firstly the last thing you said was ford prob wont make an orion LPG due to poor sales.
well if you actually looked the sales have been quite strong for the current LPG model and there are spy shots of an LPG model testing, so a double knock on the head to that silly theory.

i also think its a little silly how you keep concluding that a modern engine cant run on gas.

i was going to keep going but ill be back later

That’s just plain impossible – 80 litres of LPG with 68 usable requires 80 litres of space (plus a bit for the steel and fittings) NO MATTER WHAT THE SHAPE.

The next Falcon won’t have a better injection system, because to be better requires dual fuel – petrol to start the engine before flick over tp gas, and this requires two fuel tanks, obviously. The next Falcon is the last using the antique straight 6 engine, after that there’ll only be V6 or V8. The V6 won’t be LPG compatible so there’ll be no more dedicated LPG falcons after Orion, if in fact Ford bothers to make an Orion version at all. With the poor sales of the current one, I expect it to disappear off the scene.

And andrew the heads have harder valve seats to help reduce premature valve recession and they have harder valve stem guides to overcome the lack of petrol lubrication. All up the motor itself in a LPG falcon is a better motor and should outlive a petrol motor.

The next falcon, i read that they are going to use a plastic inlet manifold for the lesser models and metal for the turbo versions. This could mean they will use a better LPG injection system that will have to eliminate back firing because of the plastic manifold.. otherwise they’ll use a metal one if they stick with this old CFI method. And there is a manufacturer that makes rectangular LPG tanks with cell devisions, that can withstand impacts of 120km/h. Definitely safer than a petrol tank and They take up half the space but the same volume but cost quite a bit more. If ford adopts these new innovations in the orion they’ll be onto something quite brilliant.

More power less cost. And the $2000 Government rebate does apply?

i do agree that the current ford LPG system is dinosaur technology and thats what im saying. why dont they put some technology into it.

its not only new duel fuels that require starting on petrol first, but the old systems required it too. thats not to do with emissions but rather the fact that the motor struggles to start on LPG. they use to have a manual switch and you had to put it back to petrol before you started.
then the systems got a bit better where they would automatically start on petrol and switch back when you reached like 60km/h.
now the injection process has gotten much better and that is what ford has yet to adopt

i would say the ford system is old technology but i wouldnt go as far as saying it is a shocker.

a lot of modern engines cant take it due to the high risk of back fire associated with LPG.
the commys have trouble taking it due to the damage that does or would occur to the plastic parts used in the manifold. the system designed to suit the commys has a much better injection process hence no back fire.

also the use of 1 tank of petrol for every 7 gas is to lubricate the engine components as gas offers no lubrication. to overcome this ford uses a different piston rings.
its nothing to do with modern engines as you can tailor it making a few mods like ford has so the fuel does suit it much better

Must be wine time now!!

Yeah AndrewM……..but I still don’t like the idea of it in ya boot either!

That’s why Ford doesn’t push them. Too many problems.

But you don’t have an answer as to where to put the cumbersome tank into a Mazda 2.

So LPG is VERY limited in its usefulness to the average motorist, and it is getting worse not better due to the way modern engines are built. Most modern engines are NOT LPG compatible, due to the very hot and low calorific nature of LPG – modern engines are designed to reach operating temperature very quickly to counter emissions, which, if done using LPG, causes heads to crack. Then the EGR systems using LPG exhaust don’t work as well to cool the combustion process once operating temperature is reached.

The better LPG installations now run the engine on petrol until heated enough to switch over, so open loop operation is always on petrol. These installations can use 1 tank of petrol for every 7 tanks of Gas, so the economy takes a bit more of a hit, especially in city driving in a cold place like Melb.

Golf………..
mate not only the space you lose if you convert its also that i believe that you can not optimally tune a car to run on 2 seperate fuels and to run at its peak on both. i believe a duel fuel set up has a bit of a compromise with tuning favoring unleaded of course.
yeah i cant believe ford doesnt wave banners about how they are the only one that does a gas set up and how massive the savings are even if you compare it to a hybrid setup, diesel, or ethanol, LPG wins hands down

:)

Looking at gas cylinder hanging under the car looks worse !

Never been a big fan of LPG ………..

Anyway, where wuz I? Oh yep. The sad thing about LPG is that if it’s not in a new Falcon, you’ve gotta contend with the giant silver bullet taking up a third of your boot space. Which is a bit yikky yukky, I reckon.

Sorry to come across all technical at this time of day.

HELLO!!!!!!!!!
i have done the sums over and over and they all point to LPG on top by a country mile.

what i cant understand is why only 1 manufacturer (Ford) offers LPG. no other manufacturer offers it and ford who does cant be bothered promoting it as well as it should be.

why dont they design a kick arse gas system that out economises and totally out powers even unleaded? the technology in LPG is only half of what you get in a petrol car so why not put a little bit of time and finish it off?
LPG has greater performance possibilities if any one cared promote it

Anti-spam word “Datsun” – WOW flashback………

Who knows, Hungry Jacks and Maccas may one day be our new BP and Shell. And maccas will have biodiesel happy meal bowsers. Fill up your guts and your herbivore diesel with chip oil.

Battery technology will improve in years to come, and they’ll become more recyclable too. Until then the article is valid and cost/environmental conscious buyers really should consider the diesel alternative.