Boosted Falcon

Yo,

Since I've had my P's every single car I've driven daily has been converted to gas by me or been acquired with a gas kit fitted (MRDOSE was straight gas CFI when I got it).

Anyways, for something different I thought I'd try drive TUFPAK around without gassing it until Jan when the rego's out, when I may or may not upgrade to something newer or another rando E-Series of some sort.

Well - It costs way too fking much! Like $50 or $60 a week where I was spending $30 or less in the EL. It doesn't go a long way at all either. I drive the car with only me in it 90% of the time as well, so I don't need all the extra space but I couldn't do without it as well because I'm an EA enthusiastic and will die in anything smaller. The only way you could justify such high costs is if you had a family and absolutely needed a big car like this.

Most of you guys have straight petrol EA-ELs that you drive only yourselves daily. Why do you spend so much on petrol?

Well its power and torque for me. I cant stand being in a little ass car and you need to drop back to 2nd everytime you come to a "hill". But hey thats just me.

Cause my first ED was on gas, and it was a shit system and could never be tuned right.
I actually removed it myself
And sold the out-of-date tank for a slab of beer.
Plus I earn enough money to not care, I just walk into servos, slide 50s out of the moneyclip and flip em at the attendant.

1. Initial cost of converting to LPG can put many off

2. Issues with LPG stuffing up the car when the conversion isn't done properly. A lot of my mates have lost money on LPG conversions that have turned their cars into shit. One mate had his VS converted, he's $2500 in debt now and the car only runs on petrol because his LPG system died, and it runs like a dog on petrol.

3. People's perceptions of LPG rooting your engine (which can turn out to be true when you have an aftermarket system fitted by dodgy fitters)

My LPG conversion resulted in an engine fire, dyno tuning (after it was initially "tuned" following the conversion), having the system's electricals not working so it wouldn't drive on LPG, and eventually having the head gasket let go due to the initial "tune" being extremely lean.

For those of you contemplating an LPG conversion, don't go to the cheapest place, go to the place where the mechanic has many years' experience and fits the same systems that your E-Series could've been optioned with from the factory (Parnell I think?).

My EF has been running fine on gas since it was dyno tuned at another place and had its head gasket done. But it will be at least half a year of driving (500kms a week too) before I reap the benefits of my LPG conversion.

Davo - I normally do the conversion myself but with the rebate I was thinking of just taking the EA in to a place like Auzgas to fit a secondhand kit to it for like $1400-1800 and then making $600-$200 back from the government via the rebate. Even that's too much effort (drop off before work or whatever, pick up, pay, apply for rebate, wait for rebate bla bla bla bla).

I wouldn't convert anything other than a E-Series car to gas. And as you said Dave - only use good parts and reputable fitters (if getting it fitted). The Parnell systems are aftermarket though but the hardware matches factory components fairly well.

I'm not saying I can't afford it, it's just that it's way too fking expensive. $1.40 for petrol yesterday!

I do 60% highway - 40% city - my average consumption is usually around 11L/100k's

Justified lol

a second car... i fill up about once every 3 weeks.

I know what your saying Sunny. I'm on a trainee wage earning like 7 bux and hour and go through $80 a pay. Thats like 11 hours work! And I only drive myself to and from work. Prices are ridiculous. I can't afford to convert to gas so I got no option but to pay for petrol. Sucks ay!?

My previous ED 6cyl would chew thru a tank a week ($90) no worries... went the goods but loved the fuel...

My current car on unleaded does about the same consumption but now with the GRA setup on it, $40 is pretty awesome for a week of 90% city driving in a 5litre. If only they could get it to cold start properly, Rapidflow are trying a new fuel control box on it next week, have to go up there again.. Getting a bit frustrating

Im a mechanic but i refuse to pay $2900 for a conversion, then have to get it running/starting properly myself, they can do it....

Sundeep wrote:I'm not saying I can't afford it, it's just that it's way too fking expensive. $1.40 for petrol yesterday!

I was just fucking around, it's mainly my bad experience with it.

I did think about going straight gas a while back, dunno if it would have been worth it, I do probably 80% freeway.
If I was going to keep an E-Series as a daily I probably would, but plan is to **** this Fairmont off by the end of the year.

Sunny I suppose the average person's main problem with LPG systems would be that they need to get the right education on the fuel, and need to be told the facts, not the scaremongering myths. I learned the hard way, I thought I'd done my homework by going to several LPG fitters to get info on their different systems, etc, but I still picked the wrong place because they were all marketing their own systems as being the best, etc ('sif anyone would dis their own product anyway)...

And you're pretty cluey with gas since you've grown up with LPG cars Sunny, which is probably another reason why the petrol-only people on here would confound you. It's all about knowing the do's and don't's (<-- that looks like bad grammar) with LPG.

I'm with OED as well, the V8 rarely gets driven so it doesn't matter that it's on petrol No doubt I'll go thru at least $200 of petrol for GOR... eep!

I think the choice of fuel comes down to how you use your car. If it's a daily that does high kms, then you're crazy to stick with petrol unless it's a 4 cyl. If it's a weekender, or if you only do very short kms each day, then I don't see the point in getting dual fuel. Straight gas is another matter.

I'm not trying to make myself out as being all knowledgable about LPG but I've learned a lot about what NOT to do due to experience

Man your a tightarse Sundeep. Your on $75k a year and complaining about an extra $20-30 in fuel costs.

People think Im dumb for riding a motorbike into the city and back every day.I get 4-5L/100kms.

LPG is the best you cant beat it. My 2.5 tonne maverick is more economical to drive than my Mum's EA. Even my mates who all bought diesels for the their economy cant match it. On the highway it gets 20 litres / 100kms but thats like $10 worth of LPG. WGAF.

Put the EA on gas or buy an XR6T. The choice is yours.

**** i am on barely 25k a year - you are tighter than a fishes asshole sunny -

lpg FTMFW.

i have had 2 gas powered falcons, my bro has one, and i even "converted" a mate who has a turbo diesel patrol to appreciating the goodness of a lpg powered daily.

when fitted and setup right, falcon gas setups are reliable as. there are plenty of myths about engine damage, not much cost difference, explosions, etc etc which put people off. qld'ers hate it. lachlan from chiptorque abused me for having my car on lpg. but hey, it only cost me $150 to drive to fecking QUEENSLAND!

i reckon buying a daily with a WORKING lpg setup is the way to go. wouldnt waste my money/time fitting one, even with the rebate.

now that i dont drive my car as much im contemplating taking it off, or swapping it onto a daily, but id still like to take the EF to perth. so far its been in VIC, SA, QLD, and NSW.

aah i love the EF being on LPG.
sunny's on 75k?

Steady the MARTYR! wrote:If I was going to keep an E-Series as a daily I probably would [convert to gas]

If I wasn't doing 130kms a day driving to work, I would've kept my wagon on petrol. Even though fuel is $1.40/L, >700kms to a tank means I'm getting good economy. But I've done over 10,000kms in only a few months, so that's why LPG will (eventually) be better value. Especially since I'm getting 11L/100km on LPG.

i reckon buying a daily with a WORKING lpg setup is the way to go.

^^^ Winner

I'm not on $75k you jackass lol.

The EL used to get 350km to a full tank when I was driving to the city and back everyday. That was $30 to fill That car was sick. Pity about the km's and sht.

Everyone who has been to my house would know that the way the hills / speed bumps / distance from main road to house is configured would kill my fuel consumption by about 50km per tank. You can feel it hard when driving on petrol as well. I might hv to stick it out. CBF getting a conversion for a car that prob wont live past January.

And yeah MRDOSE wasn't built for fuel consumption but I reckon it'd just about beat TUFPAK when it comes to economy. Best thing about that car is that it can manage 14L around town, just like stock and around 10-11L on the highway!

Hahahahha
Nah i know what u mean though, when you're used to paying $30 for a tank, $70 fill hurts.
When i was driving the Wagon around i was the same, wanted to avoid driving simply because of the amount of fuel and what it'd end up costing.
was much cheaper to drive the EF.

galapogos01 wrote:now that i dont drive my car as much im contemplating taking it off, or swapping it onto a daily, but id still like to take the EF to perth. so far its been in VIC, SA, QLD, and NSW.

Never take it off Jason, just remove the mixer.
WGAF about boot space.

LPG FTW! All my cars have been LPG aswell, the positives of the gas outweigh the negatives. I had mine installed by some guys in greensborough on the mont and it seems to be working as good as expected. No idea what type of setup it is but works pretty well. Power on petrol is noticeably better but gas is still good for skids!

I have heard that the loss in power on LPG is only because the car needs to be tuned for both gas and petrol. Is this true and if so, when I convert to straight gas will the power be equal to what it is now on petrol?

Yep, that's true. Straight gas = better tuning potential (resulting in better economy and/or power), although on coilpack cars (ie EFs) I don't see why dual fuel should be a problem when the gas ECU could potentially change the timing to suit LPG/petrol.

Commando you don't do a lot of work do you? I don't either

I dont tend to work much either. Pretty bad that I work in a hospital. Public servants FTW

I "work" at a council One of my primary jobs is surveying, but that requires two people, and I haven't had a survey b*tch for a few months now coz we can't get one in. Quiet times = I sit on top of the Boosted post whore list

search.php?search_id=newposts <-- my homepage, plus I need to put a request thru to IT soon to repair the F5 button on my keyboard

Commando wrote:I "work" at a council One of my primary jobs is surveying, but that requires two people, and I haven't had a survey b*tch for a few months now coz we can't get one in. Quiet times = I sit on top of the Boosted post whore list

search.php?search_id=newposts <-- my homepage, plus I need to put a request thru to IT soon to repair the F5 button on my keyboard

oiii commando .. scam me a job.. i have somewhere to stay in morwell and have 3 months off

yeh get me a job too. Haha I have grandparents in churchill.

Ive never had a gas car it probably be alright with the savings but yea.. when i dont work i barely drive anywhere and when i do work i can afford it so meh dont really care.. if i had a 2nd car as a daily id prob have it on gas

glenneaux - my condolences! I don't work in the valley though, I only "live" (exist/reside/cower) there, so no helpy from Uncle Commando sorry

mooseman - grandparents in churchill? I'll assume your family tree only allows one set of grandparents for you then, as per tasmanian geneology

Commando wrote:glenneaux - my condolences! I don't work in the valley though, I only "live" (exist/reside/cower) there, so no helpy from Uncle Commando sorry

doh

oh well we can carpool

anyway in relation to the thread.. i can only justify my car being on fuel because i never drive the piece, and when i am driving it im usually working full time

HOWEVER, had my car been on gas from the start i prob wouldnt be complaining .. but the turn off for me has been performance wise ie plan to hook up the ms2/run a huge cam which is the opposite of what you want on gas..

Get me a jobz bizitch.

Actually... nah scrap that thought.

As for the topic I used to spend $100+ easy a week in my old car, and I loved every minute of it. I even put petrol ahead of alcohol and ciggarettes when times were tough.

Tightarse = Gas. DGAF = Petrol. People who whinge about petrol prices = Annoying Kents.

Damo wrote:I even put petrol ahead of alcohol and ciggarettes when times were tough.

Homad, if you chose petrol over grog and cigs, you'll fit in well with the Morwell CBD crowd. You can even flip off the train as it pulls into the station

Commando wrote:

Damo wrote:I even put petrol ahead of alcohol and ciggarettes when times were tough.

Homad, if you chose petrol over grog and cigs, you'll fit in well with the Morwell CBD crowd. You can even flip off the train as it pulls into the station

hahaahhahahahahaha

I don't drink much anymore, so booze isn't a problem. But I kick my car up the arse a fair bit, so petrol is a worry. However, if I do a full tank on the freeway, I'll make 600km if I am careful. Aroundabout 350-400 on an average tank.

Once you're on petrol, after a while you tend not to care too much about prices. You just get used to it.

Yup. Used to it. Better now I've stopped using V-Power Racing. Small advantages ≠ big cost.

My Patrol gets about 800 kms to a tank around town (95 litre tank) and diesel is about 4 cents a litre more than petto. Plus I only really drive to work one day a week and on weekends, so a tank will last me 2 or 3 weeks. Should get even better economy once I stop the diesel pump cleaning my diff.

Drove the Fairlane for the first time today and nearly died putting petrol in at 139 a litre. End of the day though I don't drink much so it doesn't bother me really. When I move outta home and all that shit I'll probably get a bike, til then I can deal with it.

And I just don't like gas. Yeah I know it's got a bad name for no reason, I know enough about how it works to not look totally retarded but not enough to fix it or tune it. That's the thing that pisses me off about the Patrol. I've got no clue how the diesel pump works. With petrol I know exactly what's going on. Plus I hate the smell of gas out the exhaust.

I spend $30 a fortnight, and I'm only getting 15L/100km around town.

Living and working close to a train station FTW IMHO. When I move to Mackay I'll be buying a decent pushie.

I hate lpg with a passion, it stinks like crap and puts a great big restriction in your intake. The XR8 only used like 13-14L per 100 anyway if you drove it normally and the GLi uses substantially more but hell still beats lpg imho.

I'm lucky in that I only live about 5km from work, and I have an EB XR6 auto as a daily. (pity it's a fuggen shitbox looking thing, the engine and box are still really really nice) I get better than 13l/100km out of that thing, and I really don't drive it in such a way as to achieve good economy - traffic calming chicanes aren't hehe..

The speedo on the ED doesn't work, so I've no idea the economy that gets - it's probably shocking but considering I use every available horsepower at every available opportunity, I suppose I really can't ecpect much, and it's worth every cent

I want to ditch the XR and get a ke70 rolla, because rego for 2x 6 cylinder cars per year is rude! Plus I'm really just pouring money away driving the XR, it is superfluous to my needs. I do love driving E-series cars though

QLD rego is fucking cheap compared to VIC.
At least up there, you guys have different classes, 4/6/8 cyl, etc.
I get mine a little cheaper compared to people closer in the city. But mines still about $540 a year x 2 cars. There's a little difference in motor sizes, but hardly anything.
****, rego, insurance is the killer!
While we're on this LPG topic...
Anyone recommend a good Injected LPG installer for my XR8 Ute?
That's on the cards of things to get done.