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I've an 'R' plate 1998 face-lift LS400 and am considering an LPG conversion.

I've been quoted £1500, all in, for a multijet which sounds a fair price.

Has anyone got any coimments that might help me - go ahead or not go ahead?

I'm told that the LPG gives about 10% less efficiency compared to petrol but costs half the price, plus LPG is much lower on emissions and would cost less on road tax.

It sounds god to me, even doing low mileage - 8,000/year it should pay for itself in 2 years I'd think.

Your comments and/or ideas would be appreciated please. Thank you.

THANKS TO ALL BELOW WHO REPLIER - KEEP THEM COMING PLEASE!

ANOTHER QUESTION RE LPG CONVERSION - DOES THE PETROL TANK REMAIN IN AND USABLE AND IF SO DOES IT SWITCH OVER AUTOMATICALLY OR MANUALLY.

I WAS ALSO TOLD TGAT A MULTIJET WAS BEST BUT I NOTE ONE REPLIER HAD A SINGLE POINT CONVERSION.?

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Firstly, there wouldn't be any saving on road tax due to the age of the vehicle, it's emissions don't come into it at that age.

I also doubt you would be able to recover the cost within 2 years, based on 25MPG on petrol and 22.5 on LPG, along with petrol at 102.9p a litre and LPG at 59p (what is costs around here) it would take you 22,123 miles to break even or nearly 3 years based on your usage.

The main thing to be careful of, is the level of tax on LPG was based on a 5 year reduction that the government promised in 2005, which means in the next year or so they could increase the rate of duty and make it less appealing against ordinary petrol, probably would still be less, but in either case I think you'll only ever break even on the cost of the conversion rather than actually reap any savings, personally for 8k a year, I wouldn't bother.

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I would say at 8,000 miles a year - no. If you were doing more than 12,000 miles per annum and plan to keep the car for 4 years or more, it's worth a try. The only thing is if Mr. Brown wins the next general election, expect a rise in LPG taxation. (A stealth one) Not too sure what Cameron's intentions are regarding this issue.

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Hi I have mine converted I am also a lowish mileage driver, Duty on lpg has been fixed untill aprill 2014 & will be revised then. from the hmr&c. Just checked on the UK lpg forum.

I am totaly satisfied with my brc multipoint conversion which has more than half paid for itself in the last year. I drive to Germany through Belguim ( 33p a Litre ) A couple of times a year.

The cars resale value is more with LPG fitted ,at least £1500.

The emissions at the mot were nearly zero on the carbon.

Its a cleaner fuel for the engine ( so should prolong engine life)

The engine also runs smoother on it

gas around my way is 49p a litre compared to 106p petrol (so half price motoring for me)

Also I needed a safe comftable reliable mile muncher of a car, But my outher halfs family are very much on the green side so LPG was the only way to justify it.

I also like things a bit different hence Lexus over merc or BM trouble you & lpg against petrol or diesel.

You could also have the kit re fitted to the LS430 you will inevitably upgrade to in a few years & then benefit from cheaper road tax.

I plan on driving my ls 400 into the ground ( I think it could possably be my last car ) now that is green :D

So if I was you I would say yes, You will be quids in by 2014.

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There is a bit more to it than just the mileage/ saving calculation, my older LS400 came with a single point system, I love the "click" as it goes over to gas, I drive it harder than I would on petrol, because I know its half price. Maybe knowing you are not poluting means something to you ( The inside of the silencers is shinny, actualy clean metal, looking down the tail pipe)

Get as big a tank as possible, my range on gas is only 150 miles,

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There is a bit more to it than just the mileage/ saving calculation, my older LS400 came with a single point system, I love the "click" as it goes over to gas, I drive it harder than I would on petrol, because I know its half price. Maybe knowing you are not poluting means something to you ( The inside of the silencers is shinny, actualy clean metal, looking down the tail pipe)

Get as big a tank as possible, my range on gas is only 150 miles,

THANKS FOR REPLY - WHAT MPG DO YOU GT WITH YOUR SINGLE-POINT? tHEY ARE ALOT CHEAPER TO FIT THAN THE MULTI'. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER A SINGLE POINT IS AN OPTION FOR MY '98 PLATE LS 400?

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There is a bit more to it than just the mileage/ saving calculation, my older LS400 came with a single point system, I love the "click" as it goes over to gas, I drive it harder than I would on petrol, because I know its half price. Maybe knowing you are not poluting means something to you ( The inside of the silencers is shinny, actualy clean metal, looking down the tail pipe)

Get as big a tank as possible, my range on gas is only 150 miles,

THANKS FOR REPLY - WHAT MPG DO YOU GT WITH YOUR SINGLE-POINT? tHEY ARE ALOT CHEAPER TO FIT THAN THE MULTI'. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER A SINGLE POINT IS AN OPTION FOR MY '98 PLATE LS 400?

Hi you have to go for the multi point on the vvti engine, I tried the single point it wouldn't have it. ( I was with the guy driving around for about 3 hours trying to set it up, it would run then cut out when you lifted off. Belive me they really did try to get it to work. It cost them money in the end when they had to fit a BRC plug & drive multipoint system, which it runs perfect on, No loss of power & all the mpg computer system works with it aswell. The mark3 & earlier will run OK on a single point (with a risk of blowback).

As for mpg £ for £ I can get 60+ mpg on the run in the UK if I really try & 40+ around town, If I drive it without economy in mind I get 30 in heavy stop start round town & 50 on the run. Going to Germany cost me £39 for 650 miles not hanging around by any means ( cruise control on at 110mph on the German autobahn), due to LPG being so cheap in Belguim.

If you google LPG FORUM you will get a wealth of advice & info on there (Prins or BRC seem to be the kits most suited to the Mark4 ls400) You will also find a good installer on there as there are a lot of cowboys about.

Also go for the biggest tank you can get in the spare wheel well 86litres I believe mine is only 70 which means a 56 litre fill 10 litres more would have been perfect for me ( but due to the delay trying to fit a single point system I didn't have time to wait for a larger tank to be ordered)

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There is a bit more to it than just the mileage/ saving calculation, my older LS400 came with a single point system, I love the "click" as it goes over to gas, I drive it harder than I would on petrol, because I know its half price. Maybe knowing you are not poluting means something to you ( The inside of the silencers is shinny, actualy clean metal, looking down the tail pipe)

Get as big a tank as possible, my range on gas is only 150 miles,

THANKS FOR REPLY - WHAT MPG DO YOU GT WITH YOUR SINGLE-POINT? tHEY ARE ALOT CHEAPER TO FIT THAN THE MULTI'. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER A SINGLE POINT IS AN OPTION FOR MY '98 PLATE LS 400?

Hi you have to go for the multi point on the vvti engine, I tried the single point it wouldn't have it. ( I was with the guy driving around for about 3 hours trying to set it up, it would run then cut out when you lifted off. Belive me they really did try to get it to work. It cost them money in the end when they had to fit a BRC plug & drive multipoint system, which it runs perfect on, No loss of power & all the mpg computer system works with it aswell. The mark3 & earlier will run OK on a single point (with a risk of blowback).

As for mpg £ for £ I can get 60+ mpg on the run in the UK if I really try & 40+ around town, If I drive it without economy in mind I get 30 in heavy stop start round town & 50 on the run. Going to Germany cost me £39 for 650 miles not hanging around by any means ( cruise control on at 110mph on the German autobahn), due to LPG being so cheap in Belguim.

If you google LPG FORUM you will get a wealth of advice & info on there (Prins or BRC seem to be the kits most suited to the Mark4 ls400) You will also find a good installer on there as there are a lot of cowboys about.

Also go for the biggest tank you can get in the spare wheel well 86litres I believe mine is only 70 which means a 56 litre fill 10 litres more would have been perfect for me ( but due to the delay trying to fit a single point system I didn't have time to wait for a larger tank to be ordered)

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Hi. Really interesting reading all this. I have an LS400 registered August 1993. Its got 168,000 miles on it and im getting it back from the repair shop on Wednesday after a rear end shunt. The thing is I normally do about 15,000 miles a year but this will increase this year to about 20,000 to 23,000. Im planning on keeping the old bus for as long as she keeps going through the MOTs. so im thiinking of converting to LPG.

Would i get away with a single point system and if so are these cheaper than the multi point?

My rough calcuations suggest that if i do 23k per annum and get 25mpg on petrol and 22.5 on LPG i should save about £1600 a year.

what are your thoughts?

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Hi. Really interesting reading all this. I have an LS400 registered August 1993. Its got 168,000 miles on it and im getting it back from the repair shop on Wednesday after a rear end shunt. The thing is I normally do about 15,000 miles a year but this will increase this year to about 20,000 to 23,000. Im planning on keeping the old bus for as long as she keeps going through the MOTs. so im thiinking of converting to LPG.

Would i get away with a single point system and if so are these cheaper than the multi point?

My rough calcuations suggest that if i do 23k per annum and get 25mpg on petrol and 22.5 on LPG i should save about £1600 a year.

what are your thoughts?

I think we have the same car, mine has a single point closed loop system ( I think that's right, it links into one of the O2 sensors) I get 14 around town and 20 on a run, on average, sometimes better. behaves beautifully, starts on petrol, when the revs go over about 1500 and you lift of, it changes over to lpg, no obvious difference to how it runs, haven't had any problems with it. I can live with an equivalent mpg (cost wise) of 28 and 40mpg. I'm happy and grinning

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Hi. Really interesting reading all this. I have an LS400 registered August 1993. Its got 168,000 miles on it and im getting it back from the repair shop on Wednesday after a rear end shunt. The thing is I normally do about 15,000 miles a year but this will increase this year to about 20,000 to 23,000. Im planning on keeping the old bus for as long as she keeps going through the MOTs. so im thiinking of converting to LPG.

Would i get away with a single point system and if so are these cheaper than the multi point?

My rough calcuations suggest that if i do 23k per annum and get 25mpg on petrol and 22.5 on LPG i should save about £1600 a year.

what are your thoughts?

At 23,000 miles then it's probably worth having done as you'll cover the cost in about a year.

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Hi. Really interesting reading all this. I have an LS400 registered August 1993. Its got 168,000 miles on it and im getting it back from the repair shop on Wednesday after a rear end shunt. The thing is I normally do about 15,000 miles a year but this will increase this year to about 20,000 to 23,000. Im planning on keeping the old bus for as long as she keeps going through the MOTs. so im thiinking of converting to LPG.

Would i get away with a single point system and if so are these cheaper than the multi point?

My rough calcuations suggest that if i do 23k per annum and get 25mpg on petrol and 22.5 on LPG i should save about £1600 a year.

what are your thoughts?

On your mileage its a no brainer, a single point works well on your model get a good quallity conversion set up well with 2 blowback valves & you wont go far wrong , My mate in lLiverpool done his own basic of basic conversion using good quallity stuff on his 93 LS 400 at 95,000 miles it has 245,000 on it now & still purrs like new, He gets 45mpg £ for £ out of it on a run at 75 / 80 mph. A good single point will cost you £1000 to £1200 fitted. Go on the LPG FORUM to find a good installer near you. A basic kit is easy to transplant into anouther car , You also have no worries about emmisions at mot time.

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I drive to Germany through Belguim ( 33p a Litre ) A couple of times a year.

Do you go by ferry? I ask because last time I used the tunnel (app 6 years ago) they would not allow LPG converstions through, not sure if thats changed, any modern info ont hat? thanks

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Firstly, there wouldn't be any saving on road tax due to the age of the vehicle, it's emissions don't come into it at that age.

I also doubt you would be able to recover the cost within 2 years, based on 25MPG on petrol and 22.5 on LPG, along with petrol at 102.9p a litre and LPG at 59p (what is costs around here) it would take you 22,123 miles to break even or nearly 3 years based on your usage.

The main thing to be careful of, is the level of tax on LPG was based on a 5 year reduction that the government promised in 2005, which means in the next year or so they could increase the rate of duty and make it less appealing against ordinary petrol, probably would still be less, but in either case I think you'll only ever break even on the cost of the conversion rather than actually reap any savings, personally for 8k a year, I wouldn't bother.

On my 430 I get 17-18% less mpg, I recon about 18-19,000 before payback which for me is 18 months ish based on a £1800 install

firstly your install is cheaper so about 15,000 to recover so I recon you are about right on the 2 years. This is of course ignoring the fact that the car will be easier to sell and command a higher price.

LPG price is a factor - 59p is astonomical - I pay 43p.

Shop around - there are often 'energy/gas' suppliers rather than Petrol stations. Some have deals where you pay up front and get a cheaper price. I pay £100 to get gas at 43p otherwise its 47p, still way cheaper than 59p, even my local Shell station is 49p

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I drive to Germany through Belguim ( 33p a Litre ) A couple of times a year.

Do you go by ferry? I ask because last time I used the tunnel (app 6 years ago) they would not allow LPG converstions through, not sure if thats changed, any modern info ont hat? thanks

Hi I go by ferry, I dont use the tunnel every time Ive checked the prices on it, its been way to expensive ( my better half freaks out going under the Thames also, so the chunnel is out) I have my filler mounted on the towbar so it looks like twin electrics, so if you didn't tick the LPG box on the booking they would be none the wiser ( If there was a fire large enough to make the tank in the boot go bang no one would survive anyway).

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On my 430 I get 17-18% less mpg, I recon about 18-19,000 before payback which for me is 18 months ish based on a £1800 install

firstly your install is cheaper so about 15,000 to recover so I recon you are about right on the 2 years. This is of course ignoring the fact that the car will be easier to sell and command a higher price.

LPG price is a factor - 59p is astonomical - I pay 43p.

Shop around - there are often 'energy/gas' suppliers rather than Petrol stations. Some have deals where you pay up front and get a cheaper price. I pay £100 to get gas at 43p otherwise its 47p, still way cheaper than 59p, even my local Shell station is 49p

You pay up front for cheaper LPG? could you give the company name, I would like to find a place like that in Glasgow. thanks

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I just had mine done and quick question i got a 69l tank fitted but ive filled up 3 times. First when it was on 1 green light and i got 46.82l in. I then ran it till it beeped liked crazy and switched to petrol so i guess the tank was empty. Went to fill up and only managed to put in 41.76l. I thought i had done something wrong so i drove another 27 miles and filled it up and only managed to put in 8l. I was told that my tank can fill upto 61l but I dont seem to be able to fill it that much.

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I just had mine done and quick question i got a 69l tank fitted but ive filled up 3 times. First when it was on 1 green light and i got 46.82l in. I then ran it till it beeped liked crazy and switched to petrol so i guess the tank was empty. Went to fill up and only managed to put in 41.76l. I thought i had done something wrong so i drove another 27 miles and filled it up and only managed to put in 8l. I was told that my tank can fill upto 61l but I dont seem to be able to fill it that much.

On a 69 litre tank you will only get a max of 55 litres in ( as long as the tank is level) a few outher factors dictate how much will go in, which pump you fill at, if its colder you will get more in than when its warm. The gauges aren't the most accurate in the world. I have a 70 or 76 litre tank the most ive got in has been 56 litres. generally I get 42 litres in when the last light starts flashing ( mine only starts to buzz when its empty).

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Ahh thanks for that, i was worried that i wasnt filling up properly. I am a bit gutted as 60l would of been perfect as i could do approx 200miles on that.

If you could have got 60 litres of LPG in you should get more than 200 miles out of it, thats only 15 MPG.

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Ahh thanks for that, i was worried that i wasnt filling up properly. I am a bit gutted as 60l would of been perfect as i could do approx 200miles on that.

If you could have got 60 litres of LPG in you should get more than 200 miles out of it, thats only 15 MPG.

I get about 180 miles out of a fill normally 48 litres booting it around London very stop start thats about 16 mpg, 250 to 300 miles on a run motorway speeds. I could get more if I really tried.I have 25 kw injectors fitted in mine which are good for 278bhp full gas maximum. If you have larger capacity injectors fitted maybe the mpg will sufer a little or if its been set up running richer on gas. A lot depends on the kit you have fitted & how well its set up, as to how efficent its going be. My system is one of the new generation plug & learn conversions with its own ecu that piggybacks off the lexus ecu & follows the same map as if running on petrol ( near as possable ) This can also be played around with using a lap top to make the lump run richer or leaner under different loads or speeds.

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The more i follow this thead, the more it seems to me, that there is more to this than meets the eye. For 1, 15 and 16 mpg on LPG is a bit scarey. I know that the roads and how you drive will make a massive difference to mpg. I live in the Lake District which you might think would use a lot a fuel climbing all those hills. But the extra fuel you use climbing hills is saved when you go down the other side. And there is little traffic around here so we dont have any sitting in traffic jams wasting fuel. the other thing is that everwhere i go will be 20 miles+. I get about 23 just driving round and 28 ish on motorway driving. Best ever was 30 mpg on a 330 mile trip, 70-75 max.

Now i know that LPG lowers the mpg but 15 to 16?? And it seems that it also depends on the type or make of system.

It would be really interesting and useful to have some feed back from lpg users as to exactly what mpg they are getting and from what system. So far i have read mpg from 15 to 25 and thats just this thread. Im really keen to get converted but im equally keen to get the best system for my model which i think is an August 93 MK11.

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The more i follow this thead, the more it seems to me, that there is more to this than meets the eye. For 1, 15 and 16 mpg on LPG is a bit scarey. I know that the roads and how you drive will make a massive difference to mpg. I live in the Lake District which you might think would use a lot a fuel climbing all those hills. But the extra fuel you use climbing hills is saved when you go down the other side. And there is little traffic around here so we dont have any sitting in traffic jams wasting fuel. the other thing is that everwhere i go will be 20 miles+. I get about 23 just driving round and 28 ish on motorway driving. Best ever was 30 mpg on a 330 mile trip, 70-75 max.

Now i know that LPG lowers the mpg but 15 to 16?? And it seems that it also depends on the type or make of system.

It would be really interesting and useful to have some feed back from lpg users as to exactly what mpg they are getting and from what system. So far i have read mpg from 15 to 25 and thats just this thread. Im really keen to get converted but im equally keen to get the best system for my model which i think is an August 93 MK11.

Hi my consumption figs on petrol around London were only 18 mpg the best I got was 23 on a Sunday really trying, the point im trying to make is now its on lpg I drive the car,not feather foot it as 16 mpg on gas equates to 33mpg £ for £ if I was to be really carefull Im sure I cold push this up to 40+ £ for £ ( or in outher terms when I drive my Mothers 1.6 vvti corolla auto it costs me a load more to run than my ls on gas) As for different conversions there are loads out there some good some bad, Your best bet is to go on the uk LPG forum there are experts on there who will be able to advise you better than anyone on here as to what is the best kit to have fitted to your model ( for mine it was prins or brc ) you will also find a profesional installer on there. Which is a must as a good kit badly installed is no good. I had a single point omvl kit fitted to my last car a vauxhall omega which worked well on that. Hope this helps it is a bit of a mine field but well worth it in the end. A good installer normaly gives a 2 year warranty & will be more than happy to give you refrences. I wont reccomend mine as they have mixed reports, I was lucky as they were Quiet for the 8 days they had mine so did a good job,outher people haven't been to happy with them as they rush things when busy.

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Ahh thanks for that, i was worried that i wasnt filling up properly. I am a bit gutted as 60l would of been perfect as i could do approx 200miles on that.

If you could have got 60 litres of LPG in you should get more than 200 miles out of it, thats only 15 MPG.

I get about 180 miles out of a fill normally 48 litres booting it around London very stop start thats about 16 mpg, 250 to 300 miles on a run motorway speeds. I could get more if I really tried.I have 25 kw injectors fitted in mine which are good for 278bhp full gas maximum. If you have larger capacity injectors fitted maybe the mpg will sufer a little or if its been set up running richer on gas. A lot depends on the kit you have fitted & how well its set up, as to how efficent its going be. My system is one of the new generation plug & learn conversions with its own ecu that piggybacks off the lexus ecu & follows the same map as if running on petrol ( near as possable ) This can also be played around with using a lap top to make the lump run richer or leaner under different loads or speeds.

If the systems have got that clever, can they link into the computer so that you get the normal display of range and current and average MPG etc ?

Mike

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