Auto-LPG Conversion Thread

[tidus1203]

Actually there was a time last year during the height of the fuel price increases I was thinking of making my hungry Accord coverted into LPG. But then napaisip ako na sa baba ng mileage ko was it worth all the hassle? A few weeks later ayun gas prices started to fall as fast as it went up...

[ghosthunter]

There are some who want to taste the lap of luxury without shelling more for it.

How about the point of you already have an existing car and it makes better financial sense to convert the existing car to LPG than to spend hundreds of thousands of pesos to buy a new fuel efficient car.

How long would it take to recoup the supposed cost savings in driving a new fuel efficient car as compared to keeping an existing average auto running on cheaper & clean LPG as fuel?

To be honest, i have yet to hear any validation of its long-term effects.

Exactly. And all we hear are just hear-say of "sabi ni Juan" and "sabi ni Mang boy".

[Horsepower]

If you'll ask taxi drivers driving LPG-fed units, they'll usually tell you that their throat always feels dry and most of them developed lung spots. Word has it that Govt officials are stopping the campaign to restrict auto-LPG systems. Even DOE Secretary Reyes scoffed at an impromptu interview over the radio by Ted Failon if I remember it right.

Anyway, since Taxis are maybe less maintained than say private units, it's best to weigh these things.

If you find the fuel expense of a big engine hideous, then it's best not to get one.

GH, it really feels good that our posts are transferred to threads we're not replying to, thereby looking out of context making us look like fools answering to a non-existent question. That's really nice.

[ghosthunter]

GH, it really feels good that our posts are transferred to threads we're not replying to, thereby looking out of context making us look like fools answering to a non-existent question. That's really nice.

Given the majority of your posts were more related to Auto-LPG than to the original thread (Camry equipped with Auto-LPG), it had to go in this thread. Maybe if you can explain how your response relates to the original thread better?

[vinj]

The LPG kit (Greenfuel) on the 2007 Altis that i use will be turning one year old this coming July. To date i've travelled over 19,000kms and i've only used gasoline very minimally, less than 100kms (for heating up and very short trips of less than 2kms).

I've taken trips to:
- Baguio twice, fully loaded (with a roof box at that)
- San Narciso in Zambales twice
- Subic (fully loaded as well, done then day after my LPG kit was installed at that)
- Tagaytay (i dunno how many times already, and twice straight from Baguio)
- Pampanga twice a month at the least

Changes i did to the engine:
- K&N cone filter and tube intake (done recently)
- Redline Water Wetter mixed with coolant and distilled water
- NGK BKR6EGP (one step colder) platinum spark plugs

Problems encountered:
- Divebomb idle after my first few hundred kilometers (fixed).
- Just recently, the transition between gas to LPG after start-up is accompanied by a jerk (my recent tune minimized it but it still has to be fully solved, will change my plugs in my next oil stop as i havent touched the platinum plugs for over 14,000kms already).

Others Notes:
- All my long trips were done using LPG all the way and not one hiccup has ever happened during those long drives.
- Car could still sustain high speed runs; even hit an indicated 200kph on a highway one time while running on LPG and with a passengers and weekend baggage.
- My average FC in the city has always been consistently between 10km/L to 11.4km/L, same as my gasoline consumption. Highway-city mixed driving is from 11.5 to 12km/L++ (still can't get over the 13km/L mark on the highway as i used to do when i was running on extra unleaded though).
- The lowest FC i encountered was 8.2km/L (first few tanks after my install and my Baguio trip with a Thule roof carrier/box).
- I normally run around over 500kms before i tank up again (have not encountered running my LPG tank dry).
- I still run on my usual Petron Ultron Touring 20W-50 motor oil.
- I used Petron XCS for the regular fuel
- I gas up normally in Petron C5 or Sea Oil EDSA.

Pondering on:
- Switching to NGK BKR7E Iridium plugs
- Long Shot: Getting a programmable ECU chip and doing some dyno tuning if my budget ever permits such (i still feel i can max out more on the fuel efficiency and performance side).

Will be going to Greenfuel soon as Lorna advised to get a overall check-up before the warranty period lapses.

[vinj]

Actually there was a time last year during the height of the fuel price increases I was thinking of making my hungry Accord coverted into LPG. But then napaisip ako na sa baba ng mileage ko was it worth all the hassle? A few weeks later ayun gas prices started to fall as fast as it went up...

We were in the same position last year; the debate was whether to LPG our V6 Galant or the Altis and we decided to LPG the Altis as its used much more while the Galant is used sparringly, the Altis is a new car (thus will be kept longer), and the SGI kit for the 4cylinder is cheaper and i can transfer it to more vehicles later on. I think you made the right decision not to switch to LPG given your Accord is used sparringly.

Gas prices did fall but if you compute the percentage difference of gas and LPG, it hovers between 40% to 48% at any given price level. With my usage, my break-even is conservatively a little less than two years but the benefits on my cash flow on a week-to-week basis pretty much covers it all (i spend P400+ a week, using the car for 7 days between Makati and Q.C. and P800+ a week if my family goes home to the province for the weekend). My last tank up covered 47.8L and 507kms which had three days out of town (Pampanga) and seven days around the Metro.

Ideally, i would want to get a 2nd hand Camry or gasoline Innova and transfer the LPG kit as the space and my kids would be more comfortable and long drives are less-tiring (or not tiring at all) with a bigger car and easy power.

[Mile2]

Same here my LPG conversion warranty will expire this coming July. Will also head to GreenFuel for checkup, though my kit is perfectly okay. I think July last year was the height of costly fuel P65/li.

Benefits that I got...well I'm doing no less than 85 kms a day and translating the 40-45% cost savings into a full year is really a big sum. ROI on the kit came at about at 11 months of usage. I have no problem of LPG smell inside the cabin since my tank is placed underneath the car and no holes was drilled on any part on the car.

Plus evidently, my engine is cleaner as my tail pipe ends was still clean as it went out of casa.



Why do taxis smell LPG inside the cabin?..taxi drivers are the culprit! they always removed the mutilvalve cover on the tank and does not even bother to put it back properly. The multivalve cover should vent out any LPG seepage out on the exhaust pipe. May nakita pa nga akong taxi driver na tinutuktok ng wrench yung tank habang kinakargahan??? Akala yata eh nagpapabomba ng gulong

Why do taxis breaks down more than an average private cars? the answer is simply on the high mileage they do and less PMS. Imagine they do only change oil every 3 months or over, but in reality they should be doing change oil every month.

[chuaa]

Kinda ironic a luxury car having LPG. I guess the previous owner just wanted to buy things beyond his means yun pala nahirapan sa gas bills ayun nag pa-LPG...

i dont think so....my camry was converted last yr..so far no problems...i bought the camry (2004) brand new...last yr (prior to the conversion) i was contemplating on selling it...but decided not to since the resale price was soo low (750k)...if i sold it, i would not even have enough to buy a civic or an altis! so i decided not to sell it and have it converted instead...cheaper gas expense with the same luxury and comfort....

sometimes, you need to see the big picture before making any conclusions...

[dieselNUBI]

hi. i have one installed sa 96 civic vti namen. from green fuel also. would be it advisable if i switch cars and have the lpg kit switch too?

[ghosthunter]

hi. i have one installed sa 96 civic vti namen. from green fuel also. would be it advisable if i switch cars and have the lpg kit switch too?

yes you can switch cars but make sure the engine size is the same or smaller because the vaporizer has a max flow limit.

You will also have to spend on new copper tubing.

[actor21]

pero baket kaya di successful sa mazda 3 ang LPG conversion? anybody had their mazda 3 converted aside from GH?

[ghosthunter]

pero baket kaya di successful sa mazda 3 ang LPG conversion? anybody had their mazda 3 converted aside from GH?

Its the nature of the ECU system used in the Mazda3 engine. It self adjusts certain parameters and then if it detects something is 1% off, it triggers the CEL, etc.

[niky]

Its the nature of the ECU system used in the Mazda3 engine. It self adjusts certain parameters and then if it detects something is 1% off, it triggers the CEL, etc.

I think a Mazda3 install can be done successfully... you just need to make sure your tuning on LPG for closed-loop mode mirrors the air-fuel ratio on gasoline 100%, so as not to cause a feedback loop that pushes the ECU beyond its acceptable adjustment parameters.

[n5110]

nag check ako kanina at nakita ko rin kung saan nangagaling yung leak. its coming from the solenoid valve area attached to the tank at hinde galing sa tube fittings. ang problema maski naka off ang sasakyan nag leleak pa rin. kailangan madala sa greenfuel ito at sayang ang nagleleak na lpg at naaamoy ko rin sa loob ng sasakyan.

wala pang isang taon ang kit ko ito na naman ang sira, ung una nagpalot ng vaporiser ngayon ito naman. hay.

galing ako ng greenfuel last sat para mapaayos itong leak ng lpg ko. teflon tape lang ang katapat, sayang hinde ko nakunan ng picture. its very easy to dismantle the parts. it has an o ring inside that should prevent the leak from happening pero sabi ng tech ng GF since ON and OFF ng solenoid parang napupuwersa daw which caused the leak to happen.

siguro i can put a slightly oversized o ring next time na mag leak. so far wala pa akong napapansin na leak sa loob ng cabin. ayos talaga ang teflon.

[glennjv]

pero baket kaya di successful sa mazda 3 ang LPG conversion? anybody had their mazda 3 converted aside from GH?

I had my Mazda 3 converted last year... July ata or August. Just read na may check up pala before the warranty expires... Might as well do it.

Since last year I only experienced the CEL thrice. Napansin ko it happens when it "coughs" then when its about to die and it doesn't ayun mag on CEL. Tapos sabi nga ni GH... remove the battery connectors to reset.. ayun tapos wala na CEL...hehe Never been a big problem for my Mazda 3.

I did experiment on adjusting the vaporizer ata yun by twisting it clockwise to lessen the fuel consumption pero it makes it lean kaso I burned my plugs faster. I experienced loss of power when long driving. Makati to Clark.

Solved it by turning it counter clockwise so it'll go back to the rich side.
Didn't burn the plugs faster this time tama lang. Mazda 3s daw kasi likes RICH setting... matakaw talaga...hehe AVG mileage on gas is 8.5 km/L on LPG i'm at 8km/L so i'm happy=)

Namamatayan lang ako when i'm idle or crawling in traffic for a long time.
It coughs up for some reason. Actually it happens more often pag full tank pero pag last light na it happens less. So i'm guessing timpla lang sa rich and lean. Sanay na ko. I just rev it to 1k rpm to below 1.5k rpm palaro laro to keep it alive.

Weird thing is my Dad's Camry 2002 model ata yun now runs PERFECT when dati yun ang problematic. Na solve din ng GreenFuel after a month or 2 when my dad had it checked last year. Another technician found out the wrong injectors were used pang 1.6 daw...hehe kaya pala. Pero when the correct injectors was used... panalo yung camry ganda ng takbo... lakas humatak...

[vinj]

Its the nature of the ECU system used in the Mazda3 engine. It self adjusts certain parameters and then if it detects something is 1% off, it triggers the CEL, etc.

Would switching to an aftermarket ECU help?

[vinj]

IPero when the correct injectors was used... panalo yung camry ganda ng takbo... lakas humatak...

What's the FC of the Camry on LPG?

[ghosthunter]

Would switching to an aftermarket ECU help?

Maybe BUT if you would be using a piggyback ECU, it wouldn't.

[quan2boy]

What's the FC of the Camry on LPG?

I have a 2002 Camry GXE 2.2L A/T. FC on gas is about 7km/li. FC on LPG is about 6km/li. Parang natataasan ako FC sa LPG so I'm planning to take it to Greenfuel one of these days after my km check at Toyota Shaw.

But yes, sarap ng hatak ng Camry even on LPG...

[actor21]

grabe bilib ako sa haba ng pasensya mo..anyway..diko kaya sumugal ng ganun since ayoko maging sakit ng ulo ko ang mazda 3 ko...i will actually get a new car (vios 1.5AT) and have it converted to LPG after 5,000KMS PMS..since toyota ang may pinakamaraming nala LPG na alam ko (sa mga taxi drivers na naka toyota) kaya napagdesisyonan ko na gawin ito...since diesel is already 30pesos per liter..

I had my Mazda 3 converted last year... July ata or August. Just read na may check up pala before the warranty expires... Might as well do it.

Since last year I only experienced the CEL thrice. Napansin ko it happens when it "coughs" then when its about to die and it doesn't ayun mag on CEL. Tapos sabi nga ni GH... remove the battery connectors to reset.. ayun tapos wala na CEL...hehe Never been a big problem for my Mazda 3.

I did experiment on adjusting the vaporizer ata yun by twisting it clockwise to lessen the fuel consumption pero it makes it lean kaso I burned my plugs faster. I experienced loss of power when long driving. Makati to Clark.

Solved it by turning it counter clockwise so it'll go back to the rich side.
Didn't burn the plugs faster this time tama lang. Mazda 3s daw kasi likes RICH setting... matakaw talaga...hehe AVG mileage on gas is 8.5 km/L on LPG i'm at 8km/L so i'm happy=)

Namamatayan lang ako when i'm idle or crawling in traffic for a long time.
It coughs up for some reason. Actually it happens more often pag full tank pero pag last light na it happens less. So i'm guessing timpla lang sa rich and lean. Sanay na ko. I just rev it to 1k rpm to below 1.5k rpm palaro laro to keep it alive.
Weird thing is my Dad's Camry 2002 model ata yun now runs PERFECT when dati yun ang problematic. Na solve din ng GreenFuel after a month or 2 when my dad had it checked last year. Another technician found out the wrong injectors were used pang 1.6 daw...hehe kaya pala. Pero when the correct injectors was used... panalo yung camry ganda ng takbo... lakas humatak...