sorry should be in peugeot! 406 LPG

jgra1 · Post by **jgra1** » 18 Apr 2006, 14:13

chaps, I am offered a 406 LPG 2 litre Turbo

should be a useful car? what are these engines like? I used to have a 605 SLi is this the same engine with a turbo bolted on? Should be reasonably powerful.. maybe same engine as Xantia turbo?

John

Jshodgson · Post by **Jshodgson** » 18 Apr 2006, 17:24

Hello John

I had an LPG saxo. Please make sure you are confident the LPG installation was completed by very competent people (LPGA approved??) as a bad conversion can kill a car. Also check the tank size otherwise you'll be filling up every day (eg 30 litre tank) which can take ages.

You'll also need to find a good LPG garage that can help you. Mine failed its MOT for emissions ans the standard garage shrugged its shoul;ders becasue it had a conversion, Citroen didn't want to know etc. Everyone used the LPG as the reason for my cars problems, whcih included:
2 failed catalytic convertors
MAP sensor
Radiator
Coil
Poor emissions

Jshodgson · Post by **Jshodgson** » 18 Apr 2006, 17:27

PS. also note that the "power" may be affected. My Saxo VTR never went anywhere like as quick as it did on petrol. They reckoned it knocked 20-30% off its power.

However it was great filling up at 39ppl !!!!!!

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 18 Apr 2006, 23:03

Running a 2L turbo on LPG is a bit contradicting IMHO ?

The 2L turbo is a nice strong engine - but it is defo strangled somewhat by the LPG. Power loss would be at least 25%. But it would be a cheap daily runner with engine power like a standard 1.8L - not too bad.

Citroen do in fact provide genuine parts for LPG conversions. Possibly the only specialist Citroen garages with LPG knowledge would be in Holland.

jgra1 · Post by **jgra1** » 19 Apr 2006, 00:24

guys very useful!

i didnt realise power was so affected..

tank is 90 litres, which although huge, could compromise boot space/

i offered £1400, its a 98 406, so not sure if mrk 1 or 2, may just stick with my useful xanita 1.8.. (or find an Hdi xantia)

hmmm

Village · Post by **Village** » 20 Apr 2006, 14:02

I doubt that you would see a 25% reduction in power when running on lpg, particularly with a turbo charged engine. LPG gives up more of its energy at higher compression ratios, so the turbo charger will be squeezing more poke from the juice.

When converting to lpg, adding a turbo or supercharger is a method of enabling the conversion to work, particularly on older engines that have been designed to run on lower octane petrol., and hence have a lower compression ratio.

The was an article on this subject in Practical Performance Car Magazine a number of moths ago (missed that isue

). there maybe something on the subject on their forum at http://www.ppcmag.co.uk/forum/

be warned though, they're obsessed with jaffa cakes......

Pete

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 20 Apr 2006, 14:43

Village wrote:I doubt that you would see a 25% reduction in power when running on lpg, particularly with a turbo charged engine. LPG gives up more of its energy at higher compression ratios, so the turbo charger will be squeezing more poke from the juice.

When converting to lpg, adding a turbo or supercharger is a method of enabling the conversion to work, particularly on older engines that have been designed to run on lower octane petrol., and hence have a lower compression ratio.

Adding a turbo or supercharger to an engine that is normally aspirated is one way of getting the power back that you lose with LPG, but you will be sacrificing fuel efficiency. Since the 406 in question already has a turbo, you could increase its turbo boost to compensate but fuel consumption will suffer.

I'm not a fan of LPG, its heralded as a cleaner fuel but it increases the amount of CO2 coming out of your exhaust. You are also carrying around a tank of lpg, the tank itself is pretty solid so it'll resist being ruptured in an accident, but you can still get leaks and if the car gets set on fire it can still explode.

Village · Post by **Village** » 21 Apr 2006, 13:40

I'm a Fire Engineer (not a made up job) and I'm fairly sure that a fuel tank can explode in a fire too! Particularly if its not full (petrol vapours above the liquid fuel mean that its more likely to produce an explosive fuel/air mixture). LPG tanks should be fitted with a pressure relief valve to vent expanding gas in a controlled manner in the event that the tank is heated by a fire. I'm not sure if normal liquid petrol tanks have the same facility (but I'd be suprised if they didn't).

the likelyhood of an LPG tank exploding is about the same as a standard fuel tank exploding, and unlike Hollywood films, this is a rare occurance.

I'd still rather drive a diesel (just in case)

Pete

jgra1 · Post by **jgra1** » 24 Apr 2006, 16:59

I drove my 1.8i Xantia From Sussex to Newcastle and back, this weekend. (6-700 miles probably in all) being as light on the throttle as i could and still making progress.

I put about £80 in it.

So an Hdi or a LPG still seems a good option.

I ride a bike and get most of the speed I need from that

Homer · Post by **Homer** » 24 Apr 2006, 20:17

Don't forget the tax discount on LPG could be removed at any time. If that were to happen it would be more expensive than diesel.

jgra1 · Post by **jgra1** » 25 Apr 2006, 00:22

true, but there is an (alleged) clause..

as far as i Know, the Gov need to give 3 years notice of a tax hike..

genius149 · Post by **genius149** » 25 Apr 2006, 07:56

Jshodgson wrote: 2 failed catalytic convertors

Poor emissions

Dunno about poor emissions - the LPG conversion should mean your chucking out a lot less of the nasty stuff, so much so that apparently you can have your car de-catted to release some horses.

As a precaution I would add a flashlube system to lubricate the upper cylinder head as I have just paid out to have the head on my Lexus GS300 reconditioned

. It may be to do with Japanese engines having softer valve seats but as LPG has an octane rating of 112, it burns a lot hotter and hasn't got any additives - hence the lube needed.

Jshodgson · Post by **Jshodgson** » 25 Apr 2006, 10:08

when they took the engine apart the vaulves has no space at all! There was also some dodgy wiring which meant the car was running super rich. It was also only producing about 25mpg compared with about 35-38 I was getting on unleaded.

They repaired what needed repairing and stuck a load of somethingg in the fuel tank?!?!? and it got through the emissions test eventually.

In the end I paid to have the conversion professionaly(LPGA) removed and everything, including the butchered air filter, put back to petrol.

My recommendation is that you speak to lots of LPG convertors and find one that has done one of your cars. Then phone the customer to see what it's like.

As far as I know I'm still the only muppet to have done a VTR!!!

French Car Forum

sorry should be in peugeot! 406 LPG

sorry should be in peugeot! 406 LPG

thanks all