somnoboy

Does anyone know if there are any natural gas conversion kits available for the First Gen LS? Maybe even a "one-off" expirement that has been done?

That would be a VERY, very cool project indeed.

3UZFTE

I think it's safe to say that there's no off the shelf kit. You should check out Lextreme, and their alternative fuels thread as that will likely be your best bet. Good luck.

bicol-ini

its already available for sometime in the UK and Australia

somnoboy

Cool. Would you happen to have a link handy? Greatly appreciated.

silos5

iTrader: (3)

I have a natural gas system in my car (LS400 1998), no problem, the power lost is not that noticable. If I want to get all the lexus hp, I push a button and in a second I´m on petrol.
The downside is that this tank takes much space in the trunk + I have air sus system there also. I know there are smaller tanks that go in the spare wheel place, but they are tooo small.

Heres how it looked when I was building the trunk:




made a wall:

somnoboy

That looks awesome!!! And a very clean looking installation, I might add. Any chance you could post some more info on that? Maybe a tutorial here on clublexus? That is definitely something I would like to try. Is it a kit? Did you put it together yourself?

The reduced trunk space is absolutely not an issue for me. I have always wondered if there wasn't something I could do with the acres of unused space in my First Gen trunk.

By the way, from the picture, you sure look like you have a first gen, but if you say you have a '98, that's cool too. I have a first gen myself.

Looking forward to more on this.

silos5

iTrader: (3)

I didnt install the gas system myself, I bought a car with it already. It was pretty ugly, because the trunk carpet didnt fit at all, so I had to make changes.
Yes, I have a 2 gen LS400. I also dont use the trunk at all, no not an issue for me.
As for the install, I wouldnt do it myself, because you need some equipment and experience to do it. Well, you can install the tank yourself, but lines to the engine, some hardware and programming - that should be done by professional.

btw, I´m from europe and in my city there are only a few stations where I can fill with natural gas. I actually never heard about using natural gas in US. well, the pertol prices are quite different also.

lexuslspro

In the event someone slams in to you from behind, wouldn't that explode?

somnoboy

I noticed that you hailed from Estonia. That's cool. In the States, there are vehicle NG stations. Not a lot just yet, but the number is growing.

I wonder if there is some commercially available kit/conversion for this. It would be very cool.

somnoboy

It could, sure. But I imagine the risk is similar to a regular gasoline tank exploding when rear ended.

silos5

iTrader: (3)

what I heard is: if you get into the trouble and the nat. gas tanks leaks, this gas just goes into air and thats it. Petrol, otherwise, leaks to the ground and stays in one place. So what is more safe - you decide.

steve2006

No with the tank being position towards the rear of the trunk you still have a "crumple zone" before the tank is damaged,the tank itself is reinforced and certified.
Should the tank be crushed there is a vent to release the LPG in a controlled and safe way.

steve2006

The link below gives details on the systems for the UK market,have a look at the price of UK unleaded fuel! Becoming very popular over here at these prices.

http://www.tinleytech.co.uk/lpgfaq.html

somnoboy

Thanks Steve. I'm over here in the U.S., so I was thinking more along the lines of Natural Gas (NG), and less so Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

Anyone know of NG for the States?

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

LPG is the more common Conversion, CNG is usually a factory only affair.

as far as i know, that is.