Question:
Is converting my car to LPG gas worth it?
Renegade99
2012-04-06 01:39:00 UTC
atm my ute goes through 45litres per 350kms, and i spend upto $150 per week ( 2 fills)

ive read up on gas conversion and have used the calculator, and the numbers tell me that i would be saving $1500 a year and that it would be benificial for me convert considering i do alot of long distance driving for work.

but numbers are not always accurate.

anyone that is running on LPG , can you give me some pros and cons and your expeirence on it, and is it actually worth converting?

i have 1995 toyota hilux 2.4 ute

thanks!
Three answers:
dinkydionline
2012-04-06 15:57:15 UTC
I have been running on LPG for 18 years now, and have owned many cars with LPG fitted.

I am a car enthuisiest and usually own 4 or 5 cars at any one time.

At the moment I have 5 cars, 3 on duel fuel, 2 without, the cars with duel fuel are registered and used often, the petrol ones only on special occasions.



With the Govt rebate of $1250, it shouldn't cost you more than $1000 to have your vehicle fitted with LPG, if anyone quotes more than $2250, look elsewhere, my last one was a difficult, specialized fit, and only cost $2300.

Youwould preferably have the gas mounted under the deck, which requires a shroud, this may cost a little extra.

The cost of the conversion would be saved in your 1st 90 days if your doing a lot of kms, loss of power is small or even non existant, but there are a few things to watch out for when fitting.



You don't say if its a 4 or 6 cylinder, I wouldnt hesitate if its a 6, but give it more consideration if a 4.



Is it carburator or EFI? although carby models work well with LPG, the gas dries out the seals and tends to block the jets, making it harder to run on petrol over time, EFI is a far better system to run LPG.But both systems need to run petrol for an hour or so every week to keep them working.



My 4 litre 6 cyl gives me 420km on 60 litres of LPG, or @73.5 c a litre yesterday,$4410. 68litres of petrol @ $1.39 takes me 580 km, = $94.52.. I'll let you do the math.



Fitting LPG will not make your car more valuable when you come to sell, just more interesting to buyers, I never fail to sell an LPG car quickly, but never get any more than I would if it wasn't fitted with LPG.



How long will you keep the car? I never fit LPG to a car I don't plan on keeping for at least 18 months, I just sell it off a bit earlier.



Shop around, ask people with LPG cars, the best fitters in your neighbourhood, when you find the right company to fit it, ask questions, where will the tank go? where will they fit the fuel guage in the dash? I prefer my guage on the console, but fitters like to put them on the dash.warranty and servicing?



The first car I bought fitted with LPG, I really didn't want, but it was the only car in my price range, after 2 weeks I swore I would never own another car without LPG, I still feel the same way.
DrkLce
2012-04-07 14:24:20 UTC
If the LPG price keeps going up probably not the break even point for LPG is 1.15 versus 1.5petrol. By the time LPG hits 1.15 per litre it is no longer worthwhile just a thought LPG consumes upto 30% more for the same amount of energy. You can get a Gas rebate to 60 June 2014. If you spend 4k on a gas conversion you will get a 1.5k rebate putting you out of pocket 2.5 the 1st year you would save nothing then the savings will start year after that. Unless you keep the car for 3years or more its not worth it. The cheaper systems will also loss you 20-30% power if it is a venturi mixer.

1.Grants for LPG conversions of registered vehicles:



Grant

Conversion Completed



$1,500

Between 1 July 2010 and 30 June 2011



$1,250

Between 1 July 2011 and 30 June 2012



$1,000

Between 1 July 2012 and 30 June 2013



$1,000

Between 1 July 2013 and 30 June 2011



2.Grants for the purchase of new vehicles fitted with LPG before first registration:



Grant

Vehicle Purchase Complete



$2,000

Between 1 July 2010 and 30 June 2014
anonymous
2016-03-20 06:17:37 UTC
You would probably pay for the installation in a year or two, but LPG installations can cause problems on many cars to the point where everyone who owns one is recommended NOT to get an LPG conversion on them. Also, I am yet to find ANYONE with a completely trouble free LPG conversion, and you still have to run it on petrol sometimes to keep everything lubricated. If you want your engine to last, then don't mess around with the most reliable and indestructible car in the world!!


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