Run it on gas?

[Gordon@1962]

I'm just curious if any of our members have an XJ-S running on Gas?

If you have how much space has the tank taken up in the boot?
I'm toying with the idea of some time in the future having it done, so it would be good to hear from any experiences.

thanks,

[Gordon@1962]

I've still been searching the Internet for some photos of how people fit the tank for the LPG in the boot.
I've only managed to find one up to now.

http://www.razey.karoo.net/images/LPG.jpg

Not a lot of room left!!

[dhdove]

Thats Horrendous
Alternatively............
Ditch the spare wheel, carry a can of "run-flat inflation stuff" (no good if you rip the tyre, will only "fix" common or garden punctures).
Replace spare with round spare wheel type gas tank.
Blaze Gas Conversions at Kemble Airfield where I work do a lot of Range Rovers and Jags (mainly saloons inc. V12) and have featured on "Men and Motors".
I know them and they know what they're doing..........perhaps an enquiry would answer some of your questions? 01285 770909
HOWEVER, I think you have to look at the mathematics involved...
Let's say gas is about half the price of unleaded (roughly) so you'll save half of your costs per litre ie about 40p. The installation will cost, I guess about £1000.00, so you'll have to save that £1000,00 over the mileage that you do annually over however many years till you even get your money back.
Also, expect large tax rises on LPG in the future from our current (prudent?????) Chancellor and future leader as LPG becomes a more popular loophole.
It very much depends how many miles you do and how long you intend to keep the car to justify the outlay in the first place........just a thought
Best Wishes
DH Dove

[ptjs1]

Gordon,

I converted my 3.9 Range Rover about 6 1/2 years ago. Best thing I ever did! However, at the time, LPG garages were pretty scarce so I went for the biggest tank I could find and obviously lost a lot of boot space. If I was doing it now with all the LPG garages around, I'd install a toroidal (do'nut-shaped) tank in place of spare wheel. After all, when did you last ever need a spare wheel? You can always carry a can of aerosol stuff, as suggested.

The maths are pretty easy to do but you have a number of variables. As a rough indication, assume converison = £1500 and petrol = 86.9p per litre and gas = 45p per litre and car does 26mpg on petrol and car does 23mpg on gas then payback = 20,000 miles. After that it's half-price fuel or the equivalent of 47.5 mpg.

Although you might theoretically lose a bit of power and consmption, modern LPG systems all use multi-point injectors and you might lose nothing, certainly nothing that you can feel. People talk about losing 5% of power at the top end of the rev range. I bet none of us would notice that in normal driving. I can't tell the difference at all in my Range Rover, if anything it runs slightly smoother on LPG. Also, the oil comes out the same colour it went in, and spark plugs seem to last indefinitely.

Why haven't I done to my XJS? Frankly, it's not worth it - I don't do sufficient miles in it and I also try and keep it as standard as possible. If I did a lot of miles, I'd definitely consider it. Will the tax freeze last? Who knows? If everyone converted, then the govt would undoubtedly up the duty big time. The reality is that takeup of LPg is still tiny and the lost duty is minimal to the govt and a nice PR hit at the moment, so long may it continue.

If I was you, I would read everything I could on the subject about the different systems. Really there are only three or four big players out there. I'd then make sure I found a conversion garage that really knows their stuff. I know a couple of good people in Kent but that's about it.

Good luck

Paul

[Gordon@1962]

Thanks Guys, some interesting points there.

To be honest if I think back I can't really remember the last time I used a spare on any of my cars, so that could be well worth investigating.

[dhdove]

Toroidal eh?
Round spare wheel type gas tank seemed ok to me
DH Dove

[Gordon@1962]

Well I finally did it.
Had my car converted to LPG and look the same boot space!

http://www.razey.karoo.net/images/lpg-boot.jpg