If you're knowledgable on Turbo Petrol engines, this way please

The_Dark_Side

The_Dark_Side

The_Dark_Side

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this has been on my mind for a while, and it's not a question that i've ever seen addressed in here so i thought i'd post and see what happens.
there are members of this forum that are well versed in all matters engineering, dogbreath, Simon, Johnnycoupe to name but three, so i'm fairly sure i can get a definitive answer.

Turbo's and LPG.
how do they respond to being paired up and to take things further what are the effects of a re-map on a FI motor running LPG?
is it even possible or is there some inherrant problem that will only allow a standard Turbo car to run on LPG?

i'm asking this specifically with the 20v 1.8T VAG lump in mind but i'm curious to know if this is possible on other engines.

thanks in advance.
 
As far as I know LPG has a nice high Ron rating, well over 100 IIRC, so in that respect it would make a nice fuel for an FI car. It's calorific value is lower than petrol though, so it produces less power for every 'bang'. That's about as far as my knowledge goes on the subject I'm afraid, I'm sure Simon and/or Johnnycoupe will be here with some more in depth answers soon.
 
PPC did a good bit on LPG a short while ago, evaluating it as a performance fuel... The summary was basically that if you 'convert' it then you may see a few problems along the way but if the engine is built for LPG-only (none of this warming-up on petrol malarky) then it is a big plus; remember it has a higher octane level, meaning more pressure before you risk detonation.

*n
 
Any engine can technically be converted to run on LPG.

But...Will the ECU adjust enough to cope with the higher octane level et cetera?

I quite fancy a Scooby 2.6 with two big turbos and LPG...

*n
 
The_Dark_Side said:
i'm not sure what you mean penski....there are LPG only engines???
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Yeah - it's more expensive and involved but you can build an engine designed only to be used for LPG; no 'compromise' for petrol starting and more performance-orientated

You may have trouble starting it if you live in the Shetlands or something...And it's winter.

*n
 
petrol
petrol.jpg

gas
gas.jpg


so yes you can

on a scoob
268_large.jpg
 
I dont see the problem with running a performance car on LPG. My old Jeep ran on LPG just fine, the LPG system had its own ECU piggybacked and interfaced with the petrol ECU.
I dont know of any LPG ONLY cars, only dual-fuel cars. I did think they all started on petrol and then switched over. Several manufacturer derived LPG cars are like this. The Vauxhall range and the Volvo range were dual-fuel.
 
so if we convert a standard turbo'd petrol engine to LPG, then increasing the boost+re-mapping it would all be taken care of by the re-mapper himself?

this is sounding interesting but more to the point why aren't more people doing this?
 
The_Dark_Side said:
this is sounding interesting but more to the point why aren't more people doing this?
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Becuase it takes YEARS to make the money spent on the conversion back and get to a stage where it is actually saving you money.
 
[TW]Fox said:
Becuase it takes YEARS to make the money spent on the conversion back and get to a stage where it is actually saving you money.
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Absolute piffle mate, when I traded my Jeep in last week, in 6.5months I had covered 80% of the conversion cost (of 2k) and mine was one of the expensive conversions as it needed 8 injectors and a bigger ECU. the 4cyl versions can be had for just over 1/2 the price of mine. On average I paid 39.7p / ltr with an account at a local gas dealer.
 
FakeSnake said:
Personally I think people are still wary of converting a car, which is a silly shame.
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don't suppose you have any idea on current prices for LPG conversions do you?
i know that now the powershift register has gone any Govt. assistance has evaporated.
[TW]Fox said:
Becuase it takes YEARS to make the money spent on the conversion back and get to a stage where it is actually saving you money.
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i'm not so sure once you factor in the higher resale value your vehicle will have.
 
The_Dark_Side said:
i'm not so sure once you factor in the higher resale value your vehicle will have.
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Good looking selling a 1.8T with LPG conversion for the same as one without, let alone any more.
 
The_Dark_Side said:
don't suppose you have any idea on current prices for LPG conversions do you?
i know that now the powershift register has gone any Govt. assistance has evaporated.

i'm not so sure once you factor in the higher resale value your vehicle will have.
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The company local to me charged me 2k for a V8 with sequential injectors in the head. If I recall they start at around 12-1300. Catch me on MSN if you want to speak to them, I would not want people to think I have any connection to the company, I just know they are good.
 
The_Dark_Side said:
what leads you to say that? :confused:
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Unless its a car where an LPG conversion is generally accepted to be a popular and good thing, for example V8 Land Rovers, it doesn't increase the residual value of the car.
 
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