Questions Questions!

[Simon Linton]

Dear Alex

I wish I knew - I can only speculate that it is a combination of the ECU bringing the boost in earlier and lower gearing, as well as the lead-footed nature of most R owners.

The fact that Phil gets better consumption than me suggest that the third element is a pretty important one!

Going off topic a wee bit..

Simon join the IAM http://www.iam.org.uk and then what you spent on the test fee you will save every few months on petrol :)

Follow a traffic cop in a volvo through town and watch how often they brake (in medium traffic). Compare this to how often you are braking. Advanced driving doesn't mean slow driving it's all about looking, and more importantly, thinking ahead.

Another fun one is to set cruise at 70mph in a medium traffic situation on a 3 lane dual carriageway, or motorway, and see how you manage keeping your speed constant at all times. Now I'm not suggesting you go and crash but when you realise you can't slow down or accelerate you start planning ahead VERY carefully :)

LJ,

Many thanks for that detailed write up. Were you the one that the article was writen about in techincal driver a while back? I liked the way they had the nozzle behind the flap on the bumper. If only I did enough miles to justify LPG!

LJ,

I stand corrected, thanks. I guess the people I spoke to in Holland were the cowboys then, as they all said a turbo was impossible. Also the one LPG car we have in the office (most poeple chose diesel instead of LPG) must have done badly as the car has no power (Megan 1.6 Cabrio) when used on LPG.

Also spoke to my other halfs Sister and Brother in Law over the weekend, they run a V40 2.0 lpg (filler also next to the petrol cap under the cover - although their car had a huge tank behnd the rear seat - and they are very satisfied and said that they can't tell that much when using LPG and not petrol.

Live and learn! Something to think about for the future maybe...

Stu

I have been thinking about LPG but have two problems. Firstly, LPG's are not allowed to park in multi-story car parks here in Belgium, nor can you go in the Tunnel with LPG. Can you indeed switch between petrol and LPG and so drive on what ever you prefer at the time? Secondly, I need all the boot space I can get and the lpg I have seen have this massive tube in the boot. Can this be avioded?

George

George,

Depending on what car you have you can choose between a big tank in the boot, or a smaller tank in the spare wheel well (so long as you don't mind losing your spare wheel......)

And yes you can just flick a switch and go form LPG to Petrol and Vice Versa. I have been told (though based on the quality of the other information I recieved I'm not sure - see above!) that when you start the car it will always start on petrol and then switches to LPG after a few mins. Anyone know why?

Stu

All,

Sorry for the delay in responding.

Mav_UK - re-reading my post and your reply I fear I may have come over as a bit of a know it all - sorry. I am sure the guys you spoke to were not "cowboys", possibly just not up to date with the newest hardware/software. I am sure there are many very, very good converters who don't do turbos. The "cowboys" are the ones who do the conversion, and then your engine blows up! The honest ones admit they can't do it. I think there are 2 key questions I would ask when finding a converter

1. are they LPGA approved (or equivalent outside UK)?

2. Do they convert turbos? This one is obviously not essential if you have a n/a car, but it does indicate that the converter is up to date with latest technology. When they did my car they actually plugged the laptop in to the LPG ECU, sat in the drivers seat and got me to drive through as many scenarios as we could - fast, slow, hard acceleration etc. They monitor various outputs from the ECU and adjust as you are driving - incredible. Problem was, I was trying to watch what he was doing instead of driving. I'll throw him in the back next time!

Re the power on the Megan - sorry, don't know! I know you lose some power, but not how much although I was quoted 5%.

I would like to take my car to a rolling road, with my LPG man, and compare the petrol and LPG power. Only problem is I don't know of a 4wd rolling road in the area (please see my post in performance car section). If I find one, I will come back and post figures - should be interesting!

The rules re. the chunnel are correct, don't know about car parks in Belgium, but it goes to show you need to do your homework and that LPG will not suit everyone.

Alex - no, that wasn't me, I have not reached such dizzy heights of fame! I saw the article though and I was considered putting the filler there too. Glad I didn't though as I would have been stuck when I put my twin exhaust on!! My filler is behind the petrol flap, next to the petrol filler.

PS - Mav_UK, I notice you drive a 440 - please have a look at my post "440 Turbo" in 400 forum and give me your opinion - thanks.

LJ,

Don't appologise (but thanks anyway), It's always good to learn something new, and you seem to have far better knowledge of the subject than me!

I have recently found out some stuff about the Megan that might give some insight into it's poor performance :) . The original driver didn't seem to know what the gears were for and drove the thing at redline most of the time, they also didn't know what a service was.......

The 306 we have just got, was converted by Peugoet, although they coudn't get it done for about 4 weeks after it was delivered, and it is a terrible conversion. The car coughs and splutters worse than anything I have ever driven - and this is supposed to be the 'new' type of LPG installation that doesn't decrease power by that much (according to the sales rep).

Sounds like your place really knows what they are doing and proves that you should really shop around until you find someone you can trust!

Again, cheers for the knowledge!

Stu

hi IAN, sold my espace2.2td for my present T5 est some 2 yrs ago.
the fuel cons i get is 22mpg round about ,because you can't help using the acceleration& about 30mpg on the m/way.the tyres i have used
this time are Avons zz-1, about £82quid each v/good grip and still o.k
after 14000mls. 12000 on the front and always fast acceleration used.
goodyear f1 tyres are the best i've ever had for grip but 5500mls only.cheers col

If you drive the T5 everywhere with your hair on fire, then you can expect a dent in your wallet. If you keep at 70 on the motorway you can achieve 27-29 MPG. On A roads at 55-60 with a gentle foot, I have got 33MPG over a 40 mile trip. Up side is the power is there when you need it.

I know I've said this before but on a trip on the motorway (including joining and leaving various motorways the occasional stop etc) I have been able to achieve 35mpg (staying at 70mph) a number of times.

This was indicated on the trip computer and by my calculations. This was on a 98 V70 T5 with 2 people, with just a K&N filter and running on super unleaded.