Ls 430 - Lpg Conversion

[scafwell]

I have an LS430 2001 model. Our company is switching its fleet to LPG (with no problems so far), and I can benefit from the cost saving on the LPG in due course. I've spoken to the LPG conversion company, who have done several succesful LS400's but, as yet, no 430's.

Anyone have any experience of the 430 for conversion?

[andyman1966]

hi and welcome to LOC,

who does your companys fleet conversions???,ive got an lpg ls400 and may need some advice from them .Thanks in advance Andy

[323]

in my opinion i dont think LPG is worhth it really. of course is gonna be expensive if you use the car on ocassional basis like a job in your company that requires lot of travelling & especially a LS430. i would suggest buying a smaller car with a smaller engine to save all that money or perhaps a diesel car. thats what i would do. as i said a much more economical car thats cheaper to run & use the ls430 for leisure time/weekends etc....

[andyman1966]

in my opinion i dont think LPG is worhth it really. of course is gonna be expensive if you use the car on ocassional basis like a job in your company that requires lot of travelling & especially a LS430. i would suggest buying a smaller car with a smaller engine to save all that money or perhaps a diesel car. thats what i would do. as i said a much more economical car thats cheaper to run & use the ls430 for leisure time/weekends etc....

←

depends how many miles u do and how much you like driving your ls ive had mine for 2 1/2 yrs and done over 50k in it and mostly on gas.Could never have afforded it on petrol hence the reason i had it converted as soon as i bought it.whats the point in buying your dream car if you arnt going to drive it most of the time.

[AKY-B]

I have an LS430 2001 model. Our company is switching its fleet to LPG (with no problems so far), and I can benefit from the cost saving on the LPG in due course. I've spoken to the LPG conversion company, who have done several succesful LS400's but, as yet, no 430's.

Anyone have any experience of the 430 for conversion?

hi. i have a 2002 430 that is due to have a lpg conv on 16/10. i use dualfuel systems in woking ,surrey.very good and reliable.i have run merc s320 on lpg with no probs.longer sev intervals too.ideal if u do lots of miles.will post my views once done.

[scafwell]

I have an LS430 2001 model. Our company is switching its fleet to LPG (with no problems so far), and I can benefit from the cost saving on the LPG in due course. I've spoken to the LPG conversion company, who have done several succesful LS400's but, as yet, no 430's.

Anyone have any experience of the 430 for conversion?

hi. i have a 2002 430 that is due to have a lpg conv on 16/10. i use dualfuel systems in woking ,surrey.very good and reliable.i have run merc s320 on lpg with no probs.longer sev intervals too.ideal if u do lots of miles.will post my views once done.

Thanks for the reply. I've been waiting before my warranty expires (Nov 07) before I go ahead with the conversion, so any input on your experiences would be much appreciated. I have my own business & we run 7 vehicles on LPG with a cumul. mileage over approcahing 500K with no probs yet.

Does you innstaller have any commnets regarding the on board computer system? It seems to me that filing on LPG will simply bypass the fuel flow indicator that the computer uses to extablish MPG. therefore it will be useless. Not really an issue for me, but I wondered if they had though about it.

Regards

D

[LexAzur]

Hi

I have sent you a PM

I have an LS430 2001 model. Our company is switching its fleet to LPG (with no problems so far), and I can benefit from the cost saving on the LPG in due course. I've spoken to the LPG conversion company, who have done several succesful LS400's but, as yet, no 430's.

Anyone have any experience of the 430 for conversion?

hi. i have a 2002 430 that is due to have a lpg conv on 16/10. i use dualfuel systems in woking ,surrey.very good and reliable.i have run merc s320 on lpg with no probs.longer sev intervals too.ideal if u do lots of miles.will post my views once done.

Thanks for the reply. I've been waiting before my warranty expires (Nov 07) before I go ahead with the conversion, so any input on your experiences would be much appreciated. I have my own business & we run 7 vehicles on LPG with a cumul. mileage over approcahing 500K with no probs yet.

Does you innstaller have any commnets regarding the on board computer system? It seems to me that filing on LPG will simply bypass the fuel flow indicator that the computer uses to extablish MPG. therefore it will be useless. Not really an issue for me, but I wondered if they had though about it.

Regards

D

[LexAzur]

Hi Scafwell

Did you get the PM i sent you re the questions you asked???

I did have trouble trying to send it????

Hi

I have sent you a PM

I have an LS430 2001 model. Our company is switching its fleet to LPG (with no problems so far), and I can benefit from the cost saving on the LPG in due course. I've spoken to the LPG conversion company, who have done several succesful LS400's but, as yet, no 430's.

Anyone have any experience of the 430 for conversion?

hi. i have a 2002 430 that is due to have a lpg conv on 16/10. i use dualfuel systems in woking ,surrey.very good and reliable.i have run merc s320 on lpg with no probs.longer sev intervals too.ideal if u do lots of miles.will post my views once done.

Thanks for the reply. I've been waiting before my warranty expires (Nov 07) before I go ahead with the conversion, so any input on your experiences would be much appreciated. I have my own business & we run 7 vehicles on LPG with a cumul. mileage over approcahing 500K with no probs yet.

Does you innstaller have any commnets regarding the on board computer system? It seems to me that filing on LPG will simply bypass the fuel flow indicator that the computer uses to extablish MPG. therefore it will be useless. Not really an issue for me, but I wondered if they had though about it.

Regards

D

[AKY-B]

hi .back with an update on my lpg conversion on my 430.running fine at the moment and saving £££££££.due to go back on sat to have the 1000 ml check up and fine tune.still plenty of power there!.fuel computer can be temperamental when running on gas but will discuss with the installer.will post update soon

[aperrett]

I've just done an LPG conversion on my 2004 LS430.

I've now done 1000 miles so have had the initial 'tweaking' service. here's what I found:

Had a BRC multipoint system installed by P&T Autos in Macclesfield

Cost £1850 + VAT

Installed the biggest toroidal tank that would fit in place of spare wheel - I think we got a 69 l tank in there (which gives an effective capacity of 55 ish litres of gas)

Because I did not want to drill through body panels for the fuel filler I went for the older filler system that requires less hacking - so I have the old 'square' cover but it's installed in the bumper so no panel damage. I need to use one of those brass adapters for fill-up, but it's no hardship.

Fuel economy has suffered by just over 20%, which is more than I expected. I've gone from exactly 27 mpg to exactly 21mpg - comparable driving so I think that the figures are reliable. Effective lpg tank range is between 250 and 300 miles (plus of course the petrol is still there too, so total range is pretty huge)

System switches from petrol to gas completely seamlessly and I really can't spot any difference at all on power and driveability. I'm told that power drops, but I really can't tell as I drive the car pretty 'normally'.

So in summary (so far)

Pluses:

- cheap to fill up

- cheaper road tax

- feeling smug

- new 'green' credentials (lpg is a waste product of oil refining)

Minuses

- full economy worse than I'd been LED to expect (which does affect the economics of doing the conversion)

range is only 250-300 miles per tank (doesn't really bother me)

- fewer gas stations than I'd hoped - I thought all motorway stations had lpg. They don't !

- car needs more servicing lpg components every 12000 miles, plus normal car service)

- expense of conversion

Would I do it again. Yes, but would want to study the economics more carefully now that i know how much the fuel economy suffers - it makes a surprising difference to the paypack period

[aperrett]

I have an LS430 2001 model. Our company is switching its fleet to LPG (with no problems so far), and I can benefit from the cost saving on the LPG in due course. I've spoken to the LPG conversion company, who have done several succesful LS400's but, as yet, no 430's.

Anyone have any experience of the 430 for conversion?

Hello,

yes I do have direct experince of LS430 LPG conversion. I have a 2004 LS430 that I bought specifically so I could do the conversion and enjoy cheap/luxury motoring. here's a previous posting with my earlier views:

_____________________________________________________________

I've just done an LPG conversion on my 2004 LS430.

I've now done 1000 miles so have had the initial 'tweaking' service. here's what I found:

Had a BRC multipoint system installed by P&T Autos in Macclesfield

Cost £1850 + VAT

Installed the biggest toroidal tank that would fit in place of spare wheel - I think we got a 69 l tank in there (which gives an effective capacity of 55 ish litres of gas)

Because I did not want to drill through body panels for the fuel filler I went for the older filler system that requires less hacking - so I have the old 'square' cover but it's installed in the bumper so no panel damage. I need to use one of those brass adapters for fill-up, but it's no hardship.

Fuel economy has suffered by just over 20%, which is more than I expected. I've gone from exactly 27 mpg to exactly 21mpg - comparable driving so I think that the figures are reliable. Effective lpg tank range is between 250 and 300 miles (plus of course the petrol is still there too, so total range is pretty huge)

System switches from petrol to gas completely seamlessly and I really can't spot any difference at all on power and driveability. I'm told that power drops, but I really can't tell as I drive the car pretty 'normally'.

So in summary (so far)

Pluses:

- cheap to fill up

- cheaper road tax

- feeling smug

- new 'green' credentials (lpg is a waste product of oil refining)

Minuses

- full economy worse than I'd been LED to expect (which does affect the economics of doing the conversion)

range is only 250-300 miles per tank (doesn't really bother me)

- fewer gas stations than I'd hoped - I thought all motorway stations had lpg. They don't !

- car needs more servicing lpg components every 12000 miles, plus normal car service)

- expense of conversion

Would I do it again. Yes, but would want to study the economics more carefully now that i know how much the fuel economy suffers - it makes a surprising difference to the paypack period

___________________________________________________

Now done about 6000 miles.

- Average fuel economy dropped from 27 average (pertrol) to 21.3 average (LPG)

- driveablity between petrol and lpg is identical

- fewer lpg stations than i had hoped - seemingly only 50% of motorway service stations have it, and obviously much fewer normal petrol stations - Shell seems to be best bet though. Only twice in the last 6000 miles have I had to resort to using petrol only though not being able to find any lpg. Once in Cornwall, once in Republic of Ireland (where LPG is much more expensive anyway)

- had to fill up my little subsidiary oiler bottle once (you MUST get the oiler system fitted if you do a Lexus conversion - you'll get serious engine wear without it and that will be expensive !)

- applied for and received road tax reduction - saving a whopping £9.50 per year ! It was a pain in the nexk to go through this so you might decide not to bother.

Now that novelty of having LPG has worn off, it just seems like a normal car, but cheaper to run

[steve2006]

Can anyone remember the guy from North Ferriby who had the converted LS430, I can remember his name was Pete,he came to several LOC meets at Doncaster,had a bad back and sold the car.

I haven't seen him on her for a while but he may have some useful input.

[floggit]

Can anyone remember the guy from North Ferriby who had the converted LS430, I can remember his name was Pete,he came to several LOC meets at Doncaster,had a bad back and sold the car.

I haven't seen him on her for a while but he may have some useful input.

Hi yep he was called pete haylands as i remember, very knowledgble (cant spell) as i remember.

hope it helps

steve

[floggit]

just remembered he posted pics of the whole conversion,

a search should find it?

steve

[steve2006]

Good memory Simon it is also his username

This should help

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=49175&st=0&p=523342&fromsearch=1entry523342

[floggit]

Good memory Simon it is also his username

This should help

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=49175&st=0&p=523342&fromsearch=1entry523342

The complete post is also pinned in the LEXUS WORKSHOP FORUM section --- for future reference

Simon who ? Lol

Steve

[Adam33]

Hi there guys. I've been looking at this thread with a lot of interest as I want to buy a Lexus 2004 - 2006 ls430 within 2020 at some point and convert it to lpg. 

 

But since by now the car has aged (15years) from an 04 model by now, I just want some advice on the lpg maintenences and what to watch out for, but also the wear and tear to watch out for when looking at buying these cars at this age,weatger that's engine wear and tear and/or body wear and tear. 

 

Kind regards 

[steve2006]

The early LS400s were very over engineered, it is said that Toyota actually sold them at a loss.

The LS430 did not have the same spent on them, for example the exhaust was no longer stainless steel but they are still reliable.

They also have rust problems on the bodywork and de-lamination of the windows.

There is a million mile LS400 somewhere in the world so that says it all really.

If you get a good one to start with ( avoid Dudley!) preferably low owner and FLSH you should be fine.

[Bluesman]

On 10/20/2006 at 11:28 AM, LexAzur said:

Hi Scafwell

Did you get the PM i sent you re the questions you asked???

I did have trouble trying to send it????

hi. i have a 2002 430 that is due to have a lpg conv on 16/10. i use dualfuel systems in woking ,surrey.very good and reliable.i have run merc s320 on lpg with no probs.longer sev intervals too.ideal if u do lots of miles.will post my views once done.

 

Thanks for the reply. I've been waiting before my warranty expires (Nov 07) before I go ahead with the conversion, so any input on your experiences would be much appreciated. I have my own business & we run 7 vehicles on LPG with a cumul. mileage over approcahing 500K with no probs yet.

Does you innstaller have any commnets regarding the on board computer system? It seems to me that filing on LPG will simply bypass the fuel flow indicator that the computer uses to extablish MPG. therefore it will be useless. Not really an issue for me, but I wondered if they had though about it.

Regards

D

 

 

 

[Bluesman]

I can give Dualfuel in Woking a thumbs up apart from the price they charge. I had one Merc 2  litre estate car and it cost me around £3K from them. That was over 15 years ago I have since found another company in South Wales who will do the conversion in a day for around £1K called Profess. They have converted loads of Lexus various models and all with out any problems. They will lend you a car for the day while they do the work.  I have never had any problem with any LPG system fitted by either company. Profess in South Wales are a very helpful and friendly company.