LPG Powered Motors

[Paul]

With the rapidly rising price of gasoline I think everyone would be looking for alternatives. In my country the price of automotive LPG has stayed static whilst the price of gasoline has sky rocketed. The price of gasoline is now about 60% more than LPG. (After adjusting for the calorific differences between the two fuels)

LPG has 99 octane rating and as I understand it a properly setup motor on LPG will produce more power than on petrol. I'm not sure how the LPG tanks could be mounted on a GT 40 -but does anyone know of anyone who has been able to put their GT40 on LPG?

 

[Jac Mac]

First thought , two long circular tanks in each side.
Second thought, would it be doable certification & safety wise in NZ
Third thought, range between refills.
Fourth thought, while some manufacturers, Ford ( Aust ) included have stepped up to the plate with dedicated LPG systems, the quality control of the LPG particularly in relation to octane rating apparently leaves a bit to be desired. I had regular contact with one sales rep who was an ex mechanic & found himself becoming an unpaid developement engineer for the system on his vehicle.

Dont get me wrong here, it could/can work, but it has not had the backing it deserves, for example the fitment of such a system has to be certified etc so that cuts out a lot of people who would otherwise experiment with it & perhaps come up with more viable solutions....

 

[Ian Anderson]

With the rapidly rising price of gasoline I think everyone would be looking for alternatives. In my country the price of automotive LPG has stayed static whilst the price of gasoline has sky rocketed. The price of gasoline is now about 60% more than LPG. (After adjusting for the calorific differences between the two fuels)

LPG has 99 octane rating and as I understand it a properly setup motor on LPG will produce more power than on petrol. I'm not sure how the LPG tanks could be mounted on a GT 40 -but does anyone know of anyone who has been able to put their GT40 on LPG?

Perhaps a "doughnut" tank under the front clip where they at one time fitted a spare wheel.

I believe to get the best out of LPG it needs to be LPG injected as opposed to "evaporated"

IAn

 

[Seymour Snerd]

Perhaps a "doughnut" tank under the front clip where they at one time fitted a spare wheel.

And/or either side of the transaxle where Mk II's had "FIA suitcases."

 

[Maurice Butler]

Fourth thought, while some manufacturers, Ford ( Aust ) included have stepped up to the plate with dedicated LPG systems, the quality control of the LPG particularly in relation to octane rating apparently leaves a bit to be desired.

This is because the octane rating is dependant on the ratio of butane & propane, and this is variable as in liquid form the two tend to separate due to different densities. This layering in the storage tanks makes the mix you get a bit of a lottery.

 

[Paul]

I've run LPG on a 318 V8 powered saloon car for years using an Impco carburetor system. Fitting the system to an 'old fashioned' cast iron V8 is pretty much trouble free - you need a dual fuel ignition unit for a dual fuel motor. There's not as much power on LPG because the motor needs to be modified to a dedicated system rather than a dual fueled system like mine.

I know that our local gas company advertised an Australian company that produced fuel injected LPG for cars that already have fuel injection. I'm not sure how some of the alloy head motors would like LPG and I'm also not certain about how a modern computer controlled fuel injected motor can be easily reprogrammed for LPG?

Certification in NZ is fairly straight forward if the fuel tanks can be put somewhere safe as I'm not certain if having side LPG tanks is such a good idea as although they are very strong, a side impact that ruptured the tanks would be worse than a petrol tank rupture.

The problem is with very high gasoline prices and very much cheaper LPG prices it's an area that many drivers may be forced to look at. Maybe someone with some technical knowledge in this area might have some comments?

 

[Andrew Cowle]

Hey Guys,

there is a company in Australia who has been working with performance v8's and gas for a long time, the website is below.

Gas Research

Regards Andy

 

[Jason]

I drive a 4.6ltr V8 Range Rover dual fuel - petrol and a full sequential injection LPG system.
I run the car on LPG as much as possible because it's far cheaper and also because because the engine runs better on LPG than on petrol. It's smoother, more responsive and my butt-dyno tells me it's slightly more powerful.
Properly set up LPG is an excellent fuel system.

 

[Paul]

And/or either side of the transaxle where Mk II's had "FIA suitcases."

Could you please send me a picture as to where you think the tanks could go? They have to lie flat because the filling stop system doesn't work unless they are flat (Automotive tanks).

I think that a minimum of two 60 litre tanks would be needed.