Lpg V8

[apexblue]

i currently have my first X5 which is the 3 litre petrol sport and really enjoying it, but really wanted the growl and power of the V8, but could not find one at the time. I am thinking of part exing for a V8 LPG 4.4, but have heard some nasty stories about LPG conversions, with the valves getting that much hotter than petrol and causing damage to the valve seats etc?

Do any members here have an LPG X5 now or any time in the past, as I would like to hear your comments about the reliability and performance of these?

Thanks

Steve

[Greydog]

I ran a 4.4 X5 LPG for just over 2 years and it was great. I brought the X5 to tow a Horse Box the LPG was already fitted, having run several V8's I budgeted or around 15mpg average. The LPG Tank was 85 litres this meant filling up cost about £40 (60 ltr @ 69.9 p/ltr av), towing we got around 180/200 miles and Motorway without the horse box 250 miles. So about the same mpg but at almost half the cost Bargain.

When we got the car the LPG system was a bit hit and miss (BRC) I found an LPG installer close to us (Billingshurst) Paul the owner was great he inspected the system upgraded the injectors reprogrammed it and tidied up the installation. He also registered it on the LPG site,

I am currently waiting for Paul to convert the 4.6

[apexblue]

Thanks for your reply, so I assume you had no problems with burnt out valve seats etc with the extra heat produced from using LPG? The £40 it cost you to fill up with LPG will now cost you nearer to £60, as I noticed today the price of LPG has hit an all time high of £1 a litre and more than doubled in price over the last year or two? So unless you are doing a high annual mileage, it can't be worth paying for the conversion, I may as well pay the extra 28 pence per litre for unleaded, unless I buy one already converted.?

[Greydog]

Apparently the BMW V8's are really suitable for LPG so no problems with Valves. I haven't looked at the LPG prices £1 a litre I will check that out Thanks.

The 4.4 covered about 20k in my hands with no faults or issues about half dragging a Horse Box and I would still be driving it but for a hundred foot Cedar tree that blew over and squashed it in Jan, Hey Ho. Still the 4.6 is a great car and so far very reliable (touches wood) tempting fate now.

For what its worth the MPG of the 3.0litre and the 4.4 aren't that different but the V8; was cheaper to buy thats how I ended up with the 4.4 that and the sound.

Good luck with the hunt for a car