Safety of LPG powered cars in India

a) How safe is LPG powered cars today?
b)We use to hear some incidents when LPG cylinders were mounted separately before, with a local LPG kit fixed by mechanics.
and nowadays we have LPG tank in Cars (OEM) and filledup in LPG stations.
c) How many LPG stations are there in Chennai? and Tamilnadu
d) How about engine performance with LPG when AC is on with power steering and you climb up a Hill/mountain?

well Lpg kits fitted outside by local dealers, if they are registered ones then its okay running them but does damage engine and its life too, also driven with a/c also makes it feel sluggish too specially if driven on hills, aftermarket kits makes lots of smell of lpg's inside the car which also is not healthy and we all have came across few accidents of those cars who have seperatly fitted those kits getting burn out, so best way is to get it from company ifself which now provide fuel options and stock tanks of lpg/cng kits which are more reliable and safe too.

I had fitted lpg kit in my alto 4 years back from a registered centre and got it endorsed in my RC book. it was the tube type, ie, the tanks stays in the spare tyre's space, in this the smell of lpg doesn't reach inside. Initially i found it economical, later there was some leakage in the pipe connecting radiator and lpg circulation(to heat lpg) so the radiator coolant leaks and engine gets overheated, got it corrected by using more stronger pipe. now i hardly use lpg because with ac on, very bad pulling and lpg rates have also risen. Now i hear of some water electrolysis technology by the same team. need to enquire about it.

i say no to lpg, specially to the ones which are fitted aftermarket, they bringdown your car's performance and specially when your running on ac, drive a petrol wagon-r and an lpg wagon r and you will find the difference instantly, lpg is actually as dangerous as other fuels, it depends on how the installation has been done, i have no idea where lpg stations are in chennai but to my knowledge you have lpg stations in almost every city in the country

Dual fuel cars are the safest bet. As they come as OEM, safety is not compromised. But you will lose performance in any kind of alternate fuel, LPG/CNG. Mileage also comes down, but the low cost of LPG will return more value.

even the engine power comes down if lpg is installed

I would say NO . Because i think safety first and these days i hear many accidents due the same. Also last week only i saw a 2008 Omni Lpg model burning in flames. Omni passenger didnt notice smoke, an alerted truck driver coming behind noticed the smoke and overtook the car and signalled the passenger about it. They slowed down the car, jumped off it and soon the car was burn to crap.
So please dont go for Lpg after all whats money without life??

napster wrote:even the engine power comes down if lpg is installed

Crazy cat wrote:Dual fuel cars are the safest bet. As they come as OEM, safety is not compromised. But you will lose performance in any kind of alternate fuel, LPG/CNG. Mileage also comes down, but the low cost of LPG will return more value.

I too have mentioned the same

sorry, i was about to say, the engine life comes down

Well i'm not quite sure about the engine life. But who cares about engine life. Not many, i'd say. Only those who clock more kms and those who care for their money. Earlier one member in another forum replied me, after i said that some car's engine gives out more problems after 1lac km and the member said why would i drive a car for a lac km. He means that cars aren't meant for such high kms. Many buyers nowadays buy cars and use it very rarely and the car stays in the parking lot for most of the time. For them engine life is not important, as they're not even going to dream about 6 digit figures. But i do care about engine life.

Any one with experience on LPG can give more details on engine life with LPG. I doubt it affects, because the manufacturers have started to give them as OEM. They wouldn't do anything, if it affects its life.

people may or maynot mind that but i was told that it also effects engine life by my mechanic so i posted it here,

:agree: no offenses guys but even i was told the same by a mechanic.

dude, only a person who wants an economical vehicle opts for an lpg vehicle and for that kind of person engine life sure matters, he wont change cars for every 60k kms or what ever number it maybe, am i not right? just think of it once

I'm just saying that many doesn't care about engine life, as they don't even dream of clocking high mileages(that nears the end of engine's life).

Those who drive in city alone and don't take car out, will find it hard to clock 60k kms and by that time he'll lose interest in the car and will buy a new one. Only some love their car truly and will not part it soon.

engine life?, in my alto i have had changed the engine gasket opening the top of the engine, the mechanic told that it was due to frequent usage of lpg, anyway didn't find much of comfort using lpg, the economy that we get using lpg is by badly compromising driving comfort and that too marginal economy. now i use only petrol. even though the lpg kit isn't removed.

fihast wrote:engine life?, in my alto i have had changed the engine gasket opening the top of the engine, the mechanic told that it was due to frequent usage of lpg, anyway didn't find much of comfort using lpg, the economy that we get using lpg is by badly compromising driving comfort and that too marginal economy. now i use only petrol. even though the lpg kit isn't removed.

I guess LPG is best avoided. if one has to clock more kms, then he can opt for a diesel car.

also if different fuel needed for cheaper running, its preferred to go for cng compared to lpg, as compared to both these fuels cng is better in combustion to lpg, saying this as heard from few experts on their TV shows regarding this.
Also to mention my neighbour uses lpg in both his cars and there is surely this smell comming in his cars which cannot be denied, but he also says that best of this fuels is that buy second hand cars which are cheaper then new ones and then fit this kit which overall is cheaper, no to newer cars.

@CC: dude, people who wont take their car out regularly doesnt need to opt for lpg, its better if they opt for petrol cars, some people might opt for lpg and we cant help such people, :lol: