Is LPG a reasonable alternative to diesel?

Your colleague James Foxall's final quip the other week referred to several friends who were very pleased (financially) that they ran on LPG. I met a man filling up with gas earlier this week and he said it was so much cheaper that it was a no-brainer not to. His car was a large Audi, but he could not tell me if any cars were manufactured as gas/petrol from new, and suspected that a conversion was necessary. As I am considering changing my 1.2 Yeti for something more comfortable, with automatic gears and more economical, this could be an alternative to diesel.

Asked on 13 July 2013 by WB, via email

Answered by Honest John

As far as I know, LPG is not normally suited to engines with variable valve timing unless this is comprehensively re-mapped because the burn characteristics of LPG are different from petrol and prone to burning out exhaust valves after 50,000 miles or so. World prices of LPG are increasing, which is why there are moves in Thailand to convert the Bangkok taxi fleet from LPG to CNG. Tuk Tuks already run on CNG and have done for at least 10 years. Instead of smelling like 2 strokes, they now smell like gas barbeques.

Tags: lpg conversion fuel economy

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