Converting Vs V6 to LPG

[grmlyn]

Doing about 1100kms a week I am seriously considering putting my v6 vs on gas, but have no idea what the best system to use is. Amerian or European? Am also wondering if I should go for injection or just the old school system. Very confusing especially when you ring up and they hear a girl and everyone tells you that their system is the best. I only use the car for commuting and rarely tow anything, and at this point I am swayed towards the American Impco system. Any advise would be much appreciated

[Ron41]

I got mine converted a couple years back, best thing I have done, if i remember right the injection type was very expensive around $ 5,000 compared to $2,400 for the other type, mine is just an Impco copy and goes real good.
I was told off an lpg installer that gas needs more spark than petrol so a good set of spark plug leads is a must, also good plugs I was running NGK plugs but recently changed over to Bosch Platinum plus [HR 8 KI 332 W.] Its one heat range colder [ gapped 1.1mm ]. a little more expensive but worth the extra, that bloke also said to swap it back to petrol a few klm's away from home every night, been doing that and no problems at all.

[Shortstuff]

I wouldn't bother with the injected system. In normal everyday driving you will not notice much difference with the old mixer/converter system and it's never worth the extra $2000+ for the injected system.

One thing to consider is tank size when you are doing that many km. I would try to get at least an 85 litre tank. I used to do 1200km a week and drove my girlfriends LPG Falcon for a while. It has a 60litre tank and I was filling up every day and a half. Ok to start with but drove me mad after a while spending so much time at the servo. Almost every morning i'd get in and think "S**t, I have to fill up again!!"
When I got my own LPG Falcon it had a 110 litre tank and I would only fill up twice in 5 days of driving - it made a huge difference to my commute.

I wouldn't worry too much about which brand you get, just make sure it's fitted by a reputable installer like LP Gas 1. Saying this because my girlfriend had her car converted at a small backstreet type LPG joint and had real dramas. The car was there for 2 weeks, and when she eventually got a call to pick it up she was told "Oh yeah it's been ready for a week, we just never got round to calling you".
When she actually rocked up to pick the car up there was no tank in it as they were aparrently on back order. It took another 2-3 months to get the tank fitted.

Both my girlfriend's car and my old car used different makes of LPG system but we never really had a problem with either.

So in short: Go for the old style system unless you have money to burn, don't worry about the brand of the system too much, get as big a tank as possible and most importantly have it installed by a reputable LPG joint!

Also, make sure they are going hide the LPG filler behind the fuel flap. Most places do nowadays but some don't and there's nothing worse than seeing an ugly LPG filler hacked into the rear quarter panel of a car. My description isn't very good so if you aren't sure what I mean by this I can get a pic of my girlfriend's car at the weekend.

Oh, I forgot to say that we use the Supercharged V6 spark plugs in LPG cars at work. They come in a pack of six and IIRC part no. is 92143036.

Just my personal experience but hope this helps.

[v6lux]

The best system in this case would be the OMVL "positive pressure" type or equivalent. Don't bother with the direct injection, unless you got a plastic intake manifold. If you get a backfire (more than likely with the Holden Space Age (NOT) engine electrical Technology), it will not blow up the air box if it does. Trust me on this. I have owned LPG cars for nearly 20 years.

[v6lux]

Also, make sure they are going hide the LPG filler behind the fuel flap. Most places do nowadays but some don't and there's nothing worse than seeing an ugly LPG filler hacked into the rear quarter panel of a car. My description isn't very good so if you aren't sure what I mean by this I can get a pic of my girlfriend's car at the weekend. IS IT A TRACTOR?

Oh, I forgot to say that we use the Supercharged V6 spark plugs in LPG cars at work. They come in a pack of six and IIRC part no. is 92143036.

I would say to use NGK, 1 Heat Range Colder than standard plugs with the gap set at what your installer recommends! LPG installers are not all Hillbillys these days!