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Pickups Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon - V8 for 2008
60 messages, Last post on Jul 16, 2008 at 3:38 PM
You are in the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon Forum. Your Host is kcram
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Replying to: dmathews3 (Feb 24, 2008 2:49 am) |
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Replying to: mark4biodiesel (Feb 24, 2008 2:00 am)
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Replying to: poncho167 (Feb 25, 2008 12:11 am) Ford dropped the CNG option on it's full size Crown Victoria because natural gas gives poor fuel mileage compared to propane. CNG also produces less horsepower than LPG and anyone who wanted to run a cleaner greener vehicle looks at where they can get fuel when travelling long distances. CNG never worked in that regard but propane is readily available in every city and in many farm areas at farmers co-ops. There is a LPG conversion shop close to me that i have used for 26 years for conversions and any minor problems which have been nothing to speak of over the years. That shop maintains over 800 car, trucks, buses taxi's and airport limos. They have been in business for 34 years now and they know what they are doing. Six years ago in January, they were chosen to be the first shop to install a port fuel injection system. That system is dual fuel and heats the LPG inside a very small section of the end of the fuel tank. The car starts on gasoline and after the water temperature gets to about 80 degrees, it will switch automatically to LPG sending warm propane to the fuel injectors. This allows very long life for the fuel injectors with a 300,000 to 400,000 mile lifespan. Sending very cold liquid propane to the engine does not make good sense as it is so cold, it will burn you when putting it into the tank if you do not wear gloves when handling the hose. That is why the LPG liquid injection system does not get good fuel mileage as it cools down the engine. Another factor is performance in which warmed up propane works better. Remember heat is energy and the hotter most engines run ( within reason ) the better HP and torque they will have. We used to add a hotter thermostat in the winter months ( 200 degrees ) on propane and a cooler one in the summer ( 180 degrees ). This was for commercial operations where the car or truck was running non stop for 10 or 11 hours on end per shift. We always threw the old thermostat away, so twice a year the car would never ever have a problem with stuck units causing overheating and major downtime ( and cooked transmissions). Time is money so throw that cheap metal $6 thingie away and save thousands. The only problem ( once ) i had was the LPG fuel filter which slowed the car or truck down ( V8 Chev ) when it was dirty much sooner than expected. I suspect because the fuel tank was not properly cleaned out at the factory. All the 2006 and up GM and Ford/Lincoln with V8's have a higher compression ratio than in the past and you need that to take the best advantage of the 105 octane of propane. The engine computer will advance the timing to take advantage of the 105 octane giving better fuel mileage and performance. Most of the airport taxi's and limos put on 400,000 miles in 5 years so there is a lot of feedback for these LPG port fuel injection systems over the past 6 years. They get at least 15% better fuel mileage than the old type propane carb type of fuel system and that means thousands of dollars in fuel savings and better performance. I have driven over 80 commercial cars and trucks on LPG. Go with a bigger engine if you have an engine option for your car or truck and buy a bigger car so you can have some trunk space left after you add the propane tank. Send me a message before you decide to buy a New car or truck and i will give you some great advice.
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Replying to: mark4biodiesel (Feb 26, 2008 12:33 pm) Thanks! kcram - Pickups Host |
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Replying to: mark4biodiesel (Feb 26, 2008 12:33 pm) |
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RE:LPG I'm in a bit of a hurry so i haven't checked my last few posts today but do not forget the tax breaks that you get from the Feds and your State governments. The smallest amount for U.S.A. Fed tax deduction is $3,000 for any car, truck, or bus under 5,000 pounds gross weight and must be claimed the same year you do the propane conversion. That amount jumps to $5,000 up to 9,999 pounds gross weight and gets serious for vehiclea over 14,500 pounds which includes the new 2009 Chev/GMC 4500 series cubevan and same the for the Ford as well as the ( maybe ) the Isuzu/Chev/GMC small tilt cab cubevans and of course the Chev?GMC Topkick type which have at least a 17,500 pound gross weight rating and also a great big block RAT motor ( porcupine ) of 496 cubic inches and 8.1 liters with a compression ratio of 9.1 to one as the standard engine. GM recommends this engine for propane in all it's Topkick literature and you also gives you a six speed automatic trans with a double overdrive. That is all standard on the Topkick and makes it cheaper to buy than most one ton trucks. They offer a 4 door option and even 4 wheel drive too and the sticker is only about $29,000 for the base model with the Rat motor. You can order air ride seats with an electric pump for the front seats right from the factory. Yaaaa. The C4500 can have a gross tow rating of 26,000 pounds when you order the 19,000 suspension. A nice aftermarket turbo with the propane will give about 650 foot pounds of torque at only 2800 RPM which is right at the proper speed for passing on the highway. Even with the propane conversion, a single or twin 40 gallon propane tank and the turbo charger, IT'S STILL CHEAPER THAN ORDERING THE TRUCK WITH A DIESEL. WOW. With the double overdrive automatic 6 speed trans, you will be only reving about 1,700 to 1,900 RPM on the highway and still have torque right in the sweet spot.
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Replying to: mark4biodiesel (Mar 01, 2008 2:01 pm) Maybe instead the Host should just drop the couple of people here who aren't smart enough to read. |
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Here is what I saw on GM Insider this morning. It will come out in 2010. http://www.gminsidenews.com/index.php?page=Future_Product_Guide Chevrolet Colorado: A major redesign will take place on the Colorado for 2011. The whole truck will be altered in some way or another. Powertrains will stay close to what we currently have, but will be more fuel-efficient and have higher output levels. A 3.0L common-rail diesel is also expected. The platform will remain much the same as the current one.
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