$10,000 budget for first V8...What would you do?

[shaune_m]

Need some advice people. As above i have a budget of $10K for my first v8. As much as i would love to just go out and buy a VX II SS etc it unfortunately isnt that easy.
I do alot of driving weekly (600-1000kms but a lot of highway 100km speed zones) and pretty much the only way i would be able to comfortably run a v8 would be to put it on gas.

I know what some of you are thinking (buy a corolla instead) but after having a few v6s (VP,VR,VY) Its time for something different and like alot of people ive always wanted an 8.

Now here are my options (well what ive thought of anyway, any input is welcome)

Its a bit of a long read from here onwards so you cbf its all good lol.

OPTION A
Buy a 5 Litre VT (Roughly $4.5-$6K) and get a lpg conversion ($2550 for impco mixer) that comes up to anywhere between 7-8500 .

Problems i can see with this option :
* 304 in a VT body would be quite heavy so wouldnt be real quick but enough for a daily. (Exhaust,intake,tune etc would make it sound great and run better though)
* Also mixer systems suck and would mean a performance loss but no real worry on the freeway or in traffic.
* And lastly my main issue, would i regret it and always wonder why i didnt go for option B

OPTION B
Find a VT Exec LS1 for around $6-7000 max (which i know would be hard but there are a few on carsales etc but would have to check overall condition) and spend around $4500 on vapour injected lpg conversion, i would then get a gov rebate of $1250 (on both systems) and could use that for mail order tune, catback etc


Problems i can see with this option :
* Getting a LS1 VT at the lower end of the price scale may mean the car might have issues but obviously i would get it checked out prior to purchase
* Low price generally would mean high KM's and finding one under 200K may be an issue.

By the way my mind says the 5L since it works out cheaper with more money left over but my heart wants the LS1 since i have wanted one for ages.

Whichever way i go I plan to keep the car for at least a year or two so i can make my money back from the gas conversion which shouldnt be too hard.

Another Option i guess would be to find a cheap 4cyl run about but it may take long to recoup the costs of rego, rwc etc

Or possibly keep my current daily VP V6 and maybe chuck a new motor in it and lpg that? So i could get a v8 and keep it on petrol.

Only Problem with those two methods would be the fact that i would hardly ever drive the v8 apart from weekends and the odd weekday. Whats the point of buying the car you want if you cant enjoy it hey?

Yep so thats my situation, a crap one to be in as a student i guess but what can you do.

Any suggestions or comments welcome.

Cheers

[Krisp]

v8's run quite efficent on long stretches why not just buy a v8 already on lpg

[shaune_m]

Here are a few of the Cars ive had my eye on lately:

5 Litres:
1998 HOLDEN CALAIS Base VT Private Cars For Sale in VIC - carsales.com.au

1998 HOLDEN COMMODORE SS VT Private Cars For Sale in SA - carsales.com.au

LS1:

1999 HOLDEN COMMODORE EXECUTIVE VT II Private Cars For Sale in NSW - carsales.com.au


2000 HOLDEN COMMODORE EXECUTIVE VT II Cars For Sale in QLD - carsales.com.au - carsales.com.au


2000 HOLDEN COMMODORE EXECUTIVE VT II Private Cars For Sale in VIC - carsales.com.au

[Blown V6 Hatch]

Buy the VT LS1, put the $4500 it costs for the LPG towards petrol and forget about the gas. Problem solved.

As much as i prefer a 304 over an LS1, they aren't suited to the heavy VT body.

[shaune_m]

Been looking mate but not too many out there with less than 200k on the clock.

Cheers

[shaune_m]

Yep Blown V6 that does make sense i guess, im guessing your not a big fan of LPG? Just thinking about the long run. Need to do some calculations me thinks.

Cheers

[GEN3RATD]

best idea would be what you said isnt easy, buy a VXII SS. gas is for bbq's, my SS isnt that expensive to run.

a 5ltr is not a good idea if you are after fuel economy.

[shaune_m]

Haha DM not biased at all ey? The lpg injection systems arnt half bad. But yeah agree with the 5L being more inefficient than the ls1.

[Blown V6 Hatch]

Yep Blown V6 that does make sense i guess, im guessing your not a big fan of LPG? Just thinking about the long run. Need to do some calculations me thinks.

Cheers

No, no i'm not. I went through a stupid phase and had my car on LPG for 12 months, stupidest thing i have ever done. I tore it all back off and binned it. It's just not worth it, even in the long run.

The internal combustion engine is made to run on petrol, end of story.

Haha DM not biased at all ey? The lpg injection systems arnt half bad. But yeah agree with the 5L being more inefficient than the ls1.

Inefficient? I get 8.5L/100K on the highway and between 10-13L/100K around town in a 5 litre....Doesn't sound inefficient to me.

[GEN3RATD]

Haha DM not biased at all ey? The lpg injection systems arnt half bad. But yeah agree with the 5L being more inefficient than the ls1.

im not. ive just seen mates blow money on 5ltrs to just buy an LS1 and cam it and wonder why they bothered.

oh wait...because 5ltrs "sound good".

[Blown V6 Hatch]

Oh dear god, going down this road again? I'm steering clear of this thread now.

[GEN3RATD]

just giving my opinion on this topic, id just buy a VXII SS, and not bother with gas, rather then beating around the proverbial bush.

[Blown V6 Hatch]

But, OP stated at the start he can't afford that, so your opinion is moot.

[GEN3RATD]

he could if he doesnt get gas. i payed 11k for mine, in mint condition with 69,000kms. ive seen them go here for around 7-8k.

$4500 is a lot of ULP, how long would the installation of gas take to become a profit?

[Blown V6 Hatch]

Yeh, true. In all honesty, i don't think gas ever really becomes a "profit" so to speak. By the time you take into account the damage it can/will do to an engine that will cost $$ to repair you don't end up any better off IMO.

I totally agree though, $4500 will buy a lot of ULP. At a guess, it should keep him going for the 1-2 years he plans to keep the car for.

[shaune_m]

You reckon guys? Driving say 30 to 40,000kms a year i always thought gas would work out better. Damn those online calculators lol.
Factoring in prices of PULP (recommended?) which dont seem to be going down. Wouldnt the cost be made back after a year or 2?
Would the LPG injection still hurt the LS1? (was told they were much nicer to the engine than the old mixer setup?)

[GEN3RATD]

id say 3 years. 3 years is a long time, things change, circumstances change.

with a decent tune LS1's can run with awesome fuel economy and still make lots of power.

and as Blown V6 Hatch said LPG will damage the LS1 over time

[shaune_m]

Yep 3 years is a long time. Ive seen some great results on LS1's from Oztrack etc so no problem there.
I know its probably bogus, but using this website with rough fuel prices entered and a $80-100 weekly fuel spend it seems 1.5-2 years is closer?
LPG Autogas Australia

[GEN3RATD]

well its impossible to tell isnt it? with fuel prices increasing and whatnot.

IMO if you worried about fuel prices a V8 isnt for you. i know its not what you want to hear but there is no point trying to find a bandaid solution, you can either commit or you cant.

having said that if you havent struggled with the ecotec i cant see an LS1 being TOO much different fuel wise.

edit: just hooked up redbook and it has a VR exec 5spd coming in at 8.5l per 100kms while a VX SS 6spd pulls 9.5l per 100kms keeping in mind that figure will improve with tuning.

[shaune_m]

Na Fair enough dude i hear ya, just want the best of both worlds i guess. Will be getting an 8 either way, just weighing up my options.
Yep Manual LS1 would be the go if i can find one for a decent price, obviously be a bit thirstier around town than the 6 but thats to be expected.
Anyone notice a big jump going from ULP to Premium?

[GEN3RATD]

only a bit. i used to have a auto EB XR6 that was cammed, exhaust, intake, tune etc. all that shit and i never really payed any notice to fuel lol, but when i bought my SS i swear it is more efficient.

[qwigybo]

I had a vt r8 6 speed ls1 w/ 3.73 diff ratio and got 700km out of a tank both ways bendigo to Canberra and back. Just picked up a ve ss auto from Brisbane and drove it back to bendigo cost $300 for 1800km's and was giving it hell half the way back

[HamaTime™]

VT SS LS1 (Series 2 only), if you want to stretch a tiny bit more, go the VX SS (Series 2).

If your going to get a 5litre, buy a VS SS, as it will be nippier/faster than the VT with the 5litre due to the weight differences.

IMO, go for the LS1

[undersuspicion]

+1 For the ls1 mate.

[ari666]

buy a 6 cylinder VH and then build a 355

/thread