jazzleeds

Hi
i,m in the uk and have a 545i v8 and considering a LPG conversion. are there any e60 drivers out there who have had a LPG conversion done. which is a good system and any problems with the system. all the pros and cons.

many thanks

sixcard

Why LPG?

Russ1974

I looked in to getting an LPG conversion a few years ago when I had a V8 Jaguar XJ8. All of the sales people were great in telling me how LPG cost half as much as Unleaded fuel. What they aren't so good at telling you is that the MPG you get from LPG is much worse, in the case of my car, half as much. So although the fuel cost half the price, it would only get me half as far, in effect cancelling out any benefits at all.

LPG has been around for a very long time now. Manufacturers aren't building it in to new cars as standard, and hardly anybody has had their car converted. Very few garages sell it. There must be some good reasons for this.

luxembourg

I had a LPG gas installation in my previous E39 528i (it was Dutch made / manufacturer: Prinz) high-end stuff, w/direct sequential injection into all 6 cylinders (as advertized: same pwr and same consommation as in petrol) +80L tank in the spare wheel place.

So, in my opinion as a previous LPG-in-BMW user:

Pros:
- LPG costs half price of the diesel (about 50 Eurocents in Luxembourg, compared to 1,01 EUR/L ON)
- (crucial!) if well installed and well chosen for the car - works and feels like normal petrol car.
- if your driving habits are reasonable it will be cheaper per 100km than on diesel.
- you will actually carry 2 tanks with you (petrol and JPG), so your driving range will actually be about 1,5 times as it is now (depending on the size of LPG tank you choose)

Cons:
1) not many places out there who can install it really well, especially for such technologically demanding car as E60
2) if installed badly: it will most probably:
- smell gas inside (awful though not dangerous at all)
- have some power difference compared to driving on petrol
- consume +/-20% more LPG than petrol
3) installation will also need often, regular and professional service as well as parts, which are not that cheap as they tell you at the begining :thumbsdown: (for me it was about 200-300EUR every 7000km)
- most probably your regular BMW dealer won't even want to touch LPG in terms of service...
4) most important (for me): it will eat your trunk space: no matter whether the tank is only a small, spare-wheel size, or the bigger over 100L inside the trunk...
5) overall car's weight could inscrese significantly (tank is quite heavy but of course not as much as in CNG), and usually you need to keep both tanks filled up, as the car always starts off at petrol and switches into LPG only at certain engine temparature (about 100degress if I am not mistaken)
6) Last but not least: chain of LPG stations can be pain if you are not in Italy, Poland, Netherlands or certain areas of France and Germany
(by the way please update your location info in the member description - it will help both: you and us with understanding certain issues depending on your location...)

Enjoy the forum!

sixcard

Good remarks. Thanks

jazzleeds

thanks for the information. i gonna have to think about the lpg cpnversion

luxembourg

some additional proof of what LPG may be worth: to see and read below




and some links:

AC Schnitzer GP310 gas powered


and here:

Fastest LPG BMW worldwide

Rudy

You gotta love the carbon fibre "camel toe"...

http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=33005

Rossman_999

ive had two LPG cars, the first I ran for almost 150K with no real problems, the second a jeep 4.7HO destroyed both cyclinder heads and valves in under 30K.

I will never have another LPG car and now run a 530d e61, the extra cost over LPG is a small price to pay, its so much more reliable and you dont spent ages filling tanks (slow and poor range) after you eventually find a filling station!

Heloha

Sounds good on paper....I'm still waiting for the mas E85 filling station to pop up in California, so we can take advantage of it on my wifes flex fuel optioned Suburban!