Factory Fitted LPG
From about the late nineties several European car and van manufacturers have sold vehicles with the option of being fitted with LPG system from new. Most buyers were of the illusion that all these LPG systems were fitted on the same production line as the vehicle which in most cases this is not true.
About 10 years ago LPG systems installation costs were subsidised by the government one some new vehicles under a scheme call Powershift up to about 40%. Only certain cleaner running vehicles qualified because of the high cost of emission testing it was mainly the vehicle manufacturers who funded their development.
Vauxhall for instance teamed up with Millbrook whilst Ford partnered Tickford and Hendy. As manufacturers both were able to offer LPG to fleet users knowing that the low running cost of LPG would increase vehicle sales and quickly pay back their investment.
Proving cleaner emissions meant testing the vehicle on a 20 minute European drive cycle in an emissions lab. The test involved a mixture of urban driving, idling when stationary as well as high speed acceleration and cruising. All the tailpipe gases were collected during these 20 minutes, analysed then compared to the vehicle running the same test on petrol.
Aftermarket kits fitted by independent installers like ourselves are not individually put through this type of test so therefore cannot qualify for Powershift or the London congestion exemption charge scheme.
Some LPG kit suppliers have carried out testing themselves on a small number of vehicles which they believe would be popular enough to sell to installers and recover their development costs. Prins for example have the Smart car on their list whilst Nicholson McLaren can supply us with an AG system for the Citroen Belingo.
For these vehicles to stand any chance of running cleaner than when on petrol only multipoint injection LPG systems were used from the year 2000 onwards. There are a small number of single point systems still around but these are over 10 years old now and rarely found.
Some manufacturers favoured liquid systems as they offer greater emission benefits over vapour systems as well as claimed better performance. The aftermarket rarely fits liquid systems due to their high cost but since the government subsidised most of these conversions cost was less of an issue.
F1 Automotive is able to service and repair 90% of these systems and even where a kit may be no longer supported by the manufacturer most of the main components are interchangeable or repairable. In the worst case scenario the LPG system could be upgraded to more current system whilst retaining most of the original install of tank, filler, pipework and wiring etc.
Vehicles with factory fit systems
The following vehicle makes are very well known to us as we have been repairing and servicing then since 2001
| Ford |
| Vauxhall |
| LDV |
| Citroen |
| Peugeot |
| Volkswagon |
| Daewoo |
| Subaru |
| Nissan |
| Volvo |
| Mitsubishi |
System Types
Necam / Kaltech
A Dutch vapor system favoured by Vauxhall, the early type used a LPG fuel metering head whilst the later type uses sequential individual LPG electronic injectors.
F1 opinion - excellent driveability when working correctly.
Viali
A Dutch liquid injection system favoured by Ford and Nissan, it uses a separate pump to deliver LPG to the engine fitted inside the vehicles LPG tank.
F1 opinion - an excellent system with perfect driveability and no power loss.
Metatron / Icon
An Italian liquid system often found fitted to Fords and LDVs.
F1 opinion - a poor reputation of liquid pump failure inside the LPG tank.
AG
A Dutch system using vapour electronic injectors often fitted to Peugeots and Citroens.
F1 opinion - quite reliable
Pharos
A British designed vapor system from Beacon Technology who is no longer in business, the kit sales dried up when the Powershift scheme ended. We have sourced some spare parts for this kit which is often fitted to some Mitsubishis.