Afternoon chaps
My father is considering the LPG Range Rover below,would be greatful for any advice etc as I or he has no experience of LPG vehicles
TIA


http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbi...1119127453

I have a 4.2 supercharged that I had converted to LPG. I spent literally 6 months reading about conversions before having it done and I have probably forgotten most of what I read but I can remember a few bits. LPG kits are like everything else when it comes to buying them - there are recognised brands (Prins, BRC) at the expensive end and then not so recognisable brands at the cheaper end of the scale. Some of the cheaper ones can be bought from the internet and self fitted and then you just find a fitter to "pass" the installation and give a certificate. I would recommend checking the make of the kit and see if it is a recognised brand and do some research on the internet about them - particuarly does anyone locally supply and service them. My experience is that the LPG conversion can be quite technical in its set up and often needs some adjustments in the first few weeks. This will probably have been done on that car and show you shouldn't have an issue but if you did in the future you wouldn't want to find that the only supplier and service dept of that particular kit is based at the other side of the country.
I believe the BMW 4.4 engine is easier to convert than the supercharged or Jag 4.4 engine because there isn't such a requirement for valve lube as the BMW ones are harder and so don't wear, but some recommend always having a valve lube system as a belt and braces approach.

Check were the LPG tank is - most common is a round tank in the spare wheel well meaning the spare wheel has to live in the boot of your garage and a tin of tyre weld is your live saver in the event of a puncture. Some people opt for a tank to be mounted in the boot which reduces boot spaces and kind of limits the use of folding the back seats down for bulky items. The final option is tanks under the car itself but these tend to be rare as they can effect off road operation.

Running wise don't be fooled into thinking that because LPG is 50% per cheaper than a litre of petrol that you will get twice the economy. LPG is only about 80% efficient compared to petrol so your economy will be 80% of that when running on petrol. For example if you averaged 20mpg on petrol then you would get around 16 mpg on gas which cost wise would effectively be 32mpg - these are very broad figures by the way. The advantage with this car is that the previous owner has already taken the hit on the installation costs so you can begin to experience cost savings straight away.

On my supercharged i get about 19mpg on petrol and 15mpg on gas. The petrol tank is 90 litres which here in Poland costs me approx £72 to fill up and i can do about 380 mile so around 19p per mile. My 75 litre gas tank costs me £24 to fill (paying 31p per litre here) and i get around 250 miles to a tank so just under 10p per mile. So I dave approx £1350 per year assuming fuel prices stay pretty similar. If you had paid for the conversion then it would be 18 months or so to get your conversiob outlay paid for but in your case you are saving straight away.

To sum up (sorry this was so long winded - blame the wife asking me to take her to the supermarket because she wanted to "nip" and get something) i am happy with an LPG car, I can't tell any difference when driving on LPG with performance, noise etc and if the car is already converted with a reputable kit that you can get isnpected before purchase then it could be a very cost effective way of owning a V8 FF 2008 TDV8

Jambo27 many thanks for your help
I will pass this on to my father

I think too, you can only used LPG once the engine is up to normal operating temperature. So if like me you only do a 15 min commute, you'll probably find you'd only use LPG on long trips. I decided not to bother with one as I just wouldn't get the use out of it and added to that you can't travel with Eurotunnel with an LPG powered vehicle.

Am i right in saying if you buy a car with it fitted you need an installation certificate to show your car insurer? Ie. when you declare it to your insurer, they'll ask if it was fitted by an approved fitter and expect you to have some proof it was.

You can't go wrong with LPG, had numerous cars with it, that BMW 4.4 is fine running on it..

The injection LPG systems need to get warm before they switch over from petrol, this takes less than a mile as the vaporiser is plumbed into the heater system so bypasses the thermostat and warms up real quick.

Most insurance companies aren't fussed about LPG these days, if it gets stolen then you would need to prove it had it and a certificate of installation will be needed.

If you change the V5 to duel fuel LPG from petrol you can get the RFL cheaper but don't get too excited as it isn't much....

LPG servicing is an easy DIY job, if you service the cars yourself you can do the LPG... Pete

__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand, Jet Interior. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green, Ivory over Aspen Interior (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

I have same car, same mileage with lpg, -and same colour! yes to all above posts. there are better makes of lpg, just make sure it has the LPG certificate, more importantly, make sure there is the service history file, read through it. the big things to consider looking out for in this history, are the gearbox, hopefully replaced, note the mileage. (£2000 job) and at this milage, the engine camshaft chain guides have a limited life. hopefully they are done too. buy a new battery for it. £120. then you are in for a bosch 5 yr guarantee etc.
make sure there are no coolant leaks. allow car to idle a long time on concrete to see any drips.
you wont realisticly find a better range rover for the money its up for. just dont go weak at the knees. theres a wealth of facts how-to's and opinions on this forum. this era of range rover is basically BMW 7 series technology, and reliability, and design etc. these are lovely cars to drive. take your time choosing. the engine, known as 'm62tu44' vanos type engine should sound absolutely spot on, no clattering, tapping or strange noises. search youtube for bad sounding ones, ie people looking for advice etc. car should be seamless when switching over to lpg, you really wont notice it running any different.
they don't really go rusty, except for the rear wheelarch area behind rear door when opened, near to bottom, and sometimes it spreads behind the plastic trim along the sill.

at the least, go and drive it!

That looks like a bargain to me at 5k

Thanks gents

Zirconblue wrote:

I think too, you can only used LPG once the engine is up to normal operating temperature. So if like me you only do a 15 min commute, you'll probably find you'd only use LPG on long trips. I decided not to bother with one as I just wouldn't get the use out of it and added to that you can't travel with Eurotunnel with an LPG powered vehicle.

Am i right in saying if you buy a car with it fitted you need an installation certificate to show your car insurer? Ie. when you declare it to your insurer, they'll ask if it was fitted by an approved fitter and expect you to have some proof it was.

As said a couple of posts back. Takes less than a mile to switch to LPG even on the of coldest days. If it has a certificate it can be registered as a dual fuel vehicle, which saves you on road tax.. Don't get too excited, it's only £10 cheaper ..
It used to be free for LPG vehicles to drive in the london congestion zone but Boris stopped that in 2012.
But LPG vehicles are exempt from the strict london low emission zone.

I run two cars on lpg, a 4.2sc FFRR and a 1999 SL500. I use the SL to commute to the station 12 miles away, and although it takes longer to switch over in winter its done within a couple of miles. The SL had it fitted when I bought the car and was so impressed with it, and the amount of garages that actually supply the fuel as well, I fitted the same system, BRC, to the FFRR when I bought it last year. I have driven 20k in the last 14 months an believe that I paid for the LPG conversion months ago. At my local station I pay 59.9p for lpg while the diesel drivers are putting up with 120.9p, he he he ........  Current:
1999 SL500
2006 Mini One Chrome wrapped
2008 FFRR 4.2sc

I am interested to know when you got the LPG conversion done on the 4.2 SC did you get the autolube?
I have seen one for sale but the viewpoints on a LPG conversion are conflicting to say the least.

Any advise help or words of experience would be great.

Any engine can be made to run on LPG, it is pretty easy to convert a car and there are lots of so called experts out there doing it, there is a list of engines supplied by the LPGA that require the flashlube, the Jag engines are on the list. if the conversion has been done correctly and been set up properly then there is no reason for it not to last the lifetime of the car.

The problem arises when fitters don't use the correct position for the LPG injectors, it is sometimes much easier to just fit them where there is room rather than the optimal position. There is also the importance of fitting the right system to the right engine, the correct size injectors and vaporiser along with the size of the LPG pipe are all things that need doing properly.

When setting up the LPG system it is easy to get the engine running smoothly by making it run rich, this is fine for the first few thousand miles but will start to give problems after a while...

So as you can see it is not just the kit that is fitted, better to have the cheapest kit on the marked fitted correctly than a good system lashed up...

There is no definitive answer to your question, a good kit fitted well and set up well will give you no problems at all, but it is always down to the standard of fit and setting up, the places that offer a one day drive in drive out fitting are usually the ones that aren't done well.

Research on the company that fitted it and going to see them may help, if not get it looked at by a company that comes recommended..

Don't be fed the lines, "they all do that" "well that's LPG for you" "you always get that light on with LPG" and other howlers you hear, a properly fitted and set up system will be absolutely no different than running on petrol.

 Pete

__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand, Jet Interior. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green, Ivory over Aspen Interior (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

I took all the advice from this board and from the fitter who services the lpg on my merc and had the autolub fitted. That was over a year ago and I have topped it up slightly only once in 20,000 miles. I have the brc system in both cars and swear by it. In the first few weeks I had a few teething problems but since then no problems at all. I paid 48p a litre the other week, so a full tank of 75 litres cost me just £36 and I get around 244 miles of mixed driving for that £36. I too spent a long time looking at if it was a hassle converting a RR and with my experience of the merc it seems the doom mongers have either fitted a cheap system so had problems, gone to a dodgy fitter and had problems or are the worst kind, so called purists. Now I don't put low profiles on a 4x4 it isn't lowered or had an aftermarket kit on it, that's where I may be a purist, but complaining about a fuel??. I run my own business and spend money to be tax efficient. That is how I see the cost to convert the RR, I'm now tax efficient with my cars as well. I can also fully enjoy the car and am not stuck permanently in the driving lane at 60mph trying to squeeze every mile out of my fuel. I love the sound of the v8 and enjoy the dropped jaws as I effortlessly glide past most as my lead right foot buries itself into the plush carpet. What's the point in having a supercharger if you don't make it work hard now and again. One you have owned an lpg converted car with a large thirsty engine you will find it hard to own anything else, and now I would assume they are more appealing than their soon to be taxed out of site diesel cousins. Current:
1999 SL500
2006 Mini One Chrome wrapped
2008 FFRR 4.2sc

I'd get the flashlube looked at, you should have used more than that in 20,000 miles....  Pete

__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand, Jet Interior. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green, Ivory over Aspen Interior (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-