Hi People, new here, 2nd Question

[Sim]

My nice shiny new (W reg?) Xantia (see the other new here thread) is a standard petrol variant, and I was wondering about the general opinion about LPG conversion.

I have found a website that claims to have a kit/unit that will bolt straight into the injection system, and so doesn't need the head to be drilled or whatever, all you need to do is choose the tank.

I thought about finding out about a spare wheel tank that would go in the cage underneath, but a friend said that I couldn't do that because the tank has to be a certain height above ground and when the car sinks it will violate this.

Also, is it worth it, from what I understand LPG is living on borrowed time in terms of the tax savings, I'm not planning on parting with the car if I can help it so the cost of installation isn't my worry, I would gladly like to hear some opinions on this.

If anyone is interested, this is the URL of the company that sells the conversion kits.
http://www.lpg-kits.com/

[Peter.N.]

Personally I wouldn't bother, its a lot of hastle and I doubt it would cost less to run than a diesel and wouldn't be as nice to drive.

[deian]

If i remember correctly Citroen made an LPG versions of the 1.8i, so it is possible, go find one and copy how Citroen have done it.

Problem with the conversion kits is that you need to do a lot of mileage before the kit pays for itself. Up until then there is no saving. You got to be doing a lot of mileage for the 'hassle and initial cost' to be worth it.

I may change to that if i find my 660mile round trip to see my gf in norwich costing me too much (2.1td now).

[Mandrake]

If i remember correctly Citroen made an LPG versions of the 1.8i, so it is possible, go find one and copy how Citroen have done it.

Problem with the conversion kits is that you need to do a lot of mileage before the kit pays for itself. Up until then there is no saving. You got to be doing a lot of mileage for the 'hassle and initial cost' to be worth it.

I may change to that if i find my 660mile round trip to see my gf in norwich costing me too much (2.1td now).

660 miles!! Perhaps you should just move closer together...

Regards,
Simon

[Peter.N.]

The Xantia with the 2.1td should be more economical than the the 1.9, depending on how you drive of course. My 2.1 td XM estate will do 50 mpg + and its a heavier car.

[mezuk04]

Have several other gf's on the way, equally spaced of course.

Generally LPG conversions seem a little pointless if like previously said you do mega mileage. It seems to be FACT that the government has no interest in the scheme (forgot proper word) of giving money for conversions.

Also from what ive learned there is about a 20% power loss.

How about purchasing a slightly older Xantia diesel

[jgra1]

hmmm..been toying with the idea of fitting this to my V6 Xantia. I am thinking the total cost (of self fit) including checking is going to be around £1000

The thing is, it wouldn't take that long to get that back, at the end the car should be worth more, especially as its an exclusive model, and I can always remove the kit and put in a different car....

I need to drill manifolds - which I am ok with, but there is very little room under the bonnet

John

[jeremy]

The real problem with LPG is how well is it going to work - and of course your car is an expensive one off! What do you do if the thing turns out to be unpleasant, unreliable or expensive to run?

At this price range i think its better to buy a known quantity like a diesel.

[mezuk04]

at the end the car should be worth more, especially as its an exclusive model

I personally doubt this, if its correct about the substantial power loss then there is little point in owning a nice fast car and crippling it which to me is going to put a lot of people off.

People who switch to LPG do it to save money and having it fitted to a V6 Xantia seems a bit pointless as I imagine its quite expensive in terms of insurance and such.

If I were going to fit it, I would fit it to a relatively cheap more reliable diesel Xantia.

[Sim]

yeah but then I've heard that lpg conversions aren't as good for diesels.

If I had a diesel, I'd prolly stick to buying bottles of cooking oil from the supermarket.

[deian]

my gf lives in cairo at the moment mandrake, she will come to uni un norwich in september, we met online, so we'll take it from there... so 330 miles from my house to norwich is like walking next door compared to flying to egypt.... hence buying a 2.1td exclusive xantia in the first place (what else could be better!??) for my motorway time, maybe if i get hold of a HDI i will swap. It's already done 190k, it will shoot up when i do my 660mile round trips and a 125mile a week journey to work.

As for converting a diesel to gas... i know it's possible cos we have a forklift truck at work which runs on gas and was previously a diesel engine, but i asked a guy at a local garage who's dad does gas conversions for cars for living whether you can convert diesel cars to lpg, he said no, obviously he means no in general, as a 2.1td is a lot more complex than a forklift truck diesel engine.

[Paulee]

Doing a quick calculation
a petrol Xantia @ 30mpg covering 10000 miles a year with fuel at £4.40 a gallon will cost £1452

the equivalent diesel Xantia @ 40mpg will cost £1100

if the Xantia petrol was converted you could expect say 28-29mpg due to the lower calorific content and also approx
15-20% drop in power but with LPG at £1.81 a gallon will only cost £680-£700 so a saving not to be disregarded by hearsay

A good conversion will earn its money back in 18 months if you do 10,000 a year if you only do 2000 a year forget it......

Maybe forget it anyway because if too many people use it the parasites in Westminster will tax it the same as petrol and diesel

regards...Paul

Xantia VSX TD
ZX TD Volcane........which have both just failed their MOT