Conversion to GAS ! Dont think twice its alright !. Review on Tips on LPG Conversion Kit

Kit Details:

Star Gas, Italy in collaboration with AARDING, Netherlands. Closed loop system.

The LPG TANK is a cylindrical one and takes a chunk fo space from the big boot and leaves only enough for soft bags. **Installed in 17 th Aug 2007 @ odometer reading 26470 km.

Economy:

I have got 13.31 kmpl on express highway as highest on LPG and 7. 95/8.0 kmpl in Mumbai as the lowest in the city . Accent was giving me 8 to 9.5 kmpl in city on petrol with a maximum of 15 kmpl on express highway without AC.

Petrol @ Rs.51/lit - 9.0 kmpl translates to Rs.5.66 / km

LPG @ Rs.33.70 /li - 8 kmpl translates to Rs. 4.21 / km

On highway Lpg @ Rs.31.90 / lit -11.5 kmpl translates to rs.2.77 /km( with summer heat once is practically on AC all the time leading to drop in FE)

Reliabilty:

It takes toll on the coil, plugs and even wires. Thats an expensive maintenance if your running is not high. Premature fuel pump failure also becomes a real possibility. Injectors frequently clog and have to be cleaned quite frequently. I have had to clean the injectors( replaced one once) thrice in last 27000km/ 21 months.

Otherwise I have not faced any day to day hickups / starting problems / tuneup even once IN THE PAST 3 YRS. Just change plugs every 7500 km, check the kit for leakages, check plug wires, clean the throttle body and ISA and you have a troublefree vehicle for another 5000 km.

Though it can never achieve the'fill it forget it' kind ofreliabilty of the Petrol / diesel cars, it still offers you a greatoption to continue with your old car for an extended run, when you donot drive

so much as to warrant / afford buying a diesel, but still drive enough for the petrol bills to hurt .

Update( 22/03/2010) and odometer reading 58500 km

Maintenance:

Every 6000/7500 km, the pickup and FE drops a bit. Some tinkering is needed to retune the performance. Plug change every 7500km helps though the retrofitter doesnt think so.( cost Rs. 340/ for a set of NGK) . Changing plug wires at this interval also helps I have realized though the fitter claims the old ones were good.

The air filter change every 7500 km apart from cleaning.

. Throttle body cleaning undertaken along with servicing the IDLE control actuator solenoid *( ISA)once cost Rs.450/- The damn thing costs Rs.7200/- and if it conks off it means serious damages.

I had Ignition coil failed; had to replace it with a denso, korean one for Rs.1750/-. Now it could be simply mean that 6 yrs is long enough and it was due anyway. But the fact of the matter is LPG system needs the electrical system in top shape and what could last for a year more on petrol just has to be discarded on LPG.

Latest casualty is the fuel pump. It may be due to age simply or it may not. Car does have emulator installed to keep the petrol lineoperational but surely is not as effeciently used as full petrolrunning.

So a repeat service expense of Rs. 1500/ 2000 every 6000 km is what it takes to keep the LPG vehicle in peak condition over and above the standard periodic service of the car.

*And since I use the petrol now and then, you can add petrol cost of Rs.400 a month over your LPG bill / the maintanance cost while calculating the total fuel cost for LPG converted vehicle in order to compute your actual savings after retrofitting.

*Conclusion:

*It offers great option for lowering fuel bills when/because.

1) you already own a petrol car and good one although not a frugal one

2) LPG offers quite petrol like or even better performance

3) Cant afford to upgrade to a modern diesel or do not appreciate the NVH of diesel vehicles

4) and more importantly cant afford the fuel bills on petrol.

5) and only if your running is in excess of 1800/2000km / month.

6) its realtively more environment friendly. the emissions are way lower than petrol.

7) the motor oil doesnt degenerate on LPG as much as it does on petrol, so I am assuming it doesnt damage the innards of the the motor ANYWHERE as much as CNG.

*Say for a run of about 32000 km on LPG in space of 2 yr and 9 months, and with an average saving of Rs.1.25/ over petrol- total savings on fuel bills is Rs.40000/-

*offset this against:

Retrofitting cost - Rs.27500/-

Now I may assume that some of the costs I would have incurred as maintenance of a 7 yr old vehicle and one may simply discount that. But 27500/- against Rs.40000/- doesnt seem like good enough savings.

Lpg as auto fuel in india is not subsidized  nor do we get any tax exemptions for using a cleaner fuel. Petrol & diesel and CNG is highly subsidized.

In this setup, anyone running in excess of 1750 km per month is going to have some savings. to the tune of 15 - 20% over petrol bills.