Has anyone looked into converting his/her car to run on propane? I know folks in Canada do it, and I'm sure there are folks here in the U.S. as well. Besides the 'where do I fill up' issues, what drawbacks are there? I just read somewhere that it'll save 15%? Is that it? I don't even know how much it would take to fill up a tank or two for a truck or car. I'm just kinda kickin' around ideas.
I thought about running the racecar on BBQ gas.
110+ octane, gaseous fuel (no suspension issues), sounds ideal for turbocharged fuel.
If your engine isn't setup for propane you may see some power loss. Propane likes big plug gaps and high compression.
One upside is the engine burns much cleaner. Oil stays clean a lot longer too.
Shawn
We used to use propane at work.
Used to put holes in pistons routinely due to inconsistent cylinder-to-cylinder mixtures.
Doesn't run well in cold weather.
Well, we seem to run propane fine up here in cold, Canadian winters. You do need to have a proper, heated vapouriser though.
Were the work systems liquid injection or a conventional propane carburetor?
Shawn
As a forklift mechanic I have a lot of experience with LPG powered engines, and I wouldn't recommend it for a performance oriented vehicle, but for an every day commuter or grocery getter it probably doable. Impco makes the most reliable stuff in the forklift business, and they make automotive conversions too, but I have no firsthand experience with the automotive stuff. Here is a link to their web site.Impco LPG conversions And I would like to offer one word of caution about LPG fuel, The newer emmisions compliant LPG systems are very sesitive to fuel quality, and the overall quality of the fuel available lately has been poor, resulting in a lot of fouled fuel system components. YMMV.
Lots of people in the rockcrawling world convert to propane for their trial rigs. I'd look at pirate4x4.com for some ideas.
Trans_Maro wrote: Well, we seem to run propane fine up here in cold, Canadian winters. You do need to have a proper, heated vapouriser though. Were the work systems liquid injection or a conventional propane carburetor? Shawn
I am in Canada too (North Bay, ON). I am pretty sure it was just a conventional propane carb.
In the winter you would never get the vehicle to warm up. They would sit on the C peg and no heat from the heater.
I abandoned the idea for my Spitfire soley because of refueling issues. One station in a several hundred mile radius that can do refueling isn't particular condusive to driving, even if that station is right in my town.
There was a supercharged Triumph running propane that came to the Challenge three years (I think) in a row and never made it out of the parking lot. I don't really know what that has to do with anything, just thought I'd share.
Not true Corey, in 2002 It made it ON to the racing surface... where I got to run down the supercharger pulley as it ran all the way across the course 
i have learned all my Propane and Propane Accessories knowledge from one man:
John Brown wrote: Not true Corey, in 2002 It made it ON to the racing surface... where I got to run down the supercharger pulley as it ran all the way across the course
Nice! I must have missed that. I think it was '03 when it started right up, but violently backfired through the intake as they were pulling it off the trailer, and I'm pretty sure it didn't start up again the entire weekend.
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