MARRELLI LPG system

[ajo.v8]

Hi guys and girls. I had my X5 a month now and has allways been my intention to get it lpg converted as there is a place near me that does lpg at 62p and fill up 10 times and get one free and I can't keep putting £100 a week in the v8.

I was after knowing if anybody has a marrelli system fitted to there x5. There is a place in preston that will fit a system for £1300 witch I though wasn't to bad with all the correct paperwork and 2 year warranty. I have been looking at other systems but they are £1850+.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[Ubatoid]

I believe the Marrelli system uses the same basic chip manafactured by AEB who supply Zavoli and a raft of others,. I personally havent heard any bad feedback on the systems. Given the choice though, I would go for a Prins system but on the same note I bought mine with a Romano system (AEB again) and it has been fine. I would ask questions like "where are you going to move the suspension pump to and how are you going to insulate it" A uninsulated pump makes a hell of a row. How big a tank do they fit ? You can get a 95 liter in the X spare wheel well, which is a good size. Make sure they fit long flexible hoses to the tank so you can lift it out when you need to get to your battery. May be a good idea to change your battery for a new one if its a few years old. GSF car parts £85 for a Bosch silver 5year warranty.

[DougieV8]

Hi, i got mine done in March this year at leedslpg - a great job and no issues after 4000 miles and 3 months, runs really smooth on the gas

Standard system only required in my 2002 4.4 - i was advised that premium only required in 2007 onwards vehicles so not trying to over sell!

85 litre tank in spare wheel well, air pump moved to right hand side of boot under cubby and wrapped in insulated foam. Quality well fitted system - i will add pictures once i am off iphone and onto computer.

[ajo.v8]

Thanks for the info guys. Dougie is the place you got yours done in Leeds ? Iv been looking at them as it's £1150 at the moment and I don't think that's bad. Iv been looking at a few diffrent places and they all say it takes 3 days and at a cost of £1750+ were LPG leeds say they can do it in a day witch a lot of people say can't be done or can be done but not done right.

[DougieV8]

Ok so contrary to what ubatoid has said in another thread - I ran my car for 6 months to ensure all good for me then got it LPG converted at one of these "do it in a day places" - Shock horror!
My experience is of an actual conversion and saved me around £1500 on prices quoted in Scotland. Ok I had to travel to get work done but  my X5 was converted professionally by an able team of gentlemen who do this every day - Not just a side line.

I have a 85 litre tank where spare wheel was and can fill this to around 75 litre capacity (space required for expansion) - I get between 280 and 300 miles from this at less than £50 fill (64.9p/litre), the engine starts on petrol before auto switch over at 45 degrees centigrade, around £10 petrol required per LPG tank for me -  I do a lot of short journeys, so could be better for others.

£60 does me around 290 miles - This therefore works out at 30ish to the gallon - Running the big V8 for around 20p/mile on fuel is not bad!

I was asked loads of questions about my car and what my preferences were - I did not want my bodywork drilled so opted for a hidden filler within existing flap. I wanted guage/button where they suggested although I could have opted for beside gear lever or on centre console. My engine cover could have been refitted but I did not bother as I like to be able to keep a check - had disintegrated breather hoses when I originally bought the car that was hidden by this!

My car ran great immediately with no issues. My brothers Merc C280 was done also - He required new plugs and leads, it ran ok but had occassional missfire when using full power (lpg needs better spark so not as forgiving as petrol if not all tip top) - these were fitted free of charge, parts cost only. We got both cars done so received a discount

Photos -

[DougieV8]

[quote="ajo.v8"]
Thanks for the info guys. Dougie is the place you got yours done in Leeds ? Iv been looking at them as it's £1150 at the moment and I don't think that's bad. Iv been looking at a few diffrent places and they all say it takes 3 days and at a cost of £1750+ were LPG leeds say they can do it in a day witch a lot of people say can't be done or can be done but not done right.
[/quote]

Leeds LPG are very good - There is a team of four of them and they know there stuff and can work. My car was dropped off at 8am and picked up around 8pm fully complete.

I have had no issues - The people spreading the doubt are those that are charging more or have paid more. I was quoted between £2500 and £3000 to get the job done up here in Scotland - They wanted the car for a week and did not offer any options, we do it like this and thats it!!! I can only assume that these quotes were based on one or two man teams dedicating only a few hours a day to my car?

Leeds LPG do only LPG conversions - Eaach of the guys has a given task and they just get on with it. I noted one working on tank/piping in boot, one in engine bay, another fabricating parts and another working on computer tuning.

[ajo.v8]

Thanks for all the info dougie. I'm going to give them a ring in the next few days. Just need to do the rocker cover gasket first.

So do you just fill it up in the same place as you put the petrol in? Do you have to put a extra addaptor in as thats what it looks like in the pic's.

[DougieV8]

You will not be dissapointed - I stayed overnight nearby after picking the car up, this way I was able to ensure ok from a cold start and do a bit of driving around before heading home.

All the best

[DougieV8]

Forgot to add the peace of mind part - 24 month unlimited mileage parts and labour warranty.

No I don't work for them - just a satisfied customer!

[Turks]

After reading this I am considering more and more to get my car LPG Converted. Will there be any problems if you have had your car re-mapped? Do Leeds LPG only do Marelli?

I like that the filler can be located where the existing fuel cap is.

If you remove the Spare, do you just need one of them emergency puncture repair kits to satisfy MOT?


Turks.

[ajo.v8]

I don't think the place in Leeds uses marrlli systems. The marrlli system was something that iv seen other people selling. This is the web site for Leeds lpg, http://www.leedslpg.co.uk/?gclid=CMfe8_ ... tAod7i7xug.
I will let you know what they say when iv rung them over the next few days.

[DougieV8]

[quote="Turks"]
After reading this I am considering more and more to get my car LPG Converted. Will there be any problems if you have had your car re-mapped? Do Leeds LPG only do Marelli?

I like that the filler can be located where the existing fuel cap is.

If you remove the Spare, do you just need one of them emergency puncture repair kits to satisfy MOT?


Turks.
[/quote]

Not a Marelli system - See pictures. I think one of the reasons that they keep cost down is that they are not buying a full kit but using their knowledge and sources to produce a custom made system for each car. If you look under the bonnet of my brothers 6 cylinder C280 there is a different set up wiith different injection/ecu module etc.

Should be no problems with remapping - They may even be able to do that? They tune up the car using laptop and computer program and part of follow up service (once per year) is to re-calibrate as required.

You will see a drop in actual mpg of around 10% but then you are onto half price fuel

Filler is good hidden away - You have to attach the nozzle each time you fill up, simple screw thread.

Spare wheel can be stored in the actual boot space if you do noot need the room but a can of spray is sufficient - most modern cars have no spare anyway! I have a can of spray stored in the boot, I add the spare wheel if I am going on a long journey.

Oh and check with your insurance company - Tesco took 25% premium increase from me for lpg conversion, my brothers insurance company took nothing!

[Ubatoid]

That looks like a very neat and tidy install. Ive seen a lot of truly awful installs that have taken several days. Nice to see professionals are still to be found. Make sure they register the car on the lpg register, your insurance company may need to confirm this before you get full cover.

[DougieV8]

£50 for UKlpg registration, all to scheme - i did not bother with extra expense as insurance company only required me to confirm a professional install and not something i fitted myself using bbq components

I can call leedslpg to get uklpg registration done at any time if required though.

[Frontman]

Hi ajo, my 4.4 is has the PRINZ lpg conversion. It was already in the car so I don't know about the initial set up but it works fine. I think it was around £1600 when fitted.
Only downside is that the caravan place that is 200 yards away from me stopped doing lpg about a month after buying the car so I would be interested in finding out where the 1 free in 10 is in Rochdale.
Cheers col