Fitting an LPG or CNG kit: compare installers' offers
First decide which gas kit suits your car
Gas equipment is chosen to suit the engine, not by “whichever is cheaper”. For petrol engines with multipoint injection, a 4th-generation system is usually fitted, while newer engines, including direct-injection ones, need special systems, and they are noticeably more expensive. What exactly will suit is something to confirm with the installer. So before you write a request, find out the injection type of your engine.
Another decision is LPG or CNG. LPG is simpler to fit and refuel, while CNG equipment and cylinders are more expensive and heavier, although the gas itself often works out cheaper.
What to put in your request
- what to do — a new turnkey installation, servicing, filter replacement, repair;
- make, model, year and engine — capacity, number of cylinders, injection type;
- generation of the kit — if you already know it, or write “you choose”;
- cylinder — a toroidal one in the spare wheel well or a cylindrical one in the boot, and the volume in litres;
- LPG or CNG;
- equipment brand — for example Stag, Lovato, BRC, KME, Tomasetto, if you have a preference;
- registration — whether approval and an entry in the registration certificate (RC) are needed;
- city and budget, if you want to state it.
Example: “Toyota Avanza 1.5, 2018, petrol. I need a turnkey LPG kit, 4th generation: a toroidal 54 litre cylinder, Stag equipment. Entry in the RC is needed. Tampines, budget up to $700.”
How to compare installers' offers
On BlaBlaPrice you describe your car once, and installers reply in the chat: which equipment exactly, what is included in the price, timing, warranty. The site shows the offer that is best by substance first, with reviews of the installer next to each. Installers see their place among the others and often improve their terms. Contacts stay hidden until you choose a provider.
To make the comparison fair, find out:
- how many injectors, what reducer and what make of equipment, not just “4th gen kit”;
- whether the price includes the cylinder, the multivalve, the wiring, tuning on a diagnostic stand and approval;
- whether there is a warranty on the equipment and on the installation, and for how long;
- whether the spare wheel has to come out if the cylinder is toroidal, and where it will travel then;
- how re-tuning works after the first few hundred kilometres.
Common mistakes
The most frequent one is to look for the cheapest kit regardless of the engine: on a direct-injection car an unsuitable system will quickly throw errors. The second is not to demand computer tuning and then complain about consumption. The third is to skip the paperwork for the changes, which then has to be done separately.
Another question is what happens to the car's warranty. If the car is still under the dealer's warranty, the conversion may affect its terms, so it is better to clarify this in advance.
Related work
Before fitting, it is useful to check the engine: spark plugs, filters, compression. For this there is car computer diagnostics, as well as replacing plugs and filters during a service. If there are problems with wiring, see auto electrical repair. All services for cars are collected in the section “Car & motorcycle servicing”. More about the service itself is on the page “How it works”.
