As the wife has taken a big shine to the Xantia, I'll be using the BX to get to work, but the possibility of high fuel bills makes me think of going LPG (my old man used to do LPG conversions when they were in their infancy some 20 years ago so is a bit behind on modern systems).
Anyone had experience of them, especially on a BX GTi/equivalent, and is it worth the 150% premium for the injection versions versus the mixer types? Theory is given the performance that's available on the BX GTi, I can afford to lose some of it!
LPG????
Moderator: RichardW
Phil -
I had LPG on my '77 Opel Kadett 1.0 (Vauxhall Chevette 1.0) - weight about 850kg. That was back in '81 - '84.
It was indeed very economic before that - and because of the low LPG tax it became even a cheaper runabout.
But that poor tiny engine really had to work for food - it was slow before - and became even a lot slower with LPG. But once running - I could keep it just about some 125km/h (some 80mph) on motorways - which was past the legal limit anyway [:I]
I suspect that some kind of elaborate ignition timing changing with the dash fitted fuel changing switch would have made the engine run much better.
But the engine ran like a dream - quiet & soft.
- and the engine oil never turned black again after first oil change running LPG [:p]
But keep in mind the oil still wears [B)]
This was with the very simple evapourator systems at the time - controlled by the engine inlet vacuum - and a circular injector/mixer fitted between carb and air inlet hose.
With the BX 1.9 engine - the BX some 200 kg heavier - and a newish LPG system - I'd expect you won't feel the power loss unless you drive the car to extremes.
LPG is indeed a cheap alternative to a trade-in for a diesel car - and then you still knows the in/outs of the - same - car.
As the LPG burns very clean in the engine - life of engine is prolonged - and the engine internals and exhaust are cleaned out - you won't believe it [:p]
You may consider a circular LPG tank fitted instead of the spare wheel - then you don't loose that much space of an extra LPG tank in the boot.
Keeping a couple of tyre inflation bottles in your boot will cover most of the mishaps with tyre punctures anyway.
Keep in mind that LPG has a lower energy content - which means some 80% of the usual petrol mpg will be the figure.
And because of the very clean LPG burning - the MOT guys will scratch their heads with these low/nil emissions test figures [8D]
Here in DK LPG is de facto extinct - because of the tax. It's not possible to reduce running costs on a street car with LPG here.
- despite the much lower emissions - [xx(]
- hence only a few LPG filling stations still exists here - mainly to cover the needs from foreign drivers.
I had LPG on my '77 Opel Kadett 1.0 (Vauxhall Chevette 1.0) - weight about 850kg. That was back in '81 - '84.
It was indeed very economic before that - and because of the low LPG tax it became even a cheaper runabout.
But that poor tiny engine really had to work for food - it was slow before - and became even a lot slower with LPG. But once running - I could keep it just about some 125km/h (some 80mph) on motorways - which was past the legal limit anyway [:I]
I suspect that some kind of elaborate ignition timing changing with the dash fitted fuel changing switch would have made the engine run much better.
But the engine ran like a dream - quiet & soft.
- and the engine oil never turned black again after first oil change running LPG [:p]
But keep in mind the oil still wears [B)]
This was with the very simple evapourator systems at the time - controlled by the engine inlet vacuum - and a circular injector/mixer fitted between carb and air inlet hose.
With the BX 1.9 engine - the BX some 200 kg heavier - and a newish LPG system - I'd expect you won't feel the power loss unless you drive the car to extremes.
LPG is indeed a cheap alternative to a trade-in for a diesel car - and then you still knows the in/outs of the - same - car.
As the LPG burns very clean in the engine - life of engine is prolonged - and the engine internals and exhaust are cleaned out - you won't believe it [:p]
You may consider a circular LPG tank fitted instead of the spare wheel - then you don't loose that much space of an extra LPG tank in the boot.
Keeping a couple of tyre inflation bottles in your boot will cover most of the mishaps with tyre punctures anyway.
Keep in mind that LPG has a lower energy content - which means some 80% of the usual petrol mpg will be the figure.
And because of the very clean LPG burning - the MOT guys will scratch their heads with these low/nil emissions test figures [8D]
Here in DK LPG is de facto extinct - because of the tax. It's not possible to reduce running costs on a street car with LPG here.
- despite the much lower emissions - [xx(]
- hence only a few LPG filling stations still exists here - mainly to cover the needs from foreign drivers.
-
Homer
- Posts: 1503
- Joined: 26 Feb 2003, 10:52
- Location: Yorkshire
- My Cars: Current:
Volvo V60 D4 180
Previous:
BX16RS (two of),
BX19TZI,
Xantia 2.0i saloon,
Xantia 2.0 Exclusive CT turbo Break,
Peugeot 807 2.0 HDi 110,
Renault Grand Scenic, 2.0 diesel (150bhp)
C5 X7 2.0 HDi 160 which put me off French cars possibly forever - x 16
We have a dual fuel Astra at work (1.6 engine).
You can really tell the difference between petrol and LPG, it needs an extra 1000rpm to pull away when it's running on LPG and it runs noticably rougher, overtaking often needs the switch to be flicked to petrol.
I wouldn't think it would be finacially worth converting a BX, you won't benefit from the government grant scheme because it only applies to cars up to 3yrs old. As far as I am aware a typical conversion costs around 3 grand, for that money you might even pick up a duelfuel Xantia. I'm not sure how much of that cost is parts and how much you might save if you could DIY it.
LPG is currently half the price of unleaded in the UK but the government could bump up the tax any time it likes, rendering conversions completely pointless.
And it's still hard to get hold of. Of the two local petrol stations that serve it, one is usually out of order.
You can really tell the difference between petrol and LPG, it needs an extra 1000rpm to pull away when it's running on LPG and it runs noticably rougher, overtaking often needs the switch to be flicked to petrol.
I wouldn't think it would be finacially worth converting a BX, you won't benefit from the government grant scheme because it only applies to cars up to 3yrs old. As far as I am aware a typical conversion costs around 3 grand, for that money you might even pick up a duelfuel Xantia. I'm not sure how much of that cost is parts and how much you might save if you could DIY it.
LPG is currently half the price of unleaded in the UK but the government could bump up the tax any time it likes, rendering conversions completely pointless.
And it's still hard to get hold of. Of the two local petrol stations that serve it, one is usually out of order.
-
ActivaV6uk
- Posts: 650
- Joined: 20 Nov 2003, 16:51
- Location: United Kingdom
- My Cars: C5 X7 2.7 hdi
Past cars
Activa, silver MK1 (221bhp stock) stripped out with twin sparcos Evo seats. 95
Activa, light met red MK1 98
Activa, dark met red MK1 98
Activa, dark met blue MK1 (202bhp stock) 96
Xantia exclusive V6 auto 3l 98
Xantia 2l 8v auto
BX 4x4 GTi dark met silver
BX 4x4 GTi white
BX GTi 16v white fibre bumpers
BX GTi 16v black fibre bumpers
BX GTi 16v hurricane (doa)
BX DTR estate
Email olliejamesbrum@yahoo.co.uk he is a BX16v forum member who has just started his own business fitting these. A couple of members here (and on the BX 16v forum) have had dealings with him and every one has been very impressed with his work. I know he now has a test car setup (citroen belingo) it may we worth droping him a line and seeing if he can help. (he is going to be fitting a gas kit to my activa V6 when the project is compleate). he is normaly more than happy to discus the diferences in systems and any other aspects you have questions on.
Andy
Andy
-
Rob Marshall
- Posts: 127
- Joined: 02 Oct 2003, 22:40
- Location:
- My Cars:
I was speaking to my local garage who specialise in LPG conversions; and are true professionals. Well, they pass my BX on its MoT anyway!
The boss was saying he would not recommend investing in LPG at the moment because the UK government are bumping the price of LPG up; no doubt to pay for the inquiry of the inquiry of why inquiries don;t work.
Do be careful who performs the work. They must be fitted with the correct safety valves etc.
The boss was saying he would not recommend investing in LPG at the moment because the UK government are bumping the price of LPG up; no doubt to pay for the inquiry of the inquiry of why inquiries don;t work.
Do be careful who performs the work. They must be fitted with the correct safety valves etc.
i recently had a volvo 760gle on gas---i didn't really see a big benefit 'cos the volvo was only doing 13 to the gallon on petrol--certainly if i was using a xantia 2 litre manual, i'd think of getting it done, if you're using an auto which is only doing 20mpg in the first place, you'll effectively be getting 35-38 ish to the gallon, sure you lose a bit of power on lpg but so what, the pro's far outweigh the cons
-
ActivaV6uk
- Posts: 650
- Joined: 20 Nov 2003, 16:51
- Location: United Kingdom
- My Cars: C5 X7 2.7 hdi
Past cars
Activa, silver MK1 (221bhp stock) stripped out with twin sparcos Evo seats. 95
Activa, light met red MK1 98
Activa, dark met red MK1 98
Activa, dark met blue MK1 (202bhp stock) 96
Xantia exclusive V6 auto 3l 98
Xantia 2l 8v auto
BX 4x4 GTi dark met silver
BX 4x4 GTi white
BX GTi 16v white fibre bumpers
BX GTi 16v black fibre bumpers
BX GTi 16v hurricane (doa)
BX DTR estate
-
philhoward
I've already got one Diesel (the Xantia), but curious whether or not it's worth converting the BX, so as to get the best of both worlds, i.e. Economy (from a financial point of view) and performance. If I get the financial equivalent of 60mpg I wouldn't need a Diesel!
As for the conversion cost, it looks like £500 DIY, or £800 fitted. Shoudln't take too long to get the money back at 500 miles/week..
As for the conversion cost, it looks like £500 DIY, or £800 fitted. Shoudln't take too long to get the money back at 500 miles/week..