Ls400 Lpg Converted

Parrot of Doom · April 13, 2011

I thought I'd post pictures of the LPG installation I've just had done, by Worsley Autogas (just outside Manchester). The cost was £1650 + VAT, and the conversion took from Monday morning until Wednesday afternoon. They also gave me a courtesy car to drive around in.

The injectors:

The filter (silver cylinder) and ECU:

Flashlube bottle - apparently not strictly necessary, but the installer says it does no harm to have one. The little brass knob controls the amount of oil passed through, apparently a drip every five seconds is normal:

The fuel tank - Even with the spare wheel on top I still have about half the boot space left, which is plenty for day to day driving:

Filler nozzle:

Fuel gauge, installed on the blank plastic panel just behind the indicator stalk:

Driving it home I noticed no difference. Engine sounded the same, acceleration the same, handling the same, I couldn't hear the system switching between petrol and LPG. All very impressive. I shall update accordingly with cost per miles, once I've done a few hundred.

Bluesman · April 13, 2011

Welcome to the world of smiles per mile. :P

Mike

Parrot of Doom · April 13, 2011

I have noticed a very faint "whirring" only audible when idling, I suspect that something with moving parts has been bolted to the bulkhead or chassis, and noise is being transmitted through that interface. On an ordinary car it would of course not be audible, but with the Lexus being nearly silent at idle...

I shall investigate. A couple of bits of rubber may solve it.

ManicMark · April 13, 2011

I have noticed a very faint "whirring" only audible when idling, I suspect that something with moving parts has been bolted to the bulkhead or chassis, and noise is being transmitted through that interface. On an ordinary car it would of course not be audible, but with the Lexus being nearly silent at idle...

I shall investigate. A couple of bits of rubber may solve it.

same kit as mine been brilliant for the last 32k saved me £3750 in fuel bills. The wirring may be the injectors ticking may resonate through the top engine cover.

well chosen Mark

Parrot of Doom · April 13, 2011

Does the engine cover make a difference to noise levels, or is it just to make things pretty? I may remove it.

ManicMark · April 13, 2011

Does the engine cover make a difference to noise levels, or is it just to make things pretty? I may remove it.

Mine is removed ( they didn't refit it when they done the conversion because they didn;t want to cut it about) it just looks neater with it on. No difference in noise levels.

I out of intrest calculated my true mpg figs on gas compared to the computer reading on my last fill up & was astounded to find that my conputer reading said 22.3 tank average & I got 22.7 on lpg mostly town driving. these nrw generation brc conversions are the muts nuts. Enjoy Mark

Parrot of Doom · April 14, 2011

Quick update, the injectors aren't knocking on the plastic cover (although I'm going to put some rubber blocks between the two to ensure they don't), but the clickety-click of the injectors is pretty loud compared to the engine. Its like slightly cold tappets. Nothing wrong with them and on any other engine you'd never hear them.

I chucked a travel blanket over them with the bonnet open and that kills most of the noise. I'm therefore looking at some simple manner of soundproofing, something that will of course be immune to the heat under there. It only needs to 4 square feet or so.

I did slightly under 100 miles today and were it not for that faint clicking at idle, I'd never have known it was running on LPG.

Parrot of Doom · April 15, 2011

After about 140-150 miles back and forth over the A628 woodhead pass (basically crosses the Peak District between Manchester and Sheffield) and then to Liverpool on the M62, about 33 litres of LPG used, at a cost of about £25 (at a rather expensive £0.79 a litre station).

I'm off to Silverstone twice over the weekend so I expect to see better mpg, since crossing the Peaks I was stuck behind lorries doing 25mph up 1:5 slopes.

The figures above are still cheaper than my last car, a W210 Mercedes with the 3.0TD engine.

John N · April 16, 2011

I have noticed a very faint "whirring" only audible when idling, I suspect that something with moving parts has been bolted to the bulkhead or chassis, and noise is being transmitted through that interface. On an ordinary car it would of course not be audible, but with the Lexus being nearly silent at idle...

I shall investigate. A couple of bits of rubber may solve it.

same kit as mine been brilliant for the last 32k saved me £3750 in fuel bills. The wirring may be the injectors ticking may resonate through the top engine cover.

well chosen Mark

Does the BRC kit run without tripping any engine warning lights, fault codes or causing any other problems?

John N

ManicMark · April 16, 2011

I have noticed a very faint "whirring" only audible when idling, I suspect that something with moving parts has been bolted to the bulkhead or chassis, and noise is being transmitted through that interface. On an ordinary car it would of course not be audible, but with the Lexus being nearly silent at idle...

I shall investigate. A couple of bits of rubber may solve it.

same kit as mine been brilliant for the last 32k saved me £3750 in fuel bills. The wirring may be the injectors ticking may resonate through the top engine cover.

well chosen Mark

Does the BRC kit run without tripping any engine warning lights, fault codes or causing any other problems?

John N

On my ls 400 everything is as normal, petrol gauge doesn't mess around & no warning lights come up. I cant vouch if it would be the same on a 430 though.

Parrot of Doom · April 16, 2011

Yep, same here, the petrol gauge does move slightly (a tiny bit) but at some point it slapped itself and returned to what it should read. The mpg on the computer still works, I just subtract 5mpg from the numbers there.

Today I did 270 miles before refilling the tank with 55 litres of LPG at about £0.75 a litre. I reckon therefore I can get about 300 miles of motorway driving out of the 71 litre tank in my spare wheel well.

ManicMark · April 17, 2011

Yep, same here, the petrol gauge does move slightly (a tiny bit) but at some point it slapped itself and returned to what it should read. The mpg on the computer still works, I just subtract 5mpg from the numbers there.

Today I did 270 miles before refilling the tank with 55 litres of LPG at about £0.75 a litre. I reckon therefore I can get about 300 miles of motorway driving out of the 71 litre tank in my spare wheel well.

Hi thats about 22 mpg what did the computer read out of intrest

Parrot of Doom · April 17, 2011

IIRC about 28mpg, somewhere around there.

SHELLDRAKE · May 8, 2011

Hello parrot--I had my p reg 400 done at the same place as you. Your installation is much neater than mine,also your price is lower, mine was £2300 but the conversion is tip top,the job was done in june 08 at 117388 miles,it is now 139000,(21612miles) which includes 2 trips to Germany,4trips to France,and she hasn't missed a beat,I previously had two cars converted when I was working at Calor Gas years ago so I knew the benefit of L.P.G.

Many miles motoring enjoy it

LS Jasper · May 8, 2011

Quick update, the injectors aren't knocking on the plastic cover (although I'm going to put some rubber blocks between the two to ensure they don't), but the clickety-click of the injectors is pretty loud compared to the engine. Its like slightly cold tappets. Nothing wrong with them and on any other engine you'd never hear them.

I chucked a travel blanket over them with the bonnet open and that kills most of the noise. I'm therefore looking at some simple manner of soundproofing, something that will of course be immune to the heat under there. It only needs to 4 square feet or so.

I did slightly under 100 miles today and were it not for that faint clicking at idle, I'd never have known it was running on LPG.

LS Jasper · May 8, 2011

Quick update, the injectors aren't knocking on the plastic cover (although I'm going to put some rubber blocks between the two to ensure they don't), but the clickety-click of the injectors is pretty loud compared to the engine. Its like slightly cold tappets. Nothing wrong with them and on any other engine you'd never hear them.

I chucked a travel blanket over them with the bonnet open and that kills most of the noise. I'm therefore looking at some simple manner of soundproofing, something that will of course be immune to the heat under there. It only needs to 4 square feet or so.

I did slightly under 100 miles today and were it not for that faint clicking at idle, I'd never have known it was running on LPG.

If you come up with a sound proofing solution to the injectors lcicking, i'd be interested. Bought my 1995 recently, which had been converted in 2003. Took it back to the garage in Slough who did the original job for a service (£95) for peace of mind really. Asked them about the clicking and they said it was normal and there was nothing that could be done. I'm getting similar mpg as you, which for a 8 year old conversion is good news for me.

Jim

randyreindeer · May 9, 2011

The Injectors on mine can be heard as well but on any other engine, you wouldn't pick up on it. I still have the Engine cover fitted because the Injectors are in a slightly different place.

Performance wise, I cant tell any difference. I would recomend it to anyone.

Parrot of Doom · May 9, 2011

With the bonnet open and the engine running, chucking a thick blanket over the injectors silences them. This leads me to believe that a proper engine soundproofing blanket (plenty on the internet) might do the trick. They're made from lead and lined with a fireproof material.