I Fancy A Lpg Converted 430

[colinrobinson]

Had several ls400's current one is a mk4 Ls 400 thats done 140k, but i fancy changing it for an lpg converted 430 ive seen with 100k on the clock.

not sure about the lpg conversion but I fancy it, Is there anything i need to watch out for ?

Im wondering if this model requires the oil reservoir ive seen people chatting about ?

Regards

Colin

[Bluesman]

Had several ls400's current one is a mk4 Ls 400 thats done 140k, but i fancy changing it for an lpg converted 430 ive seen with 100k on the clock.

not sure about the lpg conversion but I fancy it, Is there anything i need to watch out for ?

Im wondering if this model requires the oil reservoir ive seen people chatting about ?

Regards

Colin

I have run on LPG for the past 16+ years and had all my cars converted and never had a lubrication system fitted on any of them.

If it runs on Unleaded then LPG will not do any damage to your engine. LPG also has far fewer contaminates to hurt your engine over petrol.

You will not regret it just be sure you can trust 100% the people who are going to do the conversion. If you have any doubts about them stop and go somewhere else.

If your buying a car already converted BE VERY CAREFUL and check first that there is no smell of gas inside or outside the car, if you do smell gas don't take any excuses just walk away and quickly as you are looking at a bomb.

Next make sure that they have the LPG certificate for the car if not walk away.

After that look at the conversion and satisfy yourself that it looks like a professional installation.

Finally check with your insurance company that they will accept your car being converted if not you will have to find one that will, its getting rarer that they wont accept you but always best to ask first.

Profess in South Wales have done my last two conversion at £1400 which has now dropped to £1200 inc VAT and the bonus of using them is they will do it in a day and lend you a car for the day. I have never seen anyone post anywhere they have had a problem after using them. Both our cars haven't missed a beat.

Before that I used a company called Duelfuel in Woking Surrey they always wanted a week and wanted nearly £3K to convert the Lexus which is why I started looking round for a better deal. £1200 and Car loan for the day, its a no brainer.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Mike

[colinrobinson]

Thanks, mike,

Usefull advice, wouldnt have known about the required lpg certificate.

Cheers

[mikesands]

if you are buying one already converted then as long as you aren't paying a premium, you should save money. Just not as much as you might think. Mine has averaged 30% worse than on petrol despite having just about everything changed and tweeked to try and improve the MPG.

Mike

[colinrobinson]

Guys I did go for it,

picked the car up yesterday, had certificate and sailed through the insurance after they checked a central LPG database for the car, the certificate stated BRC system fitted at 70000 miles it has done 90 k with it so assumed it is fine.

You cant beat that feeling of filling her up for the first time at £38 :-)

Only thing ive noticed so far thats a bit weird if I put it in sports mode and put foot down hard (the 430 goes a bit quick if you do this) the lpg seems to beep a warnig at me a beep beep beep till i hit the control button to go to petrol. Im guessing Ive hit some limit of the system. can anyone explain.

but as has been said before on the forum you can hear road noise on the 430 that ive never heard from the Ls400, I assume this is just tyre choice I usually go for michelins on the 400 whats the queitest tyre for the 430 ?

and ... it turns out my son(15) has an Air conditioned & Heated Massaging electrically reclining sofa in the back that i havent got in front :-(

[Bluesman]

Guys I did go for it,

picked the car up yesterday, had certificate and sailed through the insurance after they checked a central LPG database for the car, the certificate stated BRC system fitted at 70000 miles it has done 90 k with it so assumed it is fine.

You cant beat that feeling of filling her up for the first time at £38 :-)

Only thing ive noticed so far thats a bit weird if I put it in sports mode and put foot down hard (the 430 goes a bit quick if you do this) the lpg seems to beep a warnig at me a beep beep beep till i hit the control button to go to petrol. Im guessing Ive hit some limit of the system. can anyone explain.

but as has been said before on the forum you can hear road noise on the 430 that ive never heard from the Ls400, I assume this is just tyre choice I usually go for michelins on the 400 whats the queitest tyre for the 430 ?

and ... it turns out my son(15) has an Air conditioned & Heated Massaging electrically reclining sofa in the back that i havent got in front :-(

Beep beep. Some systems beep before you run out of LPG.

Mike

[Dale_V]

it sounds like its beeping because its switching back to petrol as at the higher revs/power the lpg system cant meet the demand of the engine. possibly due to the hardware or how the lpg ecu has been mapped.

This is something i was fearfull of happening when i had my lpg fitted, as ive read some systems are set up this way, thankfully my set-up meets the engine demands and stays on lpg at any revs at any speed :)

[bookend]

Sounds like the system can't supply enough gas under full load.

Could be a set up issue or the filter may need changing.

[colinrobinson]

thanks,

contacted original installer who remembered installation and suggested the filter as it didnt have the issue at installation, and he hasnt seen car back in for service since, though customer has been back for another installation recently on his new aquisition.

[bookend]

Hope the filter sorts the issue should be a cheap easy fix.

[Thunderchild]

The problem is down to the fact that there is not enough gas being transferred from the tank when you boot the car hard. It could be the filters because the pressure is measured after them. It's the drop in pressure at the injector side of things which causes the switch back to petrol. The beep beep beep is telling you that it has gone back to petrol and it will stay that way until you switch it back to gas. On some systems this can mean switching the ignition off and back on again. The other potential cause is the pipe from the tank to the vaporiser having too small a bore ie 6mm instead of 8 or 10mm.

HTH

Tc

[H20OUS]

Hi Colin,

This sounds like my old LS430, If its a 51 plate Amberley Gold with Ivory Leather interior send me your details by email and we'll have a chat !

Best regards

Phil

[abs66]

The plot thickens.

[colinrobinson]

yep phil its obviously yr old one, old private plate is yr user name, sent you a private message, I think the issue switching back to petrol is sorted lpg engineer replaced lpg filter and lifted system pressure. not found a decent stretch of road to give it a good run yet though to test ...

had 99,900 on the clock when i bought it, you could have put a bigger lpg tank in it I'm filling it twice a week at the mo ...

[Bluesman]

yep phil its obviously yr old one, old private plate is yr user name, sent you a private message, I think the issue switching back to petrol is sorted lpg engineer replaced lpg filter and lifted system pressure. not found a decent stretch of road to give it a good run yet though to test ...

had 99,900 on the clock when i bought it, you could have put a bigger lpg tank in it I'm filling it twice a week at the mo ...

How many miles are you getting to a fill and how much in liters is the fill>

Mike

[colinrobinson]

Tank is taking 50-51 litres a fill (I understand now that a 75 litre tank doesn't fill to 75 litres) Fitting a bigger tank now is about 450 quid apparently. the way I'm driving it at the mo which is a bit harsh as I'm having fun with it its doing 24-26 on petrol and 22-24 on lpg. Though you obviously can't trust the trip computer any more and both the Boot and the Petrol tank is full adding weight.

Just done nottingham to poole in dorset on about 3 quarters of a tank spent more on costa's coffee than gas ...

[Bluesman]

Tank is taking 50-51 litres a fill (I understand now that a 75 litre tank doesn't fill to 75 litres) Fitting a bigger tank now is about 450 quid apparently. the way I'm driving it at the mo which is a bit harsh as I'm having fun with it its doing 24-26 on petrol and 22-24 on lpg. Though you obviously can't trust the trip computer any more and both the Boot and the Petrol tank is full adding weight.

Just done nottingham to poole in dorset on about 3 quarters of a tank spent more on costa's coffee than gas ...

Fantastic. Enjoy. Mike

[abs66]

Hi Colin how many miles do you get from a whole tank full? I've just just had lpg fitted with a 77 litre tank I've done 220 on this tank full so far. Half motorway half round town.

[abs66]

Hi Colin how many miles do you get from a whole tank full? I've just just had lpg fitted with a 77 litre tank I've done 220 on this tank full so far. Half motorway half round town.

[colinrobinson]

keep forgetting to set the trip, but around 250 to each fill, I suppose it doesn't fill to capacity and doesn't empty completely, its a 430 so not exactly economical on petrol.

My advice to anyone so far would be to leave the spare tyre in the well, and fit a decent sized tank in the Rear , place a small partition in boot so its out of sight and get used to a smaller boot, unless you enjoy standing and the pump watching other people being taxed to into poverty ...

apparently you can buy a hybrid and still get it converted to lpg when its on petrol. So its a 450h next on the shopping list or even 600h that should have some room in the boot ...

[Bluesman]

Tank is taking 50-51 litres a fill (I understand now that a 75 litre tank doesn't fill to 75 litres) Fitting a bigger tank now is about 450 quid apparently. the way I'm driving it at the mo which is a bit harsh as I'm having fun with it its doing 24-26 on petrol and 22-24 on lpg. Though you obviously can't trust the trip computer any more and both the Boot and the Petrol tank is full adding weight.

Just done nottingham to poole in dorset on about 3 quarters of a tank spent more on costa's coffee than gas ...

It only fills to 80% of its capacity to allow for exspansion of the gas.

Mike

[AKY-B]

I WOULD PERSONALLY GO FOR THE LUBE AFTER HAVING MY VALVE SEALS damaged on my old 430

[colinrobinson]

Doing a regular 25 mpg now, motorway cruising 20 mpg on the other roads but don't do much of that, any probs sorted by the LPG service

[brendangeorge]

keep forgetting to set the trip, but around 250 to each fill, I suppose it doesn't fill to capacity and doesn't empty completely, its a 430 so not exactly economical on petrol.

My advice to anyone so far would be to leave the spare tyre in the well, and fit a decent sized tank in the Rear , place a small partition in boot so its out of sight and get used to a smaller boot, unless you enjoy standing and the pump watching other people being taxed to into poverty ...

apparently you can buy a hybrid and still get it converted to lpg when its on petrol. So its a 450h next on the shopping list or even 600h that should have some room in the boot ...

You won't be able to convert the 600h it has a direct injection engine (so does the 460) I have an 85 litre tank in my 430 which give 65l usable capacity and about 250 miles range. I used to just carry tyre weld but with the sate of the roads I carry the spare theses days.

Brendan (Big LPG fan)