e55 on lpg

fenn

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Been running my 2001 e55 estate for a good few miles now-in the main I'm quite pleased - The car has broken down once,and is proving quite costly to keep fettled properly( new brakes and tyres all round weren't exactly cheap), but these are all issues withe basic car, and don't relate ti it's having an lpg conversion - THAT seems ,so fas at least, to have been a success -i put about £20 quids worth of BP Ultimate petrol in about every 4-5 weeks - the rest of the time it's LPG. at usually 40p per lite(sometimes a bit more if I'm caught out somewhere unfamiliar -but never more than 53p. I can discern no difference in the engine noise torque or performance on either.fuel,the only drawback being reduction in load space in the "estate" part of about 50%, but in everyday terms that doesn't matter,as I can still get briefcases, suitcases, computers cases etc in, and the dog still has plenty of room!, and that's without collapsing the seats-on the other hand, the 100litre LPG tank gives me comfortable 350 miles or more between fillips, so there's not really anywhere I can' get LPG.
So-I guess .with overall consumption hovering around the 26-27mpg mark on the computer, (I spend most of my driving on motorways - relatively little in towns-it means that I'm easily getting the equivalent of 40mpg (you have to deduct 20% from the petrol consumption for LPG, Pretty impressive for an E55 I'd say.
Perhaps equally interesting -it appears to be the only E55 estate with an LPG conversion in existence.,so I've had a number of people ask me ,quite seriously, to let them know when I am selling it.as they'd really be interested - a nine year old E55 would not be the easiest car to sell, so it seems the LPG conversion has increased it's market interst
Comparison wise, it stands close to my other car,an Audi S8, performance wise at least,and makes a surprisingly good fist at handling and cornering,even against the Audi's quatro system - the interior though,is showing it's 95,000miles far more than the Audi's 130,000, The drivers side seat has a wear tear in the side bolster,and the AMG.half silvered steering wheel is so scuffed on the silvered piece that I've put a Halfords cover on it -mind you, i was never a fan of the half-silvering on it anyway I think it looks a bit too pretentious and conscious of itself.The outside is wearing much better though -seems very resistant to stone chips and minor scuffs,although the alloy wheels do seem to pick up a lot of "dings" very easily.
 

teddycatkin

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Very interesting --I go to Holland a bit and there are LPG pumps at all filling stations -a big following over there --its also more eco friendly I think ??
 

bigasotonuk

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Hi,
Interesting, I have thought about an LPG conversion on my C43, The 100 litre tank was that the largest tank option? Where did you get it done too?
The only thing that has put me off was the intial outlay of the system and it being fitted, and the alleged slight loss of power and torque, but as are engines are essentially the same I should expect similar characteristics as your self.
Can I ask how much the LPG conversion cost you?
Are there many gas pumps around? As there only seems one station near me, then to be honest I probably don,t notice them.
 

turbopete

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the power/torque loss tended to be on the early systems where the gas was basically pumped into the inlet manifold via a mixer. nowadays sequential systems that work with the original fuel injection set up eliminate this!

im surprised at the tank being so large. i know someone that gets approx 250 miles in a V6 auto mitsubishi fto around wigan/manchester and the tank fits in the spare wheel well! holds about £30 of lpg i believe
 

wiltsandy

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Interesting, to hear your comments on running on LPG.

I had my Cherokee converted when I bought it two years ago as I was doing about 12k miles a year at the time and with a 4L it would be a tad expensive to run on petrol! I went for an underslung tank as I didn't want to lose boot space but that means that I now only have a half-size petrol tank. The conversion was just over £2k but in my opinion was worth every penny. The LPG tank is 70L but can only be filled with 56L of gas (80% limit for safety).

With the sequential injection system and separate management system there's no noticeable loss in engine power and the engine runs much cleaner on LPG. Cost-wise I get the equivalent of about 30-35mpg which I don't think is bad.

And an added bonus is that when the car goes for an MOT, if it's running on LPG when tested, the emission test limits are so slack that it can virtually not fail!
 

Alex M Grieve

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Very interesting --I go to Holland a bit and there are LPG pumps at all filling stations -a big following over there --its also more eco friendly I think ??

Yes the Dutch have been keen on LPG for some time. When I lived there in the late 1980s most people with newer large saloons had conversions. They are great Euro-tourists and love driving straight down to Mediterranean France & Spain without stopping to refuel.

The motivation seemed to be a mix of thrift (they love a bargain), hygiene (very clean system) and as Shell owns 40% of the country, supply was no problem.

They did however prohibit such vehicles from underground car parks because of the risks associated with leakage (heavy, volatile fuel). Is there any such restriction in the UK?
 

wiltsandy

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They did however prohibit such vehicles from underground car parks because of the risks associated with leakage (heavy, volatile fuel). Is there any such restriction in the UK?

Not that I'm aware of although you're not allowed to take an LPG powered vehicle on the Eurotunnel, even if the tank is empty. The story I heard was that when the risk assessment was done for the tunnel, LPG vehicles were not included in the fire risk and so have been prohibited.

The fact that LPG systems are considered safer than petrol is another argument entirely.....
 

hairyg

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I've run both of my Mercs on LPG and have had very few problems.

The C Class used the Italian Landi system and had lumpy throttle control at low speeds, a bit of a pain on ice. I did well over 70,000 miles on LPG before I sold it on with 190,000 miles on the clock.

The SL I have now uses the Prinz sequential injection system (£2,100 to install) and I can only tell which fuel I am using by checking the LPG/Petrol switch.

Both cars have done long European tours without problem and I rarely have trouble finding somewhere to re-fuel even though the SL only has a small tank.

An adaptor is required to fill up in France and most of S Europe but Holland and the Low Countries all seem to have pumps with both types of connector.

I couldn't afford to run the SL on petrol in these depressed times so I am glad I had the conversion done when I first bought it. The conversion paid for itself after 30,000 miles and now I have the pleasure of a very nice car that I can just about afford to run on my pension.
 

sailorjim

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The story I heard was that when the risk assessment was done for the tunnel, LPG vehicles were not included in the fire risk and so have been prohibited.

The fact that LPG systems are considered safer than petrol is another argument entirely.....


Yes, it should be OK in Eurotunnel, as the constant movement by trains would stir up any leaks, and they would be removed by the air system. It would be quite conceivable, however, that in an underground car park the gas, being significantly heavier than air, could fill up the whole space until it found a source of ignition. (I believe the Dutch are still quite enthusiastic smokers.) This is why there are rigid ventilation procedures for boats which are fitted with LPG cooking and heating facilities. There have been terrible explosions in the past when boats have been left for a while and filled up with gas.
 

giuseppe

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LPG and eurotunnel

NOT TRUE, when you book to through the tunnel, they will not allow LPG.
The story I heard was that when the risk assessment was done for the tunnel, LPG vehicles were not included in the fire risk and so have been prohibited.

The fact that LPG systems are considered safer than petrol is another argument entirely.....


Yes, it should be OK in Eurotunnel, as the constant movement by trains would stir up any leaks, and they would be removed by the air system. It would be quite conceivable, however, that in an underground car park the gas, being significantly heavier than air, could fill up the whole space until it found a source of ignition. (I believe the Dutch are still quite enthusiastic smokers.) This is why there are rigid ventilation procedures for boats which are fitted with LPG cooking and heating facilities. There have been terrible explosions in the past when boats have been left for a while and filled up with gas.
 
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