LPG kit fitted to Santro GLS. Review on Tips on LPG Conversion Kit

My parents purchased the Santro car three years ago. And in last 6 months I started using this car. As the petrol prices are too high(71Rs/Lt in Hyderabad), I was unable to decide whether I should go for a LPG kit or not. I took many people opinions, many of them suggested to go for and also an equal number of people suggested against using LPG kit. So I started doing my own R&D, I read a vast number of reviews(both Indian reviews as well as foreign country reviews) and it took me 45 days to decide. In these 45 days, I've decided to go for an LPG kit for my Santro and also decided which brand I should go for.

Deciding to go for an LPG kit and deciding on which brand of LPG kit to use are two big tedious tasks. During my research, I've at least talked to 30 dealers and visited at least 20 mechanics/showrooms in Hyderabad and at last I've short listed three brands, Lovato, BRC, Zavoli.

Lovato is the oldest and a good brand. But many people say we get duplicates of this brand. So I've decided I should go for either BRC or Zavoli. I even emailed to BRC head office in India(Ahmedabad, managed by Rohan BRC) to suggest their dealer in Hyderabad. BRC people immediately suggested their dealer in Hyderabad. I visited them too and took their opinion. And BRC costs more than 22K here(without RC endorsement). Also I took opinion of BRC from local mechanics. Local mechanics suggested that Lovato or Zavoli would be easier for them to repair and BRC is a bit complex and its parts are not so easily available.

So again, I was unable to decide b/w BRC and Zavoli. And regarding Zavoli, I visited their head office(also the head office of India is located in Hyd). Zavoli's dealer in India is "Standard Consultants Ltd"(SCL, Hyd). So when I visited them, I came to know and at least sure that I can get genuine parts. Luckily, they have a fitment center. I've driven two Santro cars which were fitted by them, I even went to their home's and asked them to test drive their cars, those two Santro owners were happy with their Zavoli LPG kits and when I've driven those cars, I too felt OK.

So I've finally decided to go for Zavoli LPG kit for my Santro. And due to shortage of toroidal tanks, I've to wait for 2 weeks, luckily I got one after 2 weeks and those people fitted it in 5hours. Costed me around 20500(with RC endorsement) and more over this is a closed loop system. I was happy for it.

Now after filling it for two tanks, I've started writing this review. As of now, I did not face any problems, mileage within city is 11Km/Lt with AC on. But be ready for 5-10% loss in pickup when the AC is ON. I get a little smell when the car is switched ON(after the LPG is fitted and this smell is not there before). But after that I never had this smell problem(only during switching on you would get). Car would start in petrol and will automatically convert to LPG when we give a bit acceleration when in Neutral.

Not sure whether I would face any problems down the line, because many people using for 6 months to 1 year complaints about their LPG kits, some people don't have any problems even after 1 year. May be after 6 months, I would again update this post with the review.

UPDATED AFTER 1 YEAR Hi All,

Its been one year since I got fitted the Zavoli kit for my Santro car. And after using the LPG kit for one year, I can simply say that I'm happy with the kit and its performance. I just visited twice to the Zavoli LPG service center where I got fitted the kit for minor repairs. The mileage is almost same after one year and the mileage is 10 with A/c and without it I get 11 kmpl. I'm pretty happy with it. I covered almost 20k kms in last one year and I didn't use the car for 3 months in last one year also. So overall its really good and I'm now happy that I took a good step by fitting the LPG kit.

UPDATE AFTER 2 YEARS OF USAGE

Hi Everyone,

I completed Two years with the Zavoli kit. And mileage wise it is still the same(11kmpl in city conditions) and on highways sometimes I get 12-13kmpl. No regrets, I feel I took a wise decision two years back. No effect on my car too. My car is also now 5 years old, so I'm happy with the kit.

UPDATE AFTER 5 YEARS OF USAGE

Dear All,

Two weeks back I've completed 5 years of usage with Zavoli kit. The mileage remained almost same(11km/l in Hyderabad traffic with A/C, Highways I get 12-14Km/l) all these years. In last three years I had around 5 minor problems with the kit, issues related to the tuning. Other than these I never had any major problems with the kit. The standard consultants are no more, i.e. the Zavoli kits are not directly sold by the distributor any more in Hyderabad. The mechanic(who also fitted to my vehicle) who used to work for the Standard Consultants is now having his own shop where I get repaired any issues related to the LPG kit.