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Volvo LPG Conversions - What is the best car and system?

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Old Jun 20th, 2013, 05:37   #11
SteveV40
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Hi Steve

Well in 2005 I bought a 1997 V70 CD auto with 53,000 miles on, and I had the car converted to run on LPG.

Over eight years later I still have the car. The mileage is now 293,000 and although it's not quite the car it once was, it's still here and it's still running!

I reckon to have saved something in the region of £15,000 in fuel costs over the time I've had the car.

There have only been two reasons why I've kept the same car for this length of time : Firstly, the LPG has been a storming cost-saving success, and secondly the car is so totally comfortable, reliable, practical and utterly brilliant.

Were I doing the same again I'd start with a V70 - the 'old' shape pre-2000 Classic if I could find one!

Cheers

Jack
Many thanks Jack. Would you mind if I ask what MPG or, even better, cost per mile you get in your V70?
I also suspect that my 14.1p per mile might improve a bit if I had a proper LPG service! Any idea on a good LPG service company near Mansfield (50 mile radius or more would be fine). Many thanks. Steve.
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Old Jun 20th, 2013, 10:27   #12
capt jack
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Hi Steve

Over all the miles I've driven on LPG, my V70 (an auto remember) always returned between 24 and 28 mpg.

What I found to be really important was changing the spark plugs every 10,000 miles. LPG is tough on plugs, and the best were without doubt the standard Denso single-point copper cored type. These also happened to be the cheapest too!

Multi-pin plugs won't be much use with LPG.

Other key things - keep an eye on the dissy, rotor and plug leads and change them at least every 100,000 miles, keep the LPG fuel filter changed at the specified interval (in my case every 15,000 miles), and don't use the air-con unless you really need to - it certainly does knock the mpg.

By way of comparison, my car returns between 28 and 32 mpg on petrol. On that basis I've been saving between 5p and 7p per mile in fuel costs. 240,000 LPG miles x 7p = £16,800 saved.

The original conversion cost was £1700, so I reckon I'm well ahead!

Cheers

Jack
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Old Jun 20th, 2013, 23:21   #13
SteveV40
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Thanks Jack. I get between 24 and 26.5 mpg (lpg with petrol top up to replenish anything used in startup, etc), and I looked back over my records and see that I was getting something similar over 180k ago! Not bad considering that I have never had a proper lpg service done, but seems low for a 1.8. I did raise this on the forum a few years ago, but never did get to the bottom of it. I have a distributor recon kit, which I will do this summer, and I may do the same with the vapouriser too, if I can figure out what kit it is.
However, I do regularly change the "front" filter and the plugs, and have used various types including ordering Densos, only for them to turn up as two pin ones! I had them in for a week, then chucked them. I do agree that single points do work best. Currently have Bosch single points in, and they are pretty good on smootheness and fuel consumption. Had a weird thing though, with the BiFuel manual saying to gap them at 1.2mm (+/-0.1). Was ok for about 5k, then started running like a one legged donkey, and is low on power at low revs. I am currently trying them gapped at 0.75, having read your notes elsewhere. I'll let you know how I get on.
I'll also do a "petrol only" run and see how it compares with your figures. I do nearly 1000 miles a week, so wont take long to get some decent data. Many thanks.
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Old Jun 21st, 2013, 16:29   #14
rolovolvo
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Default LPG kits

Hi Steve,

If it helps, BRC Equipment is factory fitted to Volvo in Italy. They are at the higher end of the market, pricier than most other makes but lots of vehicle manufacturers endorse their stuff.
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Old Jun 29th, 2013, 00:38   #15
SteveV40
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Thanks Jack. I get between 24 and 26.5 mpg (lpg with petrol top up to replenish anything used in startup, etc), and I looked back over my records and see that I was getting something similar over 180k ago! Not bad considering that I have never had a proper lpg service done, but seems low for a 1.8. I did raise this on the forum a few years ago, but never did get to the bottom of it. I have a distributor recon kit, which I will do this summer, and I may do the same with the vapouriser too, if I can figure out what kit it is.
However, I do regularly change the "front" filter and the plugs, and have used various types including ordering Densos, only for them to turn up as two pin ones! I had them in for a week, then chucked them. I do agree that single points do work best. Currently have Bosch single points in, and they are pretty good on smootheness and fuel consumption. Had a weird thing though, with the BiFuel manual saying to gap them at 1.2mm (+/-0.1). Was ok for about 5k, then started running like a one legged donkey, and is low on power at low revs. I am currently trying them gapped at 0.75, having read your notes elsewhere. I'll let you know how I get on.
I'll also do a "petrol only" run and see how it compares with your figures. I do nearly 1000 miles a week, so wont take long to get some decent data. Many thanks.
Following on from the above, I have now done a "petrol only" run of 300 miles and have returned 38.1 MPG on petrol (95ULG) for my usual 140 mile round trip of 40 miles single carriageway 45/55mph road and 100 Miles of 70/80mph motorway. Following the plug gap change (which was accompanied with a distributor "flush" with injector cleaner), I have seen a big improvement in LPG mpg up from 26.53 the previous run to 30.11 the last run, with both runs being 1200+ miles and using a similar amount of petrol (3 gallons). I will need to see if this is a flash in the pan, but it is a stunning difference. I have checked all the data and dont think that there is any error. I'll report back in a couple of weeks by when I will have done another 1500 miles.

Last edited by SteveV40; Jun 29th, 2013 at 00:45.
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Old Jul 22nd, 2013, 23:19   #16
knobstar
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I'd join capt jack in backing the p1 V70. I too have an auto though it's a 2.5. I had it converted to LPG in April and apart from a few minor tune-up boggles have been over the moon with it. I do 15k a year so pay back time is barely 6 months - this is also helped by fitting a very simple (and in my view therefore best for reliability) Leonardo system with a single 'injector' just upstream of the throttle body.

Whatever you decide I'm sure you won't regret it :-)
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Old Jul 22nd, 2013, 23:21   #17
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Ps - despite primative system I still get 24mpg average so, at 70p per litre, about 14p per mile :-)
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Old Aug 2nd, 2013, 13:09   #18
Joe Harding
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Converting a 340 1.4. Great fun, no regrets.

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=177298
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Old Aug 8th, 2013, 09:23   #19
The Thong
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If its any help, I have a 2ltr S60 that's fitted with a BRC system. Apart from a minor glitch with a pressure gauge I've had no issues. The cars getting 28mpg on a run (my cars an auto) with AC running. It's well worth the investment if you're considering doing long distances.

TT
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Old Aug 6th, 2019, 20:28   #20
Ottoman
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Default VOLVO CAR lpg car conversion XC70 Polestar

I heve volvo XC70 polestar I want lpg car conversion is it possible ?

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