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Old 06 September 2007 | 10:26 AM
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Default Scoobie Turbo - LPG Conversion

Hi all I am considering a Impreza turbo for my next car but the only thing that puts me off besides the cost of insurance is the poor MPG, as anyone ever done a LPG conversion on a scoobie and if so what gains do you get on the MPG and whats do you loose on the BHP ?
Old 06 September 2007 | 11:01 AM
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you wont loose any bhp, as for mpg its half the price so twice as good
Old 06 September 2007 | 11:16 AM
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Originally Posted by 34srm
you wont loose any bhp, as for mpg its half the price so twice as good
I thought you lost about 10 BHP, if you dont loose any BHP why is the not many conversions ?
Old 06 September 2007 | 11:20 AM
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Speak to Tinley Tech LPG Conversions - LPG conversions, LPG advice, LPG kits as they do some good diy kits. Once fitted it costs around £25 to have it certified as fitted correctly. The kits they do can be programmed to switch at a predetermined RPM or possibly boost pressure. You will need this as most lpg kits will not supply enough gas for over 200hp.
Also, get the lubricant supply module to keep the engine safe.

I'm considering doing mine at some stage.


Wayne.
Old 06 September 2007 | 11:23 AM
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Waste of money... You've got to do STUPID amounts of miles before you've even broken even. IMHO Unless you are racking up 40k miles a year its just a fashion statement so you can 'look' like you are saving the planet at dinner parties lol..
Old 06 September 2007 | 11:33 AM
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Originally Posted by [Davey]
Waste of money... You've got to do STUPID amounts of miles before you've even broken even. IMHO Unless you are racking up 40k miles a year its just a fashion statement so you can 'look' like you are saving the planet at dinner parties lol..
Crap, it will cost £800 inc delivery for the kit. Once fitted there are still discounts available to LPG users such as not having to pay £6 per day city centre parking. Have a look, there are others.

46 weeks = £1380 parking!!!

Now if the kit is £825 including everything thats a saving of £555 BEFORE the saving on fuel!!
Old 06 September 2007 | 11:35 AM
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What about fitting
Old 06 September 2007 | 11:44 AM
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Good thread!!

Any Techies on here today to advise??

I thought the Goverment would pay part of the cost as it helps the enviroment????
Old 06 September 2007 | 12:31 PM
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the only thing I dont like about these LPG conversions is the tacky filler cap they put on the bumper or other places like that.
Old 06 September 2007 | 01:14 PM
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Originally Posted by Red_Stafford
the only thing I dont like about these LPG conversions is the tacky filler cap they put on the bumper or other places like that.
Which is bad, because I'm sure one of the requirements is that you have to have this on show, and/or a sticker stating the vehicle carries LPG.
Old 06 September 2007 | 01:21 PM
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You also loose boot space, and add weight. Plus, there are not many LPG places around here. Insurance companies also need to know, you are transporting compressed gas.

I'm not saying don't do it. For some people it may work out.
Old 06 September 2007 | 10:09 PM
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Check out Phil at the Phil Price Rally School.
All his cars run on LPG inc his Impreza.
He also converts cars as a seperate business , and says that for the Impreza he instals it properly not like some other companies.
His instructer had an Impreza converted.
He cost alot more than £800 though.
Old 06 September 2007 | 10:56 PM
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If you cant afford it dont buy it, buy a diesel. End of
Old 06 September 2007 | 11:28 PM
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Originally Posted by Luminous
You also loose boot space, and add weight. Plus, there are not many LPG places around here. Insurance companies also need to know, you are transporting compressed gas.

I'm not saying don't do it. For some people it may work out.
i love that, when your also carrying petrol
Old 07 September 2007 | 12:34 AM
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Originally Posted by scoobystiv8
If you cant afford it dont buy it, buy a diesel. End of
Seriously, this isn't a show of cleverness or monies in the bank. LPG is a good way to use your scoob for all purposes. Most people who can afford to run a scoob still have a second car and probably wouldn't if they could have better MPG.
Old 07 September 2007 | 12:36 AM
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Originally Posted by [Davey]
What about fitting

DIY fit mate.
Old 07 September 2007 | 02:52 AM
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LPG loses 10-15% power and economy but obviously gains that back via cheap price per litre.
Old 07 September 2007 | 04:20 AM
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I spoke to cotton compettition Cotcomp Home who have done a few of these with good results. For over 200bhp you need more gas than a standard kit so need 2 injectors per cylinder.

Ive had a quote which is about 2200ish for 8 injectors(might be a tad more, cant find the quote, ill get an update tomorrow). They arent the cheapest but they know what they are doing.

You won't lose power but you will lose a slight amount of mpg, worth it because of the saving though. They recently did a conversion on a wrx which then attended a rolling road shootout. It did a petrol run and an lpg run and made 275bhp on petrol and 285bhp on gas due to the higher octane thus running more advance.

I do about 18000 miles a year.

Tesco 99 is 98p and lpg is about 45p per litre round here so assume a gallon of petrol costs £4.50 and a gallon of lpg is about £2.05.

I will use about 818 gallons of super at 22mpg which is approx £3681.

I will use about 947 gallons of lpg at 19mpg which is approx £1941 (I might get more than 19mpg, just a rough guess)

So in about a year and a half i will have paid for the kit and then will be making money. If you do more miles it is even more worthwhile getting it converted.

My 06 will be going in for it very soon.

Chris
Old 07 September 2007 | 07:27 PM
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Sounds good may get a Forrester run around then and get it LPG d.
Good for congestion charge , which will soon come to most major towns.
Old 07 September 2007 | 07:37 PM
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So 27000 miles will see your money back, not bad i supose if you do alot of driving.
Old 07 September 2007 | 08:03 PM
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LPG can wreck havoc on some cars with softish valves and valve seats - I am talking about modern unleaded engines. There is a secret page on the LPG Association website although this doesn't include Scoobys as far as I can tell. Many Fords are suspect as are some Hondas. The Flash Lube system is the one often used now for lubrication but if you look at the small print it offers no guarantees whatsoever, just lots of fine words.

Ask what guarantee is offered with the conversion in miles and/or years.

Of course you get nothing with a DIY kit.

The Association website quotes a 20% drop in economy although I think this is overstaing things. dl
Old 08 September 2007 | 12:09 PM
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Is this 20% LPG economy or petrol economy after conversion has been installed?
What range would a Scooby have driving with LPG only?
I assume you can switch fuels while driving?
Does LPG cope with very cold temperatures, e.g. minus 5 or so?
I do wonder why car manufactures do not sell them from showroom in greater nos. does put you off a bit.
I think it sounds great idea to do, but am a bit worried about the reliability of the car being comprimised,it must start for work each morning.
Old 08 September 2007 | 12:17 PM
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Subaru offer a LPG conversion for almost all N/A models if you actually looked at their web site.....

...and have been doing for some time in Germany.

Last edited by Marky9074; 08 September 2007 at 01:16 PM.
Old 08 September 2007 | 12:41 PM
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Some info here.

Boost LPG - Homepage
Old 25 October 2007 | 01:41 PM
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Just to clear up a few questions:

You don't have to have a sticker on your car saying it's LPG.
You can't go in the channel tunnel even if you LPG tank is empty !
You don't have to pay congestion charge (£10 a year admin)
As for the soft valve seats on engines the company i spoke to fit somthing called 'Flashtube' which injects a lube into the valve, a litre of this lasts about 4000 miles.....£11 a litre i think £40 for 5 litres.

Hope this helps....

I'm thinking of getting down, £2k i do find like others here i don't drive it as much because of the cost, i run an Astra 1.6CD with LPG and it's just so cheap and if we go away for the weekend we always take the Astra but it woul dbe nice to take the Scooby and not worry about cost....
Old 25 October 2007 | 03:35 PM
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I remember Babber asking the same question back in 2001 which nearly ended in a group meet for a fight

Wish I could find his post it was hilarious.
Old 25 October 2007 | 04:07 PM
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Originally Posted by Sideways
I remember Babber asking the same question back in 2001 which nearly ended in a group meet for a fight

Wish I could find his post it was hilarious.
I found the following threads:

https://www.scoobynet.com/general-te...le-option.html

https://www.scoobynet.com/drivetrain...nverstion.html

https://www.scoobynet.com/scoobynet-...onvertion.html
Old 25 October 2007 | 04:24 PM
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Originally Posted by babber
Tried to find an earlier thread about this from a few months back. Got a little out of hand though. Try searching for it though. Was very funny, right JZA

Basically there isn't anyone prepared to do this to a Turbo, yet!!

I wanted to have this done to my company MY00, but have had no joy. Was told the next generation systems might work on the Turbo.

There is a converted WRX kicking around (old shape) but no-ones owned up to having it. Not sure about the performance and don't really care. Will use it in my case for running up and down the motorway. SUL for the weekends LPG is higher octane though.

Cheers Phill C


Found babbers thread reference but not his actual post the 1st time
Old 26 October 2007 | 12:21 PM
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These guys do it and they're very knowledgeable about it too !
I am considering it on a MY99 classic.

The Greenfuel Company - Home
Old 26 October 2007 | 12:36 PM
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hehe you want LPG onm your scoob?? to save congestion charge and more miles to the gallon?? just get a motorbike ;-)



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