Thread: Considering LPG Conversion....???

V8 Discos guzzle less than petrol Cruisers and Patrols and maybe just a little more that petrol Prados and Pajeros - in the context of the size and weight of the vehicles a V8 disco is not too bad on the fuel.

I investigated gas conversions a while ago and when the whole cost was taken into account - like adding a petrol tank (I didn't want the gas tank inside) it really wasn't worth it. Buying a second hand car that already had it might be different though.

If the fuel issue is an issue then why not consider a diesel!

Gazz

go the gas. I just got my '89 Rangie converted and while i lost some of my boot since i put the tank in the back, i has a smile on my face every time i fill it up. Its like running a 4cyl.

Hi Maxi, if 30K is your budget you should be well clear to buy a good series II V8 Disco and have cash left over to do the conversion. When you factor in the fact that TD5's, good ones with lowish Km's are low to mid 30k mark, you can get a V8 for closer to 25k, even less if you shop around on places like ebay or auctions, and a couple add a couple of grand for the conversion and you still have some cash left over to accessorise it. I bought a TDi Series I but would have loved a series II, i couldnt afford a diesel series II and couldnt afford a V8 with the conversion. My thoughts. Matt

Much appreciated to all with their comments...

I guess, Diesel is an alternative, however I commonly get the following feedback:
* if the Diesel engine has a problem, then it will hit you in the pocket severely
* obviously a bit more expensive than the V8
* obviously a bit noisier than the Petrol

I also hear that with LPG Conversions on the SII's, you don't lose any boot space and that Disco's were never ment to run on LPG?

I'm hoping, that if I do get a Disco and convert to LPG, I get the benefits of saving money at the bowser and don't cause engine damage! I guess a risk one takes with any LPG Conversion!

Maxi

My 93 Disco has been run on gas for almost all of its 200,000k (fitted by the original owner in the first month of having it) and I have to say it runs beautifully on LPG. The oil looks clean and clear, starts within a quarter of a second of turning the key, will happily tow a decent load at 100, and costs me about $27 per 300km at highway speeds. For what the beast is, I reckon that is pretty damn good. It weighs 17 times what my trailbike weighs but only costs twice as much as the Yamaha to fuel. Around town, if I do the 8km hop into work and back, it sucks a heap more gas (or petrol) because it's running on the cold cycle and it takes nearly 15 minutes to get to operating temp. That big chunk of alloy really conducts heat well, but it takes more than 30 minutes running until I can feel the transmission getting even slightly warm.

LPG is very kind to engines on cold starts, and it makes a lot of sense for a town car. Petrol only and diesel motors suffer much more when cold. Sure there are trade offs with LPG if you want to do a lot of long trips off the bitumen, but you have to seriously ask yourself "am I REALLY going to do all those long trips I'd like to?" because I think most of us don't get out half as much as we'd like. The rest of the time, the vehicle needs to make itself useful, and costing $80 per 300km during the week sucks a lot out of the holiday kitty. However, a 300km gas range and a 200km petrol range is still respectable endurance for weekending close to any towns with more than 1000 people in most places in Vic or NSW where both LPG and petrol can be had. Carrying a 20L jerry is not too difficult. I'd take the slight inconvenience of a jerry every time over double the running cost for petrol only for the other 300+ days a year around town.

Another way I factored in the cost of running a LPG setup instead of a diesel is this: even IF the diesel NEVER lunches itself in the most expensive way possible, you'll be changing oil twice as often at twice the cost per change. Fuel economy is not the be all and end all of running costs. When I was looking at GQ Patrols and was still considering TDI Discos, I really wanted a diesel but versus a gased vehicle even the diesel is nearly twice as much to run.

EG: If you take for granted that diesel is about $1.14/L, petrol is $1.05/L and LPG is $0.35/L, and that an oil change is 7L at about $56 per change to cookie crumbled as follows.

Diesel for 10,000km - 2 oil changes and 1200L of fuel works out to be $1424. (Not withstanding any nasty surprises, having to reco injectors, pumps, or replace timing belts every 60,000km which could add another $400 per 10,000km without a struggle)

Petrol for 10,000km - 1 oil change and 2200L of fuel works out to be $2338. (Not withstanding a couple of tunes, plugs and leads which would add perhaps $200)

LPG for 10,000km - 1 oil change and 2500L of fuel works out to be $903! Even with plugs, leads and tuning you are still only at slightly more than half the diesel's potential costs. The potential for serious expenses with Rover diesels seems to get a lot worse by the time you have hit the 200,000km mark, and if buying a s/h vehicle that can roll up very fast. Having spoken to a number of Roverphiles and Rover mechanics, they said that a lot of the diesel repair horror stories were true and that I should think very carefully about my choice because of it.

Hope that didn't muddy the waters too much!

Originally posted by Maxi
Much appreciated to all with their comments...

I guess, Diesel is an alternative, however I commonly get the following feedback:
* if the Diesel engine has a problem, then it will hit you in the pocket severely
* obviously a bit more expensive than the V8
* obviously a bit noisier than the Petrol

I also hear that with LPG Conversions on the SII's, you don't lose any boot space and that Disco's were never ment to run on LPG?

I'm hoping, that if I do get a Disco and convert to LPG, I get the benefits of saving money at the bowser and don't cause engine damage! I guess a risk one takes with any LPG Conversion!

Maxi

If you make sure the right oils get used and it is serviced properly it shouldnt be a problem in terms of engine wear.

Have a look at this one on ebay, a total bargain, and very low Km, and it comes in 10k under your initial budget, think how many mods you could add on for 10k.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...4553705042&rd=1

and TD5 as a comparison, the same price but 50000km high km.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...4553703597&rd=1

Both of these are bloody cheap for what you are getting, the V8 has very low km's and the TD5 is, well, a diesel. There arent many good TD5's around for less than 25k, and most of them have highish km's. Matt

Hi,
I agree with everything MacMan said
I condidered diesal because of the economy and the 'grand plan' of dragging a van around a bit.
During the week however, the disco (S1) is treated just like mums taxi so I went the V8 and fitted GAS.
There are three cons to LPG which, with planning are not really cons afterall.
1. Our van is heavy, real heavy, 21' mid eighties critter, around 1 1/2t laden. This just slurps gas and slows us down to around 80-90 kph. But the disco cruises all day like that. A lighter trailer and you do not know its there.

2. You can pay more in the bush for LPG.....and petrol and diesal. We monitor, and fill up at every opportunity for a fair price.

3. Only 300km avg between fills (200 with the van). Not a prob as we stretch the kids and water the dog and use the facilities etc. A little planning before we go and a spare jerry or two of petrol and bobs our uncle so to speak.

All in all, I opted for a mid range and quality conversion @ around $3k
Done 10000KM since then in 5 months so I have spent approx $790 on LPG vs the same KM on Petrol approx $2200. I have already recouped about $1400 of my outlay.

Chuffed [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img]

Regards
Ralph

If anyone can point me to someone who has converted a SII V8 Disco, I'd appreciate it. I have a friend who wants it done but we haven't been able to find one yet.

Ron