Converting a 2004 Prius to lpg

[alexeft]

Hello everyone.

I am planning on converting my 2004 (2nd gen) Toyota Prius to lpg.

Has anyone done this conversion?
If yes, what was it like?

Thanks in advance.

[classicswede]

I've done quite a few of them over the past few years. They are not a conversion for an average installer and will need a kit that will automaticaly switch to gas on start up.

The installer will need to know how to manualy calibrate the system rather than using the systems own autocalibration as the Prius engine will not stay on long enough for it to work. The system should also be capable of starting on gas as the engine switches on and off. Most systems will wait a few second before switch over resulting in a lot of petrol being used.

Has the installer you are looking at done one before?

[alexeft]

I've done quite a few of them over the past few years. They are not a conversion for an average installer and will need a kit that will automaticaly switch to gas on start up.

The installer will need to know how to manualy calibrate the system rather than using the systems own autocalibration as the Prius engine will not stay on long enough for it to work. The system should also be capable of starting on gas as the engine switches on and off. Most systems will wait a few second before switch over resulting in a lot of petrol being used.

Has the installer you are looking at done one before?

I'm going to have the e-gas system. The installer is very experienced, though he hasn't
done any Prii yet.

The good thing about the e-gas is that it doesn't have autocalibration. It has two coarse settings for
power and idle. After that, it uses eobd.

He also told me that he is going to use special software from e-gas, made (calibrated that is)
for the Prius.

I have another car with the e-gas on. When I stall the engine by mistake, it starts on gas again
without any problem whatsoever.

[john_d]

doesnt the prius run on water or something that makes it dirt cheap to run?

[tommo2009]

the e-gas sytem may work, as long as when the engines shuts down the ignition live to the LPG system stays live you should be OK
The set up of the E-gas system isn't quite as simple as a coarse settings, you must be able to set the max injection value,
the idle can be adjusted as can the power also you can set an open loop value.
There are also a number of other items that can be used which are hidden behind the scenes in the software but your installer should know all about those.

[alexeft]

to classicwede

what was your experience with the Prii you converted.
Any specific problems other than what you mention about calibration?



to john_d: no it runs on gasoline unfortunately.
But I would be the first to buy a car that runs on water (or nothing at all if possible).

[Gilbertd]

I'm going to have the e-gas system. The installer is very experienced, though he hasn't
done any Prii yet.

Personally I would suggest you find someone that has then. With the stop/start feature on the Prius you don't really want to be a test case for a new install using customised software.

[classicswede]

to classicwede

what was your experience with the Prii you converted.
Any specific problems other than what you mention about calibration?

All the ones I have done have run great and the owners have been very pleased. On one of the later cars I had a problem with the sound of the tank valve cutting in each time the engine cut in. Changing the ignition live point resolved that.

It is very important that the system is mapped correctly. Lean running will eventualy result in burnt valves. Using EOBD corrections to compensate for incorrect mapping is not the way to set a car up. Most systems have a means of connecting to most EOBD cars but far to many installer are dependant on it working. The real answer is to manualy map the car spot on in the first instance.

There are probably only about 4 or 5 installers in the UK that have done them. Is your installer used to doing odd ball cars?

[billynoband]

How did you get on Alex with the Prius lpg conversion? It would be nice to revive this thread.

There was a guy over on the Priuschat forum that used a Stag system for a diy conversion with good photos too, he throws a spanner in the works too by getting it to do a complete Autocalibration with photos? Does'nt say if it runs ok though.

[alexeft]

Hi all! Sorry, it has been a long time and I haven't posted any news.

I had the Prius converted with the egas system. It has been really fine for one and a half year now.
Oddly enough, it goes through 25% more lpg than petrol, exactly as much as the calorific difference per liter between the two

No problems whatsoever for approx 45000 km now, except that it is a bit rougher than petrol when starting/stopping.

I do the adjustments myself and have found out that it works a lot better if I don't egas' instructions of setting it up at idle.
I just leave it running (gas pedal a little pressed) until the battery charge falls to two bars. Then it starts charging and the
engine is under a light load. That's where I do the adjustment.