LPG the caprice or not the LPG the caprice... a decision needs to be made

[anonymousmoose]

Ok, I need to make a decision in the next week. To LPG my 56000km WK Caprice 5.7 litre V8 engine or to keep it stock standard.

I found a guy who can put in one of the newer Vapour Injection system (ones that are not accustom to backfiring) for $4700 - $3000 gov rebate. The guys just started his business but used to work for a reputable LPG installer.

I plan to keep the car for 3-4 years and once LPG is install I will lease it [from myself] and get salary sacrifice tax savings. After I put it on a lease I cant put LPG in anymore, its gotta be done beforehand.

The liquid injection system is too dear for me at $6000 in WA.

If I had more time I would wait until fuel goes back up before making the move but I gotta put it on a lease asap to get my tax savings [which is one of the reason I got the car].

What do you guys think? Also how do you think it will affect the resale value of the car?

PS
The installer says I wont feel any power loss but also no power gain. I also worked out I will recoup the $1700 out of pocket expenses back in about 1 year. When I was in Victoria earlier this month I saw lots of WK Caprices, some V8, on LPG.

[Flat_White]

Yeah mate i saw plenty of modern holdern V8's on LPG in Melbourne aswell,

Just do it mate, i did.

btw, LONG LIVE ANSETT AUSTRALIA!

[steve40]

Yea do it,as long as as you can trust the installer seeing he has just gone out on his own........................

[anonymousmoose]

The dude came recommended by my mechanic... whom I trust... so it should be good. I'm gonna go over to his workshop and inspect his work before I go ahead.

My theory is if he's from a trusted installed and now gone on his own, he needs to build a reputation so he will care about his work.

[poweredbycng]

Just do it - you won't look back!

Just out of curiosity, what equipment does this installer use?

As for the resale value of the car, expect it to actually increase with a decent LPG system installed. Power-wise, expect similar driveability compared to petrol only operation, and expect torque to be slightly higher at the low engine speeds.

Regards,
Dave

[anonymousmoose]

The system quoted to me is branded Parnell System - PRIS (vapour injection)

[zedweg]

i just had my wh international ..5.7 done gas injection italian system.. bloody good it cost me 145$ from melb to goldcoast fully loaded 5 ppl..sitting on 115km..well worth the money if your hanging on to your car for a while ..and if you want to give it agut full it automaticly goes to petrol for a few seconds .just for the high revs..

[alien]

I steer away from LPG whenever i hear it. Sellers apparently make it a big selling feature, but once they said it to me i wasn't interested, but apparently i was the first person for many of them that turned away from all the LPG sales.

I wouldn't put LPG in any of my cars, i know it's crap. However i've seen what can be done with V8 ethanol engines and **** they're powerful. YellaTerra built a custom Ethanol engine for an old XR, damn car has so much power, more than 500HP! On the dyno that engine blew off a rocker cover (before YellaTerra had to then fix it).

[anonymousmoose]

Well I got her converted, well ist still being done, I pick it up tomorrow. Vapour Injection LPG. One of the more expensive systems. The system is reversible too, so if I ever (not likely) wish to remove it, I can.

BTW; I got a donut tank and will get either a space saver tyre or one of them run flat kits.

[Flat_White]

nice mate, what brand did you get and what was the cost of the conv??

also which shop did you eventually go with?

cheers mate.

[anonymousmoose]

A new shop, just opened not so long ago. All Gas Joondalup. I cant remember the name of the system (I can check when I get the car back). Cost $5000 and that includes the donut tank on the standard one.

The guy who owns All Gas worked 10 years for a really reputable GAS company in WA, also cant remember the name.

[minux]

Sweet, now you can cook using a bbq and drive a car.

[Cobez]

I still don't understand why people buy V8's then want them to run cheap by putting LPG systems on them.

[Flat_White]

I still don't understand why people buy V8's then want them to run cheap by putting LPG systems on them.

neither, defeats the purpose to me.

but i always talk from a V6 point of view. in that case i think it is a great idea!

I will NEVER own a V8 so i can only really speculate.

[adamc11]

I would never buy a V8 on LPG, don't think i'd get any car on aftermarket LPG anyway though. If it wasn't LPG from factory i would never touch it. There are a lot of cheap skates out their that would be interested in an LPG V8, but most people these days are deterred by V8's regardless of the fact that they are on LPG or not. The mention of V8 scares them away. So it may affect the resale of your car, it may not, depends on what people are looking for. If i were you, i wouldn't LPG it. Get a tune for $1000 dollars and it should drop your fuel consumption considerably (8-9L/100km highway and 11-15L/100km city) given you drive it nicely, and give you an extra 20-30rwkw.

[johnvtls1]

I still don't understand why people buy V8's then want them to run cheap by putting LPG systems on them.

because what is the point in wasting money on petrol when you can spend 40cents a liter on gas and still maintain and in some cases increase power. The new lpg systems are actully pretty decent if you do any research on the topic.

[anonymousmoose]

Guys, if I were a performance person what you guys are saying makes sense, LPG on a V8 sounds odd. Just remember, I bought the car for the luxury not the power. If I were after power I would have sprung for a Monaro, SS etc. If I found a Caprice on V6 for the same price/condition as the V8 I would have got the V6.

Why did I put in LPG? Why pay $1.02 a litre when I can pay 45c? I also get the $3000 rebate remember.

The system I got is reversible too, if I ever wanted to take it back out (not likely) I could.

[MikesCalais]

The V8 caprices and statos you saw in Vic were probably the VHA/B cars, theyre pretty much taxis so most of them are on LPG for that reason

but anyway, back on topic, since your not too concerned about performance (which will still be good seeing as it is a v8) i guess it would be the more economical choice to go with the LPG, and if you can take it out later on, it wont really impact on resale, so i guess its all sweet when you look at it that way

[walesy]

if you really want lpg that bad dont get it added so you have duel fuel, go straight lpg so you have the affordability and the power, lpg is 111 octane and if tuned right is more powerfull than peterol... i had a vp 5ltr on duel fuel and it was more sluggish than i would have liked but ive seen some figures for straight gas and gets around an extra 20rwhp than peterol

[johnvtls1]

THERE IS NO POWER LOSS ON GAS!! NONE AT ALL so what is the issue? u still get the same power and it costs less.

[Paiste402]

LPG is great, u can get around heaps cheap but then if u wanna have some fun just flick her onto petrol and away u go! U will dig filling up for $30 from empty.

Also i have found out that there is no real power loss with LPG, its just when you start to hammer the car with a basic system that there is not enough fuel that can get into the engine. With my 5 litre i can get great acceleration but when i start getting to 3,500 rpm it starts to thin out. Its only a little converter though and not designed for power.

If u want power with LPG ask for a bigger converter so more fuel can be delivered when the motor starts askin for it.

[anonymousmoose]

I drove almost 200km since LPG was installed and I gotta say its awesome. I dont feel its too sluggish or anything. Its kicks in only when the engine has reached 40oC and its a seamless changeover. That 200km probably cost me less then $15 (I'm guessing as I havent filled up yet, the LPG installer gave us a full tank).

I also got a fluid kit/thing which help keeping the engine from trying. It lasts for about 10,000km before I need to refill it (costs about $15 a bottle).

With petrol being at about 1.05 a litre and lpg about 0.50 I should make the $2k back I paid out of my own pocket ($5k all up) back in about 1 year.

The donut tank is great so I wont loose any boot space. Instead of a spare wheel I will get one of them foam flat tyre repair kits. I'll take the spare with me if I ever go long distance driving. If one of my tyres shreds totally I will be stuck without a spare. So if I got outside the metro area (not often) I'll just put the spare in the boot.

The installer I dealt with was very professional and friendly. A mechanic not just LPG installer. If anyone wants me to recommend them feel free to PM me.

[Flat_White]

So what brand did you eventually get?

regards,
-Whiting

[anonymousmoose]

Parnell System - PRIS (vapour injection)
Edit/Delete Message

[blownba]

The ignorance in this thread is amazing.
I fit Liquid injection and tyhe last VE 6.0L I did GAINED 26.7 RWKW above premium unleaded with NO TUNING.
If you pull your head out of the sand and looked into the new gas systems you would see that some systems will actually increase engine longevity by running the valves super cool by injecting liquid lpg onto the valves abd supercooling them and the intake air acting as a chemical supercharger.
Have done heaps of liquid injection conversions now and all these cars have gained performance.