Petrol Prices And Doing Lpg Thing

ewans_dad · April 21, 2006

With Bush threatening to nuke Iran (the 4th largest oil producer) , African oil producers breaking out in civil war , the UK having to import oil due to the North Sea fields becoming more difficult to exploit , hurricanes from last year in the US knocking out US oil fields it is not looking too promising for low oil prices and consequently low petrol pump prices.

I believe that this weekend we are expecting to reach an all time high of (an average of) 95.9p per liter based on an oil price of $78 per barrel. Now the really bad news… The futures market for oil in 12 months has been trading over $100 meaning there could be a 20% increase in pump prices in the next 12 months … 115p per liter I hear you cry??

I am sure that this means that most of you may stop buying the premium unleaded and buy regular, I have been considering something a little more drastic and would appreciate some guidance of people that have considered or converted the beloved IS200 to LPG.

The general consensus (from the people promoting LPG) is:

* Almost no difference in performance

* Save 40% on your fuel (full payback within 20,000 miles).

* Duty will be kept at the same low rate by the Government for minimum of 3 years.

* No real difficulty in finding LPG garages.

* No difficulty in converting an IS200.

* A can of ‘Tyre weld’ is a suitable replacement for a spare wheel.

* Service the car as normal and then get your LPG system checked over by a specialist.

* No difference in the insurance premiums.

* Oh. and its good for the environment (not really bothered about this one, if I did, I would be on a push bike).

If anyone has any input (apart from a NOX kit being a better replacement!!) or done a conversion with good points and bad points would be much appreciated.

I have been quoted 1500 to 2200 inc vat if someone has any pictures of a conversion and what to look out for, I would much appreciate it.

Ewan’s Dad

Tango · April 21, 2006

Only one thing on the list I would comment on...don't totally rely on a can of tyre weld.....

Kazi · April 21, 2006

I thought the Lexus models had problems with conversions.

genius149 · April 21, 2006

The general consensus is that you should also get a flashlube system fitted - just do a search on eBay and you should find one easily enough for around £40. Some LPG converters fit them as standard anyway.

The other thing I would recommend is get as big a tank as possible. I have a toroidal tank (fits in the spare wheel well) and it's not really big enough as a tank will only fill to approx 80% capacity, and I would like to travel further between refills.

The bigger tanks that fit in the boot mean you lose some boot space but you can then keep the spare wheel.

Oh yeah, if you travel into london the congestion charge is free, don't know if it makes the Tax cheaper or not yet - I have to wait a few months yet.

ewans_dad · April 21, 2006

The general consensus is that you should also get a flashlube system fitted - just do a search on ebay and you should find one easily enough for around £40. Some LPG converters fit them as standard anyway.
The other thing I would recommend is get as big a tank as possible. I have a toroidal tank (fits in the spare wheel well) and it's not really big enough as a tank will only fill to approx 80% capacity, and I would like to travel further between refills.

The bigger tanks that fit in the boot mean you lose some boot space but you can then keep the spare wheel.

Oh yeah, if you travel into london the congestion charge is free, don't know if it makes the Tax cheaper or not yet - I have to wait a few months yet.

Great, glad to see that I will not be breaking new ground here! How many miles do you get out of a toroidal tank? Are the quoted savings real and have you lost any performance. Apparently you save a whapping 10 quid per year off your road fund license!

Where is your filler cap and does it look okay. Sorry for the rapid fire questions, I am excited to find someone that has already got a system!

genius149 · April 21, 2006

Only a tenner!! oh well, it's half a tankfull i suppose! I've only had the car a few weeks and only driven it for a few days - the 'story' of my car and the reasons for flashlube are in the gs300 section. I don't know if the power loss is that significant, but mine is still plenty fast enough, and just cos a car has been converted doesn't mean it can't be chipped or modified to release a few more horses. I am quite content to just waft up and down the motorway in quiet indulgence. The savings are very real as I have only put a maximum of £19 worth of gas and that lasted me a good 200+ miles. I will know more in a week or two as I get some regular use out of it.

Check out http://www.lpga.co.uk/Contents_f.htm and read up on autogas - it lists all the lpga approved converters and all the filling stations in the uk.

My filler cap is in the bumper very low down so you can't really see it. It causes no problems filling up as you 'lock' the pipe on a bit like formula one. It can be a bit fiddly locking the mechanism though. :duh:

If you do a search on LPG on the forums you will find a few interesting stories and facts. Personally I was considering buying a 4litre V8 Toyota Soarer and converting it, but these are apparently the most complicated engines to work on and the converters would have been scared

ewans_dad · May 30, 2006

Its been a while since starting this topic, thought I would update any future readers on the progress.

from research, it would appear that the best option to go for was one from a company based in Bath with national garages, they seemed to know the most about it, fit flashlube, give courtesy car, and use the latest versions that apparently work best with the IS200, the only thing is the cost of £2326 including VAT. Other systems are available at a lower price but it was my opinion that they were the only ones that I felt I could trust with my car.

I asked if I could speak to a IS200 customer that they had carried out a conversion for and they put me in touch with Brian. Brian was a real gent and did not mind speaking about the conversion and in all honesty the only down side that he could find was that he could not take a LPG car on the channel tunnel! He kept a rigorous diary about his mileage and costs and I trust his figures without exception.

The economics were as follows:-

On Petrol he got 30mpg

On LPG he got 22mpg

(this works out at today’s fuel cost)

Petrol 14 pence per mile

LPG 8 pence per mile

With a 6 pence per mile saving and a cost of conversion of £2,326 the break even point is 38,775 miles which would take me approximately 3 years to break even.

There are obviously other reasons to convert (environment, etc) however, with such a slow pay off, I will not be upgrading to LPG unless either the cost comes down or the petrol prices start increasing much above £1 per litre.

This may well me more attractive to those of you that do high mileage, if it is and you want the rest of the my information, PM me and I will gladly let you have the rest of the details.