Guest Wombat Posted April 29, 2005 Report Posted April 29, 2005 Hi Folks, I am sorry if this is a repeat post, but I can't seem to find any information. I would like to know if an LPG conversion is a good idea or bad idea. I have a R reg 2.3 Ghia X. Do you sacrifice any space? How much would I expect to pay? Does it alter the insurance? Does it cause the value of the car to decrease? Usual questions I suppose. I am just after the pros and cons. Thanks for your help Quote
Andrew T Posted April 29, 2005 Report Posted April 29, 2005 I looked into this when we got our 2.3 last year and was put off for a number of reasons. 1. The Galaxy is not eligable for a powershift grant as it has not been homologated by Ford, so you would have to pay the full cost yourself. 2. I rang an LPG specialist who told me that although people have converted this engine, he considered it unsuitable for LPG as the Valve seats are not hard enough. There is also a thread in the early days of this forum suggesting the same. There is some evidence to support this; Someone recently enquired on this forum about replacing a cracked head on an LPG 2.3. If you look at the on-line Ford transit brochure they use the same 2.3 engine in the factory LPG conversion but it is noted as having hardened valve seats fitted. 3. I would consider not having a spare wheel to be a pain. We have had 6 punctures in the last year! When the Spare wheel winch broke, I discovered that lugging the spare wheel around in the boot is very inconvenient. 4. The LPG doesn't switch in for half a mile or so, so if you do a lot of short journeys you may still use a fair amount of Petrol. Also I understand that (due to the lower calorific value per litre ?) LPG only gives about 2/3 of the fuel consumption compared to Petrol. I reckoned it would take about 60,000 miles just to recover the cost of conversion, leaving aside engine durability issues. LPG conversions seem to have little residual value. Out Galaxy has managed 31.2 MPG over the last 14,000 miles and I appear to be in a minority in thinking it quite economical for it's size. Quote
Ivor_E_Tower Posted April 29, 2005 Report Posted April 29, 2005 I reckoned it would take about 60,000 miles just to recover the cost of conversion, leaving aside engine durability issues. LPG conversions seem to have little residual value. Don't forget this ! OK to buy second-hand if a good lpg systemn is already fitted, but to pay to have one fitted yourself ..... Quote
johnb80 Posted April 29, 2005 Report Posted April 29, 2005 4. The LPG doesn't switch in for half a mile or so, so if you do a lot of short journeys you may still use a fair amount of Petrol. Also I understand that (due to the lower calorific value per litre ?) LPG only gives about 2/3 of the fuel consumption compared to Petrol. Whilst I agree on most of your points, youre wrong on this one. My Range Rover and two other lpg's vehicles I have driven switch over to lpg immediately hot or cols, no problem. The fuel consumption is not as bad as you say especially if you modify the ignition map (lpg has a much slower flame front, my Range Rover ran 50 deg BTDC whilst on lpg) Caio - JB Quote
Guest bosbax Posted April 30, 2005 Report Posted April 30, 2005 Hi Wombat,We got this thread going not long ago and i for one have to say that this engine makes the best conversion i have had up to now.You will find that the valve seats are hardened across the whole range of vehicles and that includes Mazda's who origionally used this engine.I have heard of the cracked cylinder head before on vehicles without the conversion, so it maybe just pot-luck.I had a Romano system fitted which is an injection system and requires that the vaporiser registers 30 degrees before switchover (about 2 miles) but does give you the option to start on gas if needed.As with all these conversions they are only as good as the people fitting them,so try and get someone recommended if you can.Costs involved vary, some wanting over Quote
Masked Marauder Posted April 30, 2005 Report Posted April 30, 2005 You have to have hardened valve seats for the engine to run on unleaded petrol. For this reason most cars have had hardened valve seats since 1998. Quote
Andrew T Posted May 3, 2005 Report Posted May 3, 2005 Transit Brochure. This is what I was referring to. It implies that the engine has been modified internally to make it suitable for LPG operation. Quote
GSMGuy Posted May 3, 2005 Report Posted May 3, 2005 Out Galaxy has managed 31.2 MPG over the last 14,000 miles and I appear to be in a minority in thinking it quite economical for it's size. Ah, so it IS you that drives in front of me @ 12mph every morning..... Seriously though, you must have one light right foot, or sit on the motorway all day @ 60mph, I get aroung 31-32 from my TDi, which admittedly is only town driven for most of the time, but I do like to use the torque... Mike Quote
Andrew T Posted May 3, 2005 Report Posted May 3, 2005 Seriously though, you must have one light right foot, or sit on the motorway all day @ 60mph, I get aroung 31-32 from my TDi, which admittedly is only town driven for most of the time.Not at all, I usually zero the trip computer as I hit the Motorway and try to keep the MPH above 70 and the MPG above 30. As for the rest of the time, our nearest town is 10 miles away and even that has no traffic lights. Quote
Guest Snooper601 Posted May 8, 2006 Report Posted May 8, 2006 Out Galaxy has managed 31.2 MPG over the last 14,000 miles and I appear to be in a minority in thinking it quite economical for it's size. Ah, so it IS you that drives in front of me @ 12mph every morning..... Seriously though, you must have one light right foot, or sit on the motorway all day @ 60mph, I get aroung 31-32 from my TDi, which admittedly is only town driven for most of the time, but I do like to use the torque... Mike You must have a fault on your TDi, my 2.3 petrol does 31-32 mpg at 60 on the cruise control and 25 if I behave normally :angry: Cheers Quote
Masked Marauder Posted May 9, 2006 Report Posted May 9, 2006 Wow, a year between posts! Please don't bump old threads! Quote
windybill Posted December 5, 2008 Report Posted December 5, 2008 my galaxy is 2.3 LPG converted (2000 on a W plate). We specifically bought it as it had been converted to LPG. We've had no major issues, only a juddering when we first got it which we could not work out what was wrong - it turned out to be it needed new plugs! LPG cars are good would recommend buying it already installed or else you have to foot the Quote
big_kev Posted December 5, 2008 Report Posted December 5, 2008 Wow, a year between posts! Please don't bump old threads! Make that 2 years ! Quote
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