Anyone want to go propane turbo?
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From: Mukwonago, Wi
Anyone want to go propane turbo? ****SOLD****
I built a propane turbo carbureted 99 Silverado as a work truck toy and it was a blast. I butted a ring and blew it up at the track after hot lapping it. My 4800 lb truck went 11.78 in the quarter on a 225k mile well used stock 5.3 on almost 20 lbs boost. Racer math puts that at about 500 hp. The thing was forklift-like daily driver quiet and reliable, I had it idling at 300 rpm for a bit just to see how low I could go. Fuel (~105 octane) was in the ballpark of $2.00 per gallon.
Now that the project is liquidated I only have 1 piece left, the entire fuel system (not the turbo-hot side, just the propane carburetion stuff).
I had dreams of putting a turbo'd ls in my 72 cutlass on propane but with a little one on the way soon I decided to be more realistic and just drive that the way it is for now and liquidate the truck project.
Anyone interested in doing something like this? This fuel system would fit on any holley square bolt flange, may have to relocate the vaporizer or turn it backward to clear a distributor.
I built a propane turbo carbureted 99 Silverado as a work truck toy and it was a blast. I butted a ring and blew it up at the track after hot lapping it. My 4800 lb truck went 11.78 in the quarter on a 225k mile well used stock 5.3 on almost 20 lbs boost. Racer math puts that at about 500 hp. The thing was forklift-like daily driver quiet and reliable, I had it idling at 300 rpm for a bit just to see how low I could go. Fuel (~105 octane) was in the ballpark of $2.00 per gallon.
Now that the project is liquidated I only have 1 piece left, the entire fuel system (not the turbo-hot side, just the propane carburetion stuff).
I had dreams of putting a turbo'd ls in my 72 cutlass on propane but with a little one on the way soon I decided to be more realistic and just drive that the way it is for now and liquidate the truck project.
Anyone interested in doing something like this? This fuel system would fit on any holley square bolt flange, may have to relocate the vaporizer or turn it backward to clear a distributor.
Last edited by Johnmaster; Oct 30, 2014 at 08:03 AM.
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From: Joliet,IL and Las Vegas 50/50
Read the title then clicked it, almost spit my drink out when I saw your avatar.
In all seriousness though I'd be curious to see how this could work, what limits propane has compared to other fuels, and what fuel system requirements would be needed. I'd probably never go propane since e85 seems to be working great for me, but this is an interesting fuel source.
BTW, GLD FTW!!!
In all seriousness though I'd be curious to see how this could work, what limits propane has compared to other fuels, and what fuel system requirements would be needed. I'd probably never go propane since e85 seems to be working great for me, but this is an interesting fuel source.
BTW, GLD FTW!!!
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Propane is amazing, the reason I went through the effort to put this whole thing together and try it out. 105 octane+ at $2.00 per gallon instead of $8, vaporizes readily and mixes well with air, requires no fuel pumps (the tanks are under pressure), it's lightweight, available across the country, the vaporizer adds capacity to the cooling system, requires minimal electronics to run, doesn't pollute the crankcase, none or minimal carbon build-up in the cylinder. There are more pros but I cant think of them right now.
One downside is mounting the tank, also while there are many places to fill, few are open more than bankers hours. You can transfer from one tank to another but it's way easier to just go have it filled.
I went through the hassle of making this work with the factory computer but I think it would be easier to use with an msd standalone unit in some old hot rod.
One downside is mounting the tank, also while there are many places to fill, few are open more than bankers hours. You can transfer from one tank to another but it's way easier to just go have it filled.
I went through the hassle of making this work with the factory computer but I think it would be easier to use with an msd standalone unit in some old hot rod.
This would be a real treat for someone who sells propane, and propane accessories!
LOL
There are several vehicles in the farming community that run on LPG. It is pretty cool how clean it burns.
LOL
There are several vehicles in the farming community that run on LPG. It is pretty cool how clean it burns.
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From: Joliet,IL and Las Vegas 50/50
What sort of fuel economy can someone get out of propane? Say I had one of those standard propane tanks filled up and being that my car is street driven primarily. Are we talking 5 miles, 50 miles, 150 miles range with normal driving?
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The one drive I calculated daily drving type mileage I got about 12 pg in a 4800 lb pick-up hauling an empty snowmobile trailer. I would estimate about 75% of the mpg you would get with gasoline because it is less dense. It costs about 60% of the cost of pump regular per gallon and about 25% the cost of race fuel. you can put-put around town on 105 octane and let er rip when youneed to without having to empty the tank and buy race fuel just to avoid detonation.
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This was the first and only vehicle I ever really tuned, by eliminating all the injector related and fuel mixture related stuff from the computer made tuning a lot easier, computer handled spark and all chassis and transmission stuff, fuel was adjusted with two screws and a replaceable valve. One screw is idle fuel mixture, the valve handles the mid range and the other screw adjusts full load mixture. Silly simple.
I thought about various blown versions of vapor injection propane systems but the simplicity was more what I was going for on this build. I planned on making kits but the complexity of sourcing all this stuff, building kits and then trying to support it all was too much for me to bother with after I built the first one.
Other pros, Propane likes compression, was able to run as much as 20 psi boost on a high mileage bone stock motor, no head studs or special gaskets, this carb would make a $400 junk yard motor rip.
I thought about various blown versions of vapor injection propane systems but the simplicity was more what I was going for on this build. I planned on making kits but the complexity of sourcing all this stuff, building kits and then trying to support it all was too much for me to bother with after I built the first one.
Other pros, Propane likes compression, was able to run as much as 20 psi boost on a high mileage bone stock motor, no head studs or special gaskets, this carb would make a $400 junk yard motor rip.
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From: Norn Iron
Strangely this popped up on another forum just recently..
Same vehicle ? Apparently it's ran 10.91
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDXo...ature=youtu.be
Same vehicle ? Apparently it's ran 10.91
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDXo...ature=youtu.be
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Nope, different vehicle way cooler! One carb/turbo is a great way to get a bone stock motor to 500 hp on the cheap, two carbs is the way to take a built motor to wherever the heck he is going! He did a great job, I'm jealous!
Strangely this popped up on another forum just recently..
Same vehicle ? Apparently it's ran 10.91
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDXo...ature=youtu.be
Same vehicle ? Apparently it's ran 10.91
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDXo...ature=youtu.be
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From: Norn Iron
Cool machine.
Would love to see more info on liquid gas injection setups, if there are many out there these days ?
or even gas injection, what sort of injectors are needed for big power etc ?
How do valves/seats handle the gas over time etc ?
It's still a fuel that isnt widely used, but it should have good potential.
Would love to see more info on liquid gas injection setups, if there are many out there these days ?
or even gas injection, what sort of injectors are needed for big power etc ?
How do valves/seats handle the gas over time etc ?
It's still a fuel that isnt widely used, but it should have good potential.
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The parts are sold, will be interesting to hear what the new owner does with them. You can find lots of interesting builds on Raso enterprises propane fuels forum. Lots of guys in AU and NZ doing propane vehicles. There are carbureted, vapor and liquid injection systems all out there, each with their pros and cons.