should i buy ?

jgra1 · Unread post by **jgra1** » 18 Apr 2006, 16:43

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?

120K, mainly motorway ..
1998, in a nice red

John

Homer · Unread post by **Homer** » 18 Apr 2006, 17:24

If it's the same CT engine as the Xantia turbo it's very nice to drive.

Constant torque from 2000 to 5000 rpm (within 90% of peak torque).

I'm not a fan of LPG so I'll heed my grannies advice (if you have nothing nice to say then don't say anything).

jgra1 · Unread post by **jgra1** » 19 Apr 2006, 00:26

until today i thought LPG was the dogs

now i here of 25% power loss etc!?

hmmm...

Adstar · Unread post by **Adstar** » 19 Apr 2006, 13:46

Dont hold me to this because I haven;t researched the facts etc.

But isn't lpg switchable? Do you not have 2 tanks? Therefore in the event of you needing power, you flick back onto unleaded, do your overtaking or burning off from the lights, then switch back to less expensive (and enviromentally friendly?) lpg?

Again, im not sure if thats possible. But it sounds reasonable. Would be interesting if someone in the know could confirm or deny this.

mbunting · Unread post by **mbunting** » 19 Apr 2006, 20:20

Yes you can do this with some of the systems I looked at.

Basically, the LPG should not kick in automatically until the car is up to temperature - this is because the vapouriser uses the heat in the coolant to vapourise the lpg or summat like that.

This means that the coldness of the process transfers into the coolant - and it therefore needs to be hot enough to withstand the sudden drop in temperature without freezing. The coolant mix is very important in LPG installations - you basically have to have it on "bloody hell, they've forcast -99c " mix.

You can flick the switch to make the car run on petrol all the time, and then flick it back to set it to auto ( again, this depends on the installation ).

PowerLee · Unread post by **PowerLee** » 19 Apr 2006, 21:09

406 2 litre turbo, NO.

Ask any Peugeot / Citroen technician & they will tell you how awful this engine is.

Yes this engine was used in the 605 & Xantia.

Its the old 2 litre 8 valve XU10J2 with a low pressure turbo stuck on with 150 ish BHP.

Drinks fuel & ruins turbos, Avoid.

If you want a petrol 406 then get the 2 litre 16 valve lump, Less BHP but much nicer to drive & better mpg.

mezuk04 · Unread post by **mezuk04** » 20 Apr 2006, 08:17

25% power loss will be about right...just not worth it in my opinion

Homer · Unread post by **Homer** » 21 Apr 2006, 20:26

PowerLee wrote:
Drinks fuel & ruins turbos, Avoid.

Rubbish.

I got 30mpg out of mine, exactly the same I got out pf the previous 2.0 N/A

The car had over 100K on the clock when I sold it, no problem with the turbo.

As for LPG, we had a factory converted Astra at work. It needed an extra 1000rpm to get it to move when running on LPG compared to petrol, I would regularly switch it back to petrol to get any kind of smoothness out of it. Eventually something went bang in the head but it was just as bad when we got it back. And the £15 fill-ups made you look a right tight-wad at the till.

Then there's the problem of finding a filling station which serves LPG, and has some in stock. Our local would often be out of stock for a fortnight or more.

And isn't LPG just North Sea Gas? Isn't that about to run out?

BonceChops · Unread post by **BonceChops** » 22 Apr 2006, 09:05

I think 25% is over the top. Don't forget we are talking about a 150bhp car here. I know someone with an LPG converted V70 and he says it does not make that much difference but he does say that £ for £ he gets the equivilent of 60mpg comparied with petrol. He tells me that it can depend on the quality of the conversion. Take it for a drive and switch between the two and decide for yourself.

jgra1 · Unread post by **jgra1** » 24 Apr 2006, 17:08

thanks all

in the end, I did some research, and there was one major problem with the car. The tank had been fitted in Lithuania (seller was from there, had driven car back there to fit)
I was informed it 100% needed an LPGA certificate from a UK fitter.. He didnt have this and tried to get me to believe it was ok without. Not one insurer, sympathetic and helpful as they were, would touch me.

I told him and walked away.....

to be honest, a although i generally like 406's, an R plate with 120K is probably not worth £1400 LPG or not..

anyway, very glad i made the calls and learnt a lot from some helpful folks...

what i really want now is a Xantia V6 with full spec and LPG

John