Noobie Alert!

[gojo1978]

Hi everyone. I joined this forum a few months ago, but didn't get round to posting until now, as I've been using a more generic, but UK-based BMW forum, but I think I'm ready to get a bit more specialized. My car is a 1996 318ti, 106,000 miles, FSH, and a couple of months ago, I got it converted to run on LPG (propane), so I am now paying American prices for my fuel now!! For those of you here who have been to the UK, you'll know what a big deal that is! So I frequently drive at over 100mph as the cost of fuel is no longer an issue to me. I adore my car and look forward to sharing information about them here.

My next item on the list is probably to get it chipped and remapped. A friend on the other BMW forum has recently suggested doing it myself, but I'm wary of making a mess of it and ruining my pride and joy.

[tiFreak]

welcome, lol, I find it ironic that we complain about the price of gas and yet you're happy that you're paying the same price as us

now show us some pics

[TI-driftin]

i've always wondered about converting to LP. What are the pros and cons to gas vs. LP? Is it really worth it in the U.S.

[gojo1978]

Originally Posted by tiFreak

welcome, lol, I find it ironic that we complain about the price of gas and yet you're happy that you're paying the same price as us

now show us some pics

Haha, yeah, I know, but you have NO conception of the cost of motoring here! Petrol was nearly ten bucks a gallon recently! Admittedly, our gallons are bigger, and in general, our cars smaller, but still... WAY over the top! So yeah, now paying less than $4 and kicking the hell outta my car regularly.

I'm working on the pics, hopefully they'll be in my profile soon, but there's not that much to see really - I kinda blew my modifying budget on the LPG rather than rims 'n' ****. But it is a very nice clean example.

Originally Posted by TI-driftin

i've always wondered about converting to LP. What are the pros and cons to gas vs. LP? Is it really worth it in the U.S.

I have never really noticed propane for sale when I've been in the US, so I have no idea how much it costs in relation to petrol. If the ratio is similar to here (i.e. less than half price), then it might well be worth looking into. In terms of pros and cons, the only con for me is that I have lost most of my boot space, and I can no longer throw the back seats down and carry things like ladders. I suppose there's also the presence of the filler nozzle on the side, but it's barely noticeable really. As far as pros, well, there's the fact it's very cheap, and, little known fact, it prolongs engine life. Because it burns much cleaner than petrol, you don't get carbon build-up in the cylinders, so the oil stays much cleaner. I've done a few thousand miles since conversion, and the oil is still transparent. Apparently this is common. Also, it's much greener, releasing far less pollutants. As a result of this, my car is immune to, among other things, the London congestion charge, although if I ever set foot in London again it'll be too soon! I think I also qualify for a small discount in annual road tax.

I should also point out that any rumours you might hear about crap performance are untrue, it's pretty much as it was before.

[TI-driftin]

Quote, "Admittedly, our gallons are bigger,"

Haha i think a gallon is a gallon. You use liters dont you. Maybe im wrong.

Oh and welcome. Sorry had to give you a hard time. Thought that was funny.
Yea I haven't checked the prices on LP around here lately but i'v never seen any gas stations that you can pull your car up to and pump. Maybe if it had a removable tank, i know a place where i could get the tank refilled but i wouldn't want to travel around here with LP. You'll probably run out before you find somewhere to fill up.

Do you get more horse power? Would you say that what you pay for LP is cheaper per mile than what we pay for regular gas per mile.
I figure i spend spend $0.14 cents for every mile i drive on average. Thats an average of 27 miles per gallon at $3.80 per gallon.
some one check my math. lol

[jdamthree]

I find this interesting as well. What is the MPG or LPG burnin' Propane. Since you added the Propane cell with the existing petrol tank, can you switch between the two fuels?

[gojo1978]

Originally Posted by TI-driftin

Haha i think a gallon is a gallon. You use liters dont you. Maybe im wrong.

Oh and welcome. Sorry had to give you a hard time. Thought that was funny.

Do you get more horse power? Would you say that what you pay for LP is cheaper per mile than what we pay for regular gas per mile.
I figure i spend spend $0.14 cents for every mile i drive on average. Thats an average of 27 miles per gallon at $3.80 per gallon.
some one check my math. lol

Haha, egg on your face dude, a US gallon is around 3.7 litres, a UK (Imperial) gallon is just over 4.5 litres, so it is quite a difference.

With LPG now, I get a rate of about 10p per mile, which given the currently plummeting pound is almost the same price as you, you might be slightly ahead. I don't get more power, but as I mentioned above, there is no big drop in performance that seems to be a common urban myth. I also forgot to mention above that it actually runs smoother on LPG too, which is strange.

[gojo1978]

Originally Posted by jdamthree

I find this interesting as well. What is the MPG or LPG burnin' Propane. Since you added the Propane cell with the existing petrol tank, can you switch between the two fuels?

Yeah, I can switch at the touch of a button, but I now HATE using petrol here as the price is truly horrifying! The MPG is very slightly less than petrol, but it's less than half price, so much more economical.