Thinking of gas conversion?

[Andyt_uk]

Currently driving a 2.0 99 plate mondeo. I've just recently got a new job meaning i'm going to be doing roughly 20,000 miles a year. Working it out its going to cost £2.5-3k a year just in petrol as i only seem to get 350miles on a tank @ £50.

Now I've found it'll cost roughly £2k for the gas conversion, but i should save £1500 in petrol costs a year if i just use gas.

What I really want to know is has anyone had the conversion done? Does it effect performance much? In particular if anyones had it done on a mondeo and knows where they fit the tank, its size and roughly how many miles you can do on it that would be great.

 

[[TW]Fox]

What sort of roads are you going to be doing the driving on? If its Motorways, sticking to 75 indicated will give you an average of over 40mpg on the 2.0 Mondeo which should help towards those fuel costs.

 

[Andyt_uk]

What sort of roads are you going to be doing the driving on? If its Motorways, sticking to 75 indicated will give you an average of over 40mpg on the 2.0 Mondeo which should help towards those fuel costs.

It'll be a mixture of motorways and "fun" back roads. Just out of curiosity how many miles to you get from a full tank in yours?

 

[teaboy5]

Or you could use that 2k and add a few more k and get a nice diesel. £2K + on fuel a year is normal i dont know why your complaining, i know i spend that in no time.

 

[v0n]

Tax on LPG is about to go up by 75%. Don't do conversion, especially that it costs in UK about 150% more than anywhere else in the world and gas in more expensive already than anywhere else.

 

[[TW]Fox]

It'll be a mixture of motorways and "fun" back roads. Just out of curiosity how many miles to you get from a full tank in yours?

300 miles around town, up to 500 miles on Motorway journeys.

 

[50/50]

Whats the point, your mondeo probably isnt worth over £2k, its a bit stupid spending £2k on it. If it was something like a 4.4 X5, then it would make sense.

 

[Andyt_uk]

Tax on LPG is about to go up by 75%. Don't do conversion, especially that it costs in UK about 150% more than anywhere else in the world and gas in more expensive already than anywhere else.

ah ok cheers, didn't know that.

To be honest it was just a passing thought as my mileage is jumping up a lot(16k) because of this new job.

 

[hsp70]

if i recall correctly, gordon said tax will be fixed on lpg until 2008.
A benefit not many people know about lpg though is that if your car is converted you can register it to go free through the congestion zone in london.

That's not going to be a selling point for most people of course but if you do travel to london regularly it can save you quite a bit of money.

 

[v0n]

if i recall correctly, gordon said tax will be fixed on lpg until 2008.

No, they can operate with fuel duty, VAT etc as often as they want.

A benefit not many people know about lpg though is that if your car is converted you can register it to go free through the congestion zone in london.

Aftermarket LPG conversions don't get CC discounts, what's more funny - even very few factory LPG converted cars reached that status.

 

[Andyt_uk]

A benefit not many people know about lpg though is that if your car is converted you can register it to go free through the congestion zone in london.

Not really a benefit as I won't be travelling into London. As I said was just a passing thought as its a big jump up in mileage for myself, from 7-8k to nearer 25k.

 

[Adz]

I agree, regardless of the fact that the government are bound to start taxing LPG more heavily soon, spending £2k on a £2k Mondeo would be madness. You'll never see that money again, somewhat negating any cost savings.

I'd sell the Mondeo and buy a diesel if I wanted to save fuel .

 

[Sone]

Or even buy a preconverted car? would have thought it would be cheaper than converting your own

 

[Adz]

Or even buy a preconverted car? would have thought it would be cheaper than converting your own

Good idea .

One of my customers a few years ago had a 1989 4.x litre Mercedes coupe of sorts, the one which handed the seatbelt to you when you closed the door. He paid £2.5k for the car at the time with LPG conversion already installed and we worked out he was getting the equivalent of 35mpg on LPG!

 

[theNude]

we had two mondeo 2.0 gas converted at work, seemed like a good idea at the time....


they caused so much problems, engine rebuild, crappy performance etc.

i drove one to the south of france, in gas mode the car was really sluggish and thus i used it for when i got really low on petrol between stations.

buy a diesel

 

[FakeSnake]

Firstly, I would phone around, as £2k seems a lot of money for a 4cyl 2.0ltr
My conversion on my 4.7ltr V8 Jeep was £2k. I had a quote for the wifes 2.0ltr PT cruiser and it was about £1300, for an approved system.
My Jeep certainly was exempt from C/Charges, I had a note stating as much included in my V5 when it was returned from the DVLA after updating the V5.

Performance is affected, but not greatly. If you want to do grand prix starts and 2000mph then LPG is not for you
BUT on the otherhand, if you cruise on the motorway for considerable miles, and the odd overtaking poke is needed then LPG is fine.
On petrol my Jeep would average 22-25mpg, on LPG it would be about 18mpg.
I used to pay 40.9p/ltr from FLOGAS who are a national firm, and have outlets all over.

Tax on LPG is about to go up by 75%.

Got a source for that?

 

[Townlea]

Hi there

I have had my mondeo V6 LPG for 2 years now - I've gone through 21 injectors in 2 years

Also get a fuel filter for the LPG... performance is similiar but a little faster on Petrol (not much difference) probably due to Optimax fuel.

Conversion cost me £2K and thats a multi point injection conversion.

Fuel tank is located in the boot and replaces the spare wheel

EDIT: I would agree with everyone... buy a diesel.. you only have a 2.0 Mondeo and they get good mpg.. I get 27mpg and 14 ish around town - so it made sence for me to get LPG and I do near 30K mileage.

 

[Andyt_uk]

Cheers for all the replys guys, personally i'd not seen it as a waste as it would have paid for it self in the first 15months and then be reducing my yearly travel costs by 50%.

Pretty much decided it won't happen, as i said it was only a passing thought and i was a little curious about it.

May well look for it in my next car though, depending on its tax situation etc etc.

Cheers once again.

 

[Was]

do what i did if your not fussed about performance.

sold the mondy bought a 3 year old vauxhall astra 1.7dti for £3500 (60k)
Do motorwaya nd round town driving and average 50mpg 500miles on under £50.

was only getting the same milage as you for the mondy, saved myself over £1k just in fuel bills alone so far.

servicing has been no more expensive either, its been cheaper astra every 20k, mondy every 10k

 

[The_Dark_Side]

Tax on LPG is about to go up by 75%.

any links relating to this?
what do you think the price is going to rise to?