General V70 purchase advice for LPG

[resurgam]

Hello, now don't shout if this is covered elesewhere ( I have looked I promise, yet online navigation is not a strength of mine!), but it seems to me that there are an awful of performance T5 conversions discussed hereabouts and it serms possibly the most popular topic of LPG conversion.
However I am looking to retire my venerable 1990 740 to somthing that doesn't bankrupt me, and stops when you press the brakes and all the rest of it.... and I would like to move towards a P2 V70. Someone on here stated the 170bhp 2005 SE is an ideal non T5 candidate. Elsewhere I seem to think I have seen comments on the 2.4 engines not being as favourable for conversion post 2006 due to weaker valve/ valve seats(?) or did I dream that after too much toasted cheese before bedtime? T5 territory still seems beyond my needs at present, and loss of performance is not a mjor concern for me bearing in mind after tootling around for many years in 2.0i 740's anything else will seem like I am strapped to a rocket.
However, is there a particular 'regular' more 'mid range'option outside of T5 land that makes the ideal candidate in terms of year of manufacture engine capacity bhp etc, so I can begin my search. The land of 700/900 series seems so quaint and straightforward when I look at the range of three generations of V70 variation. Also - anyone have any reports/ lnowledge/ feedback on Pioner Gas Convertors based in Rochdale? Thanking you all in anticipation. Mike

[capt jack]

Hi Mike

Performance cars make popular LPG conversions because of the fuel costs, but there are those of us who tootle round in lesser beasts, equally chuffed at the thought of paying far fewer pence per mile.

I have experience of but one LPG conversion, my present chariot, which is a 1997 V70 2.5 10v auto, with the B5252S non-turbo engine.

An excellent engine in an excellent car.

This had covered a mere 50,000 miles in the care of it's first owner when I bought it 8 years ago. I had it converted to LPG as soon as I'd taken delivery.

Since then I've taken the car up to a total mileage of 273,000 - and it's still going strong on LPG.

The conversion cost me £1,800, and since then I reckon to have saved something in the order of £15,000 in fuel costs, so I am a very happy chap indeed.

I've never had any major problems with the LPG conversion. Just recently it needed new injector solenoids, but the £80 that these cost were the first bill I've had in the eight years. Other than that the only costs have been a new filter and software check every 15,000 miles at less than £20 a time.

The one thing I'd do differently another time would be to get a bigger gas tank. The 60 litre one fitted (actually capacity 48 litres) is fine, but it gives me a range of between 250 and 280 miles, so although fill-ups cost around £30, I need to make more of them.

LPG is well worth it if you have a big petrol car that you use a lot and intend to keep a long time. Conversion costs are recovered over the first 25,000 to 30,000 miles, after which you're laughing all the way to the petrol station!

Hope those notes are helpful to you in your LPG musings!

Cheers

Jack

[resurgam]

Certainly looking to keep my next Volvo as long as the last one-so a min 5 year investment is in order; Although I don't do an awful lot of miles there is a fair bit of mixed motorway/ dual carriageway in a lot of it, and that can always change with work situation. I must say LPG has always fascinated me since a friend of mine worked with a chap in the late 70's/ early 80's who had a Granada and a Rover SD1 both on Gas, I suppose there is somthing about being a little outside the mainstream about it that appeals.
I suppose I'd better get looking for that 'normal' 2.4 V70- though Winter Pack is essential- at least the majority of the old 700/900 had that - cannot imagine life without the heated seats- mine still working on a 22 year old 'bus!

Regards

M

[capt jack]

Agree on the heated seats - winter happiness is a warm nether portion without doubt!

Do your sums very carefully. LPG is only worth it if you have a big car that you want to keep for a long time and do a big mileage - at least 20,000 a year.

Otherwise you'll never get your investment back.

A good conversion will cost say £1800. Fuel costs on petrol for a 2.4 V70 will be around the 20p per mile mark. LPG will be 12p a mile, saving 8p per mile. That means costs recouped after 22,500 miles. I'm a big fan of LPG - it's done very well for me over the past 8 years, but in that time I've driven almost 250,000 miles, so that 8p per mile saved adds up substantially.

Bear in mind too that the duty gap between LPG and petrol is closing, plus there are a lot of very good diesel cars around now. When I bought my V70 diesel cars were mostly 'orrid, with good ones hard to find. But that's much less true these days.

I'm not trying to put you off, just the opposite, but I'd want to think that you were clear about what you'd be getting into.

Good luck

Cheers

Jack

[volvobaggen]

Capt Jack, out of curiosity, how much does a litre of petrol cost in England?

I just looked at the numbers here in Norway, and cost of lpg pr litre compared to petrol was 37,5%

Sounds like your goverment wants you to buy diesel cars.

[capt jack]

Originally Posted by volvobaggen

Capt Jack, out of curiosity, how much does a litre of petrol cost in England?

I just looked at the numbers here in Norway, and cost of lpg pr litre compared to petrol was 37,5%

Sounds like your goverment wants you to buy diesel cars.

Our Government doesn't ever really know what it wants......!

But petrol here is around £1.35 to £1.40 per litre, LPG is £0.69 to £0.72 per litre, so LPG is roughly 50% of the price of petrol.

When I first had my LPG conversion petrol was £0.72 per litre, and LPG was £0.29 per litre, so LPG was only 40% of petrol costs.

The actual cost of the fuel is the same, the difference is all tax. The UK Govt made a commitment to reduce the difference between the tax on LPG and petrol, but only by a small percentage per year. I guess they could always change their minds, but there aren't that many LPG cars in the UK, so the amount of extra tax they'd get is tiny. If they made the tax the same they'd be breaking an international agreement to give tax advantages to 'green' fuels, they'd ruin a small but thriving LPG conversion industry, and they'd risk losing the votes of LPG drivers.

Running an LPG car in the UK costs roughly the same for fuel in pence per mile as running an equivalent diesel car.

Cheers

Jack