[Sounak04]

Voted for a No. As mentioned by few other members above, its not worth the risk. The savings might be huge but no amount of savings can be equal to safety and peace of mind. To be honest, if an engine is destroyed by the LPG, the cost of fixing it will be way more than the Savings of using LPG over Petrol.

My dad had bought a Ford Fiesta 1.6 SXi in 2010. In those times, the petrol was cheaper and Dad used to get reimbursement for the fuel. In 2016 or so, my Dad retired and moved to his native place and left the car in Mumbai. My elder brother shifted to another country altogether. I had just started working and the fuel expenses were killing. I thought of fitting a LPG/CNG kit to the car. I did a lot of reviews, talked to a lot of people about it and at the end decided against it. Continued with the Fiesta for a year more and after that, exchanged it for a Grand i10 Diesel. Yes, the i10 was a downgrade from the Fiesta, but atleast i was able to afford the Diesel and did not compromised on Safety by adding some CNG/LPG kits.

I remember one of my College, friend added a CNG kit to his Estilo. The car gave him so much troubles, that at the end he was forced to sell it off for a huge loss.

Also, I hardly see any LPG filling stations nowadays even in a place like Mumbai. I might be wrong but LPG stations are way less than CNG stations.

[mvadg]

Originally Posted by Sran

Price in India.

Delhi 51.45
Kolkata 49.87
Mumbai 50.34
Chennai 49.45
View Prices
Source: IOCL Website
https://www.iac.org.in/auto-lpg-worldwide

The above prices are misleading and this theme is seen across all websites that try to promote LPG as the ideal fuel for everything. Higher energy, lower prices, lower pollution, abundance, etc, etc.

Assuming that LPG has 11900 Kcal per kg and diesel 10700 per kg, and assuming that 1.83 litres of LPG weighs 1 Kg, we get 6500 Kcal per litre of LPG. In rupees it is 126 Kcal per rupee while diesel would be (at Rs 81 per litre) 132 Kcal per rupee. That's just the energy part, where diesel is cheaper than LPG. Again, I'm not sure whether the energy content of the LPG sold in India is anywhere near what is claimed by the oil companies. It is also likely that LPG contains a lot of corrosive contaminants that affect the engine adversely. Also, how can we be sure that we are getting one Kg or one litre of LPG at the LPG dispensing station?

It's highly unlikely that LPG fueled cars give better mileage than diesel powered cars, given that most engines are designed to use either petrol or diesel.

I would suggest that the government tax LPG to the same extent as petrol and provide us subsidized public transport using trolleybuses - this would solve the air pollution problem in urban areas. It is highly unlikely that the government will not tax LPG or try and promote it to reduce pollution by selling it for cars at subsidized rates, it has already raised the price of domestic gas cylinders quite a bit.

[samee_arian]

Voted Yes remembering my own ownership experience of a LPG fueled car.

My first car was a fairly old and very used Maruti Esteem 1998 LX model that came with a pre-fitted LPG kit (some random kit from a local aftermarket guy). Had bought it from a friend as his car was not being used much and it hardly cost me much to buy it in the year 2012. I eventually ended up scrapping it after using it for close to 3 years as I had to move cities.

As far as my ownership experience goes, I was pretty happy with the car and the performance overall. It was easy on my pocket as price of LPG was around 35-40, the only major concern used to be the pressure at the petrol pump. The car wasn't well maintained before i bought it so it used to cause issues when driven on petrol with fueling being inconsistent.

If I were to buy a car now, I may not opt for an LPG conversion as CNG has turned out to be a better option for alternate fuel and CNG filling stations have increased compared to early part of 2010s and you hardly get to see any LPG stations. CNG would make more sense since several car makers are providing it as a factory fitted option, but it does come at cost of performance.

[Route66]

I would vote yes based on personal experience.

My family got on the gas (CNG/LPG) route way early, I think it was 1998. Delhi had only 2 CNG pumps back then. I was too young to drive at that time, but by the time I started driving in 2004, all my family cars were either on CNG or LPG. Some of the cars along with mileage they covered on gas:

1. Maruti 800: Did more than 2 Lakh Kms on LPG. Overall did 3 Lakh Kms plus.
2. Maruti Esteem: 2000 Model, pre-owned, did close to 1 Lakh on LPG.
3. Maruti Baleno (sedan): Did close to 70K on CNG.
4. Honda City: 2005 model, did close to 1.25 Lakh Kms on CNG.
5. Wagon R: Did more than 1.5 Lakh on CNG.
6. Maruti Esteem: 2007 Model, Did more than 1.5 Lakh on CNG.
7. A friend of my father had a Gypsy which had both LPG and CNG fitted. Did more than 2 Lakh Kms. It never used to run on petrol.

From 2014 we had an all diesel garage so no alternate fuel option.

None of these cars faced any Engine issue or heating issue. They were extremely cheap to run especially in early days when CNG used to cost Rs 12 per Kg.

[anjan_c2007]

Its similar to selling all our prized shares during a catastrophic bear phase in the stock market. We need to have patience. After all, fuel prices will not remain forever at around Rs 90=00 to 100=00 a litre at present.

Fuel prices at this stratospheric levels could be justifiable in future when the Consumer Price Index (CPI) reaches a high, that vindicates the fuel prices in this range.

[Voodooblaster]

Originally Posted by rajeshkmoorthy

[*]Registering in RTO is possible and will cost you Rs. 2,500. I did not opt for it.

Please get it registered at RTO, and endorsed in RC

Then contact your insurance company and endorse your policy to reflect the fuel type accordingly.

It will entail a payment of Rs 60+GST on the liability section

Insurance company can repudiate claims if vehicle runs on different fuel source from RC and is not properly noted in insurance policy

While you can survive, if a claim is repudiated for loss to your car (assuming maximum depreciated value of car at about 5 lacs), beware of legal liability claims if you unfortunately injure some pedestrian or another road user with your car.

Such legal compensation usually runs into 7 digit figures and occasionally 8 digits in India. It will easily wreck havoc on your personal finance and lifestyle.

Stay safe and keep driving

[Thatautoguy46]

Can a LPG kit be installed in a car with Turbo petrol engine? I heard only Naturally aspirated engines can support LPG kit add on. We are looking at Magnite or Kiger Turbo petrol. So need a clarity!!!

[InControl]

Originally Posted by Thatautoguy46

Can a LPG kit be installed in a car with Turbo petrol engine? I heard only Naturally aspirated engines can support LPG kit add on. We are looking at Magnite or Kiger Turbo petrol. So need a clarity!!!

The Skoda Rapid is coming with a factory fitted CNG kit on its TSI engine. So, I think LPG should be possible as well

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post5017206 (Skoda Rapid CNG spotted testing in Pune)

[Zinda]

Never ever! Not only the LPG conversion is more of a contraption and potentially unsafe, but also it consumes lots of boot space and looks ugly.
To cope up with rising fuel prices, I now factor in the rising prices in my budget. Worst, will buy a good economic used car as beater.

[aaggoswami]

Voted No.

Getting LPG kit is very unsafe and there is no point in putting one's family at risk. In case one needs alternate fuel, CNG is better. CNG kits have improved drastically over my not so good aftermarket experience. Dad's colleague had G10B Zen, he got CNG kit installed and in a couple of years his efficiency got down drastically all of a sudden. A small leak was identified in CNG line and was fixed. Similar leak in LPG could have been more dangerous. LPG is a strict No in my view. CNG plus petrol is good combination and best is to have a diesel vehicle in case running is high. Irrespective of petrol vs diesel discussion on paper, diesel in real life is quite a bit more efficient and offers more relaxed drive. In my view diesel is also the safest fuel as petrol is more inflammable than diesel. Another factor while converting to CNG or LPG is loss in performance if the car is going to be used for family trips. The loss of performance can be a bit frustrating while overtaking.

[sumeethaldankar]

A simple solution to the ever increasing fuel prices though the below option works better and safer in non-covid times is to participate in ride share apps like S-Ride. I used to do this during pre-covid times and I would easily recover around 50% cost of fuel cost. I mean that is a lot and what else could one ask for.

The advantage of ride sharing is no modifications of any sort to your car. I have made lots of friends who are still in touch even during work from home times. As a safe practice accept request only from reputed companies and it is better to have full insurance for the car including the occupants.

[AirWind]

Originally Posted by rajeshkmoorthy

Registering in RTO is possible and will cost you Rs. 2,500. I did not opt for it.

Good read @rajeshkmoorthy, I'd strongly suggest any major/visible modifications like these gets registered with the RTO and is covered under insurance too... for being legally compliant and for the piece of mind it offers.

[pdpyen]

Hello All. Sharing my experience with an LPG driven M800. My car is a 1989 make Type 1. Kit was installed in 1993 and ever since been running. Car has done about 230000 Kms and still going good. Of course some oil leakage near seals which would be due to wear and tear. I have never till the date got the engine rebuilt or ever got a half engine built.
One may say its too risky, however, i would say if we follow all the safety precautions, one can easily use LPG for their daily driving.

I have a Lovato kit. Non sequential type. Can hold 40 Liters of LPG. Petrol fuel tank can hold about 25 liters. I usually fill 10 Liters of petrol considering the 100 km driving range.

Once a year the diaphragm / inspect for leakage / check coolant or change - plus regular maintenance.

I drive everyday on LPG mode. When the LPG tank is empty I'll switch to petrol on the go, Reach the nearest LPG fuel station. Along with that, once in a while I switch to petrol to make sure the petrol fuel pump is working normally. (As per previous TBHP guidelines)

I usually get about 450-550 Km on a full refill of 40 liters of LPG. (This may vary due to traffic / driving habits / force majeure etc.)

I tried to vote a YES, but couldn't. Maybe polls are closed.

I respectfully disagree with NO.

Today, LPG is somewhere about 52 INR in and around Bengaluru - a quick rise in price as for other fuels have. A year ago prices were 31 ING per liter.

Anyway, that's my short experience. Hope this helps.

Thank you.