct conversion kit for a specific vehicle.
i would suggest that you go for it and get in done. not only is the fuel cheaper but the lpg is also kind to your engine. because there is no carbon burning. your engine is sqeaky clean internally and your engine oil does not deteriate. therefore you have the added bonus of less breakdowns saving £££££££ssss.
jack.

anyone thinking of a lpg conv go to the lpga site(google it) to find ur nearest installer-all reputable with warranties.looking at £2200-£2600 for a v8 eng and 5 days if done properly

hi thinking of having my ls400 dhp 99 t converted to lpg but here of all these horror stories about gas running hotter than petrol and damaging the engine can any one give me some honest advice regarding this matter. honestly i a really confused??

My GS runs just fine on LPG. Make sure you get a Flashlube kit fitted though (insist on it). If you don't know what I'm talking about, look it up on Google or eBay.

HOW ABOUT AS REGARDS TO HIGHER RUNNING COSTS BECAUSE OF LPG BURNING HOTTER EG S PLUGS L SENSOR AND LEADS ETC I AM JUST BEING EXTRA CAUTIOUS BECUASE I AHVE HEARD OF SOME HORROR STORIES.

I had an extended conversation with Lexus Tech (Japanese Board Level) during Silverstone GP a couple of years ago.
He stated that in extensive testing of LPG it was shown that damage was done to the engine. I dont recall if it was a specific model that had been tested.

see this the thing some people it can damage your engine and some people it does not damage your engine i am really confused shall i get it done ver confused?????

As Exobex states, get a flashlube system fitted. The majority of horror stories come from people either not having this system fitted or not running it on petrol enough (approx 1/4 of the time). The petrol thing is not really necessary with flashlube, but helps with the lubrication and all the other good things that unleaded has in it. LPG does run hotter and a lot cleaner - it has an octane rating of 112 IIRC.

Regarding weight, I am sure I read somewhere that the gas in the tank is actually lighter than air so having the system fitted shouldn't affect the balance too much, certainly no more than having a suitcase or a bag of golf clubs or if you are a gangster, a bodybag in the boot.

My GS has just done 45,000 miles since conversion with no major problems - the minor ones were due to the previous owners lack of servicing. If you are doing the mileage then it really is cost effective, and the V8s are supposedly a lot easier to convert than my 6 pot.

I took the LS for an MOT a few months back and I always go to the same garage.

I was having a chat with the owner of the garage and he was telling me that apart from my LS he has another customer who owns a MK4 LS400 and a LS430. He was saying that this guy uses both his LS for chauffeuring and had his cars converted to LPG since he covers long miles.

I was told that the Mk4 LS400 has covered over 220,000 miles and is still running very sweet with the LPG. The LS430 has covered well over 100,000 and again is still running fine on LPG. He says that the secret is to go with Italian made kits since they are of better quality (I don’t know enough about LPG to say why). But apparently the Italians were using LPG fuel even before WW2 and they seem to have got things right with their kits through years of experience.

I have also heard horror stories and I will personally stay away from LPG. At the same time many people have had a good experience.

hi.been running my 2002 ls430 on gas for 32k now.what a car! all my customers(chauffeur) say its better than any merc!.get a proper conversion cos it pays in the long run.i average 44mpg in monetary terms!!! hopefully there will be green tax benefits due soon

Hi can anyone help me with this one? i had a LS mk2 which i had converted when i bought it 4 1/2 years ago and never had any problems in 65k.My prbolem is ive now bought a mk4 and want it converted to gas,does anyone know if and how it will affect or work with the computer for the mileage ect on the dashboard.
Many thanks in advance Andy

I just converted my Mk1 and it seems fine so far.
I have read that you cannot do a lot with the trip MPG meter without a lot of extra jiggery pokery but the actual LPG should work fine.

HI.My 2002 430 was done 7 mths ago have done 30 k with no problem.talk to a reputable installer(found by googling lpg installers uk) and chould have no probs.the trip computer i found can sometimes be slightly misleading but i believe can be sorted out for an more accurate reading.

i have now been running my LS400 93 on LPG for the last two and half years. during that time i have driven to south spain 4 times on holiday, from scotland, plus your normal everyday running. apart from some teething gas problems at first, which was quicklly sorted, the car has behaved perfectly and is still running like a dream. the car has now done 37thou since gas was installed. i was seriously considering upgrading to the LS430 but this car is running so well that i am swithering whether to change or not. i even put an extra gas tank, doughnut shape, where the spare wheel sits becuase of the distance covered by driving on holidays to spain. between the two tanks they hold approx 100ltrs of gas. i get approx 500 miles of motorway driving 85-90mph. so safe to say no problems with the LS400. would be interested to know of any diffuculties with the 430 conversion?

had my 2002 430 donelast year.done 37k no problems.i am a chauffeur all my customers say it is very smooth and ECONOMICAL.

HI GUYS SINCE LAST TIME I HAVE HAD MYLS400 CONVERTED TO LPG BUT NOT TOOIMPRESSED PAID £1800.00 FOR A SEQ SYSTEM WITH A 90 LITE TANK ACTUALLY HOLDS 68 LITRS OF GAS AND I STILL HAVE DECENT BOOT SPACE I SUPPOSE. BUT ON A FULL TANK ONLY GAVE ME 195 MILES TOWN DRIVING BEFORE IT COMP RAN OUT OF GAS I KNOW UR SUPPOSE TO RUN IT FOR 1000 MILES BEFORE GOING BACK FOR A CHECK I HAVE ONLE COVERED 300 ODD MILES ALSO HAD FLASH LUBE KIT FITTED. THE ONLY THING I NOTICED IS IN THE MORNING ON START UP IT GIVES A DECENT AMOUNT OF BLUE SMOKE GOES AWAY AFTER 1 MIN OR SO, THIS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE THE LPG CONVERSION. I NEED TO SPEAK TO THE GUY WHO FITTED IT WHO WAS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BY MY FRIENDS WHO HAVE HAD A FEW CARS DONE IN SOME SRTETCH LIMOSANY IDEAS? SHOULD I BE WORRIED

yes you should be worried. with the proper conversion kit for these cars, the LPG should not kick in until there is some heat in the engine. this depends on the ambient temp. normally the LPG will kick in within 1/2 mile run. if this smoke is noticable first thing then you should actually be running on petrol. im no mech but looks like oil seals to me. in regards to the MPG. you should be getting more than this. these tanks have a safety system. you cannot actually fill them full up. there should be about 18% clear in the LPG tank for fuel expansion. this ofcourse could be doctored to give you a little bit more but never full. the system i have is italian. someone has already mentioned this on another post. very good system and they are always upgrading their system with various safety features. my LS430 goes in for conversion on the 21may07. this will be my 4th conversion with the same italian system. and the same installer.
it does seem strange that your problem only started after you had the conversion done. was it fitted by a recognised installer? or by someone you just know?
take the car back to him now and complain. there is a chance that he could have altered something in the cars managment system during installation. take it back now.
good luck. jack.

thanks for the advice i will take it back to the fitter how much did your man charge you and yes mine was a italian system but like i said the smoke in the mornings was never there before conversion and it can t be the oil seals i ahve only done nearly 500 miles now since switching to lpg. maybe its needs setting up or a gas leak maybe. if any one else can shed some light on this it will be greatly appreciated

come on guys no help on this one i have covered 850 miles on my newly convered ls400 and my cosumption is 195 miles max urban driving on full tank which is about 68 litres. acan any other ls400 owners who have had the cars converted please input on this topic thanks.